Do not call list

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bog007
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Do not call list

Post by bog007 »

Been on this list for years. Now getting over 30 calls a day. This is a landline number we've had for 40 years. What can be done ? :confused
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jebmke
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Re: Do not call list

Post by jebmke »

We turned off our ringer. DNC doesn't do much. We were getting 10 calls per hour at one point - robos.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
Teague
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Teague »

Nomorobo has been helpful to many here.
https://www.nomorobo.com/

It's free for landline phones, and well regarded.
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jebmke
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Re: Do not call list

Post by jebmke »

I'm considering replacing our older cordless with one of these. Essentially lets you set up the equivalent of CAPTCHA for your phone.

Our VOIP supplier doesn't support NOMOROBO.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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billthecat
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Re: Do not call list

Post by billthecat »

I'm so sick and tired of all of it: junk mail, junk phone calls, junk email, junk text messages. I finally dealt with junk phone calls and text messages by having unknown calls go straight to voicemail and unknown texts arrive silently. I still have to deal with it though to clean it up. Never had junk text messages until I foolishly gave my phone number to creditcards.com. Spam filters handle most junk mail but I have to still review to ensure a valid email doesn't get filtered (which happens). Junk mail, though - I haven't been able to stop that at all. I want to close my mail account.
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Watty
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Watty »

There was a thread on spam calls on land lines a few weeks ago.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=362632

I had not heard about them but in that thread I found that there are phones that can require the caller to press # or a number to get past the the screening.

I ordered one and it seems to be doing a good job so far.

It to a bit of time to manually set up a white list of phone numbers that will cause the phone to ring without the challenge. I am not 100% sure but there may be models that will allow you to download your cell phone contact list which would save some effort so you might check to see if you can find one that does that.
Topic Author
bog007
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Re: Do not call list

Post by bog007 »

Great. imma try nomorobo :sharebeer
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inbox788
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Re: Do not call list

Post by inbox788 »

billthecat wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 8:21 pm I'm so sick and tired of all of it: junk mail, junk phone calls, junk email, junk text messages. I finally dealt with junk phone calls and text messages by having unknown calls go straight to voicemail and unknown texts arrive silently. I still have to deal with it though to clean it up. Never had junk text messages until I foolishly gave my phone number to creditcards.com. Spam filters handle most junk mail but I have to still review to ensure a valid email doesn't get filtered (which happens). Junk mail, though - I haven't been able to stop that at all. I want to close my mail account.
Junk mail has slowed down for me. Despite the low cost, it still has a cost that's more than the electronics junk that has exploded, so physical junkmail is less of a problem now.

On my home phone, the outgoing message says to call me on my cell or email me. I don't give out my cell number, so only those that know it will call me now. The email is a special email I track, and have not received many responses, and so far hasn't received any spam and only a few people have tried to reach me that way that (a few persistent businesses) .

As far as my cell, I too, have unknown numbers not on my contact go straight to voicemail, and only known contacts ring thru. Difficult when the bank or other necessary business call, but that's the cost these days. Same treatment with text, but lately, I'm getting text from e-mails that have gotten very annoying. If anyone knows how to turn off or block e-mail to SMS, please share. So far "Article *446389" looks promising if you're at ATT, but I'm at their MVNO, so no luck so far. https://forums.att.com/conversations/ac ... f606e8c5d2

As far as email, I use various emails for different purposes, and the spammy ones get changed about annually. It's the only way to stay ahead of them. So far, I've had a personal email that hasn't gotten into the spam databases for a few years now. Prior to that one, I traced the leak to a group mailing. I assume someone on that list was hacked, and I don't think it was me. I changed the email mainly to get away from the spammers, but also helps in case it was hacked.

