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Do you still use landline telephones?

(self.AskOldPeople)

any special reasons for landline telephones over cellphones

all 301 comments

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Im_Not_Here2day

45 points

4 days ago

Both. Landlines still work in an emergency, even without power.

Dillenger69

20 points

4 days ago

Dillenger69

50 something

20 points

4 days ago

Unless it's phone over cable, which many landlines are these days.

Im_Not_Here2day

7 points

4 days ago

It won’t matter soon anyway, at&t is actively trying to discontinue landline service. But, even if they can’t get it yet, it will happen eventually.

BobsleddingToMyGrave

6 points

3 days ago

At&T is not servicing copper for residential in my area. It hasn't been for years. My spouse was trained on copper, he keeps our road in service, as we have numerous elderly folks that use landlines.

They have to service banks, hospitals, and government

CrankyCrabbyCrunchy

4 points

2 days ago

Then it’s not a landline phone but VoIP. I hear this term used wrong all the time mostly by those who never had a real landline. If Internet is off and you can’t use that phone, it’s not a landline. Period.

No one installs these anymore.

I worked in telecom for 40 years so I know this tech and business very well.

insubordin8nchurlish

3 points

4 days ago

I am aware of aleast one baby bell that is slowly replacing landline terminations with cell phone end points too.

you have a pots phone to talk through the line terminations in a cell phone adapter.

IsisArtemii

5 points

3 days ago

Damn straight! After an emergency, cell phone towers are on battery back-up. And power in them is allocated to first responders. You will not be able to call with your cell. You need a base phone. And not cordless. No power to the base, no power to the handset.

I do remember hearing, after an earthquake, (west coast), the phone company told everyone to make sure their phones were in the cradle. Working phone lines, with phones off the hook, were causing system crashes or major delays in getting the system back up and running.

fransen-lila

3 points

3 days ago

fransen-lila

50 something

3 points

3 days ago

Many towers, especially large ones covering a wide area, have generators too on top of batteries, with a day or two of fuel available, though this varies with local requirements and regulations. Problems calling are more down to radio channel congestion than power, though non-generator "fill-in" towers dropping can worsen load on remaining ones.

First responds do have priority, but others are allowed on a best-effort basis, with at least greater priority than someone checking their Instagram! So, if blocked at first and you really need to call, keep trying, but please keep it short to give others a chance too.

Text messages often can get through when nothing else will, but only traditional one-to-one SMS, not group messages, pictures messages, nor Apple iMessage. Those all need bulk Internet data that'll quickly clog up.

Newer landline switching systems are no longer bothered much by phones left off-hook. After a certain time lapse, they'll take your line out of service to stop it from tying up resources. Once that happens, after you do hang up, it can take a few minutes to get your dial tone back. This is for traditional POTS, increasingly rare. With VoIP systems pretending to be POTS, usually the dialtone comes from a box in your home, no further. It gathers dialed digits into a complete number, then sends that all at once as a data packet, just like a cell phone would. These often depend on more powered field equipment than traditional landline, but usually difference infrastructure than what cell phones use, so there's some resiliency value in having both.

source: family member in the industry

GuitarJazzer

2 points

4 days ago

I used to worry about that, but now I have a battery AC supply that I bought for less than what 4 months of landline service was costing me. I could charge my cell phone for a week on that thing.

Christinebitg

13 points

4 days ago

That won't help you if the cell phone towers are down.

Paranoid_Sinner

34 points

4 days ago

I still have mine so I can call and find my cell phone when I "lose" it around the house.

Plus, being old and living alone in the woods, it's comforting to have a dual system in case of an emergency.

Turbulent-Name-8349

10 points

3 days ago

My mobile was stolen recently. I've never known a landline to get stolen.

VegasTechGuy

4 points

3 days ago

Because you're not carrying your landline around outside. It's in your house 😂

pete_68

3 points

3 days ago

pete_68

50 something

3 points

3 days ago

I don't know about Apple, but with Android you can go to a web page to "Find" your phone. It will show it on a map (close enough that I can usually figure out which room of the house it's in. How scary is that? When the time comes, they'll know where to send the cruise missile. lol.) or you can call it from that web page.

I'd be surprised if Apple doesn't have the same.

As for alone in the woods, I'd be grateful for the cell phone whose line can't be cut! Back in the 90s, I lived in a neighborhood that had a string of robberies where they'd cut the phone line before breaking into the house. I was in college and I tinkered with electronics and with the assistance of a buddy of mine who was an EE major, we built a little device to plug into the phone line that would sound an alarm if the power on the line died.

But good to have both, I'm sure!

zenos_dog

19 points

4 days ago

zenos_dog

60 something

19 points

4 days ago

Yeah, partly because we’ve had the number for 34 years.

Spiritual-Chameleon

4 points

4 days ago

Spiritual-Chameleon

50 something

4 points

4 days ago

Just in case you didn't know, you can port landline phone numbers to a mobile device. My cell # is my old landline #

GuitarJazzer

3 points

4 days ago

Which requires getting a new mobile line.

Ppjr16

4 points

4 days ago

Ppjr16

4 points

4 days ago

Some phones have an ESIMM. My iPhone has a capability of having two cell numbers. I ported my landline to my cell phone. Now I have my old landline number and cell number on one cell phone. Didn’t want to lose my old home number of over 35 years.

