- Your provider has written about "Digital Voice" or a digital landline
- You or someone you look after has a care alarm or pendant
- Your landline is important in an emergency
- The switch-off deadline is January 2027. Your provider will contact you before your line changes.
What changes
- Your home phone plugs into the broadband router (into a socket marked Phone or Tel), or into an adapter your provider sends.
- Calls work the same way and your number stays the same.
- The big difference: if the router is switched off, or there's a power cut, the landline won't work unless you have a battery back-up.
Checklist if the phone matters for safety
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Tell your provider about care alarms
If anyone uses a care alarm (telecare pendant or button), tell your phone provider and the alarm company. Providers have committed not to switch people with care alarms over until the alarm is confirmed to work on a digital line.
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Ask about a battery back-up
Ask your provider for a battery back-up unit, especially if you don't have a working mobile phone. Providers must make sure people who need it can still call 999 for at least an hour in a power cut.
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Test the care alarm after the switch
On the day your line changes, press the alarm pendant and check the monitoring centre answers. If it doesn't, contact the alarm company straight away.
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Keep a mobile phone charged
A charged mobile is the simplest back-up for emergencies during a power cut.
Everyday tips
- Don't switch the router off at night. Your phone runs through it.
- Stick a note on the router: "Home phone runs through this. Please don't switch off."
- No dial tone? Check the router's lights show it's online (WiFi and internet guide), the phone is plugged into the router's Phone socket, and the phone base has power.
- Restarting the router cuts the phone for a few minutes. That's normal.
- Don't press the router's reset pinhole. It can wipe the phone settings.
- A care alarm doesn't connect when tested
- No dial tone even though the internet works
- Someone phones claiming you must pay to "keep your landline" (scam: your provider will write to you)
Still stuck? I'm happy to help.
If this didn't sort it, or you'd rather not do it yourself, get in touch. I cover Sheffield S20 and the surrounding areas.
Did this guide help? These guides are free for everyone. If it saved you a call-out, you can say thanks with a coffee.
Buy me a coffeeThese guides are general advice for home users, checked in September 2026. Menus can differ slightly between versions of Windows and between phone makers. If something looks different or you're unsure, stop and ask rather than guessing. Parmar Tech Solutions can't accept responsibility for problems caused by following these steps, so please back up anything important first.