This topic

What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

BLaZiNgSPEED — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 17:01:54 GMT

Hello,

On Monday I have switched to BT Home Essential 2 (FTTC). I'm in the process of migrating from TalkTalk FTTC after over 2 years. I mainly switched because TalkTalk out of contract price hiked to £40 a month and BT is offering same deal for £20 a month for Social Tariff. I'm supposed to be live by the 18th of July.

Anyway, I opted and selected the Digital Voice option with the free Alexa Advanced Home Phone.

Alexa Advanced Home Phone	-
Smart Hub 2	-

I received an email and text message with a tutorial and video that says the new Alexa phone needs connecting to the router. Does this mean that if a traditional phone is plugged into the Master Socket (Faceplate NTE5C) telephone port, there will be no signal?

Will Digital Voice mean Analogue phone gets disconnected altogether making the telephone port useless with BT? Or will they work side by side at the same time?

There seems to be no clarification on that. I have an existing vintage Antique Telephone Old Fashioned phone. I heard I need an adapter for that to connect and use it with the router for digital voice? There was an option for that, but instead I selected Alexa Advanced Home Phone instead as it seems like the better choice.

But if I don't and just plug it to the telephone socket does it function or is Digital Voice 100% replacing analogue?

I'm aware of December 2025 analogue turn off. But I'm curious to know if Digital Voice and analogue run side by side.

Many thanks.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

jac_95 — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 17:02:16 GMT

Hi BLaZiNgSPEED,

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Community.

This is an automated response as I can see you have a question about BT’s Digital Voice service. Rather than waiting for a response from the Community, you may find an answer to your question by using the search bar on the Community homepage. We also have a thread that contains a wealth of info related to BT’s Digital Voice, click this link to take a look, Digital Voice FAQs.

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Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

imjolly — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 17:15:18 GMT

Once you move to DV then your existing phone socket in master socket will not work (unless you make some changes)

However you can connect existing old phones to phone socket on the back of hub and phone will work

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

BLaZiNgSPEED — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 17:36:57 GMT

Many thanks for that clarification! That is what I suspected, but wasn't sure.

You say that I can then plug this old traditional telephone to the router and it still will work. But does that not mean I will need the adapter?

I just had a look at this guide https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/user-guides/Digital-Voice-Adapter-userguide.pdf

This guide shows the Digital Voice adapter plugged into the power socket and telephone to the DV adapter rather than to the router. Yet, in other guides it says you can connect traditional phone with the router and not just Alexa phone.

Is this DV Adapter only needed if you want a phone far away from the router, say in another room? Otherwise there aren't any other special benefits to it? If all that's needed is connecting old phone to the router?

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

jac_95 — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 17:55:58 GMT

@BLaZiNgSPEED wrote:
You say that I can then plug this old traditional telephone to the router and it still will work. But does that not mean I will need the adapter?

....

Is this DV Adapter only needed if you want a phone far away from the router, say in another room? Otherwise there aren't any other special benefits to it? If all that's needed is connecting old phone to the router?

There are 3 ways to use BT Digital voice based on your preference:

1. Use your existing handset and plug into the green phon port on the back of the Smart Hub 2

2. If your want to use your existing handset but don't/can't plug in into the back of the Smart Hub 2 say due to wanting it in a different location, then you can use the BT Digital Voice adaptor to wirelessly connect back to the Smart Hub 2 via DECT.

3. The BT Digital Voice specific handsets that wirelessly connect to the Smart Hub 2 via DECT

So to answer your question, yes you can connect your existing handsets's base station into the back of the Smart Hub 2 via the green phone port. The BT Digital Voice adaptors are just for you to connect your existing handsets if you don't want to position it next to and plug it into the back of the Smart Hub 2.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

licquorice — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 18:16:27 GMT

@BLaZiNgSPEED wrote:

Many thanks for that clarification! That is what I suspected, but wasn't sure.

You say that I can then plug this old traditional telephone to the router and it still will work. But does that not mean I will need the adapter?

