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Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

jezzbennett — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 20:11:43 GMT

Hi,

My mother is in her 80s and has two landlines at home - one for broadband (which her smart hub 2 is connected to) and the other has always been a back up landline. It is the back up land line that she has had an old novelty analogue phone connected to. This has obviously stopped working now that the line is digital but we are wondering how to get it to work?

Appreciate that the simplest thing would be to buy a BT and EE Digital Voice Adapter and connect to her smart hub 2, but this is on the other line. Is there a converter or anything that will simply allow this novelty phone to be used on the phone line which doesn't have fibre?

Thanks.

Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

jac_95 — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 20:12:39 GMT

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Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

licquorice — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 21:17:41 GMT

Where to start.

Digital Voice and fibre are 2 entirely different things, fibre is not required for Digital Voice.

A purely analogue phone line is unlikely to have been converted to DV, you cannot have DV without some form of broadband, it not a question of buying anything to make it work.

Phone only lines will be the last to be converted to DV and the necessary equipment will be provided in order for it to happen.

Are you sure there are actually 2 discrete lines, it seems unlikely overkill.

Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

RIC9380 — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 21:33:44 GMT

What is the "old novelty analogue phone"? BT's Digital Voice service does not support Loop Disconnect (Pulse Dialling) but a pulse to DTMF converter should work on e.g. old 706 phones.

RIC9380

Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

jezzbennett — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 08:14:44 GMT

Not sure I fully understand.

Yes, there are two discreet lines - they have two separate numbers.

I (perhaps wrongly) assumed that because one of her lines was now fibre, it would have meant that both lines would have been made digital.

I know the phone works as we plugged it into the back of the smart hub 2 on the other line and it worked.

Thanks.

Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

jezzbennett — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 08:18:51 GMT

Not sure of the technical details, but it is one of these.

Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

iniltous — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:10:12 GMT

If the novelty phone works connected to the SH2 ( and therefore with Digital Voice ) it must be a ‘touch tone’ phone ( technically called DTMF) , for any number dialled to be recognised and responded to , otherwise the dialtone would continue after the dialed phone number had been entered , legacy PSTN lines , which presumably the telephone only line still is , recognises dual signaling, DTMF and LD ( loop disconnect ) , think of it as old rotary dial phones, if the novelty phine has a switch DTMF/LD , try the novelty phone in the ordinary line but with the switch set to LD .

If the PSTN equipment in the exchange ( which is pretty elderly, one of the reasons it’s being retired in favour of IP telephony like DV ) has a fault it may not be responding to the DTMF ‘tones’ the novelty phone is providing, but may still respond to LD , but to prove this conclusively you need to connect another more modern phone to the phoneline and see if this alternative /replacement phone cannot make a call either …if it can , the novelty phone is the culprit and needs replacing, irrespective of it being usable on the DV /SH2 ‘line’ , if a replacement modern phone doesn’t work either ( on the telephone only line ) report the PSTN line as faulty.

This is only relevant with outgoing calls , the signalling, DTMF or loop disconnect doesnt affect incoming calls , you don’t sate if it’s both incoming and outgoing calls that you are having an issue with .

Re: Using an old analogue phone on new digital line

Kodikid — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 12:01:52 GMT

Mate if you're having a backup line for mum's safety then two things

1. Analogue or DV if one fails they both fail.

2. A old novelty phone as back up..really?

Anyways if you're concerned about mum you need to show her how to use a simple mobile phone. This is truly a backup if the landline fails.