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What's Normal? - Do you have a landline telephone at home? (1 Viewer)

Do you have a landline telephone at home?

  • Yes

    Votes: 36 19.7%

  • No

    Votes: 147 80.3%
  • Total voters
    183
I had one bundled into an internet cable package for several years, but got rid of it. I've been here 13 years and haven't had a phone plugged in for probably 12 of them.
 
We keep the landline because my Mom is 86 and my Father-in-law is 85. Our families have both bought cell phones for our respective families and paid the monthly bills but neither one of them will use the cell phones. Both had their internet removed as well, neither one of them wants it. I completely understand it but the only numbers either of them remember are the landline numbers. We've written it down, stuck it on their respective refrigerators, etc. but both refuse to call any number except for the landline. We've had the number for a few decades now so I suppose it's seared in. It's technically a VOIP line so it's included with our internet bill but, still, oof. Ah well.
 
Yes/no.

We stopped paying for a traditional landline about 20 years ago. Did fine without it. But, after having kids, we figured it would be best to have something at home.

I bought an Obi200 adapter about 10 years ago (maybe more) that I connect with a Google Voice phone number. It basically turns that Google Voice number into a landline since you can connect a traditional phone to it. It's a VoIP, so it's only good when we have Internet service, of course, but it doesn't cost us anything. The only thing it doesn't have is 911 service AFAIK, but otherwise it functions just the same. I could have signed up for that by paying local taxes (like $4/month) but just didn't see the need to bother.

So yeah, I have kinda have one, but I haven't paid for one in almost 20 years.
 
gianmarco said:
Yes/no.

We stopped paying for a traditional landline about 20 years ago. Did fine without it. But, after having kids, we figured it would be best to have something at home.

I bought an Obi200 adapter about 10 years ago (maybe more) that I connect with a Google Voice phone number. It basically turns that Google Voice number into a landline since you can connect a traditional phone to it. It's a VoIP, so it's only good when we have Internet service, of course, but it doesn't cost us anything. The only thing it doesn't have is 911 service AFAIK, but otherwise it functions just the same. I could have signed up for that by paying local taxes (like $4/month) but just didn't see the need to bother.

So yeah, I have kinda have one, but I haven't paid for one in almost 20 years.
Click to expand...
Seems there are no longer being sold/supported. Any idea if there is anything else that can be used in the same way?
 
I've heard that they get bombarded with scam calls trying to take advantage of older people so one more reason not to. But I think people that use a fax machine still need one.
 
No. Landline phones are pretty much pointless given the ubiquity of cell phones. I guess they might have their uses in very specific emergency situations, but besides that I'm unsure what the purpose even is.
 
Uruk-Hai said:
I had one bundled into an internet cable package for several years, but got rid of it. I've been here 13 years and haven't had a phone plugged in for probably 12 of them.
Click to expand...
👍🏽 we had one bundled in with cable and Internet until last year when I finally convinced the wife to ditch cable and shortly after switched internet providers to Verizon wireless after AT&T was taking a week to fix their line and I was working from home.
Even though we had the phone number, we never attached a phone. So we haven’t had a functional landline since 2010, at Fort Campbell.
 
Funny story...........1989, summer after I graduated from college. Go to visit my grandparents in Iowa. I get there and they have one phone in the kitchen (push button) and one in the GUEST bedroom (rotary). I tell them that they need to get a cordless so that when I call at night (paying long distance charges) they don't have to "rush" to the kitchen to get the phone, it can be sitting right next to them all night. We go to Walmart and get a pretty decent one (for back then). i get it all set up for them and show them how it works.

The next day their phone bill comes.............THEY WERE RENTING THE PHONES FROM SW BELL FOR $9.50/month AND paying INSURANCE for the WIRES/INSTALL of $3/month. So they were paying over $22/month for probably 15-20 years.

And to top it off, for the next 15 years until grandma passed, it took her 4/5 rings to run to the kitchen to get the phone that she had in the charger because "she was scared it would loose it's charge".
 
Have one.... part of package. It used to make sense when it was traditional we would have line in emergency, power failures etc

Now that it's part of package an VoIP it's useless if the power goes out etc....

We still have accounts tied to it and am just too lazy to go through the process of removing it out of our package lol
 
Keerock said:
gianmarco said:
Yes/no.

