This topic

Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:00:14 GMT

In March I renewed my BT account, with them for years, and without being told I was being changed to Digital.

Lots of issues but finally now escalated to a member of the 'Executive Complaints' team. She is phoning me back on Friday. But in the meantime after being given a new hub and now 2 discs to help signal PLUS the big button standby phone - it is not easy to think this is a step forward!!! (I miss the security of a land line)

I have a 4 questions that I wonder if you could help me with -

1. We are on the old copper line - how does Digital work with this?

2. Our cottage has 2 ft thick walls and mobile signal are not good at all. (Even 3 engineers who came out trying to get me 'on line' when new contract started - will vouch for no signal and had to go outside to use their mobiles.)

3. I have paired my BT Cordless phone. Now on two occasions talking to my son the line has gone dead. Yesterday we were talking but the interference was terrible. So rang him back and just as bad. So reverted to using my mobile going upstairs to get a better signal. Weather yesterday a clear day - so cannot blame weather. (This unpredictability of using my home phone is really disconcerting at my age of 81 years of age. )

4. My new hub is in the same place as it always has been. But now a digital hub is it more temperamental in our cottage?

I appreciate that there is no choice once I am told 'you are now going digital' but surely it should be an improvement not a step backwards for me.

Note: Just a thought my BT Cordless phone with 2 handsets - can it cope with digital? I may be grasping at straws here but it seems you do when faced with this.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

licquorice — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:16:11 GMT

Digital Voice works in exactly the same way as any other internet service such as looking at a website so will obviously work with copper.

Digital Voice handsets don't use WiFi, they use the same cordless technology (DECT) as any normal cordless phone. Discs won't help.

Rather than pair your cordless phone to the hub directly, try plugging the base station into the green socket at the rear of the hub and pair your handsets to the base station as you did before.

The only change you needed to make was to simply unplug your base station from the old phone socket and plug it into the hub instead.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

Kimberlin — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 08:53:02 GMT

@GillyFB People can get quite defensive when asked as it’s generally none of anyone else’s business, but how much per month are you paying for your phone and broadband service? I’m assuming you do have broadband? I only ask, because there are seemingly lots of folk out there paying a horrific amount of money every month for sometimes a pretty poor service.

As for your mobile phone, is it a smart phone such as a recent iPhone or another type of phone that can connect to WiFi? Again, I only ask because many smartphones will now connect directly to your home broadband using VoiP when the setting ‘Enable WiFi calling’ is enabled on the smartphone which means no external mobile phone signal is needed. The 3 engineers that attended your home would have been fully aware of this as they are undoubtedly issued with smartphones and could have easily connected to your home broadband router to make calls if required. This is what most of the rest of us do who long ago discarded our landline, we just use our smartphones as VoiP phones through our routers. No signal, no problem. Clearly if you don’t have a smartphone with the capability, then it’s very much irrelevant for you.

I fully appreciate it’s a big change for you and it isn’t easy. I hope you can adjust to the new system.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:56:44 GMT

Thank you - please be patient as I am 80+ years of age.😀

1. I do understand the discs are to help the wi-fi signal for internet, TV, etc.

2. To be quite truthful I cannot remember how I paired my BT Cordless phones at the start. I know I want to keep the base unit plugged into our kitchen work top. (Are my handsets referred to as Digital Voice?)

I successfully did this and using a wall plug I plugged in a twin socket. One socket used for the Cordless phone base station and one for the ?thing that has a green light that I paired it with. I was so pleased at the time I achieved this!

3. So are you saying that it is better to plug my phone base station directly into the hub? Is that why the call drops or distorted?

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:06:27 GMT

Thank you - it seems so much to take in. (We have had many health problems with hospital visits and home insurance needing renewal, etc, etc all at the same as being changed over to Digital.)

I will tell you how much I pay when I get this sorted out. As for my mobile it is not an Apple?! What I will do is read your questions out to my son when I speak to him later today.

