hooking up a landline phone

[Imzadi]

We bought an old fashioned "princess-style" corded phone so at least one phone would work.

OP, do get a cordless phone or two, though. And place it on the other sides of the condo, preferably on a low shelf. If she falls and can't get up, you want her to still be able to crawl to a phone.

 

[tvguy]

OP, do get a cordless phone or two, though. And place it on the other sides of the condo, preferably on a low shelf. If she falls and can't get up, you want her to still be able to crawl to a phone.

But make sure you have one corded phone too. A dead battery in a landline is just as useless as a dead battery in a cell phone.

 

[mommasita]

We have VoIP for our landline. No issues with dropped or distorted audio. The bad... if internet or power goes out, no phone.

That is pretty good. I have had a lot of distorted audio. Even when going over the call it’s often very difficult to make out key words. Very true about the latter

 

[sam_gordon]

DI'd

That is pretty good. I have had a lot of distorted audio. Even when going over the call it’s often very difficult to make out key words. Very true about the latter

You let your service provider know?

 

[tvguy]

DI'd

You let your service provider know?

IT firm my son worked for had to add a clause to their service agreements that they do not work on VoIP systems. Their biggest problem is providers wouldn't support their own products.

 

[mommasita]

DI'd

You let your service provider know?

Not at home. We only have our cells.
It’s at work.

 

[sam_gordon]

IT firm my son worked for had to add a clause to their service agreements that they do not work on VoIP systems. Their biggest problem is providers wouldn't support their own products.

Businesses should ask about support before signing any contract, what's included, what's extra.

 

[tvguy]

Businesses should ask about support before signing any contract, what's included, what's extra.

I am sure they do, but too many VoIP providers disappear.

 

[NotUrsula]

FWIW, VOIP can have excellent audio quality and connection; my office has always had it, and our Cisco phones are just fine; I've been there 20 years.

However, if the building can still handle a true landline, I'd stick to that, and the simplest interface the better.

 

[starry_solo]

Make sure landlines are still available at your moms location. AT&T is trying to pull out as the carrier of last resort in various states which means no landlines ....

 

[GreatLakes]

But make sure you have one corded phone too. A dead battery in a landline is just as useless as a dead battery in a cell phone.

Very few residential phone connections are not power dependent any longer. If you are plugging into a router it will need power. You can get a UPS that provides quite a long life on the router and phone without power since they have such a low draw but keep the power requirements in mind when buying your phone.

 

[tvguy]

Very few residential phone connections are not power dependent any longer. If you are plugging into a router it will need power. You can get a UPS that provides quite a long life on the router and phone without power since they have such a low draw but keep the power requirements in mind when buying your phone.

My good old fashioned landline needs no house power. All provided on the phone line. And while most don't have landlines anymore, I suspect most that do have this traditional setup. But the power issue is another concern with VoIP.

 

[Nayan]

First order of business is to see if regular phone service is actually available. Many newer homes/apartments/condos don't even have hookups for those anymore.

 

[lovin'fl]

So she had the option of getting a phone hook up, suggested in kitchen, for a cost and she chose not to. The 2nd bedroom has a jack and her modem or router or whatever is hooked to it (was listed as computer hook up on hr info when building). She has the local provider, Breezeline, for internet and cable and I am guessing it's a bundle she gets that incudes phone too. I was hoping I could just plug the phone into her computer set up in the 2nd bedroom. I'd get a cordless that has a 2nd handset that just plugs into electric outlet she can keep next to her recliner. MAybe even should get one with 2 of those handsets and I can put one beside her bed too. Her power doesn't go out so I am not worried about a corded old style phone as she also will have her cellphone.

Thanks for the info. I need to look at Breezeline and see what they provide.

 

[sam_gordon]

My good old fashioned landline needs no house power. All provided on the phone line. And while most don't have landlines anymore, I suspect most that do have this traditional setup. But the power issue is another concern with VoIP.

It depends on the service provider. As mentioned, companies are dropping POTS (plain old telephone service). Without a POTS system, you'll need something to power the phone circuits.

 

[barkley]

MAybe even should get one with 2 of those handsets and I can put one beside her bed too. Her power doesn't go out so I am not worried about a corded old style phone as she also will have her cellphone.

consider one with a 3rd handset and place one LOW in the bathroom-falls in the bathroom are sadly very common among the elderly and it's the least common area for there to be a phone (and if there's an emergency alert cord it's often too freaking high on the wall to be reached when you can't get up off the floor). both of the very bad end of life falls my mom had were in her bathroom and since she resisted wearing her life alert pendant she went undiscovered for hours

 

[tvguy]

It depends on the service provider. As mentioned, companies are dropping POTS (plain old telephone service). Without a POTS system, you'll need something to power the phone circuits.

Yes, they are holding hearings here in California as ATT is asking to be able to drop plain old telephone service. Currently if you ask for POTS they are legally required to provide it to you no matter where you live as the Carrier of Last Resort (COLR). We will see what the Public Utilities Commission decides. So currently in California, they can't drop POTS.