I don't bother with the do not call list anymore. I'm throwing in the towel. AFAIC, the robocallers have won.
Jags4186
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Jags4186 »

Dump landline. Get iPhone. Set all profiles to only notify you of phone calls from contacts. Everyone else goes straight to voicemail. If you're expecting a call from an unknown number you can temporarily accept calls for everyone for a day or two.
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Toons
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Toons »

Eliminated landline 15 years ago,
RoboCalls No issue
I suggest do the same :happy :happy
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TheHiker
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Re: Do not call list

Post by TheHiker »

As others suggested, ditch the landline and set up your cell phone to ignore calls from non-contacts.
If there is something important (like a doctor's office), they will leave a message.
Topic Author
bog007
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Re: Do not call list

Post by bog007 »

if I switch to cell phone can
i use same number?
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jebmke
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Re: Do not call list

Post by jebmke »

TheHiker wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:48 pm As others suggested, ditch the landline and set up your cell phone to ignore calls from non-contacts.
If there is something important (like a doctor's office), they will leave a message.
Unless there is no or weak cell service where you live. Not as uncommon as people think.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
scrabbler1
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Re: Do not call list

Post by scrabbler1 »

I've had nomorobo on my land line for 5 years. At first, it was blocking about 75% of the junk calls. That has dropped since then, down to maybe 1/3 of the junk calls blocked. The junk callers spoof numbers most of the time now so they get through.

Maybe twice in that time, a legit caller got blocked by nomorobo. I contacted nomorobo and they took the number off their blocked number list.
ZMonet
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Re: Do not call list

Post by ZMonet »

bog007 wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:24 pm if I switch to cell phone can
i use same number?
Yes, you can port your number from wireline to wireless. I'd try the NomoRobo route first. Spam calls will still ring your phone, but it will hang up after one ring.
fortunefavored
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Re: Do not call list

Post by fortunefavored »

Just a caution on "block all" - most of the automated fraud alerts from banks & credit cards do not leave voicemail. I've had a credit card inconveniently frozen due to missing one of these.
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lthenderson
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Re: Do not call list

Post by lthenderson »

bog007 wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:30 pm What can be done ?
Unlike others, I don't want to give up my landline because it is an important tool in screening calls. Any online form, office, etc. where I am asked to give them a phone number, I give them my landline phone number. It sits there with the ringer off and I check for messages once a day. 99% of all calls it receives are hang ups and probably telemarketers. I don't give out my cellphone to anybody but personal acquaintances. This way it doesn't end up on any lists that can be scanned by internet bots. I get maybe one telemarketer call on my cell every few months and generally I think that is just because they are dialing every possible number combination and get lucky.
Jags4186
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Jags4186 »

jebmke wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:11 am
TheHiker wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:48 pm As others suggested, ditch the landline and set up your cell phone to ignore calls from non-contacts.
If there is something important (like a doctor's office), they will leave a message.
Unless there is no or weak cell service where you live. Not as uncommon as people think.
Most (all?) carriers have Wi-Fi calling now so as long as you have internet service where you are (which you can if you have a landline phone) that shouldn't be an issue.
dukeblue219
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Re: Do not call list

Post by dukeblue219 »

fortunefavored wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:54 am Just a caution on "block all" - most of the automated fraud alerts from banks & credit cards do not leave voicemail. I've had a credit card inconveniently frozen due to missing one of these.
You'll also block things like after-hours callbacks from on-call doctor and automated callbacks from customer service lines.
inbox788
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Re: Do not call list

Post by inbox788 »

fortunefavored wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:54 am Just a caution on "block all" - most of the automated fraud alerts from banks & credit cards do not leave voicemail. I've had a credit card inconveniently frozen due to missing one of these.
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Robocallers are unstoppable. Find an alternate method of notification or do without.
jebmke
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Re: Do not call list

Post by jebmke »

Jags4186 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 9:01 am
jebmke wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:11 am
TheHiker wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:48 pm As others suggested, ditch the landline and set up your cell phone to ignore calls from non-contacts.
If there is something important (like a doctor's office), they will leave a message.
Unless there is no or weak cell service where you live. Not as uncommon as people think.
Most (all?) carriers have Wi-Fi calling now so as long as you have internet service where you are (which you can if you have a landline phone) that shouldn't be an issue.
Easier just to turn off the ringer. If I start giving out my cell number freely I’ll be bombarded on that too.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
FinanceGeek
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Re: Do not call list

Post by FinanceGeek »