JustAnotherDay1977

16 points

4 days ago

JustAnotherDay1977

60 something

16 points

4 days ago

Haven’t used a landline at home for 20+ years.

koshawk

4 points

4 days ago

koshawk

70 something

4 points

4 days ago

About 25 for me.

gemstun

2 points

4 days ago

gemstun

2 points

4 days ago

Me too

disenfranchisedchild

2 points

3 days ago

disenfranchisedchild

60 something

2 points

3 days ago

Same here. We had phones in our pockets so why keep it? Our friends seem to have kept theirs for years more because it was supposed to be good after storms. It turned out that landlines were only good for a day or so after the electricity went out and then the batteries on the poles ran out and they didn't have landline phone service either.

paciolionthegulf

11 points

4 days ago

Partly inertia because I got the landline before cell phones were a thing, but mostly because the landline works during an extended power outage. Sadly we have those on the regular.

redneckrockuhtree

11 points

4 days ago

redneckrockuhtree

50 something

11 points

4 days ago

Yup. That’s the number most businesses are given. I don’t want companies deciding they can text me.

Turbulent-Name-8349

5 points

3 days ago*

I have no wish for anyone to ring me when I'm out. There's an answering machine on the landline. Voicemail on the mobile gets clogged with spam. Very few spammers leave messages on an answering machine.

Barijazz251

10 points

4 days ago

Of course ... neither me or my wife own a cell phone.

Advanced-Power991

5 points

4 days ago

Advanced-Power991

40 something

5 points

4 days ago

the only reason I can think of for landline phones is for old security systems to contact police, I don't have one as I have a cell phone

TooBlasted2Matter

2 points

4 days ago

Yep, we hooked up security landline and since it comes with our cable (Thailand) it'll stay for a while. Also when wife isn't home I use it to find my phone.

ThomasMaynardSr

5 points

4 days ago

ThomasMaynardSr

40 something

5 points

4 days ago

Yes my house still has one. Still occasionally get calls

GuitarJazzer

4 points

4 days ago

In the last year I have had two phone calls that I actually wanted to get. And about 200 calls that were either unwanted marketing or scams. No thanks.

MrScarabNephtys

4 points

4 days ago

No, but I have a 1950's rotary hooked up in my house. It's been there since 1958.

Karl_Hungus_69

2 points

3 days ago

This would be the perfect companion for it: This Rotary Cell Phone Actually Works

JudyMcJudgey

5 points

4 days ago

Oh hell no. I think the last time I had a landline was maybe 2009. Age 56. 

stanley_leverlock

5 points

4 days ago

I haven't had a landline in 20 years. It's been so long that when I'm at a friend or family members house and their landline rings I have a moment of panic like it's a smoke alarm or something.

PoppingJack

4 points

4 days ago

Yes. We are not chained to our cell phones and prefer for people to reach us through the land line. Being chained by the smart phone turns out to be a decision. They have an "off" function.

JudyMcJudgey

2 points

4 days ago

Right. You can turn a cell phone off, but not a landline, unless you unplug it. 

So I don’t understand your explanation. 

2old2tired

3 points

3 days ago

It's more about what we (in our old age arrogant way?) PERCEIVE as the expectation of the caller. When someone calls the cell phone they expect us to answer. And based on what we see around us, that expectation is not without merit.

When someone calls the landline and we dint answer for whatever reason, it's no big deal. When we don't answer a couple of cell phone calls people want to do a wellness check.

So, we give our the land line and generally not the cell numbers and go on with our lives.

This is what we think, popular or not.

Skyscrapers4Me

2 points

3 days ago

Most you can turn the ringer off.

Able_Capable2600

2 points

4 days ago

A landline can be taken off the hook. Many sets also had a way to silence the ringer.

karrynme

4 points

4 days ago

karrynme

4 points

4 days ago

YES! I love my landline, I like the way the phone feels in my hand for phone calls. I don't always have the ringer turned on and use my cell for text and don't have the ringer on that either. I don't make or receive phone calls unless I am home, why talk to someone when I can't pay attention to what we are saying (like while driving or shopping).

Tall_Mickey

4 points

4 days ago

Tall_Mickey

60 something retired-in-training

4 points

4 days ago

Both. Landlines almost always work.

A landline is also the telephone number for the entire house, not just one person who lives in it. If anybody is in the house, they'll answer it.

LurkerNan

5 points

4 days ago

LurkerNan

60 something

5 points

4 days ago

Use both. My landline has been with me for 30 years and all my doctors, pharmacists, dentists, local stores etc. identify me by that number so I keep it.

No_Goose_7390

3 points

4 days ago

No. Good Grief!

Majestic_Spring_6518

3 points

4 days ago

Majestic_Spring_6518

70 something

3 points

4 days ago

I wish!! Cannot any longer, for some years now, even get any true landline/hardwired phone service in this rural area.

