Community Chat

[Pearlee]

@pprmntstx Your exact situation is how I ended up with a Smartphone less than a year ago.

I had my landline for 40+ years and a Tracphone flip phone to carry with me in case I needed to call AAA or when I visited my mother in Fla.

Less than a year ago I started to have trouble with my landline and then it finally "died." The phone co. AT&T sent a repair person to check the line to see if it was an outside problem which he would fix for free. It wasn't and AT& T wouldn't tell me the cost to fix it because it depended what the problem was.

I saw the handwriting on the wall that at some point in the not distant future I'd end up with a Smartphone so I decided to just bite the bullet and do it rather t hff an fix my landline. A lot of it was not having any idea what it would cost to fix the landline and also wanting to make unlimited free long distance calls.

I only gave up my landline when I found out all of the phone service companies would be able to transfer my landline phone number which I've had all these years to my Smartphone (otherwise I wouldn't have given up my landline).

I will say that the clarity of my landline was better than my smart phone so at times I do miss it.But I made the right decision and never looked back.
I kept my Tracphone too, to use in places where reception isn't great with my Smartphone. My Tracphone flip phone, no matter where I use it, is always as clear as my landline was.

I got a great Kickstarter monthly service rate with Sprint available only to people who hadn't had cell phone service before (Tracphone didn't count -I didn't have a regular cell service provider) so you may want to look into that.

[FancyPhillyshopper]

Our land line used to be separate from our cable and involved the phone company billing us and providing repairs as they could get to it. 

More than a decade ago we integrated our land line number with our cable and wifi (triple play) and the cable company is on top of the phone at all times, and will come out whenever needed.

I also buy the monthly insurance so I have never had to pay a fee for any house calls for wiring issues.

We will probably keep the landline phone number forever as it is more accessible to the general public.

DH and I have also had smart phones for a few years now--they are invaluable! We text each other when apart as needed in addition to calls.

[hckynut]

@pprmntstx 

I have had "smart" Tracfones for many years. However  I can count using only my fingers how many times I have used it, even fewer that were smart phone features. 

Why the smart features for me? Because each year they are better phones, cheaper than any I have discovered, and very dependable. 

hckynut(john)

[pprmntstx]

@hckynut  John, My tracfone is a flip phone that I have had for many years!

[cowboy sam]

@VaBelle35 @pprmntstx @FancyPhillyshopper @Pearlee 

I have had AT&T for years and paid for the insurance.

However they discontiued it a few years ago,so now if it's a problem inside my house last i heard if i needed it the cost was $99.00

They say i have Universe for my phone and internet..so if theres any proplem i don't have my land line!  Twice this year  it happened and the problem was in fixture outside my house!!  grr

Whenever i called..i stressed to them my age and i needed my landline fixed now!

Thank goodness i have my   smart Tracfone  to call them when needed.!

I have read that if  i give up my landline phone my internet bill will be higher !

I seldom make phone calls and now mostly get robo calls  as i  my check call id     i just don't answer unless it's some one i know calling.

[sann]

I got rid of my landline years ago. No regrets.

[Marp]

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@pprmntstx wrote:

@hckynut  John, My tracfone is a flip phone that I have had for many years!

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@pprmntstx   if your current flip phone is truly "many years" old you need to be sure that it will continue to work later this year.  Many older phones will no longer be able to be used.

Once you determine if your phone needs to be upgraded you might like this:  https://www.qvc.com/Tracfone-LG-Classic-Flip-4G-LTE-with-1200-Talk-TextData.product.E234238.html

[alicedee]

Haven't had a land line in almost 5 years.  Haven't missed it at all.  

I live alone, and my biggest worry has always been if I fall in the shower.  I can put my iphone on the toilet tank that is an easy reach from the tub, so if I ever do slip, I have a good chance of getting to it.

Even my older sister who isn't online at all...no computer or tablet...got rid of her landline when she moved into an apartment last fall.  She uses a cell phone now, and doesn't miss her landline, either.

[gardenman]

The old analog copper landlines are failing all over the country and not being replaced due to cost. My old landline used to get horrible static and lose connection if there were any thunderstorms within maybe ten to twenty miles. What an engineer for the phone company told me was that the old main lines had hundreds of very fine individual cables in them and that the insulation was breaking down in those tiny little lines and the lines were susceptible to static electricity as a result of that. He said the problem would only get worse over time and would never improve as the cost to replace the lines was prohibitive and most people were moving to wireless options or fiber optic instead of copper landlines. I dropped my landline since they couldn't/wouldn't fix it and I've been fine without it.

[software]

I have excellent cell phone coverage so I ditched the landline after my DH passed.  He was the only one who used it, besides all the unwanted sales calls coming in.  My hearing isn't that great, I don't like to talk on the phone.

I haven't missed it.    

I know in some areas of the country, cell service is spotty, it's good to have a  landline.

There's no right or wrong answer.