Home telephone land lines still? [Archive]

Hank6046

01-07-22, 13:47

I've never had a land line since I moved out of my parent's house and haven't needed one, but I could certainly see the benefit as a backup communication option.

Same. My brother in law called 911 on a rotary dial when his/ my wifes grandfather had a stroke and fell because the cell service was down after a horrible windstorm last month. I thought about my own home and how crappy cell service I get when I'm in my basement

FromMyColdDeadHand

01-07-22, 13:51

We have to have one for our home security, but that was 15 years ago. Considering how crappy Comcast cable is, I wouldn’t depend on them to order a pizza.

markm

01-07-22, 13:54

A service call starts at $95. If for some reason "their" line is the issue, it would be no charge. I can't decide. I've been paying $47 per month for a line I almost never use, but on the other hand, I don't want to regret shutting it off.

chuckman

01-07-22, 13:56

We have one only because it's part of the fiber package with AT& T. Otherwise we would go entirely wireless.

If it were me, I would not pay to have it repaired I would just go wireless.

JDH1

01-07-22, 14:00

I have a VOIP line now, no POTS. Since everything is done by e-mail now, with no longer a need to fax things I'm seriously considering dropping it.

Defaultmp3

01-07-22, 14:01

I personally use a satellite communicator as a back-up to my cellphone (Garmin inReach). It might have a slower response time than a landline in normal circumstances, but the odds of the cellular connection being down in normal circumstances in my area is pretty small. I also thus have the ability to communicate when out of cellular range in general, e.g., in the backcountry. Granted, I will need to be outside in the yard to get proper satellite reception, but that's likely not going to be an issue except in the most extreme of circumstances.

Note that many smartphones also allow for WiFi calling, so even if the cellular service is down, you can still call emergency services, though you should set that up properly so that it knows your location beforehand, rather than relying on having to tell dispatch explicitly where you are.

donlapalma

01-07-22, 14:01

Can't you still call 911 on a "dead" or inactive landline? Thought I heard that somewhere. Could be worth a question to the phone company.

markm

01-07-22, 14:17

Can't you still call 911 on a "dead" or inactive landline? Thought I heard that somewhere. Could be worth a question to the phone company.

Not on this line. It's DEAD dead. It's possible the dogs dug something up, but I haven't had time to look.

georgeib

01-07-22, 14:18

I have a VOIP line now, no POTS. Since everything is done by e-mail now, with no longer a need to fax things I'm seriously considering dropping it.

What VOIP service do you use? How do you like it?

markm

01-07-22, 14:25

I personally use a satellite communicator as a back-up to my cellphone (Garmin inReach).

Do you have to maintain any sort of subscriptions or that type of thing? Usage charges? That's an interesting option for outdoors activities.

donlapalma

01-07-22, 14:38

Not on this line. It's DEAD dead. It's possible the dogs dug something up, but I haven't had time to look.

I was thinking more along the lines of what you would do with the line going forward, after you fixed it. Did you just want it to be able to make an emergency call? If so, then maybe you could save yourself the $47/month but still be able to pick it up and call for help if necessary.

Clint

01-07-22, 14:40

We got rid of cable TV and landline phone around 2008.

Cable Internet only since then.

Streaming TV and HD Antenna.

No Regrets.

Adrenaline_6

01-07-22, 15:05

We got rid of cable TV and landline phone around 2008.

Cable Internet only since then.

Streaming TV and HD Antenna.

No Regrets.

Same. Wireless and wifi for calls. I alternate back and forth between cable and AT&T fiber to get the best internet connection deals (a game I hate but must be played). Streaming only.

markm

01-07-22, 15:06

I was thinking more along the lines of what you would do with the line going forward, after you fixed it. Did you just want it to be able to make an emergency call? If so, then maybe you could save yourself the $47/month but still be able to pick it up and call for help if necessary.

Ah.. Gotcha. Not sure on that.

gunnerblue

01-07-22, 15:11

If I didn't have radios I would keep a landline for emergency purposes since cell coverage in my area can and will go down during inclement weather.

utahjeepr

01-07-22, 15:19

I live kinda far out. My landline was so unreliable it didn't make sense to even keep it as a backup.

I'm looking at getting my HAM license as an emergency backup amongst other reasons. FWIW, you could get a cheap Baofeng or whatever pretty cheap. IN AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY you don't need to have a license.