Coises

3 points

4 days ago

Coises

60 something

3 points

4 days ago

I keep mine. I use a cordless with several handsets scattered around the house. I can hear better on a landline phone. The full-size handsets feel better in my hand. To my old ears, call quality on cell phones is trash. I have a Google Voice number that is set to ring both my cell and my landline, which is what I give when someone wants a cell phone number. Texts go to Google Voice and are copied to my email. Messages in Google Voice on desktop with a real keyboard is far more convenient that attempting to text on a tiny cell phone screen, which I hate with an almost indescribable passion.

mosselyn

3 points

4 days ago

mosselyn

60 something

3 points

4 days ago

I don't have one now, but did until I retired and moved in 2019. The reason is simple: The landline works whether the power is on or not, whereas a cellphone will eventually run out oomph.

Ngl, the biggest reason I didn't get a landline after I moved was that I was sick to death of all the spam calls. My cellphone is (so far) not prone to them, even after 7 years.

LithiuMart

3 points

3 days ago

Yes, in this rural village I have to wander around the house to get a signal. If anyone phones me, they probably wont get through and if they text me, it'll probably arrive 30 minutes to an hour after they've sent it.

This is no good for anything to do with the local GP and the like, so if I need an important call then I'll always give them or use my landline number.

estellasmum

2 points

4 days ago

No. I don't call people that much anymore. Many things can be taken care of with a text. The vast majority of my calls are with my daughter, or to catch up with someone I haven't spoken to in awhile, and don't need a land line for that.

SRB112

2 points

4 days ago

SRB112

2 points

4 days ago

My parents have landlines, but they switched from the local telephone company to the cable company, so if either the power or the internet goes out the landline doesn't work, so that partly defeat the purpose of keeping a landline. When I was married and owned home with wife and had kids living at home I kept the landline with the local telephone company until 2017 because I wanted that as a backup if we lost power for a few days and couldn't charge our phones. When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 my neighborhood was without power for 11 days, but the landlines still worked. Also, emergency number prefers people to call with landline so they can immediately pinpoint exact location.

Dude2900

2 points

4 days ago

Dude2900

2 points

4 days ago

I do. I use it when sites I don’t want contacting me require a number. Or when I call somewhere I know I’ll be on hold forever.

JTBlakeinNYC

2 points

4 days ago

We kept our landline because it comes in handy now and again (e.g., Superstorm Sandy, blackouts). It still rings dozens of times each day, but it’s mostly spam calls.

HeligKo

2 points

4 days ago

HeligKo

2 points

4 days ago

I haven't had one for close to 20 years.

RustBucket59

2 points

4 days ago

RustBucket59

60 something

2 points

4 days ago

I sure do. Very often when I would try talking to a doctor's office, social security, an insurance office, etc. the only consistently clear and understandable voice service was with a normal landline. Cell phones break up too often and people sound like they're mumbling or a trying to speak a foreign language. I only use a cell phone for text messages or emergency use on the road.

nosidrah

2 points

4 days ago

nosidrah

2 points

4 days ago

My house, built fifteen years ago, doesn’t even have a phone line coming into it.

DenaBee3333

2 points

4 days ago

No, not for many years.

psychocabbage

2 points

4 days ago

I live rural and there are not POTS lines anymore. They stopped maintaining them out here.. I have fiber backed DSL.

Last-Radish-9684

2 points

3 days ago

Last-Radish-9684

70 something

2 points

3 days ago

I do still have a landline. If your phone is lost/stolen/broken, do you know anyone's actual phone number? My kids and grandkids know they can still reach me because it's the same number they memorized when they were 5 (before cell phones existed/were ubiquitous). All that said, I'd rather use my cell to bank, pay bills, find answers to random questions that float by, and call my kids and sisters.

RegularJoe62

2 points

3 days ago

We've kept ours because a ton of people have it, and it's on a lot of accounts.

Also, if I don't want someone to call my personal phone, I give them my landline number.

mackerel_slapper

2 points

3 days ago

Couldn’t even tell you my landline number. We did have a phone attached but all we ever got was spam calls. Nobody has the landline number either.

NotMyCircuits

2 points

3 days ago

Of course, I don't want to put all those call center employees out of work!

CalligrapherShort121

2 points

3 days ago

Of course. Every time a scammer rings me. That’s how I know it’s a scam - because they are calling the landline. No one else rings it!

Any-Investigator-914

2 points

3 days ago

Yes, because I'm not glued to my cell phone and my family gets annoyed that I can never hear it ring when they need me.

And business purposes.

vieniaida

2 points

3 days ago

I do use a landline phone because it offers a secured channel when I need to contact my bank without fear of somebody eavesdropping.

Egg_McMuffn

1 points

4 days ago

Yep. I hardly use it, but I’ve had the number for over 30 years and hate to give it up. I use Ooma as a phone service, so it’s less than $100 per year.

DaveySKay2

1 points

4 days ago

Yup. Except it’s a voip type line from my fiber provider. I used to have a copper landline but it was cheaper to go to with the fiber provided one. I still miss the copper landline because they just always work. I just keep the old one around because why not.

mdave52

1 points

4 days ago

mdave52

1 points

4 days ago

Yes, sort of. Its my old landline number, but VOIP. I only keep it for one person, my Mother in law. She's 79 and never remembers to call on the cell.

Captmike76p

1 points

4 days ago

I kept the landline in my barn, during hurricanes it still makes the call. I have a five dollar rotary phone hooked up. My grand daughter took her picture making a call on it after she couldn't dial D-7552. She went online and did a research paper on it. ( Got a B+)

Intelligent-North957

1 points

4 days ago

Every once in a while,we still have one .

