Landline Phone, Not Cell Phones

[RuralKanuck]

An interesting discussion, as long time rural guy my main phone has been copper land line all my life....until the last few years. Over the last 3 or 4 years my phone was increasingly not working and was not getting fixed for days or in some cases weeks. As a former electrician I started quizzing the technicians as to the problem and learned that the lines up the road had been long shot and replacement lines had been just thrown in the ditch where the township weed trimming was trimming them also!!

My only other alternative at that time was cell or internet (VOIP), having found that cell at this location was very unreliable and that SIMPLE cell phones were practically unavailable I went with VOIP. Worked just fine, bit of a pause to get first connected and some poor connections at first but better than no service. One big draw back that I suspect many folks are not aware of, if you loose household power you loose phone, at the one moment where you may need the phone most it does not work......UNLESS you have back up power!

In my case I now have a back up battery bank feeding into a power supply for the phone (and the internet supply which in my most recent update to fiber optics phone is the same thing) so I have at least couple of hours or more of phone when things go to hell.

All in all its been a learning experience, I had thought that upgrading to fiber optics directly into the house would give me phone without domestic power, that is not the case (at least in my case). I cant speak to the reliability of cell out in the boonies with power out but it seems to old days of reliable phone during an emergency is a thing of the past … am I wrong and just living in the dark ages?

 

[Oldeagle66]

An interesting discussion, as long time rural guy my main phone has been copper land line all my life....until the last few years. Over the last 3 or 4 years my phone was increasingly not working and was not getting fixed for days or in some cases weeks. As a former electrician I started quizzing the technicians as to the problem and learned that the lines up the road had been long shot and replacement lines had been just thrown in the ditch where the township weed trimming was trimming them also!!

My only other alternative at that time was cell or internet (VOIP), having found that cell at this location was very unreliable and that SIMPLE cell phones were practically unavailable I went with VOIP. Worked just fine, bit of a pause to get first connected and some poor connections at first but better than no service. One big draw back that I suspect many folks are not aware of, if you loose household power you loose phone, at the one moment where you may need the phone most it does not work......UNLESS you have back up power!

In my case I now have a back up battery bank feeding into a power supply for the phone (and the internet supply which in my most recent update to fiber optics phone is the same thing) so I have at least couple of hours or more of phone when things go to hell.

All in all its been a learning experience, I had thought that upgrading to fiber optics directly into the house would give me phone without domestic power, that is not the case (at least in my case). I cant speak to the reliability of cell out in the boonies with power out but it seems to old days of reliable phone during an emergency is a thing of the past … am I wrong and just living in the dark ages?

I know the feeling and not happy. I read there are adapter kits for that problem. I will be looking into this soon.

 

[mrstime]

We have a landline phone and that is all. Our son who also lives here has a cell phone, he needs it for his business. If they made cell phones as easy as landline phones to use I would consider a cell phone but until that time I'm sticking to my landline!

 

[MACKTEXAS]

All in all its been a learning experience, I had thought that upgrading to fiber optics directly into the house would give me phone without domestic power, that is not the case (at least in my case). I cant speak to the reliability of cell out in the boonies with power out but it seems to old days of reliable phone during an emergency is a thing of the past … am I wrong and just living in the dark ages?

Back when I had a copper-wired landline, which was over 2 years ago, an excavation crew on a road project severed a major line which serviced my area and everyone who had AT&T landlines around here had no service for about a week. When I called from a cell phone to report the outage, I was unable to reach a live technician and instead, I got a recording with something like "we are aware of an issue in your area and are working to resolve it." At that time, I also had AT&T DSL, so it was also out. This is an example that landlines aren't failsafe.

There were other occasions when I had a landline outage, and when it was reported, I would be given a date 3-4 days off when they could come out. Back in the 1980's, when a landline went out, it was treated as a critical issue. I recall one time back then when a technician came out on Thanksgiving to restore service. It's not like that anymore - at least not in my state.

My cell service has never dropped a call, but a "cell out in the boonies," as you say, is still a problem for some people living in an isolated farming community not too far west of me. Some of them get intermittent cellular service at best, so they're probably trying to keep their landlines as long as possible, or until more towers are installed.

 

[That Lady in PA]

If they made cell phones as easy as landline phones to use I would consider a cell phone but until that time I'm sticking to my landline!

Well, they are as easy to use. The only difference is that you need to charge the batteries.

Dialing numbers is the same on both!