Registering with a Do Not Call list is a very bad idea. If you had an unlisted number, well - now you no longer do! :oops:

Also, charity and political organizations who are exempt from the Do Not Call lists, consult those lists to get a database of phone numbers.
punkinhead
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Re: Do not call list

Post by punkinhead »

lthenderson wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:58 am
Unlike others, I don't want to give up my landline because it is an important tool in screening calls. Any online form, office, etc. where I am asked to give them a phone number, I give them my landline phone number. It sits there with the ringer off and I check for messages once a day.
I used to use a landline for the same purpose but years ago ditched it and started using a Google Voice number instead. It's free.
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Rob5TCP
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Rob5TCP »

I did use nomorobo in the past but local spoofing defeated that plan. Almost 90% of scam calls were coming through.
About 6 months ago I joined jollyrodger phone company.

I whitelisted all my important/known callers. Everything else I setup a list to blacklist (did it with about 30 entries that covered all area codes). If your not whitelisted it goes to a bot.

At the end of the day, I listen to some recordings (they record all the calls to a bot) to see if I missed
an important one. It costs about $15 a year; so it's money well spent.
Some of the calls are really funny and I've passed them on to friends for some amusement. Other calls were pretty important and I whitelisted the caller (after i returned the call).

Maybe 2-3 spam calls sneak through each week now.

https://jollyrogertelephone.com/
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mrmass
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Re: Do not call list

Post by mrmass »

Turn off ringer, and dont have a custom outgoing message asking callers to leave a voicemail, use the generic built in one. Then have family call your cell phone, then slowly they will only call the cell number.

I still have a landline, but keep the ringer off. No reason to answer every call. Family calls the cell phone.
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willthrill81
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Re: Do not call list

Post by willthrill81 »

There are multiple stories of unscrupulous people downloading the DNC registry specifically to call those people because they knew that most of those numbers were live.
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Wilderness Librarian »

lthenderson wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 8:58 am
bog007 wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:30 pm What can be done ?
Unlike others, I don't want to give up my landline because it is an important tool in screening calls. Any online form, office, etc. where I am asked to give them a phone number, I give them my landline phone number. It sits there with the ringer off and I check for messages once a day. 99% of all calls it receives are hang ups and probably telemarketers. I don't give out my cellphone to anybody but personal acquaintances. This way it doesn't end up on any lists that can be scanned by internet bots. I get maybe one telemarketer call on my cell every few months and generally I think that is just because they are dialing every possible number combination and get lucky.
My method too. No way am I going to give up my landline - it is my most stable secure and reliable connection to the outside world. I leave ringer off unless I am expecting a call. Even then if I hear ringer often do not answer - hover over the phone and if person I want to talk to starts message I pick up the receiver and start talking to them. This seems to be very effective. Few robo callers leave message. But I have figured out that if you even do so much as pick up the receiver you are on their list as available and will get even more calls. From what I can tell it takes about a year of absolutely refusing to pick up the receiver until you are certain you want to talk. I have almost no problems now.
howard71
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Re: Do not call list

Post by howard71 »

I got a google voice number and that is the one I give out publicly. It can receive text messages just like a cell phone and texts and calls can be forwarded to other phones.

As for what it does for sales/robo calls, it has a feature you can turn on to screen calls. It requires the caller to identify themselves and then gives you the option to accept or not. What always happens with robo calls is they immediately hang up, thus only one ring on the phone. It is possible to leave a message but rarely do they do this.

So at least once a day I go to the Google Voice website and review all the missed calls. If they left no message, they immediately get blocked and reported as spam. If they left a message and it was a sales call, same thing. I don't worry about blocking a legitimate caller from someone who left no message. If it was a legitimate call, why wouldn't they stay on the line and wait for me to answer or leave a message? Can't think of why not.

As for the Do not call list, I also wonder what's happened to that. Apparently it doesn't work any more, probably because it's very hard to identify the real caller and they know it.
Ron
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Ron »

My wife/me threw up the white flag a couple of months ago. We just gave up our home phone and saved the monthly Verizon charge. While we had our individual T-Mobile cell phones for years, we still believed we needed that wire connection.