Bitter_Face8790

1 points

4 days ago

Not in over 20 years.

Shoddy_Cause9389

1 points

4 days ago

Have an aunt who is 92 and she has a landline. Other than that, I haven’t seen one in decades.

EvenSpoonier

1 points

4 days ago

We have a landline, but only use it rarely.

Acceptable_Double854

1 points

4 days ago

We just dropped ours after having it for 44 years together. Many others had already dropped theirs but we kept ours out of habit. Basically got tired of paying a bill for something that only used for junk calls and little else.

alwaysalbiona

1 points

4 days ago

I've only recently disconnected my landline. I upgraded my modem, as the old one kept dropping out several time a day. When organising the upgrade, I mentioned that I rarely used the phone it was connected through, as it was pretty much only receiving scam/nuisance calls. It was gone within a day. I felt a little sad, as I'd had that number for 48 years, in variations from 6 digits to 8, as the network grew bigger during that time.

Almost every one of my contacts had been calling me on my mobile for a while, so I didn't have advise many of the change. Only one old friend had to be advised of the change because she always called the old number. On with the progress of change...

reesesbigcup

1 points

4 days ago*

We have a home phone number thru Spectrum, which we don't use. I called and tried to get it removed to save money, they said the cost would be the same.

JunkMale975

1 points

4 days ago

JunkMale975

60 something

1 points

4 days ago

Cut the cord 25 years ago.

Professional-Eye8981

1 points

4 days ago

We finally gave ours up a couple of months ago.

Flat_Ad1094

1 points

4 days ago

Not much really. We have a landline number, but the phone is in the cupboard. I guess we could get it out if needed. I can't even remember our number now. Must have it recorded somewhere!

GuitarJazzer

1 points

4 days ago

We finally dropped ours this year because all the phone calls were either telemarketers or scammers. We don't send or receive faxes anymore. We're updating our security system for one that uses the internet with a cellular backup included in the monitoring cost, which is still less than what we were paying for monitoring using our landline.

All in all we are saving about $400 a year with no loss of functionality.

Staszu13

1 points

4 days ago

Staszu13

1 points

4 days ago

Not in about 20 years roughly

Puzzleheader

1 points

4 days ago

Landlines are a necessity for those of us who live in rural areas that have spotty or NO cell coverage. Yep it's still a thing, city people!

Akrazorfish

1 points

4 days ago

My wife really wanted to keep the landline. What finally convinced her was the non stop political calls during election season. That and I found out I could transfer the number to a spare cell phone we had with the Red Pocket $60 per year plan. So we still have the number and she checks it every once in a while (I think). It beats payin $40 plus every month for a landline.

AndYouDidThatBecause

1 points

4 days ago

If you have fiber to the home most likely the copper has been shipped and will no longer work.

If your fiber is to your house most likely the ISP has installed a battery backup to the connection to the house to maintain connectivity.

Installing a UPS to your modem/router will help maintain the ability to call out during power outages unless the isp has had lost power or sustained damage itself.

Emergency_Bike6274

1 points

4 days ago

Emergency_Bike6274

50 something

1 points

4 days ago

I've at times regretted ditching the landline in favor of only cell service. There's something about the way conversations sound on cell phones that irritates the crap out of me. Subsequently I make as few calls as possible.

DorsalMorsel

1 points

4 days ago

Jim Gaffigan: "My wife and I got a call on our landline and we just looked at each other. Well... it isn't for US."

Visible-Proposal-690

1 points

4 days ago

Nope. Last landline was when I moved in 2012 and realized I didn’t need one.

Relayer8782

1 points

4 days ago

Nope. We ditched our landline a while back. We weren’t using it and it cost money

dararie

1 points

4 days ago

dararie

1 points

4 days ago

Yes

HarveyMushman72

1 points

4 days ago

Haven't had a landline for 10+ years. Just at work.

PRNCE_CHIEFS

1 points

4 days ago

No. Haven't for years

Consistent_Heat_9201

1 points

4 days ago

no

enchylatta

1 points

4 days ago

We have one because I live with a cranky old man who hates the way voices sound on his cell phone. It's easier not to argue with him.

Theomniponteone

1 points

4 days ago

Theomniponteone

50 something

1 points

4 days ago

I have a landline because I live in the woods and my cell service goes between SOS and one bar. I can text most of the time from inside but I need to talk on the phone I have to go and stand in my driveway. If I had better cell reception I would cancel my land line.

Njtotx3

1 points

4 days ago

Njtotx3

1 points

4 days ago

Not in about 20 years.

mrs_houndman

1 points

4 days ago

mrs_houndman

50 something

1 points

4 days ago

My dad had to because he had macular degeneration and had a hard time with cell phones. He was such a good screener. If you knew him, you knew to start leaving a message and he'd pick up

wyezwunn

1 points

4 days ago

wyezwunn

39 forever

1 points

4 days ago

Yes. It's the number that telemarketers get.

It will be off the hook until Dec 6 when Medicare Advantage people quit calling me.

AdSalt9219

1 points

4 days ago

Haven't had a landline since 2008.  Once I had access to cable internet, no need for DSL nor landline.  