 

[mrstime]

Well, they are as easy to use. The only difference is that you need to charge the batteries.

Dialing numbers is the same on both!

I had a cell phone and never figured it out!!

 

[Sunny]

OK, I'll say one good thing about the land lines: at least you always know where the damn phone is!

 

[ChiroDoc]

...Courtney says the landline phones still allow her kids to have plenty of conversations with friends. The family is part of a new trend where parents worried about what cell phones could do to their kids' mental health, say “no” to cell phones.

What do you think about this?

 

[Tommy]

Well, they are as easy to use. The only difference is that you need to charge the batteries.

Dialing numbers is the same on both!

Not so for me. Our landline handsets have nice, big, raised, real buttons that are easy to use. My cell phone has little, tiny, fussy, touch screen "buttons" that I find difficult to hit with my full sized, adult male fingertips.

 

[Flarbalard]

Well, they are as easy to use. The only difference is that you need to charge the batteries.

Dialing numbers is the same on both!

I have to disagree. A lot depends on a persons physical condition. Someone with unsteady, arthritic hands, or other physical maladies has a more difficult time than using a regular old phone. Add to that the additional steps ( complexities if it's all new to the user) and they're significantly more difficult-- especially in a stress situation-- for some people to use.

I believe all these things could easily be over come with a niche market phone, but the potential market is too small and as time passes it will dwindle into insignificance, if it isn't already.

 

[That Lady in PA]

. Someone with unsteady, arthritic hands, or other physical maladies has a more difficult time than using a regular old phone.

That would be me!

It is apparent that those who are opposed to cell phones will never consider that they can be very useful, even to those with "issues".
I will stop championing them on this thread, even though the excuses put out here can be countered. Closed minds cannot be opened by me...

 

[MACKTEXAS]

That would be me!

It is apparent that those who are opposed to cell phones will never consider that they can be very useful, even to those with "issues".
I will stop championing them on this thread, even though the excuses put out here can be countered. Closed minds cannot be opened by me...

I think maybe they're writing about flip phones that have little buttons. A full size Android or IPhone would remedy some of the issues.

 

[Flarbalard]

That would be me!

It is apparent that those who are opposed to cell phones will never consider that they can be very useful, even to those with "issues".
I will stop championing them on this thread, even though the excuses put out here can be countered. Closed minds cannot be opened by me...

Please don't stop expressing your views. I only said and gave a few reasons why they simply aren't as easy to use as an old style land line telephone.

 

[Flarbalard]

I think maybe they're writing about flip phones that have little buttons. A full size Android or IPhone would remedy some of the issues.

Actually I was referring to both, for different reasons. Even with an android there is more to it than just picking it up and entering a number like an old line line phone, a person still has to get to the right screen, so more steps, more complicated.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

Actually I was referring to both, for different reasons. Even with an android there is more to it than just picking it up and entering a number like an old line line phone, a person still has to get to the right screen, so more steps, more complicated.

I pick up my Android then:

1. touch my finger to the slot in back
2. touch the phone app on screen
3. touch the keypad icon that looks like this:

4. then the numbers come up and I dial the number.
(If the person I want to call is in my contacts list, all I have to do is touch their name instead of dialing their number. That's a great convenience to me.)

 

[hawkdon]

I have a cheap Lively flip phone/texter, but my hands being so
dam old and weak I'm having great difficulty sending a text out.....

 

[Jazzy1]

I have a cheap Lively flip phone/texter, but my hands being so
dam old and weak I'm having great difficulty sending a text out.....

Maybe this will work for you: To send a text message by voice on a flip phone, open a new message, and look for a microphone icon or a way to activate voice input by pressing a key like "OK". If you see a microphone icon, tap it, speak your message, and then tap it again to finish. If there's no icon, you may need to press and hold a specific key, like the "OK" button, to activate listening mode, according to sources like this YouTube video

 

[hawkdon]

There is no function like that on my phone, but thanks....

 

[astralcat]

You CAN leave the cell phone at home, or in your car/purse/pocket. You do not have to be 'attached' to it at all. You don't even have to turn it on until you need it!

I am not attached to it in the way that I cannot be without it. I meant attached as being available to any texts/calls that come in. Of course I carry my cell phone in my handbag and when driving will not use it. I also will not respond to calls if I am in a store – I wait until I am in my car, then I will check incoming texts. With a landline, there were no interruptions if you were out – you had to wait until you got home to check your messages or call display.

 

[stronics]

Without cell phones where will we get out next billionaires.
David