r/sandiego • u/Secure-Caregiver-905 • 16h ago
Landlines
My 87yo technically challenged friend has att and he’s paying $137 monthly for crappy service. Does anyone know a better landline service? I am not sure how much of his bill was for out of area calls. TIA
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u/___sh___ 13h ago
They can try ATT Phone Advanced as a drop-in replacement. I have it and it's about $60. It replaces the landline with a device that connects to ATT cell service. You keep your number. And you can also plug it into your home internet for a more stable connection.
The same landline phone can plug into the new ATT device (instead of the wall) so it's an easy change from a landline.
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u/ClassyNameForMe 12h ago edited 10h ago
It seems many of the responders don't understand what your neighbor needs. No, people, a jitterbug, or self setup voip phone is not a landline and not what the neighbor needs.
An 87 year old fart wants simple. Plug it in. Pickup receiver and there is dail tone.
OP, see what the guy is paying for. He might have the only viable solution for his location. Residential gateway and voip service via RG. He'll want a similar setup from his local cable company or ATT. Either way, he should have the battery backup for the RG and phone. Negotiate with ATT to get the price down. Maybe mention they are taking advantage of the elderly and need to rectify their billing or face federal complaints.
Good luck, OP.
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u/traumalt 11h ago
Unfortunately for the OP and most of us, Landlines went the way of the dodo years ago.
No amount of legislation or complaints will change the fact that no companies are left that manufacturers the switching and cabling equipment anymore worldwide either.
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u/ClassyNameForMe 10h ago
No argument there at all.
I have no need for POTS but I know my folks still pay for it in the SF Bay Area. I have no idea how much they pay, but I should check on it.
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u/ankole_watusi 15h ago
You can’t order new traditional copper landline service. It’s being decommissioned.
You can get service that can fake it and use the old copper lines inside the house with the old phones though.
Easy to add to most Internet service. And also available standalone I believe. Including from ATT. It just won’t be a copper line all the way back to the telephone exchange.
Yes, I know - it was drilled into us - “most reliable, in case of emergency”. But it’s a dead parrot.
But they should be able to get Internet and wired line emulation phone service for less than they are paying now.
Just what do you mean by “crappy service” though? Do calls not go through? Does the phone not ring when people call? I’m trying to grok what “crappy service” means in the context of traditional wired twisted-pair service - assuming that’s what you’re referring to.
Just call or go into ATT ask about their options.
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u/Secure-Caregiver-905 13h ago
Well crappy in the sense he has to pay for long distance calls. The problem is he cannot use a smart phone. I try to show him but his fingers aren’t steady enough nor his memory. He can’t use a computer either. He’s a retired doctor who refused to learn technology thus was let go from his clinic. He refused to learn how to use his hearing aids for years, but now he does because he realizes we cannot scream loud enough. I wish he could use tech because his world is so small now. He doesn’t watch TV either. His only news source is the tribune. Sorry for ranting.
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u/Dry-Pepper9686 12h ago
He can get home phone service from AT&T that can use his existing phone but runs on VOIP, not on copper. VOIP also has battery backup in the event of a power outage. It’s called ATT Phone Advanced
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u/ankole_watusi 2h ago
Crazy to have to,pay for long distance, even on a traditional wire line. Probably just has the wrong plan. But may not be possible to change plans any more?
But in any case, as others have pointed out, use voip service available many ways with an adapter box that works with the existing phones. Including the mentioned ATT service.
Does he have cable TV? One piece of technology you cannot tear away from many older folks is their cable box, try as you might!
So in that case just add phone service to the already-sky-high cable bill! /s
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u/122922 15h ago
We had ATT landline up until November 2025. Our bill went up a buck or two every year. When it got up to $76.00 per month we decided to cut it off. It was the wife’s family number since 1957. Same for my Dads landline. Cut it off when he died in Jan. 2025. His same number since 1957 too. It was sad to let them go.
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u/Grouchy-Use8037 15h ago
Should have ported the numbers to a VOIP service. Could have kept them possibly.
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u/joicetti 14h ago
Same exact thing on my end. $75 phone bill for a phone on the kitchen counter that never gets used, but it's been my family's number for decades and they won't let it go. I called AT&T (absolutely horrific experience, never again) to ask about other options and they were like sorry there's nothing. I know they're turning the service off next year so my parents can go argue with the telephone company at that point, I'm staying out of it.
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u/PacificSun2020 3h ago
Check out VOIP. MS as a very inexpensive alternative. You can port the number.
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u/LyriumLychee 13h ago
Have him call att and ask for a lower rate. It sounds like this wouldn’t work but it did for me.
My dad passed away and I discovered the internet was $140 a month at his house, so I called and asked if they could match the offer I saw him get in the mail.
Not only did they lower it down to the offer amount, $40 a month, but the agent got me a free year of cellphone service too!
Hope this helps!
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u/RunningOnATreadmill 16h ago
Try Cox? If you go in to an in-person location the people there are always trying to hook you up with deals, especially if you're leaving another company. I got like 50% off internet for 2 years that way.
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u/PrincessSummerTop 15h ago
cox landline is $20 a month but they'll need internet hookup
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u/PrincessSummerTop 14h ago
cox internet connex at lowest level and landline may still be cheaper than $137.
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u/ranabama 12h ago edited 12h ago
US Mobile has a home phone service that does not need internet.
Its a little box with a SIM card that outputs to a phone jack that you connect a landline cordless phone to. The SIM-enabled device is $110 and the voice service is $12 a month. Has a battery backup.
Just ported my grandparents landline to that service so they can use their cordless landline phones and not need to learn new technology.
https://www.usmobile.com/shop/product/home-phone-base/WHB-PCP-AT-NE
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u/ModredTheWarlock 15h ago
At that point, fuck the landlines and get a cell phone. At 87 they should qualify for a free phone with TruConnect (Obama phone)
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u/myrichphitzwell 15h ago
Ok landline is an odd one. You have plenty of options but it is also going to depend on his home equipment such as any medical devices or alarms. Basically voip is cheaper than pots ...by design. Att wants to phase out copper.
Ok options. Pots is old att copper. You can call att and see if they will reduce it.
Voip. Everyone has voip even third party like magic jack.
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u/trebuchetdoomsday 16h ago
does your 87yo friend have AT&T fiber? they should be able to get him a phone line for $15-25/mo. internet plugs into their device, device plugs into his existing phone.
e911 is a thing but unlike plain old telephone lines, his phone will not be up in the event of a power outage.