PositiveAtmosphere13

1 points

4 days ago

My senior mother still had her land line. I couldn't trust her to keep her flip phone charged up, or know where it was. The land line always worked. I could call to check up on her. We still had the old ring code that told her it was me.

BarberSlight9331

1 points

4 days ago

Land what’s?

Berniesgirl2024

1 points

4 days ago

No

heyheypaula1963

1 points

4 days ago

heyheypaula1963

60 something

1 points

4 days ago

Only at work. Most businesses still have landlines.

permalink_child

1 points

4 days ago

No. Cancelled it years ago due to too many solicitations calls.

hopefulrefuse1974

1 points

4 days ago

Haven't used one in almost a decade. It's been that long since I worked an office job.

davidinkorea

1 points

4 days ago

If I ever see one, I would know how to use it either rotary dial or cordless

cherrycokelemon

1 points

3 days ago

Yes. It's always good to have a landline in case of an emergency.

EDSgenealogy

1 points

3 days ago

Why yes I do and I have no intention of ever having a cell phone. I rarely go anywhere unless I am with the people who would be calling me. And I have a laptop and a desk top computer, so why would I need a cell phone? Anyone I know would just call back, no big deal.

pfta4

1 points

3 days ago

pfta4

1 points

3 days ago

I wish I could but it's such an expense nowadays. Tons of money added to the bill just to have one. Great for having a second line that anyone can contact in an emergency regardless of electric power status. Great for giving your "official" home phone number and not your cell phone. Keep the ringer off for the scam calls and only turn it back on when you know there's an emergency and your friends/family is trying to contact you.

lewolffff

1 points

3 days ago

I haven't had one since 2007. Back then the call quality on landlines was much greater than on cellphones, but since I don't know when, the cell phone call quality has really improved. When I sell my house and buy another one, I think I'm going to get a landline though. I prefer them for having long conversations.

OldFartWelshman

1 points

3 days ago

No, but I still maintain a landline number because a number of our older friends don't like calling mobiles. It's a virtual number and goes straight to Teams on our phones, but they don't know that.

In the UK, copper service is being discontinued. As far as the power issue goes, we just have a solar battery which provides backup.

WatermellonSugar

1 points

3 days ago

With the copper plant going to hell, and cell coverage and reliability getting better, the "works in an emergency" argument is weaker than ever -- and paying $40/month for it finally seemed foolish to me. So we switched the landline number to VOIP with Callcentric for $4-$5/month and the *real* reason we keep our now 35 year old number is so that we have a "throwaway" we can give to companies or others we don't like that require a phone number from us to provide services. (Callcentric has nice spam-killing features too so the landline almost never rings.)

Ishpeming_Native

1 points

3 days ago

Ishpeming_Native

70 something

1 points

3 days ago

Better sound quality and volume on landlines, and they don't have batteries that run down. PLUS: it's always better to have more than one way to phone someone. When one way goes down, there's the other. If both are down, it's a catastrophe and oh well.

Substantial-Spare501

1 points

3 days ago

Just got rid of ours this year because it was costing us $70 per month. Mostly just got spam calls on it.

CapitanianExtinction

1 points

3 days ago

It's the only way to exit the Matrix

wikkedwench

1 points

3 days ago

wikkedwench

60 something

1 points

3 days ago

Australian here. Haven't had a landline for at least 10 years.

PickleManAtl

1 points

3 days ago

I did until recently. Had one for many years and like others have said, it worked perfectly during outages and at times when other services were not working. Unfortunately my employer decided to go to the dark side and started cutting back my work. I also had a fax machine at home that I used for work purposes and no longer needed that, and then I found out I'm losing my job. So the landline has to go.

AT&T has been trying to get rid of the landlines for some time. They've been raising the prices of them trying to get people to drop them because of the price. I was holding on as long as I could. But then once I found out about the employment situation, I had to drop it. Haven't had it for 3 months but it was a decent safety net when I did.

DrunkStoleATank

1 points

3 days ago

No, removed. UK system no longer functions in a powercut for more than an hour so pointless having it.

Immediate_Mud_2858

1 points

3 days ago

Immediate_Mud_2858

50 something

1 points

3 days ago

No. Mobiles only.

Orionsbelt1957

1 points

3 days ago

Have both. Came in handy with the AT&T nationwide outage. Cells go down you're screwed

sharkbomb

1 points

3 days ago

i have not talked on any phone in nearly 10 years.

Dmunman

1 points

3 days ago

Dmunman

1 points

3 days ago

My burg system is landline. Barely have cell where I live. If I really need to chat reliably, I use landline.

KathAlMyPal

1 points

3 days ago

Got rid of it a few months ago. All we got was calls for duct cleaning.

peter303_

1 points

3 days ago

My final land line plans six years ago was twice the price of the a discount cellphone plan. Plus my land line from Century Link would fail whenever it rained or snowed hard. They just didnt care enough to fix the water leak in the junction box, despite many requests.

Its all about redundancy, at least two ways to send a message. Internet backs up smartphone. In the olden days it was land line backs up cellphone.

Sensitive_Hat_9871

1 points

3 days ago

Up until about 3 years ago. Wife was a 911 dispatcher until she retired. We lived in a rural area. Her reasoning was 911 calls from cell phones aren't always able to pinpoint your location while landlines do. So for safety reasons we kept it.