Since most of our contacts (doctors, dentists, etc.) had our cell phone numbers as a secondary contact, it was simple enough to replace our primary contact numbers with our cell numbers.

T-Mobile does a great job with their included scam shield (basic included with your monthly charge, enhanced for $4.00/month) that I opted for the enhanced plan for a few weeks but I cancelled it before I was charged for it since the "free" version works well. I/we have not received a call from a Medicare, car warranty, or any other "scam" calls ("this is Amazon; somebody charged $xxx on your account :annoyed ) since we went "all cell service".

FWIW,

- Ron
phxjcc
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Re: Do not call list

Post by phxjcc »

jebmke wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:11 am
TheHiker wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 9:48 pm As others suggested, ditch the landline and set up your cell phone to ignore calls from non-contacts.
If there is something important (like a doctor's office), they will leave a message.
Unless there is no or weak cell service where you live. Not as uncommon as people think.
This is very true.

I am in th "shadow" of a hill and cell service was non existent with ATT, slightly better with Spectrum, but occasionally poor.

Just don't answer if you don't recognize the caller, unfortunately, is the only way to stop these nuisances.

I probably get more on my cell than I do on my land line...many for the apparent previous owner of the number....over 3 years ago.
:oops:
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bog007
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Re: Do not call list

Post by bog007 »

Nomorobo didnt help. Still got 28 calls today. On my panasonic 5 wireless handsets for my landline, It has an option for quiet time. Set it for no rings from 8am to 7 pm. working great so far. still shows all the numbers called on caller id. Cool beans 8-)
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yatesd
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Re: Do not call list

Post by yatesd »

I pay $15 a year for a HIYA app on my iphone. It screens calls that are not contacts and let’s me do a number lookup on any calls that I don’t recognize. Not perfect, but it works good enough that I renewed for another year.
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Re: Do not call list

Post by Soon2BXProgrammer »

bog007 wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:30 pm Been on this list for years. Now getting over 30 calls a day. This is a landline number we've had for 40 years. What can be done ? :confused
port the number to google voice.. Create contact records for all of your peoples. if it is a contact you know, set it to bypass being "screened" and if it isn't, set it to go to voice mail or to be screened.
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planetmike
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Re: Do not call list

Post by planetmike »

Consider getting a phone number in an area code that isn't yours, or anywhere near yours. Then when you get spoofed calls also from that area code, you know they will be a spam call.
bradinsky
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Re: Do not call list

Post by bradinsky »

About 4 months ago, we switched to a new phone number. Couldn’t stand the number of worthless calls we were getting every single day - up to 50. With the new number, it rarely rings. In the future, I won’t hesitate to switch numbers again. FWIW, everyone calls me on my cell. DW won’t use her’s, so we still have a home phone.
FinanceGeek
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Re: Do not call list

Post by FinanceGeek »

bradinsky wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:36 pm About 4 months ago, we switched to a new phone number. Couldn’t stand the number of worthless calls we were getting every single day - up to 50. With the new number, it rarely rings. In the future, I won’t hesitate to switch numbers again. FWIW, everyone calls me on my cell. DW won’t use her’s, so we still have a home phone.
YMMV - phone numbers are re-issued within a short time of becoming available. So ... the number is probably "out there" in spam land, and you'll get (legitimate) calls intended for the prior owner.
bradinsky
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Re: Do not call list

Post by bradinsky »

FinanceGeek wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:46 pm
bradinsky wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:36 pm About 4 months ago, we switched to a new phone number. Couldn’t stand the number of worthless calls we were getting every single day - up to 50. With the new number, it rarely rings. In the future, I won’t hesitate to switch numbers again. FWIW, everyone calls me on my cell. DW won’t use her’s, so we still have a home phone.
YMMV - phone numbers are re-issued within a short time of becoming available. So ... the number is probably "out there" in spam land, and you'll get (legitimate) calls intended for the prior owner.
Haven’t seen one yet.
Last edited by bradinsky on Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tooluser
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Re: Do not call list

Post by tooluser »

jebmke wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:33 pm We turned off our ringer. DNC doesn't do much. We were getting 10 calls per hour at one point - robos.
This is not an exaggeration. It's only happened once for me, but the same caller was calling every ten minutes from a different number each time. I ended up blocking all calls except those with known numbers from my closest friends and relatives. Luckily the barrage stopped after 24 hours.

