LabattBlue Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 Not to nitpik, but I would not consider those with a phone using VoIP(phone service through cable provider) to be a "landline".
bills_fan Posted November 20, 2019 Posted November 20, 2019 I don't have one any longer. But it sure came in handy when NYC had the blackout in like 2003. Nothing worked except the landlines. Cell phones did not work at all. I often wonder if I should get one just for emergency purposes.
ALF Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 On 11/19/2019 at 5:29 PM, Not at the table Karlos said: Cable and internet are cheaper with it. It rings 25 times a day because of robo calls or scams. If Spectrum triple play use there nomorobo ( one ring ) and peace and quiet . Block numbers that get thru. If I don't recognize a number on caller ID let it go to voice mail . A scam rarely leaves a message. Numbers and names on caller ID can be faked. 1
/dev/null Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 5 hours ago, Virgil said: What the hell is a landline? Okay boomer
SoTier Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 I was an "early ditcher" of the landline, about 10 years ago. I got tired of paying to give telephone solicitors and political robocallers easy access to annoy me.
Saxum Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 3 hours ago, /dev/null said: Okay boomer Can't be a boomer. Every boomer I know knows how to use google to make themselves not look silly when asking questions. Maybe a buster?
The Jokeman Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 3 hours ago, ALF said: If Spectrum triple play use there nomorobo ( one ring ) and peace and quiet . Block numbers that get thru. If I don't recognize a number on caller ID let it go to voice mail . A scam rarely leaves a message. Numbers and names on caller ID can be faked. It works great for me that and the Do Not Call.gov list.
row_33 Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 17 hours ago, LabattBlue said: Not to nitpik, but I would not consider those with a phone using VoIP(phone service through cable provider) to be a "landline". you are one who boasts about cutting cable but has 12 other online services that run up twice the cost of cable?
Augie Posted November 21, 2019 Author Posted November 21, 2019 12 hours ago, Virgil said: What the hell is a landline? It’s that thing on the wall above your phone book.
Virgil Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 1 hour ago, Augie said: It’s that thing on the wall above your phone book. What the ***** is a phone book?!!!
Augie Posted November 21, 2019 Author Posted November 21, 2019 18 minutes ago, Virgil said: What the ***** is a phone book?!!! Please try to keep up, it’s right below the landline on the kitchen wall. It only works of you know your ABC’s. How are you there? It’s like your contacts in your phone, except it has everybody, so it’s much less exclusive. Some people opt out of being included, which is what I want from these stinking robocallers! (Just got another!) To be serious, I really don’t remember when they went away. I remember we had them, then at some point we didn’t. Maybe now you could find one at a pay phone? You know, if you could find a pay phone.......
shrader Posted November 21, 2019 Posted November 21, 2019 My house was built 4 years ago. I did have phone connections placed in a couple rooms. But now that I think about it, those lines aren't actually connected to anything. Whoever it is that actually provides the service for a landline nowadays would have had to come out and connect that line to the house the same way my internet provided did when I signed up, right?
KD in CA Posted November 22, 2019 Posted November 22, 2019 4 hours ago, Virgil said: What the ***** is a phone book?!!! It's the fat book with the white pages that is sitting under your Yellow Pages book.
LabattBlue Posted November 22, 2019 Posted November 22, 2019 8 hours ago, row_33 said: you are one who boasts about cutting cable but has 12 other online services that run up twice the cost of cable? Huh???
Augie Posted November 22, 2019 Author Posted November 22, 2019 45 minutes ago, KD in CA said: It's the fat book with the white pages that is sitting under your Yellow Pages book. It was the original booster seat, as I recall.
Keukasmallies Posted November 22, 2019 Posted November 22, 2019 Yep, have a landline. Wife has an implanted defibrillator that communicates with her cardiologist over the phone line. That's the sole reason for a landline in my mind; my wife is firmly grounded in the 50's and can't imagine living w/o a landline.
Hapless Bills Fan Posted November 23, 2019 Posted November 23, 2019 On 11/19/2019 at 3:30 PM, Augie said: Do you still have a landline? I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and my wife brought up ditching the home phone just last night after yet another robocall. I average 4-6 robocalls/day and they seem to be getting worse. I don’t need a car warranty, I don’t have any federal student loans and I don’t need a lower interest rate on my credit cards. Half the time there isn’t even anything on the other end, just silence. I block the numbers, but I don’t think that even slows them down. For us it’s not the cost (but that IS is a real thing), just the annoyance of robocalls. We still have the home phone for two reasons. We can call our cell phone if we can’t find it (very rare) and it will tell emergency services where we are if we ever need to call 911 (has NEVER happened, and hope it never will, but....) It’s gotten to the point that legit calls come in (very rarely) and I start out with a nasty, disgusted tone until I realize it’s real and someone I need. How about you? We still have our landline phone number, but it's no longer a landline. It's a free Google Voice VOIP number. We've had this for years - maybe 5? Advantages: -keep the landline number various blast from the past friends and relatives have -EXCELLENT spam blocking. Google Voice keeps a registry, and the robo-calls have plummeted -unlimited call blocking -messages and transcription -can forward landline calls to a cell phone and take your landline calls from anywhere in the world that has cell service -still have 911 location services for a small annual fee -ditch the costs of the landline Disadvantages: -if your internet goes down, so does your landline -occasionally get poor voice quality and need to reboot router to make it work (maybe 1-2x a year, usually after a storm) -occasionally need to upgrade firmware on Obibox to keep it working -you do need some degree of technical savvy to set it up - not much, but some. The expenses involved are internet service (which we would have anyway) and a $12 or 15 yearly fee to Anveo for 911 location services. (The local 911 dispatcher kindly verified for us that it works). Setup required a 1x-purchase of a device called an Obibox that plugs into the router and the landline phone to allow Google Voice to work on ordinary house phones (about $70) and a 1x expense of a sim card for a cell phone (about $5, we used an old Blackberry Pearl cell phone and just bought the card). There are several blurbs that describe how to do it if anyone wants to give it a try. You need the cell phone sim card to keep your landline phone number because you can't transfer a landline number directly to Google voice. You initially transfer the landline number to the cell phone sim card, then transfer it to Google voice. I consider it a best-of-both-worlds solution. Sounds like Hypnotoad has a similar setup but he didn't mention the 911 thing. On 11/19/2019 at 7:16 PM, KD in CA said: Why do so many of you have robo calls? The Do Not Call registry still works. True story. Used to get next to no robo calls on my cell phone. Registered cell phone number with state and federal DNC lists Now get dozens I swear, unscrupulous telemarketers mine those lists as sources of verified good phone numbers. 1 1
Augie Posted November 23, 2019 Author Posted November 23, 2019 I am up late watching my college hoops team in a tournament. It’s far from over. I was up late last night after watching the same tournament. The robocalls started at 9:02am this morning. They don’t even have anyone one the other end, they just ring the phone, invade my house and wake me up! Then silence.......nobody to yell at! That’s just wrong!
KD in CA Posted November 23, 2019 Posted November 23, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: True story. Used to get next to no robo calls on my cell phone. Registered cell phone number with state and federal DNC lists Now get dozens I swear, unscrupulous telemarketers mine those lists as sources of verified good phone numbers. Huh. I was actually being serious...haven't had a spam call on my home phone in years. Cell phone is getting bad though -- I never answer a strange number. But most of it is not scam/spam type of stuff, it's jr sale reps trying to sell me ***** since my cell phone doubles as my business number. Edited November 23, 2019 by KD in CA
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