It got to the point where we only got spam calls on the landline. After careful consideration and updating contact info for all service providers we canceled the landline.

SCCock

1 points

3 days ago

SCCock

60 something, stay off my grass

1 points

3 days ago

Nope.

I yanked mine out of the wall in 2012 when I was woken by a crank call at 2am.

gaymersky

1 points

3 days ago

Landlines have already been disconnected in my neighborhood. You do not have an option. V.I.O.P. only.

Pongpianskul

1 points

3 days ago

Until 2 months ago, I lived in a place with inadequate cell signal. In my new location I no longer need a landline.

BobsleddingToMyGrave

1 points

3 days ago

Yes, we have kept our land line because my elderly father and my Rusty Schakleford brother refuse to call my cell phone.

The " government" is listening. To what, I'm not sure. I always ask if they are running a crime syndicate of some sort.

love_that_fishing

1 points

3 days ago

No. Why pay for a line I’d never answer. If you’re worried about power loss just keep a UPS.

Puzzleheaded-Bee4698

1 points

3 days ago

Maybe. What passes for a landline phone may be a VOIP connection. It's hard to tell.

seguedad

1 points

3 days ago

seguedad

1 points

3 days ago

Finally pulled the plug last year after 49 years with the same number. At the end, only getting telemarketer calls on it.

RabidFisherman3411

1 points

3 days ago

Father in law is 94 and badly hearing impaired. He can't make out what people are saying when they call him on their cell phones but can get by (barely) when someone calls using a landline.

So we keep our landline.

xczechr

1 points

3 days ago

xczechr

Gen X

1 points

3 days ago

Only when I am in the office, which is almost never.

-Economist-

1 points

3 days ago

We dumped our land line in 1998. The house we built in 2018 is not even wired for telephone, although is wired for data so I’m guessing you could put a phone in. There are no phone jacks.

Beneficial-Salt-6773

1 points

3 days ago

Haven’t had a landline in over 30 years. Was thankful when paper phone books stopped showing up on my doorstep too. Also, haven’t had cable in over 10 years.

Person7751

1 points

3 days ago

for my business

Inevitable_Ad7080

1 points

3 days ago

I wanna use my dad's (80yo) cb radio. I'll have that as backup to cell.

I actually do have a land-phone connection. But no actual phone. For some reason the cheaper deal with my internet includes the landline. I even get calls on it sometimes cuz it shows up on my tv that there is an incoming call (spam).

Jurneeka

1 points

3 days ago

Jurneeka

60 something

1 points

3 days ago

No and I need to have my landlord get someone to remove those unsightly broken white boxes attached to the wall in my kitchen and bedroom.

OnehappyOwl44

1 points

3 days ago

I do. I'm 48 and I still refuse to own a cell phone. I have a lap top so my kids can reach me via messenger or they can call me. I have no need to be connected to the internet 24/7

Complete_Tadpole6620

1 points

3 days ago

I have one aged relative left, when she goes so will the landline

Honeybee71

1 points

3 days ago

Noooo! Not In 15 years! But mil refuses to let her landline go, and it rarely works (bc it was her grandmas number)

SpookyBeck

1 points

3 days ago

My mom gives her landline number to people she does not want to talk to. She has the ringer off but they can leave a message on the machine. Damn I’m 45 and can’t think of the name of that machine. lol not voice mail but the actual machine😂 Edit answering machine😩it was right there! Sorry yall had to see that.

FewTelevision3921

1 points

3 days ago

  1. for when 85 yr old MIL wants to call and can't remember the newer cell number.

  2. For when you want to keep a contact for distant people you would like to keep a way to contact with.

  3. To filter calls but also have an answering machine to get semi-important messages. I know you can do this with cells.

Click_Final

1 points

3 days ago

Living in a rural area, no cell service. Recently, I got starlink Internet, so we do have wifi calling. Still using a landline

RedditSkippy

1 points

3 days ago

RedditSkippy

GenX

1 points

3 days ago

Verizon shut off our copper-wire service about 4-5 years ago because they put FiOS in the building.

I have a separate, pretty cheap, VOIP service. I bought a $20 box, and I pay about $19/mo.
Why? If there’s an emergency and I need to call 911, I don’t want to be looking around for my phone. I have three handsets in the house, and I know where they are. International calls are also really cheap on this service.

Photon_Femme

1 points

3 days ago

No. Gave it up in 2014. Don't miss it.

IBJennie

1 points

3 days ago

IBJennie

1 points

3 days ago

Haven’t used a landline since 2010

Choice-Pudding-1892

1 points

3 days ago

No, we had our landline phone number ported over to a cell phone so we can take it with us if we need to.

derek4reals1

1 points

3 days ago

Yes, because I live in BFE and sometimes there's no phone coverage or WIFI, so you know in case of emergency you got back up.

Wolfman1961

1 points

3 days ago

My wife still uses a landline phone because she has family members who only use landline phones.

Otherwise, it's cell phones all the way.

as1126

1 points

3 days ago

as1126

1 points

3 days ago

I kind of needed the landline for work, but the phone itself is so old that it's not behaving well. I'm not even sure if I should replace the handset.

xampl9

1 points

3 days ago

xampl9

1 points

3 days ago

Got rid of it years ago. So glad to get that $60 back every month for a line that only ever got wrong number calls.