In the meantime - just went to make another call on my landline and message said someone else on line! I finished a call re home insurance about 30 mins earlier and time on phone sometimes goes wrong. So wondering if I need to get a new mobile?!😞

P.S. I can use WhatsApp on my mobile and receive emails and numerous text from BT to tell me that I need to return something, or they have received something, etc, etc.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

Kimberlin — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:08:31 GMT

@GillyFB Honestly, you don’t have to divulge how much you’re paying, I’m more concerned that you fall into the vulnerable category and could be paying far too much per month for a service that isn’t giving you the benefit you expect.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:33:04 GMT

I embrace technology and years ago when I was in my 40's the internet came and I ended up going on a course, then as a mature student on a 2 year full time University Course - to prove something to myself. I then taught basic computing skills, etc, etc. for several years

Now - this has made me feel I am going backwards. I am always ready to learn. I have since saw articles where BT are doing workshops to help people understand Digital. I was dropped right into it - but - do they ask at these workshops about your home construction, etc, etc?

We had a power cut several years ago because of a nasty storm and we were without electric for a week or more. The landline came into its own. NOW!!! The big button phone which 8 hours battery that you must keep charged at all times ! That's another experience I am not looking forward to.

Note: My research showed that you can get a standby battery that weight 3 kg in case of an emergency - I mentioned this to the lady who is calling me back and she said there was no need for it. My question is if the same thing happened again, power cut for a week, and family rang me then they would be using up my 8 hours of battery.

As I said at the moment I feel I am going backwards with technology. But!!! Thank you for letting me have a moan!😉

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

licquorice — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:23:55 GMT

With all things that involve wireless technology, WiFi or DECT, it is a case of trial and error, it is not a precise science, more a black art. Try plugging the base station directly into the hub and see if things improve, or try the adapter in a different location.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:14:26 GMT

Thank you. Will try and get my head around this. But I found my BT - two handsets - worked fine before. So why should I have to cope with 'trying' things out?

Surely technology is supposed to make my life easier? Not enter the world of Black Art which I have read can be a source of mystery and depth, often leaving viewers to interpret the meaning for themselves.

So the meaning I have interpreted is you have to learn the hard way and give up precious days of your life trying to get back to some form of normality.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

gg30340 — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:24:14 GMT

Have a read through this post by @licquorice it may help you with some of your questions.

Solved: Digital Voice FAQs - BT Community

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

imjolly — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:26:18 GMT

just connect your existing phone base unit to the green socket on back of hub and your existing phone should work as before. remember with digital voice you must use the full phone number not any short code numbers like you could do for local calls on previous phone system

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

licquorice — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:29:39 GMT

If your base station was previously plugged into a phone socket adjacent to your hub, all that was needed was to simply unplug it and plug it into the hub and it would have continued to work as before. Nothing else needed.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:53:07 GMT

I quote from my previous post -

'2. To be quite truthful I cannot remember how I paired my BT Cordless phones at the start. I know I want to keep the base unit plugged into our kitchen work top. (Are my handsets referred to as Digital Voice?)'

So Hub is in dining room on a dresser next to external socket inside window. My base unit is out in kitchen which I walk to from dining room - no door - only thick internal walls.

Again thank you all for input.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:55:13 GMT

Thank you - I can open link and will read through later. Weather is so lovely and helping husband get bean stick up

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

chrisjp — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:14:21 GMT

"...but - do they ask at these workshops about your home construction, etc, etc?"

Digital voice is not affected at all by a home's construction, and operates exactly as the old analogue landline did. The only difference is that the phone, or better the phone's base station, is plugged into the internet router instead of the old wall socket.
The home construction will affect the WiFi signal throughout the house but, if you were getting acceptable WiFi when your old landline was in use, there is absolutely no reason why this would change when you were converted to DV.
WiFi and DV are completely separate - one does not affect the other.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

licquorice — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:37:32 GMT

My bean sticks put up Saturday 😀😀

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:46:52 GMT

Maybe we are older (81 & 83) and therefore slower?! 🤔 Good luck with harvest and we only plant Cobra beans now.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

licquorice — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 19:37:06 GMT

You're not that much older. Hopefully get a good crop this year now I've muntjac proofed the garden 😃 Not tried Cobra, runners up the sticks and Stanley french dwarf beans.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

GillyFB — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:09:46 GMT

Cobra - also climb up sticks but 'stringless' i.e. just cut diagonally and ready to eat. Good luck with your crop. Back to Digital tomorrow to get my head around that.

Re: Changed unexpected to Digital - now issues.

licquorice — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:02:41 GMT

Did you get chance to try your base station plugged directly into the hub?

That will reduce 2 links in a chain to just one

By plugging your base station into the adapter, you create 2 DECT links. One from your handset to the base station and then another from the adapter to the hub.