Please advise about the new phone system that BT will use in 2025

wasty

I need to buy a new cordless phone because my current cordless phone is giving problems, but BT and Vigine (I think) are abandoning landlines in 2025.  Consequently, can someone please advise if I can buy and use one of these new phones now? 

Additionally, can someone please give me a link explaining the new system in none technical terms as I find it difficult to understand, I probably want 3 phones, 1 upstairs, and 2 downstairs.

wasty

Additionally, will I be able to use a call minder?

Jenni_D

When the switchover happens you can buy / get supplied with an adapter unit into which your current landline phone can be plugged. If you connect the base unit into this adapter then I imagine (but cannot say for certain) that all the cordless handsets should continue to work as normal. (I'm assuming you're talking about a cordless system with a master base unit and the other handsets just have power cradles).

Define "call minder". I don't know if digital voice provides the CLID in the same way as it currently does on the analogue system - if it does then any call minder system (e.g. Trucall / BT Guardian) built into the cordless phone system should continue to operate as normal.

wasty

Thanks Jenni

Yes, my cordless has a base unit and the other handsets just have power cradles to charge the batteries.

I bough the Call Minder from BT and I think that is it’s name, and it is in the base unit, so not before the base unit, so from what you say it should work.  It lets through people in my address book, but others have to announce themselves.  

I also have a corded phone and when I get an unknown call that always rings once, before the cordless interjects, it’s good because I get a pre-warning of an unknown caller.

jon81uk

When you switch over to Digital Voice you will either plug your existing phone into a socket on the broadband router instead of into a seperate phone socket, OR you can get new handsets from BT that work directly to the router.

flaneurs_lobster

Indeed, or you can do both. 

outtatune

My mum has BT Digital Voice in her flat, which is FTTP only. The hub (Smart Hub 2 I think) has a socket where you can connect an old analogue phone, she has her old Panasonic cordless base station connected in there, with the answer machine turned off. That allows her to use the other analogue handets and charging points exactly as before, alongside the new digital handset. It just means that she can only use the BT digital handset to pick up answer machine messages.

Jenni_D

Why won't the answer machine in the Panasonic work?

Where is the BT digital handset connected to, and how is that this gets the answer machine messages?

(Just asking as I know the OP will also wonder - and it'll be useful info for myself if/when BT switch me over, whenever that may be, as I have a BT double handset with Call Guardian and answerphone).

jon81uk

Jenni_D said:

Where is the BT digital handset connected to, and how is that this gets the answer machine messages?

(Just asking as I know the OP will also wonder - and it'll be useful info for myself if/when BT switch me over, whenever that may be, as I have a BT double handset with Call Guardian and answerphone).

The old handset connects to a socket on the router, see the picture under "are you using your own handset"
Digital Voice: How do I set up my service? | BT Help

The new digital voice handset connects directly to the router wirelessly, over the WiFi.
See the instructions under "are you using a DV handset" 
Digital Voice: How do I set up my service? | BT Help

Any answer phone messages will be BT 1571 I expect.

Jenni_D

jon81uk said:

Jenni_D said:

Where is the BT digital handset connected to, and how is that this gets the answer machine messages?

(Just asking as I know the OP will also wonder - and it'll be useful info for myself if/when BT switch me over, whenever that may be, as I have a BT double handset with Call Guardian and answerphone).

Any answer phone messages will be BT 1571 I expect.

That's why I asked ... currently I do not use 1571, and I suspect the OP is the same - the cordless set itself records messages after X number of rings without an answer. (Plus it uses BT Call Guardian / Trucall to vet calls vs the contacts/allowed lists). I see no reason why these can't still work on digital voice, provided that CLID still works as normal (for Call Guardian).

outtatune

Jenni_D said:

Why won't the answer machine in the Panasonic work?

Where is the BT digital handset connected to, and how is that this gets the answer machine messages?

(Just asking as I know the OP will also wonder - and it'll be useful info for myself if/when BT switch me over, whenever that may be, as I have a BT double handset with Call Guardian and answerphone).

The Panasonic answering machine probably does work, but the BT Digital Voice already has an answer machine service so it made sense to use that. If you prefer the answer machine on your existing cordless then I guess as long as it's set to kick in before the BT one does I don't see why it wouldn't work. You couldn't use both, because once one of them kicks in, the call is no longer unanswered!

The BT digital handset is connected wirelessly to the hub, can't remember the exact steps but it was a doddle to pair up. The answering service works exactly how you'd expect it to - an icon appears on the handset when there are new messages.