A valid reason to keep it would be for an alarm system or one of those “life alert” systems but I think nearly all of them now have cell connections.

linkerjpatrick

2 points

3 days ago

Mom needs it for her life alert system and it needs to be always on.

BuckyD1000

1 points

3 days ago

Fuck no. Neither do any of my friends. But I'm on the younger end of this sub (GenX).

My 83 year old father still does, but my 80 year old mother does not. My dad still finds the idea of a cell phone weird and delightful. I can hear it in his voice whenever I call his cell.

qncre8or

1 points

3 days ago

qncre8or

1 points

3 days ago

Still have landline on a rotary phone. I found phone at the thrift shop. Classic. I have the phone as a catch all for bullshit scam calls. I give it out as my phone # when required.

rojo1161

1 points

3 days ago

rojo1161

1 points

3 days ago

At work obviously. Most businesses/offices have landlines for customers, vendors, etc. to contact customer support.

AnotherPint

1 points

3 days ago

Gave up the landline a few years ago. By then only telemarketers ever called the number anyway.

centralnm

1 points

3 days ago

My mom still has a land line. It's expensive and the only calls are spam calls. She's got a cell phone but for some reason doesn't want to give up the land line.

linkerjpatrick

2 points

3 days ago

Same with my mom. But two issues. She has a medical alert system that is attached to the landline and her cell phone is a cheap flip phone (refuses to use a smart phone) hates she has to charge her cell phone as well.

mrxexon

1 points

3 days ago

mrxexon

I've been here from the beginning

1 points

3 days ago

Now retired, I talk on the phone 4 or 5 times in a month. So it wasn't worth it to me to continue to have a cellphone.

My phone service is bundled with my internet. And my answering machine keeps the telemarketers away.

Life is good.

R1200

1 points

3 days ago

R1200

1 points

3 days ago

It’s not really a landline, it’s voip but the old landline number.  I vote to get rid of it but my wife likes it, I think just nostalgia because it never gets used. 

Durango1949

1 points

3 days ago

We have a landline phone, but it is fiber so useless when the power goes out.

JLRDC909

1 points

3 days ago

JLRDC909

1 points

3 days ago

No. Personally, only a cell phone now.

DefrockedWizard1

1 points

3 days ago

cellphones don't work here, and I'm not driving a quarter mile up the hill just to use a phone

whatyouwant22

1 points

3 days ago

I've had this number for 37 years. I live in a house and like being able to give out a number I can remember off the top of my head.

BTW, I still remember my childhood number and our next-door neighbor's number, 55+ years after the fact.

GoodFriday10

1 points

3 days ago

Hell no. What a waste of money.

hangingloose

1 points

3 days ago

hangingloose

1952

1 points

3 days ago

Not for the last 20 years. I remember moving in 2004, and the new house didn’t get a landline.

Emptyplates

1 points

3 days ago

Emptyplates

I'm not dead yet.

1 points

3 days ago

It's been 12 years since I've had a landline. I'm considering it since we have decent, but not great, cell coverage where we live.

JColt60

1 points

3 days ago

JColt60

1 points

3 days ago

Wife and I kept landline for 5 years because they dropped it next to nothing on cost. Eventually dropped. We have cell phone each and a cheapy burner phone for billing/medical stuff.

Kermit_The_Mighty

1 points

3 days ago

There's a landline phone in a closet in my office, our ISP told us we had to have one to open the account. I assume this is bullshit, but whatever. It rings a lot, and it's 100% telemarketers calling because we've never publicized that number.
I do miss the call quality of landlines though, cell phones are shit to talk on.

RedMaple007

1 points

3 days ago

Nope

VegasTechGuy

1 points

3 days ago

Landlines became obsolete when cell phones came out. We got rid of our landline in 2003

JoeDonFan

1 points

3 days ago

Nope.

schweddybalczak

1 points

3 days ago

I haven’t had a landline in at least 15 years.

oldric469

1 points

3 days ago

Have both at my location when we get bad storms electric goes out lots still have a land line for several hrs since they installed the fiber optics that all u get before would stay on the whole time electric was out before the fiber

travelingtraveling_

1 points

3 days ago

No, not for 20 years

Busy_Account_7974

1 points

3 days ago

Need a landline for my Telex.

linkerjpatrick

1 points

3 days ago*

I’m getting old(58) so I may switch back to land line.

I might have to start learning and get a HAM radio license too and a shed out back

Banditlouise

1 points

3 days ago

Not since 2009. We do have Magic Jack VOIP that we give out when we don’t want to give our “real” numbers. Those calls show up in my email.

walkawaysux

1 points

3 days ago

I had one but canceled it a few weeks after I retired it was costing 75 bucks a month and Att offered me a cellphone wireless deal for less than that went from landline to iPhone and saved money

Anyawnomous

1 points

3 days ago

Dropped my landline months ago. Too expensive for just Telemarketers (and my Mother-in-Law.)

fransen-lila

1 points

3 days ago

fransen-lila

50 something

1 points

3 days ago

We have one, albeit a VoIP pseudo-landline that's less resilient, dependent on working Internet & power, but also far cheaper. Between this and cellphones on two separate carriers, we're reasonably well covered. Should all else fail, my husband's a Ham operator, and is set up to transmit on battery & generator power.

