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Do you even have a house phone anymore?

Do you still have/use a house phone?

  • Yes

    Votes: 154 37.5%

  • No

    Votes: 245 59.6%

  • Other, Explain

    Votes: 12 2.9%
  • Total voters
    411
dontwalkhand

dontwalkhand

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jul 5, 2007
6,578
3,251
Phoenix, AZ
So, do any of you even bother paying for a home phone anymore? Is the iPhone always by your side at the ready to take a call, or is the good old home phone still needed?

For me, we do have a home phone, it only exists for the security system and fax machine. Nobody else would know the phone number. We all just use our iPhones as our main phones, and it is nice to not share lines with anybody else! Also, no need to juggle multiple different phone numbers either!

The iPhone is always in my pocket, as it is also my PDA as well (Personal Digital Assistant for those of you too young to remember these). It has my calendar, reminders, music, camera, as well as everything I need with me at all times. It also controls our lighting, temperature, and security system, thanks to the home automation service provided by our security company, and its respective apps :). So therefore, the advantage is also no need to go walk to go get the phone when it's ringing, as it's always on me!
 
Dumped my landline, and now my cell phone is my main phone. Even at work we're on VoIP now. For the last year I had it, all I was getting on the landline were political robocalls and non profit telemarketers.

It used to be that people would argue that landline phones are more reliable than cell phones, but that's just not the case anymore. The landline companies are cutting costs like crazy. Verizon in particular doesn't want to pay union workers to keep maintaining the landline network, and don't care very much if you're a customer of their old copper network, and would rather see you leave. landlines are just not part of their long term business plan anymore.

And it shows. I was a Verizon customer, and there were times when my landline was either dead or the line noise was so bad it was unusable, and it took days to get fixed each time. And the last two times we had a real emergency around here, our cell phones kept working and our landlines didn't because apparently, there's no staff regularly monitoring things in our central office. This isn't out in the sticks, either; I'm in a major metro area... just blocks away from FiOS service before they decided to stop building that out, too.


tl;dr: if you have a landline, especially from a traditional phone company, dump it. They don't care about you, unless you're willing to buy a cell phone from them, which locks you in on a contract and makes them way more money.
 
Haven't ever had a land lIne since getting my own place. No real need with the cell plan I have. Land line is just a complete waste of money, if I had to get one I'd buy something cheap like magic jack.
 
I do have one, but it is only to have a residencial phone to give for stuff like banks, work, deliveries, etc. Also as a backup of sorts. I always use my iPhone to make calls, I never receive any in the house phone.
 
dontwalkhand said:
So, do any of you even bother paying for a home phone anymore? Is the iPhone always by your side at the ready to take a call, or is the good old home phone still needed?

For me, we do have a home phone, it only exists for the security system and fax machine. Nobody else would know the phone number. We all just use our iPhones as our main phones, and it is nice to not share lines with anybody else! Also, no need to juggle multiple different phone numbers either!

The iPhone is always in my pocket, as it is also my PDA as well (Personal Digital Assistant for those of you too young to remember these). It has my calendar, reminders, music, camera, as well as everything I need with me at all times. It also controls our lighting, temperature, and security system, thanks to the home automation service provided by our security company, and its respective apps :). So therefore, the advantage is also no need to go walk to go get the phone when it's ringing, as it's always on me!
Click to expand...

This isn't new, I haven't had a landline in over 10 years.
 
Yes..and no. I paid for the service so that I could bundle a home phone with internet and make my price for two services cheaper than it would be for just internet. I hate it, but whatever it takes to save a few dollars, right?
 
I cancelled my home line about 2-3 years ago.
I never used it and most phone calls I was getting there was telemarketers.
Its useless now. Still every company out there wants you to bundle TV, home phone and internet together and sometimes its cheaper than getting TV and internet only.
But its a waste IMO.
 
I still have a land-line trucking! It costs a few dollars a month to keep the number active. Local calling is free and long distance is just ten cents a minute.
 
Yes, some of us can still afford land lines. Perhaps Voice over LTE will change the situation but as things stand right now, cell phone voice quality compares to regular phones like SD TV to HD TV.
 
My last home phone was with the local cable company. When I canceled it the rep warned me that if a murderer broke into my house there's a chance my cell phone wouldn't be able to call 911 because they're unreliable and thus my family could be killed.

No joke, they actually said that to me.

And they wonder why cable companies aren't popular.
 
I haven't had a home phone since moving out of my parents in 2001, unless you count dorms.

I did have a DSL number assigned to me that Verizon would give out to telemarketers. Jokes on them, there was no phone on it. Haha
 
We had a land line in the last house ONLY because it was forced on us with our DSL service. As soon as they stopped bundling them together, I dumped it. That was probably 5 years ago.
 
Voted other.
I got rid of mine in 2004. When I moved to OR, I moved in with my friends. They have dish network and I guess it requires a landline.
 
NewAnger said:
Haven't had a landline for about three years now.

I don't even have cable/satellite. Just buy everything on iTunes.
Click to expand...

Too expensive. The price of one HD movie on iTunes could get you a months subscription to Netflix. I'll agree on not having Cable/Satellite, though.
 
I'm quite surprised at the poll results so far....But it's got me thinking. The only thing that keeps me paying out for a landline is that Doctors etc. have rfused to use a mobile number in the past. I never make calls on it except for the odd call to buddies back home, and most of the time it just sits there costing me money.

My FIOS is separate, so I'm starting to think I could save some money by getting rid of the damn thing....One less gadget on my desk would be nice also!
 
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