We stopped paying for a traditional landline about 20 years ago. Did fine without it. But, after having kids, we figured it would be best to have something at home.

I bought an Obi200 adapter about 10 years ago (maybe more) that I connect with a Google Voice phone number. It basically turns that Google Voice number into a landline since you can connect a traditional phone to it. It's a VoIP, so it's only good when we have Internet service, of course, but it doesn't cost us anything. The only thing it doesn't have is 911 service AFAIK, but otherwise it functions just the same. I could have signed up for that by paying local taxes (like $4/month) but just didn't see the need to bother.

So yeah, I have kinda have one, but I haven't paid for one in almost 20 years.
Click to expand...
Seems there are no longer being sold/supported. Any idea if there is anything else that can be used in the same way?
Click to expand...
Yep, this is another one.

And this is a very popular one that used to be more expensive

I haven't read or researched how well they play with Google Voice now, but this reddit thread might be worth looking at to make sure it works, etc
 
belljr said:
Have one.... part of package. It used to make sense when it was traditional we would have line in emergency, power failures etc

Now that it's part of package an VoIP it's useless if the power goes out etc....

We still have accounts tied to it and am just too lazy to go through the process of removing it out of our package lol
Click to expand...
This was pretty much exactly us until earlier this year when I realized my identity was being stolen and one of the things the person did was have Spectrum forward all our calls for that number to theirs (so they could get receive calls from bank with new credit card, etc). It was so seldom we got calls on that other than robo calls that we hadn't noticed.

That was the final motivation to cancel the phone (and then cancel the TV part and just stick to internet, but that's beside the point).
 
Haven't had a landline in probably 15 years. My parents just got rid of theirs, and it was bittersweet as it was the only number everyone in the family knew, for almost 50 years. We almost thought about transferring it to one of the grandkids that were getting a cell phone.
 
No.

However we do have an old cell phone that I have signed up for a google phone number that can receive text's and make phone calls over wifi.

This way we have a "home" phone that can be reached. We have kids that we are just starting to allow to stay at home for very short times by themselves and this gives them a communication device without having a land line.

I could also get them a traditional cell phone plan, but they do not need that yet and this saves some money.
 
MTskibum said:
No.

However we do have an old cell phone that I have signed up for a google phone number that can receive text's and make phone calls over wifi.

This way we have a "home" phone that can be reached. We have kids that we are just starting to allow to stay at home for very short times by themselves and this gives them a communication device without having a land line.

I could also get them a traditional cell phone plan, but they do not need that yet and this saves some money.
Click to expand...
Yeah this was the other reason we kept it for awhile. Kid getting off bus alone for an hour or so..... pre her getting a cell phone
 
MTskibum said:
No.

However we do have an old cell phone that I have signed up for a google phone number that can receive text's and make phone calls over wifi.

This way we have a "home" phone that can be reached. We have kids that we are just starting to allow to stay at home for very short times by themselves and this gives them a communication device without having a land line.

I could also get them a traditional cell phone plan, but they do not need that yet and this saves some money.
Click to expand...
How does this work exactly? I have an old phone with ATT service. Have to pay like $35/mo for it. Phone never leaves the house and would like to continue to receive texts/calls.
 
Keerock said:
MTskibum said:
No.

However we do have an old cell phone that I have signed up for a google phone number that can receive text's and make phone calls over wifi.

This way we have a "home" phone that can be reached. We have kids that we are just starting to allow to stay at home for very short times by themselves and this gives them a communication device without having a land line.

I could also get them a traditional cell phone plan, but they do not need that yet and this saves some money.
Click to expand...
How does this work exactly? I have an old phone with ATT service. Have to pay like $35/mo for it. Phone never leaves the house and would like to continue to receive texts/calls.
Click to expand...

With the google phone you cannot receive calls, only texts. However you can make calls. I also do not think it is possible to transfer a number. When I signed up it was difficult to find a number to use and I have an Los Angeles area code number.

I do not remember the exact process, but it was just a google phone app from the app store and following a guide on the internet.
 
An extra cell phone is an interesting idea. I don't see why you couldn't set up Google Voice on it and then just have it connected to your WiFi. You wouldn't need any cellular or data service so it wouldn't cost you anything. I would think Google Voice could function as an app and send/receive calls that way.
 
