Ditch the internet phone?
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@bernard -
when you say internet phone, I assumed it was something through Spectrum. Do you mean a phone number through something like Ooma?edit: I just re-read your OP. If you want to keep a VOIP version, kind of a "landline", instead of going with the NH Broadband option you could do something like Ooma. i haven't checked their monthly cost for basic service, but it used to be quite reasonable.
Though given how little you use it, you probably could get rid of it altogether.
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said in Ditch the internet phone?:
This works fine for us, as we have our Panasonic cordless phone system that we can bluetooth our cell phones to. It has five handsets so we can leave those all over the house and pick up calls from our cell phones from anywhere. More on those later...
I have a spare Panasonic system - base station and five handsets - lying fallow in a box in the basement. It's yours if you want it. They may need new rechargeable batteries, as the ones that are in there were used for a time, but those can be obtained quite cheaply.
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Oh, and you can set up a Google Voice number for free. I have one so I can give that out to people I don't want to have my mobile phone number. I don't use Google for much of anything; not sure what privacy stuff I might be giving up by having it, but well...whatever.
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Talk on the phone? huh I get very few calls and make calls only when there is no alternative. I get several political texts every day. I text people and get texts. I still use email.
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Keep the internet phone. You might need it when traveling.
Pay the extra cost and avoid the hassle.
1 and 2. My votes.
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Shortly after I wrote my OP, my internet connection started getting really wonky! Could no longer access WTF and some other sites. Some sites worked, some didn't. I started to think there was a major outage somewhere. Next morning, the situation had not changed. So I drove to the Spectrum office where I was told my modem and router were obsolete now what with the upgrades they've been making. Came home with new equipment, set it up and it took far longer than it should have to get it working.
I'm pretty sure, now, that I will ditch the internet phone (VOIP) and see how life goes with just the cell phone. My phone usage is so very low I probably won't even notice! The biggest hassle will be logging in to all my important accounts (there's a whole page of them) and updating my account information (banks, insurances, utilities, websites, etc.)
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@wtg Very kind offer, wtg, but I honestly don't know what I'd do with five handsets. As I mentioned above, I think I've used the internet phone maybe twice in the past few months.
Thank you.
@Bernard said in Ditch the internet phone?:
@wtg Very kind offer, wtg, but I honestly don't know what I'd do with five handsets. As I mentioned above, I think I've used the internet phone maybe twice in the past few months.
Thank you.
You don't have to use all of the handsets!
But I'm not sure I was clear about how we use the Panasonic setup...we don't have an internet phone anymore either. We use it with our cell phones.While a cell phone can be carried anywhere, if you don't have it on you, it's a pain to answer calls. Neither of us carries our phone with us on our person when we're at home. Quite frequently I leave mine in my purse in the closet and can't hear a call coming in at all. Or I'm in another part of the house or out in the yard.
The Panasonic has a Link2Cell feature that lets you bluetooth your cell phone(s) to the cordless system (it can also have an internet/VOIP line coming into it, but that's a separate matter). We have the cordless handsets in the basement and on the first and second floors. We can pick up our cellular calls from the handsets rather than having to find our cell phone(s) to do so. It will also alerts us when we receive a text message, though it doesn't actually display the message. Despite the fact that there is voicemail and the text will be there when you check the phone, we are geezers who still operate under the "if the phone rings you try to answer" school of behavior.
Of course if you carry your cell phone around in your pocket, or if you just check your phone for voice mail and texts when you feel like it, then the cordless units don't add any value!
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If there's no issue with locating you for emergency services I'd for sure ditch the VOIP phone. We went full cellular several years ago because all our land line ever got was solicitor calls. If you are comfortable with setting up the router I'd go that way. Ours is cheap at $5 a month so we keep it.
