getting rid of landline

[tvguy]

You can easily block them. Some phones and carriers let you block specific numbers, or even all anonymous numbers, directly from your phone. Others offer this as a paid service. For example, I have an iPhone on Verizon, and I can block specific numbers from the phone, and I use Verizon's paid service to block anonymous numbers entirely. Just because they have your cell phone number doesn't mean that they can reach you, because of contemporary technology.

Sounds like a lot of work. Each of those calls is going to have to get through for me to know to block a number. And no way I can block all calls. If someone in my family is in the Emergency room, odds are they are going to be calling from a number other than their cell phone. And almost everyone around here had a blocked number anyway. Just easier to keep the landline and give that number our, and have the cell phone for emergencies.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

We got rid of our landline with Verizon when we cut cable. We have Google voice and it works great! We bought the box needed to use it off new egg for $47. The phone service is free, but we pay $15 per year so we can make 911 calls. We can call anywhere in the US for free.

 

[WDWNY]

we want to get rid of ours. the only person who calls is barbra telling us to we won a trip to the bahamas!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Our landline is in a bundle and it is cheaper to have it. Besides I don't have a cell phone. No need for one, I only go to the grocery store. My DH has his phone which is for the business. And besides the cell phone can drop calls fast so it is better to have the landline. I won't give it up.

 

[Twende]

We got rid of our land line about 4 years ago but this past year we added a house phone by getting a MagicJackGo. It is super cheap, like $35 for a year, and the quality is not bad at all. We can forward that number to our cell phone when we are going to be away. For us it is the best of both worlds.

 

[wenrob]

Sounds like a lot of work. Each of those calls is going to have to get through for me to know to block a number. And no way I can block all calls. If someone in my family is in the Emergency room, odds are they are going to be calling from a number other than their cell phone. And almost everyone around here had a blocked number anyway. Just easier to keep the landline and give that number our, and have the cell phone for emergencies.

It takes about two seconds: phone rings, you don't recognize the number, hit silent, tap number, hit block caller switch. That number can't bother you again. On a landline, you don't recognize the number, you let it ring through to your answer machine or you answer it and tell them to put you on their do not call list. They say okay and then call you from another number. There's not any way to really stop it which is why I stopped using my landline years ago. When people talk about a service that blocks "unknown" calls they're talking about calls that are blocking you from seeing the number, that will never be emergency services or hospitals.

I stopped using mine several years ago but was only able to get it removed this year without my cable/internet package going up. Don't miss it, only people who ever called it were telemarketers. I don't give my cell number out to stores, websites etc. If it's insisted upon I give out my junk email.

 

[tvguy]

It takes about two seconds: phone rings, you don't recognize the number, hit silent, tap number, hit block caller switch. That number can't bother you again. On a landline, you don't recognize the number, you let it ring through to your answer machine or you answer it and tell them to put you on their do not call list. They say okay and then call you from another number. There's not any way to really stop it which is why I stopped using my landline years ago. When people talk about a service that blocks "unknown" calls they're talking about calls that are blocking you from seeing the number, that will never be emergency services or hospitals.

I stopped using mine several years ago but was only able to get it removed this year without my cable/internet package going up. Don't miss it, only people who ever called it were telemarketers. I don't give my cell number out to stores, websites etc. If it's insisted upon I give out my junk email.

Regarding the bolded, ALL emergency services here have their number blocked here. They don't want people to get their internal extensions. I deal with that on a daily basis at work. And like I said, many folks have their cell and landline number blocked around here, (it comes up RESTRICTED on the caller ID) so if I block all blocked numbers, I am blocking almost everyone who needs to get a hold of me. Just simpler to have the landline as a number I give out, and the cell phone as the emergency contact number.

 

[MillauFr]

I got rid of our landline 10 years ago. We just use OOMA now. I never understood paying $25 per month for the privilege of letting telemarketers call you and waste you time.