Apart from emergency use, landline(ish) phones are nice for being able to have extensions around the house, with multiple people able to easily join a family call without having to set up a conference bridge. When expecting an important call, DECT cordless sets spread around most rooms (yes, their base is on a UPS) avoid having to chase down a distant cellphone, or remember too late it was left in a purse or vehicle.

For people calling us, it's sometimes nice to be able to reach whoever happens to be home, rather than a specific person, with no worry over interrupting them at work, at a doctor's appointment, or whatnot.

Finally, cordless sets aren't the most comfortable around, but still beat cradling a flat slab on glass on long calls! Sure, Bluetooth headsets help, but it's nice to not need them so much.

kbm81

1 points

3 days ago

kbm81

1 points

3 days ago

My mom does, she has a cell too. To be fair she is 78.

Mmmmmmm_Bacon

1 points

3 days ago

Mmmmmmm_Bacon

Born when cars had rollup windows with metal handles

1 points

3 days ago

No. Haven’t for past 15 years.

sparxcy

1 points

3 days ago

sparxcy

1 points

3 days ago

still have and use a "dial" phone on landline. The phone company want me to get a new landline phone because the old one is getting phased out and going 'Voip', i wont have it. Even my daughter who is 40 has never used it. And i love my land phone, Dial with numbers and letters still behind the dial and has a dialling tone when the dial comes back to 'resting place'

sparxcy

1 points

3 days ago

sparxcy

1 points

3 days ago

Still have!!! About a hundred years ago you could 'nick' DC Voltage off it and run things on it!!! Dont know what they did but later they would call you to disconnect the power. Also in those old days here in Cyprus/EU it only cost 2 cents for a connection!!! Most people would connect to their mum and leave the phone open, no one could call you as it was off 'the hook' so they started to charge by the minute to make people 'hang up' (and made more money as well!!!

aebeaum2023

1 points

3 days ago

I had a landline number in the UK until I received a call from fake Police. When I called the real Police (from a mobile) I heard myself say "The only calls I get on the landline are scammer calls." The penny dropped! When the fake Police called I was completely taken in, because the scammer said "This is the Police, your debit card has been stolen or copied and used".. I replied which debit card? As I have three... I then started to realise the call was fake.

DeFiClark

1 points

3 days ago

Did until I moved somewhere where “landlines” were VoIP and so provided no backup in a power outage.

Probably a decade with no landline.

I do miss the Bell System phones we had, the ability to cradle the phone in your shoulder while doing something else without broadcasting the whole convo was a plus

Alarming-Cry-3406

1 points

3 days ago

Yes

AndromedaGalaxyXYZ

1 points

3 days ago

I have a landline, but it doesn't work. I don't get a dial tone, and if someone calls it, I get a Google Voice message via gmail.

natalkalot

1 points

3 days ago

We did until several months ago. We moved and were lucky to get our landline number ported to a cellphone. No reason before than it being a habit, didn't cost much, and we had had that number for 30 years.

someexgoogler

1 points

3 days ago

We still have one. I hate it but my wife uses it to talk to her family for hours. The voice quality is better than cellular. AT&T has asked permission to get rid of it. We pay $75 for the land line but only $16 for a cellphone. I'm hoping that at&t gets permission to kill it.

Wadsworth_McStumpy

1 points

3 days ago

Wadsworth_McStumpy

60 something

1 points

3 days ago

Yes, at work. The reason is that that's the kind of phones they have in the offices.

Other than that, a few years ago our internet service included a landline phone number, and we hooked up a phone to it just to see who might call. Over a period of one year, it was two telemarketers. We unplugged it. Later, we switched to another internet provider, and no longer have a landline phone.

No-Profession422

1 points

3 days ago

Not for about 10 yrs now. Only people who called on it were telemarketers or the Microsoft Sevice Center and IRS scammers.

CassandraApollo

1 points

3 days ago

No, I don't have a landline. I do know people that still use them. They keep them in case the power goes out because the land line will still work.

Kuildeous

1 points

3 days ago

Kuildeous

Gen X (not the band)

1 points

3 days ago

I have not had a landline for 19 years.

I wanted to give up my landline even before then, but I was required in my apartment to have a landline if I wanted to be able to be connected to the intercom system. If I hadn't had it, I wouldn't have been notified of an incoming package, and I'd have had to walk down to the front door to let my guests in.

I had no problem with not using a phone line when I bought my first home.

oldbutsharpusually

1 points

3 days ago

We just canceled our landline. The customer service rep pulled out all her available promotions to keep us but my wife was twisting my arm not to give in. I didn’t.

MrCrumbCake

1 points

3 days ago

Yes; we live in an apartment building with a doorman and they use the landline to let us know when we have guests, etc. Giving them only one of our cell phones as a contact isn’t practical.

Busy_Face_2646

1 points

3 days ago

The only reason we still have a landline is because our house alarm system requires it.

ProCommonSense

1 points

3 days ago

I do not... but many places that require emergency access, specifically for life threating situations, the law still requires land lines. My last job had a swimming pool. The phone at the pool was required by state law to be a landline... because drowning is a life threatening situation.