I just had a look at this guide https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/user-guides/Digital-Voice-Adapter-userguide.pdf

This guide shows the Digital Voice adapter plugged into the power socket and telephone to the DV adapter rather than to the router. Yet, in other guides it says you can connect traditional phone with the router and not just Alexa phone.

Is this DV Adapter only needed if you want a phone far away from the router, say in another room? Otherwise there aren't any other special benefits to it? If all that's needed is connecting old phone to the router?

As all explained in the FAQ

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

VeteranISPUser — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 18:38:13 GMT

Hi @BLaZiNgSPEED

The digital voice adapters are cheap to buy so you have a choice, connect your existing phone to the back of the SH2 or use a DV Adapter.

https://shop.bt.com/products/bt-digital-voice-adapter-100121-bt1-G4Z7.html

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

Devon_Dave — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 19:11:20 GMT

Just to make you aware that the vintage phone if connected to the hub pstn port will work for incoming calls however if your vintage phone uses pulse dialling this is not compatible. And you will not be able to make calls. There are pulse to tone convertors available, suggest a Google search.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

BLaZiNgSPEED — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 16:51:46 GMT

Many thanks for the explanation! In case I can't use my traditional phone, it won't be a deal breaker as I will have the new Alexa phone to use instead.

Am I correct to think that this service is the equivalent of SoGEA (Single Order Generic Ethernet Access), but simply has Digital Voice added to the package instead?

Since analogue phone is naturally turned off and Digital Voice being activated instead, this should mean a more reliable service, right?

I think this should be positive news because before I use to have problems sometimes when internet would disconnect when unplugging and replugging the telephone wire into the master socket. Frankly, even the upgraded NTE5c faceplate socket did not completely fix this issue when I upgraded to FTTC over 2 years ago.

Also I had problems where connection would drop out when it was ringing, something that was more common in ADSL.

But my solution was to simply leave the phone line unplugged and never use it. Hopefully with the transition to Digital Voice I no longer have to worry about this problem! 🙂

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

licquorice — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 17:01:54 GMT

No, it is not SoGEA. That has no voice capability at all.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

BLaZiNgSPEED — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 17:15:41 GMT

I understand it is not quite SoGEA. My point was if analogue voice is turned off due to Digital Voice being activated, isn't that the same in this respect?

I mean, the telephone voice service will not work if I plug the phone to the main master socket due to Analogue telephone line being turned off in the process.

This means I should no longer have this problem to worry about broadband connection losing sync as phone will be plugged in the router instead? Also when phone is ringing, that should no longer trigger disconnection as the phone service is used digitally through broadband instead of old analogue line.

That is what I had in mind. I'm hoping that this will resolve the problem for good & that would be great news!

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

licquorice — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 17:45:16 GMT

If incoming phone calls disconnected your broadband, there is a fault on your line. Whilst moving to DV will mean incoming calls won't affect your broadband in the same way, the fault will still be there.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

jac_95 — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 19:23:29 GMT

@BLaZiNgSPEED @licquorice just to clarify things yes this is Single Order GEA (SOGEA) product in terms of Openreach i.e there is no voice service bring supplies under WLR and just a single order broadband connection (https://landlinesgo.digital/openreach-the-digital-upgrade-to-all-ip-brochure/ page 5)

This however doesn't mean that if you have a underlying line issue that moving to VoIP will solve it. If your broadband connection used to disconnect when your phone rang this would suggest there there's some line issue that could affect your broadband.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

licquorice — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 19:27:05 GMT

@jac_95 thanks for the clarification

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

BLaZiNgSPEED — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 19:42:31 GMT

Many thanks for the clarification. Indeed, that's what I was thinking that it's basically Single Order GEA (SOGEA) with Digital Voice. So there is no line rental but the broadband package overall costs more due to digital voice and free Alexa handset. I just had a read on the advantages of SoGEA. https://www.4ssystems.co.uk/advantages-of-sogea-broadband/

More reliable service "Although the performance of SoGEA Broadband is the same as FTTC, the reliability and stability of the Broadband will be much improved as less interference will occur, and unstable connections will be minimised."