 

[Southernmiss]

We dropped the land line last year
Aside from missing that particular number after having it for so long, not a problem. And the $ saving is nice

 

[mmmagique]

When my friends with cell phones call me, I invariably can't hear some of the conversation as their lines go in and out. If you don't absolutely need to be heard and understood every time you're on the phone, it can be a good alternative for you.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

We have ditched our landline, maybe 5 years ago. Even though we are many years away from retirement unless technology improves we'll add back in a true landline in retirement (meaning a copper line, not the internet phone, VOIP or whatever else is out there). Right now I guess I feel confident in an emergency that DH would be able to drive me to a hospital or vive versa. As we age, I want the security of picking up my phone anytime I want and being able to dial 911. Even though we have reliable cell service in our house, there is still the issue what if the phone battery is almost drained and no power. Or with the magic jack or VOIP through cable, if the power is out you don't have phone service.

 

[firefly_ris]

I've never had a landline since I moved out of my parents' house in 2006. No cable TV either... don't miss either one of them at all. We visited my parents for 4 days after Christmas; the phone rang about 7 - 8 times per day and every single one of them was a telemarketing call. And cable TV was just several hundred channels of either bizarre reality TV or the same syndicated stuff that was on 12 years ago. I save approximately $1200/year by not having them.

If you're worried about not hearing the phone elsewhere in your house, you can get these cordless handset phones that use Bluetooth to sync with your cell phone, and they also can have answering machines. It also uses the caller ID from your phone's contact list. So you could get that (there's usually 2 handsets per set) and put them around the house. I have them and while I don't use them that often, they work just fine when I do.

 

[kymom99]

We have ditched our landline, maybe 5 years ago. Even though we are many years away from retirement unless technology improves we'll add back in a true landline in retirement (meaning a copper line, not the internet phone, VOIP or whatever else is out there). Right now I guess I feel confident in an emergency that DH would be able to drive me to a hospital or vive versa. As we age, I want the security of picking up my phone anytime I want and being able to dial 911. Even though we have reliable cell service in our house, there is still the issue what if the phone battery is almost drained and no power. Or with the magic jack or VOIP through cable, if the power is out you don't have phone service.

They make backup phone chargers. Iv never had a dead phone. I charge it overnight and I'm good all day. Your cordless phone could be left off the charger and the battery go dead.

In a true emergency please don't try driving to the hospital. You waste precious time and a person driving under that kind of pressure is not the safest driver.

 

[xlxo]

the phone rang about 7 - 8 times per day and every single one of them was a telemarketing call.

I use caller ID to screen my calls. If it's not a number I recognize.... I don't pickup. If it's important... they can leave a message.

Their machine can talk to my machine.

After a few years.... I stop getting calls.

 

[tvguy]

They make backup phone chargers. Iv never had a dead phone. I charge it overnight and I'm good all day. Your cordless phone could be left off the charger and the battery go dead.

In a true emergency please don't try driving to the hospital. You waste precious time and a person driving under that kind of pressure is not the safest driver.

As I have posted before, the number one problem we have at work is people oversleeping because they use their cell phone as their alarm clock and the phone battery dies (or so they claim), and then of course there is no way to get a hold of them because that is their only phone. It did not dawn on me until I ready your reply....but our gift from the company this past Christmas for all employees were universal auxiliary cell phone batteries. I guess the boss is getting fed up too!

 

[firefly_ris]

I use caller ID to screen my calls. If it's not a number I recognize.... I don't pickup. If it's important... they can leave a message.

Their machine can talk to my machine.

After a few years.... I stop getting calls.

Yes, they also have caller ID (a weird talking one...) and they also never pick up. I am no longer used to listening to a phone ringing all day whether it gets answered or not, so I just personally find it annoying to listen to all day and don't get the point if that's 99% of the calls they receive.

 

[xlxo]

I also turn the ringer down or off. So it can ring all day before going to the machine.

 

[MillauFr]

You have to wonder how long phone companies are going to offer copper wire based land lines. They are increasingly getting approval from regulators to abandon the product and force their customers to move to VOIP plans.

Verizon has even instructed their employees to not fix copper wires when they fail. If they ignore the rule they can get fired.

http://arstechnica.com/information-...-now-be-fired-if-they-fix-copper-phone-lines/

 

[xlxo]

You have to wonder how long phone companies are going to offer copper wire based land lines.

Some telephone companies have diversified to cable TV, internet and cellular.

 

[MillauFr]

Some telephone companies have diversified to cable TV, internet and cellular.

They have been forced to since copper wire telephone service is a dying product with revenue dropping every year. If they didn't change their product offerings they would be out of business in 10 years.