RG623 said:
Yes. Have a bundled package with TV and internet through Xfinity. Called a year ago to cancel the landline and they told me my bill would go up if we did :loco:.
Click to expand...
This is our situation as well. We have their quad-package (alarm/cable/phone/internet). You mess with any part of it, your bill suffers. We also have been with Xfinity so long, we have what is called a "legacy"
plan. I have had two of their reps look over the plan to see where we could save money and they both told me that I have so many things included with my plan for free, that they now charge for and if I make any changes, my bill would go up if I want to keep what I have.

I don't mind having the landline. We have the robo-blocker on it, so if any spam call comes in, it rings once and then cuts it off.
 
its Been at least 20 years without one.

eta. No it hasn’t! I just remembered I had one when I moved into this house. I had a bundled fax line/home phone. :lmao:

it’s been about 15 years without one.
 
We do...but I'm trying to get rid of it.
Old world - We had it because our cell signal was very unreliable, and our home alarm system communicated via land-line. It was via the phone company.
Current world - We switched to VOIP from our cable company, and have an internet-driven cell booster. I also recently put a new alarm in that uses the internet. Phone via the cable company
So basically the old reasons for having it (alarm system and cell signal) don't hold because if our cable is out, our phone is out, and our cell phones are out...So it's not really doing anything for us anymore.
 
Courtjester said:
RG623 said:
Yes. Have a bundled package with TV and internet through Xfinity. Called a year ago to cancel the landline and they told me my bill would go up if we did :loco:.
Click to expand...
This is our situation as well. We have their quad-package (alarm/cable/phone/internet). You mess with any part of it, your bill suffers. We also have been with Xfinity so long, we have what is called a "legacy"
plan. I have had two of their reps look over the plan to see where we could save money and they both told me that I have so many things included with my plan for free, that they now charge for and if I make any changes, my bill would go up if I want to keep what I have.

I don't mind having the landline. We have the robo-blocker on it, so if any spam call comes in, it rings once and then cuts it off.
Click to expand...

Robo-blocker is a game-changer. Our home phone used to ring 4-5 times a day with spam calls. Over the course of a few years, we get maybe 1 a week now.
 
Bought my house in 2009 and have never had a land line in it. My wife did have a WFH job for the first 2 years and she installed a fax machine so I guess technically we had a home phone number but we never hooked a phone to it, fax only.
 
I moved out of my parents house aged 18 before I graduated high school. I haven't had a landline ever since.
 
I remember having one in my apartment in my first year of law school 2005-2006. I think that was the last time.

I will say though that oddly enough they're necessary for somebody on house arrest and/or subjected to an in-home breathalyzer system. So, I know they're still around.
 
gianmarco said:
An extra cell phone is an interesting idea. I don't see why you couldn't set up Google Voice on it and then just have it connected to your WiFi. You wouldn't need any cellular or data service so it wouldn't cost you anything. I would think Google Voice could function as an app and send/receive calls that way.
Click to expand...
I have two cell phones. One personal, one for work. Mainly it's because my wife gets really panicked if she immediately cannot call me so she always wants me to have an available phone, but she also hates when I get client calls on a night or weekend when we're doing family stuff. So, for those times, or if I'm in a golf tournament or something and don't want to be reached for work purposes, it is nice leaving the work phone at home.

I've heard there's software now that allows you to program when you can take calls from certain numbers, but I honestly don't mind the multiple phones.
 
Sullie said:
We keep the landline because my Mom is 86 and my Father-in-law is 85. Our families have both bought cell phones for our respective families and paid the monthly bills but neither one of them will use the cell phones. Both had their internet removed as well, neither one of them wants it. I completely understand it but the only numbers either of them remember are the landline numbers. We've written it down, stuck it on their respective refrigerators, etc. but both refuse to call any number except for the landline. We've had the number for a few decades now so I suppose it's seared in. It's technically a VOIP line so it's included with our internet bill but, still, oof. Ah well.
Click to expand...

This is familiar. When we had our landline, the only time it rang, it was either my mom, or a telemarketer. Those were 100% of the calls. It took me forever to retrain my mom to call my cell. She'd call the home line, and I have her call me back on my cell. This went on for months. Finally, one day, my cell rang with a call from my mom, without the initial home line call. The next week, we dropped the home line.
 
Nope, haven't had one since 2012ish when I had a consulting business and I wanted a "business" number on top of my cell for some reason.

