This topic

Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:17:48 GMT

Certain people can't get through to my father's landline even though they have not been barred. They are not are not all using the same mobile network so it's definitely a BT problem.

BT have tried to sort it repeatedly but not succeeded. Anyone else have this kind of problem?

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

HHGTTG — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:43:35 GMT

Have they put the correct full dialling code area for his landline phone into their relevant mobiles, which I suspect they have? Has your dad recently been changed to Digital Voice where his landline in now plugged into the green socket on the back of his BT router?
Just random, amateur's thoughts.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

WSH — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:57:33 GMT

Just to emphasize HHGTTG's point, if he has been changed to Digital Voice the whole number (i.e. including area code) needs to be entered even for local numbers.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 17:37:37 GMT

I'm not sure about the digital voice but I always use his area code and number whenever I dial and it's impossible to get through.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

iniltous — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 18:57:35 GMT

Is there any ‘history’ with your fathers landline telephone number , like it was with a different provider originally then ported at some point into BT , or was it originally a BT number , thenwas ported out to one or more providers before returning to BT , or has it always been a BT number with no other provider other responsible for it at any point in time ?

You say because calls from various mobile networks can’t get through it must be a BT issue , that may be true but it’s not necessarily so , what mobile networks in particular are the problems from as an example , Vodafone and ‘3’ are the same , and many MVNO’s like Voxi , Asda oblige , Smarty , Id mobile use VF/3 so effectively all the same network , and are any landline providers having the same issue like Virgin , Sky , Talk Talk etc ?

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:44:12 GMT

I can't get through (Vodafone), his carer (EE), the Surgery (BT).

He's always been with BT.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

HHGTTG — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:13:00 GMT

Do the people trying to phone him get an engaged tone or what? Is he placing the phone's handset back securely in the base? Does your father himself get a dial tone when he takes the phone off the base etc; what type of landline phone has he got?

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:23:42 GMT

No dial tone on my phone, 0 on his end. Everything is done correctly.

Both old phone and now a new one had same problem.

BT can't figure it out.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same problem.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

HHGTTG — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:53:46 GMT

If he has no dial tone then there must be a line fault, surely? BT can test his line remotely. Phone 0330 1234 150

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:19:30 GMT

Come on people. All the obvious has been tried.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

iniltous — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 07:48:27 GMT

Just for clarity , dialtone is the noise you hear on a landline phone when you ‘lift the handset’ before you dial the number , the question for people who call your father isn’t if they get dialtone but what tone or message is received, no tone (so silence after the number has been ‘dialled’ , NU tone (number unobtainable) or a voice message like ‘the number you have dialled has no been recognised, please check and try again’ , TBH calling from a mobile is not ideal as they can return nothing on failed calls (therefore not much help ) calling from a landline is more likely to return some sort of tone or announcement, so if possible try a call from a landline , preferably a couple from different providers , as an example) BT/EE and Sky , or Talk Talk , Plusnet , although I appreciate that may not be easy to accomplish.

Presumably your father is now on DV (Digital Voice ) so his phone is connected to his BT router, and the problems with incoming calls began after the change from PSTN to DV , when tbis issue occurs usually it’s either the number has been ported between various providers in the past , or affects just a single mobile operator , if the number has never been ported between various, and always been with BT , all they can do is check the move toDV was successful, if any calls from BT /EE landlines can get through that suggests it was done .

The only example I can think of that’s similar , a BT customer posting on here sometime ago had an issue , some incoming calls didn’t get through , after a little investigation (asking the people who said they couldn’t get through who they used for their outgoing calls ) it was a single company, with a few subsidiary brands , BT had no way to ask them to check their routing information was correct) other networks were fine , in the end that customer had BT renumber their ‘line’ as the other company (if I remember it was his son that was the most important caller who used that company) had asked them to investigate but they were not interested in that one of their customers couldn’t get through to one specific BT number ,

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

HHGTTG — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:30:44 GMT

Do we yet know whether @PatrickKnight146 father has Broadband? Many people haven't and indeed I know at least one person who hasn't and has no intention of getting it and so they'll have to have something fitted when PSTN is switched off if they still want to have a landline phone. I'm still on ADSL and shall remain so until that day comes.

We know very little about the father's circumstances in relation to how he lives i.e whether he is in his own residence be that a house/flat etc not that it is necessarily relevant and we don't know his ability as to how much he can sort this problem out at his end.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

Peter_W — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 08:55:50 GMT

Welcome to the Community, @PatrickKnight146

I want to be sure we've done all we can for your Father at our end, so I've just popped you over a private message so we can take some more details around this.

Speak soon,

Peter

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

HHGTTG — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:31:44 GMT

@PatrickKnight146

Any further developments since a moderator intervened?

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 21:05:08 GMT

The BT person seems to be properly on the case and the tech team will be trying one or two options. Fingers crossed.

Thanks to you and everyone else who made suggestions.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:20:17 GMT

The problem is solved!

Apparently when the digital voice was brought in in 2024 the number wasn't 'ported over' thoroughly enough or something like that.

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

Peter_W — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:23:35 GMT

Thanks for the update here, @PatrickKnight146

I'm really glad to hear you managed to get that sorted, and thanks for taking the time to come back and let us know, too.

You take care,

Peter

Re: Certain people can't get through to my father

PatrickKnight146 — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 08:43:01 GMT

🙂👍