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01-11-2026 03:13 PM
DD went to Scranton do errands yesterday. It's 30 miles (one way) from us. She was hitting Wegmans too. I tried to call her to add something to the list. Phone wasn't working, it said No Line. We have portable phones. We also get no cell service here. We are between two hills here in Hooterville.
She got home and tried to figure out the problem. No go. Got back in the car and drove 24 miles round trip to Walmart and got new phones. 2 phones were $65 bucks. Back home, they didn't work. At this point she was uttering a few choice words.
Back in the car to drive to where she could get a signal on her cell to call Frontier about the phone. Our internet was working but not the phones. I waited and waited some more. Two hours later in she comes. She had to go almost to the town where Walmart is and she just came from. She knows she gets full bars at Dunkin to she parked there and called Frontier, was on hold for over an hour. They are putting in/switching to fiber optic stuff.
Tech coming Wednesday between 1 and 5 pm. Great.
So I will be alone for 12 hrs. Monday and Tuesday, part of Wed. with no phone. Hope there isn't a fire. DD said she will leave her cell. I guess 9 1 1 works even if you have no service.
I emailed people and said to call DD at work if they need to get hold of us.
I hate living in the country. It is so inconvient.
01-11-2026 03:23 PM
With technology, it's always something, isn't it?
While I'm sure your living in the wilderness has its benefits, I'm not sure having bad phone service is a good idea.
Any idea how much a satellite phone costs?
Does your mail carrier experience any issues when delivering mail?
01-11-2026 03:38 PM
@Tinkrbl44 I wouln't say wilderness but we have to drive a ways for basics. The nearest town with a Weis, Walmart, CVS, my Dr. Urgent Care etc. is 24 miles round trip. It's really fun in the winter.
The house phone usually works but no cell service.
No mail carrier, we have a post office box so we have to drive to town (actually our town is a village). It's 4 miles from our house so 8 miles round trip. It is better when getting packages or mail order meds. Our post mistress is great.
I looked into getting a mail box at the house but was told we are ("on the line") between two zip codes. We would have to change our address. Nope, too much trouble.
01-11-2026 03:46 PM
Can you get a land line?
01-11-2026 03:48 PM
@CrazyKittyLvr2. Years ago I went home with a friend for a weekend visit. I believe her dad came and got us from Scranton. We got there, pulled up in front of their big house and it was a funeral home! Nobody had mentioned a word about her living in a funeral home, and I'd never been in one.
I was a bit taken back for sure.
01-11-2026 04:21 PM
@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:@Tinkrbl44 I wouln't say wilderness but we have to drive a ways for basics. The nearest town with a Weis, Walmart, CVS, my Dr. Urgent Care etc. is 24 miles round trip. It's really fun in the winter.
The house phone usually works but no cell service.
@CrazyKittyLvr2 - You say your house phone usually works, so you do have a land line also?
01-11-2026 04:33 PM
@qualitygal I think technically we have is a landline. The base that holds the portable phone hooks into the line we had when we had a "regular" phone.
I like the portable phone. I can go from room to room with it. It works in the yard. Now, it won't work much farther than the yard but that's ok.
When my mobility started getting bad DD told me to take the phone with me when I went to the car in case I fell so I could call for help otherwise I could lay there until someone found me.
01-11-2026 04:37 PM
@San Antonio Gal The base of the portable phones hook into where our old regular landline was so I guess it's a type of landline.
We have used portable phones for years.
01-11-2026 04:57 PM
@CrazyKittyLvr2 wrote:@San Antonio Gal The base of the portable phones hook into where our old regular landline was so I guess it's a type of landline.
We have used portable phones for years.
Are you referring to cordless phones? if so, they are landlines.
01-11-2026 05:18 PM - edited 01-11-2026 05:19 PM
Okay - so your land line is down until Wednesday and you don't get cell service where you live. I was confused when you said portable phones.
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