My mom still has one (business purposes), but she gave up their longtime "personal" landline maybe 8-9 years ago. It was kind of a bummer to see that number go away, since they'd had it since the 70's.
 
Yes. I hate talking long distance or calls that take a long time IE: holding or mom calls or just about any calls really on a cell. Handsets just feel right. juggling a small square for 10-15 mins just suxs. Now do I answer my landline ever? Nope.
 
I hung on for a long time despite my wife continuing to lobby to get rid of the land line. She complained that it was full of telemarketer messages and political crap near election times. We would never answer it and so she thought we should get rid of it. Her reasons for wanting to get rid of it were the exact reasons I wanted keep it. i thought it was a great filter and kept all that crap off of my cell phone. I had pretty much zero spam on my cell. Anytime I would need a phone number for something commercial, I would give the house phone. I didn't care that the house phone would get a bunch of junk messages. We weren't home during the day to listen to anyway. At the time, the cost was next to nothing to have the land line as it was part of a cable, internet, and phone bundle. Well we eventually cut the cable and blew up the bundle anyway and discontinued the land line. Now my cell phone gets more spam nonsense then it ever used to in the past...not as bad as the house phone did, but still annoying.
 
MTskibum said:
Keerock said:
MTskibum said:
No.

However we do have an old cell phone that I have signed up for a google phone number that can receive text's and make phone calls over wifi.

This way we have a "home" phone that can be reached. We have kids that we are just starting to allow to stay at home for very short times by themselves and this gives them a communication device without having a land line.

I could also get them a traditional cell phone plan, but they do not need that yet and this saves some money.
Click to expand...
How does this work exactly? I have an old phone with ATT service. Have to pay like $35/mo for it. Phone never leaves the house and would like to continue to receive texts/calls.
Click to expand...

With the google phone you cannot receive calls, only texts. However you can make calls. I also do not think it is possible to transfer a number. When I signed up it was difficult to find a number to use and I have an Los Angeles area code number.

I do not remember the exact process, but it was just a google phone app from the app store and following a guide on the internet.
Click to expand...
You can receive calls on your phone through google voice if you have a native number for the phone. So for Keerock, while you still have ATT, you can "link" your phone's native number with the google voice number that you choose. You will receive a verification call to confirm the link. Then you can stop paying ATT. However, I think google might re-verify yearly or quarterly so you could lose the ability to receive incoming calls. I have been using voice for many years. It's great. I especially like being able to text, make or receive calls, and read voicemail transcripts on my computer.
 
MAC_32 said:
belljr said:
MAC_32 said:
I moved out of my parents house aged 18 before I graduated high school. I haven't had a landline ever since.
Click to expand...
Did you have to use a payphone? :hophead:
Click to expand...
The extent of my pay phone usage:

**you have a collect call from**

MOMPICKMEUP

**do you accept the charges?**
Click to expand...
Paperclip trick actually worked for a while. Can't remember exactly but paper clip in mouthpiece, other end in somewhere and magically free phone calls.

Anyone else remember this?
 
Caveman33 said:
MTskibum said:
Keerock said:
MTskibum said:
No.

However we do have an old cell phone that I have signed up for a google phone number that can receive text's and make phone calls over wifi.

This way we have a "home" phone that can be reached. We have kids that we are just starting to allow to stay at home for very short times by themselves and this gives them a communication device without having a land line.

I could also get them a traditional cell phone plan, but they do not need that yet and this saves some money.
Click to expand...
How does this work exactly? I have an old phone with ATT service. Have to pay like $35/mo for it. Phone never leaves the house and would like to continue to receive texts/calls.
Click to expand...

With the google phone you cannot receive calls, only texts. However you can make calls. I also do not think it is possible to transfer a number. When I signed up it was difficult to find a number to use and I have an Los Angeles area code number.

I do not remember the exact process, but it was just a google phone app from the app store and following a guide on the internet.
Click to expand...
You can receive calls on your phone through google voice if you have a native number for the phone. So for Keerock, while you still have ATT, you can "link" your phone's native number with the google voice number that you choose. You will receive a verification call to confirm the link. Then you can stop paying ATT. However, I think google might re-verify yearly or quarterly so you could lose the ability to receive incoming calls. I have been using voice for many years. It's great. I especially like being able to text, make or receive calls, and read voicemail transcripts on my computer.
Click to expand...
I’m still not sure how to do this and my google skills must not be good enough to figure out how. Help!
 
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