Defaultmp3

01-07-22, 15:22

Do you have to maintain any sort of subscriptions or that type of thing? Usage charges? That's an interesting option for outdoors activities.I personally pay monthly to keep my subscription going year around; you would have to have an active subscription in order to use it, anyway, so in an emergency, I don't have to resubscribe before hitting the SOS button. There is a month-to-month option, where you just pay for 30 days at a time, though that is obviously more expensive on a per month basis; I see that as being more useful for folks that are going to use the inReach specifically on some trips, rather than as as general purpose emergency communicator like I do (though I obviously also carry it everywhere I go if there's a risk of no cellular service just to have comms, too, not just for emergencies). Note that you can also use it just for texting in general, without triggering an emergency, e.g., re-arranging pick-up times and locations when you're in the backcountry, updates to the significant other, etc.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461

markm

01-07-22, 15:33

I personally pay monthly to keep my subscription going year around; you would have to have an active subscription in order to use it, anyway, so in an emergency, I don't have to resubscribe before hitting the SOS button. There is a month-to-month option, where you just pay for 30 days at a time, though that is obviously more expensive on a per month basis; I see that as being more useful for folks that are going to use the inReach specifically on some trips, rather than as as general purpose emergency communicator like I do (though I obviously also carry it everywhere I go if there's a risk of no cellular service just to have comms, too, not just for emergencies). Note that you can also use it just for texting in general, without triggering an emergency, e.g., re-arranging pick-up times and locations when you're in the backcountry, updates to the significant other, etc.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/837461

Thanks. I'll check it out.

.45fan

01-07-22, 16:31

I canceled ours about two decades ago.

The last Michigan governor signed a law ending "landline" service in about 2015 or 2016.

You can get cable TV service for telephone (VoIP)still but not real landline service from the phone company anymore here.

DG23

01-07-22, 18:47

What are your thoughts on keeping a telephone land line intact at your home?

I've always kept mine, but the line just went dead. So I either pay to repair it, or just go all wireless. I've always felt that a land line had some back up communication value.

Fired ATT years ago. Should have done so sooner but the home alarm I had at the time was wired into that phone line so I kept putting it off knowing I would have to do something with the alarm as well.

The final straw for me was when the line went dead at one point. I called ATT and asked when it would be fixed (problem on their end - not on mine) and they could not give me a straight answer. Said it could be a few days or a few weeks. Tried telling them that my alarm was useless if it could not call out but they seemed to care less.

After a few days of the thing not working I called Comcast and set up an appt for them to switch everything over to their phone and internet service.

Called ATT to fire them and they drug that process out for damn near an hour. Kept transferring me to different people that would try to convince me to stay. Kept telling them that their service was not working and that I needed a 'working' phone right NOW. None of them could tell me when it would be back up. Told the last lady from their company that I talked to from them that I had already called Comcast and that they (ATT) were fired. At one point she actually told me that if the electricity went out that my modem and phone with Comcast would not work. Informed her about how modems have backup batteries and that I currently HAD power and that even with no power problems my ATT phone line was not freaking working and had not been working for several days.

Never again will those idiots get a single dollar from me...

jmp45

01-07-22, 19:08

We use voip / ooma service for business and home. It's around $130 / year and a few bucks tax every month. Their box cost on top of that.

agr1279

01-07-22, 19:28

We keep ours due to having children without cell phones. Also cell service can be spotty here.

Dan

markm

01-07-22, 21:41

Never again will those idiots get a single dollar from me...

Unfortunately that's become the American Customer service model (with some exceptions)

I had my (new) piece of shit Maytag break on me twice in the first year. They eventually got the turd to work... THEN sent me the option to PAY for an extended warranty. YEAH! Your garbage product's unreliability should be a further financial problem for me!!!

kirkland

01-08-22, 03:08

It's nice that they stay on when the power goes out and your cell phone battery dies. Sometimes we lose power for several days in a row here. I've had the same landline number since 1992. It's a good backup for anybody in the family to be able to reach the house if anything happens.

1_click_off

01-08-22, 07:23

Can't you still call 911 on a "dead" or inactive landline? Thought I heard that somewhere. Could be worth a question to the phone company.

Inactive Cell phones can still call 911. A shelter for abused women collects used phones for this purpose. The women carry them at no cost to call 911 if they need assistance.

Business_Casual

01-08-22, 07:54

That line most likely used a technology called TDM. Most Local Exchange Carriers are decommissioning those switches. With all the M&A in telecom, they may have lost the record of you being a customer and just decommed the switch that served you. Have you gotten any letters from them that you discarded unread?

P2Vaircrewman

01-08-22, 09:14

Just recently dropped my land line.. In the past a land line was completely independent from broadband service and would work even if electrical power was lost. Now days that is not the case, no broadband, no electricity, no land line. I was in the middle of hurricane Ida. With no power the only coms I had was by cell phone.

markm

01-08-22, 10:11

The_War_Wagon

01-08-22, 10:17

sapper36

01-08-22, 10:33

We canceled ours in 2006. I was still active duty so every move meant a new number. My wife and I got cell phones and have had the same numbers since 2005 so a land line just didn't make sense anymore. We have two adult children and an eleven year old. He has a tablet he can text us on when he's home alone and we have an emergency plan in place if he feels he needs to leave the house.