On most days I have to delete from 3 to 6, silent, 4-to-6-second-long, voice mail messages from their crappy robots. It's more efficient to let them stack up and then delete them all at once online, instead of individually from the telephone keypad.
Like good comrades to the utmost of their strength, we shall go on to the end. -- Winston Churchill
protagonist
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Re: Do not call list

Post by protagonist »

I rarely get spam calls. It has been at least a month or two since I got one, and when I do, it is usually a few in a row and then they go away (I don't have a land line).

My only precautions include using a pseudonym whenever I can get away with it and a fake phone number whenever I do any e-commerce or whenever I have to provide a phone number in a situation where my real one is not absolutely necessary (which means almost always online , in stores, etc.) I also have a dummy email account that I reserve only for those sort of things.

I also report spam calls immediately to the DNC Registry. I have a facebook account with a fake name, address , phone number, birthday and email account. It has never hindered my ability to connect with people with whom I wish to connect, but I also have yet to find any evidence that Facebook has in any way invaded my real life though I have had an account since 2004- I hardly even get spam emails, and none that I can track to Facebook.

I am not so naive to think that it isn't easy to find the real me , but with billions of people who are such low lying fruit, adding a simple extra step like trying to figure out my real phone number , as easy as it may be, seems hardly worth it to advertisers and the like. At least that is my theory.
Last edited by protagonist on Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:01 pm, edited 3 times in total.
bradinsky
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Re: Do not call list

Post by bradinsky »

When it’s all said & done, I’m sure you can blame the phone companies for the mass amount of robocalls. If they were to decide to help, I’m sure the number of calls could be reduced dramatically!!
wfrobinette
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Re: Do not call list

Post by wfrobinette »

Here's the deal.

If you give up your landline you may or may not get a quality 911 response if you can't speak your address. A lot depends on the 911 system you have in your locality. some are better than others. No one ever discusses this when ditching the landline. It's not likely to happen but I prefer to insure myself with a landline.

I never use the land line and use my cell for all calls,
dukeblue219
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Re: Do not call list

Post by dukeblue219 »

wfrobinette wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:45 am Here's the deal.

If you give up your landline you may or may not get a quality 911 response if you can't speak your address. A lot depends on the 911 system you have in your locality. some are better than others. No one ever discusses this when ditching the landline. It's not likely to happen but I prefer to insure myself with a landline.
The related issue that rarely comes up is families with youngish kids. When I was 6 I knew to call 911 from the kitchen phone if Mom had a heart attack or there was a danger I couldn't escape from. I don't know what to tell my 3 and 5 year old to do other than go to the neighbors until they find someone at home. They won't have to unlock my smartphone to call 911, but that's if they can even find it in an emergency.

Some families teach their kids to use Alexa to call 911 from an Echo device which is an option, but it's one of those things I wonder about.
wfrobinette
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Re: Do not call list

Post by wfrobinette »

dukeblue219 wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:57 am
wfrobinette wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 11:45 am Here's the deal.

If you give up your landline you may or may not get a quality 911 response if you can't speak your address. A lot depends on the 911 system you have in your locality. some are better than others. No one ever discusses this when ditching the landline. It's not likely to happen but I prefer to insure myself with a landline.
The related issue that rarely comes up is families with youngish kids. When I was 6 I knew to call 911 from the kitchen phone if Mom had a heart attack or there was a danger I couldn't escape from. I don't know what to tell my 3 and 5 year old to do other than go to the neighbors until they find someone at home. They won't have to unlock my smartphone to call 911, but that's if they can even find it in an emergency.

Some families teach their kids to use Alexa to call 911 from an Echo device which is an option, but it's one of those things I wonder about.
I think it's a real issue and it's really not worth saving $200 a year to not have that flexibility.

I'm still stuck with a power outage because my landline is voip based.
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