DG23

01-08-22, 10:39

I detest smartass phones, if i get a call on one, I wait until it stops ringing, and then call back on my landline. There's a reason,I still have Cb's in my trucks. These new-fangled cellular thingies may not catch on. I like that tried & proven technology! Cellphones give me a headache after 30 seconds of use anyways.

Hate to be the one to tell ya but... If the norks or china ever decide to drop an EMP on us your Cb's are toast.

A few tin cans and a really, really long (non-metallic) string connecting you to your buddy would be more gooder if crap ever hits the fan.

:)

jsbhike

01-08-22, 12:58

May have to try fencing for a backup.

https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/atrocious-but-efficient-how-ranchers-used-barbed-wire-to-make-phone-calls/

Still have a land line via a combination of a good phone and internet package deal and (although seems to be lessening) living on the fluctuating edge of a cell service dead zone.

JDH1

01-08-22, 13:11

What VOIP service do you use? How do you like it?

The lowest level of service ATT offers. It is one step above a POTS line. Living way out in the boonies has advantages. Connectivity is not one of them.

The_War_Wagon

01-08-22, 14:03

Hate to be the one to tell ya but... If the norks or china ever decide to drop an EMP on us your Cb's are toast.

A few tin cans and a really, really long (non-metallic) string connecting you to your buddy would be more gooder if crap ever hits the fan.

:)

SO IS THEIR ELCTRONIC IGNITION. PILE O' BAOFENGS IN A 20MM FARADAY CAGE GET BUSTED OUT IN THAT CASE

mike_f

01-08-22, 16:26

We have neighbors that have given up their landline to get cable/internet based home phone. A few of them haven't liked the new service for whatever reason and tried to get their old lines back. Were told they can't because no new lines are being allowed. So they were stuck with whatever new thing they got that they like less than their old landline.

We still have a land line, AT&T does the line service. The guys that actually do the work on the lines are great and have fixed them multiple times since we've lived in this location. But the AT&T account people that you (try) to talk to when there's a problem seem to be pretty much useless.

So we switched our landline account to MCI. They're better to deal regarding account issues (but not great) and the same AT&T great guys still do the actual service on our lines.

So maybe see if you can go to another company for a landline if you decide to keep it.

Pappabear

01-08-22, 16:44

Mark, we don't have one and have not used or missed it since we dropped it many years ago. I still use the number for Frequent flyer number at grocery stores LOL, or if I don't want someone to call me back.....That is what that number is good for IMHO.

It's more expensive these days because nobody uses it so their cost are higher.

PB

mike_f

01-08-22, 16:54

Don't know if you've tried this or if your phone box looks like this (click thumbnail):

67106

But you can just plug your phone into the box (like you do to the jack inside your house).

If you hear a dial tone, the problem is in the lines inside your house (phone company won't fix).

If you don't hear the dial tone then the problem is with the phone company's line (generally they fix for no extra charge since it is "their" line before it enters your phone box).

I am not a phone technician, so take this advice at your own risk. But this is what the AT&T service guy told me to try so before he would make a service call.

markm

01-08-22, 17:29

Don't know if you've tried this or if your phone box looks like this (click thumbnail):

Thanks. I'll try to find that. I'm somewhat in tune with my plumbing and electrical, but have no idea where the land line comes in. Likely by the fuse box.

markm

01-08-22, 17:59

So I need to build a time machine and go back to find someone who remembers this shit.:

(my house is older than I am)

https://i.imgur.com/VuN0eH9.jpg

Tanner

01-08-22, 18:07

A landline ? Haven't had one since 2002.

mike_f

01-08-22, 18:47

So I need to build a time machine and go back to find someone who remembers this shit.:

(my house is older than I am)

The pic I posted is from a 1960 house. Did Alexander Graham Bell wire yours? :D

I can't tell what going on there. But here is what I've generally seen in my very limited experience with residential phones:

Typically there's a red wire and a green wire for a one-line system. Those two wires just connect to the little plug jacks are that commonly used in the wall/on the wall.

If you have multiple jacks inside the house sometimes they're wired parallel (each jack has its own set of wires (maybe different colors for each jack location in the house?) coming from where the line enters the house). Sometimes they're serial wired - one set of wires goes to the first jack, then another set of wires goes from the first to the second jack, etc., to however many jacks you have in the house.

Since your setup looks like a multi-colored octopus, I'd guess that you have multiple interior jacks wired in parallel.

If you have more than one jack in the house, have you tried them all and they all don't work?

utahjeepr

01-09-22, 14:30

That pic is your drop. The pic Mike F posted may be from an older house, but the box has been updated. MarkM has a typical old drop used from the 50's to the 70's so his has not been updated.

That drop is a mess. I used to do this stuff years ago (MANY years ago) as a USWest contractor. It's a little hard to tell from the pic, but I think I see the old original house lines running out from behind the block. It looks like there may be a newer run of house lines coming out of the wall below the block. When I was doing this I would have tested the drop (phone company side) with a field set that clips on to the posts. If that was bad I'd check at the service pedestal. If the ped had good signal I would have plowed in a new drop (we always drug the trencher with us) and updated to a box like in Mike's pic. We would do it one and done like that cause we knew we would get paid by USWest. Honestly if I even saw a situation like you have I'd have just run the new drop straight off. Your drop looks like someone (service tech) has mixed the pairs looking for good conductors. You may very well have issues in the home, but the phone company side is basically junk even if it still works.

I'm long out of the phone service game so I am not up on current service rules. Like I said I would have run a new drop and if your interior didn't work I would have slapped a temp through the wall (if you approved) so you could have one operable phone and told you the house wiring was on you. We were nicer than actual phone company employees that way, they had different rules. We mostly ran new lines but would do service calls in our operating area.

3 AE

01-09-22, 15:24

So I need to build a time machine and go back to find someone who remembers this shit.:

(my house is older than I am)

https://i.imgur.com/VuN0eH9.jpg

Man, That's a mess for sure! Well, there's always this for daytime communications.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133876267038?hash=item1f2ba5b81e:g:-18AAOSwn3thP7FM

For low light and night time use.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403201318271?hash=item5de0abdd7f:g:1aUAAOSwrklhVry7

Adrenaline_6

01-10-22, 07:49

Yea...old school. Like mentioned above, the primary pair is usually a red and green or if it is a multi colored pair wire with the solid/striped wires, it is the blue pair. The rest of the mess is inconsequential and just there to confuse people...lol.

I would test to see if the primary pair coming into the house is the problem or is fine and your problem is past that point. See if you have about 48vdc voltage at that pair coming in (disconnect it from everything else first - if you have a short somewhere in the house, it will mess that reading up). You can even call it if you want, and see if you can see ring voltage (about 90vdc).

If everything checks out there, then you have a wire problem in the house. If all the wires going in to the house is all paralleled and connected at that block, then finding the bad pair should be easy. Test each pair individually that is connected until you find either a short with the other side open, or an open when the other side is shorted. When you find that wire, use a different good pair on that wire and mark the bad pair for future reference.

Edit: Don't hold the wires in your hands when ringing the phone. Nothing deadly, but it does hurt and causes swearing. I figure I add this before you come back on here and tell us about the great experience.

If you don't get any voltage on the main feed, one of the pairs probably broke or corroded. Cut the old stuff back, strip back new wire and test again.

markm

01-10-22, 09:53

It looks like there may be a newer run of house lines coming out of the wall below the block.

I'll take another look. I just saw the first mess, and went inside.

The_War_Wagon

01-10-22, 09:59

Man, That's a mess for sure! Well, there's always this for daytime communications.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133876267038?hash=item1f2ba5b81e:g:-18AAOSwn3thP7FM

For low light and night time use.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/403201318271?hash=item5de0abdd7f:g:1aUAAOSwrklhVry7

maybe a batch of these to connect all whom you know & love

https://www.ebay.com/itm/334228836678?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-213727-13078-0&mkcid=2&itemid=334228836678&targetid=4580496732614413&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=418233788&mkgroupid=1230353745471221&rlsatarget=pla-4580496732614413&abcId=9300542&merchantid=51291&msclkid=cfc812b2dcc015fa47bb736e8b409e5a

hotrodder636

01-10-22, 12:06

I have not had a land line since leaving my parents house when I went to Navy boot camp.

titsonritz

01-10-22, 14:24

I just moved out of a place that was a cell phone dead zone, if you want a phone there a landline is the only option

vandal5

01-11-22, 06:06

With that mess out side I'd open up a service ticket with your provider. As stated above anything from the handoff back to them is their responsibility. Even if you plan to disconnect I'd have them fix / update everything first. Don't cut any of that wiring or connections.

Seen customers do that and then they end up paying a lot of money to have it fixed.

We had a customer cut a bunch of lines into their building and it was going to cost them over 10k to fix it all. Want to say those were fiber lines but still. Customer made a huge mistake cutting them to install a loading or handicapped access ramp or something like that.

DeviousMind

01-11-22, 07:37

I am a phone tech with 24yrs service. In our area if the customer cannot plug into the dmarc to test wether trouble is inside or outside we can’t charge even if the trouble is inside. FCC says we have to supply a testing point for the customer. The pic markm posted is the old dmarc, if I’m on a service call I have to replace that with the current ONI that provides a testing point. Hope this helps.