So with BT having Digital Voice that might explain why they have better reliability scores in rating reviews.

At least on ADSL (previously Exchange Only line) when it did disconnect, it would be almost every time when the phone rang. Unfortunately no BT Openreach engineer at that time was able to solve the problem. Every time they said that they couldn't detect a fault. Plugging the telephone port into the master socket also triggered connection drops.

In October 2019 my EO Line finally got upgraded to FTTC. I switched to TalkTalk in February 2020 on a 24 month contract. This was supposed to be with a free new line install as part of TalkTalk agreement. But when the Openreach engineer came he refused to install a new line saying that he couldn't find any faults. I also wanted the copper line inside my flat to be slightly cut shorter ( as it is almost 10 meters longer) as it is unnecessarily circulating in the passage hallway. But anyway, all he did was install NTE5C faceplate.

The problem was somewhat resolved. At least I no longer have any disconnection issues with the main broadband now. I simply leave the telephone unplugged. I have not tested to see if ringing triggers the disconnection. But I can confirm that plugging and unplugging the telephone line from the faceplate socket repeatedly does cause the broadband connection to lose sync, though less frequently than before on ADSL! Anyway, I didn't care as I simply left phone line unplugged so that way I don't have any problems.

However, I'm pretty sure the move to VoIP will solve the problem as plugging the phone into the router will no longer cause these drop outs. That's the only real problem I had with the broadband connection losing sync. Other than that my connection has been smooth last 2 years. I'm also now waiting for CommunityFibre (FTTP) works to be completed in my building soon. So I joined BT Home Essentials as I know I can quit penalty free.

I think the transition to Digital Voice for FTTC should solve at least this problem for now.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

licquorice — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 19:43:53 GMT

Line rental has nothing to do with telephony. Line rental is still payable for SoGEA but is incorporated into the broadband package as it is with all packages now.

The price difference between no telephony and PAYG telephony (whether DV or Analogue) is at a maximum only £5/m

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

BLaZiNgSPEED — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 20:16:19 GMT

I see that the difference is only £5. £31.99 broadband only vs broadband and phone at £36.99.
BT is actually quite expensive compared to the rest of the providers, though! I managed to get the deal for £20 a month with BT Home Essentials on Social Tariff.

Currently only BT and a few providers offer Digital Voice upgrade for FTTC. This will be my first experience using DV and BT as an ISP. Considering there is no actual landline it's still normally quite costly.

BT is actually around £10-15 more expensive than TalkTalk, Now, Vodafone, Onestream, Shell, etc.
TalkTalk for me was £21.75 when I first joined 2 years ago, but they now price hiked to £39.86 a month out of contract! I found BT's offer for £20 a month and joined straightaway!

Technically we don't need phone service even though it's included as part of the package on ADSL and FTTC as most of us have mobile phones. On FTTP broadband only you can get deals much cheaper for faster like Hyperoptic and CommunityFibre.

Digital Voice will be the default for all FTTC providers by December 2025 and I think prices will be more competitively matched especially when the whole country gets upgraded to FTTP.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

licquorice — Sun, 10 Jul 2022 20:22:53 GMT

There's no telephony but there is a physical line which needs to be maintained , how do you think broadband gets to your house without a physical line. That is what the line rental portion of the package covers, not telephony.

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

Tim123 — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 11:07:39 GMT

@BLaZiNgSPEED

Something to bear in mind if using an analogue phone with Digital Voice: the Recall button will no longer work. This is because Recall uses pulse dialling (also known as loop-disconnect dialling), which BT have decided not to support on Digital Voice. Recall is used to semi-hang up the call, leaving it open so that another number can be dialled into the conversation, or to toggle between two calls. In other words, both '3-Way Calling' and 'Call Waiting' won't be possible unless you buy a Digital Voice handset. There is no Recall button on the DV handsets, presumably they perform that function some other way. Obviously, if you don't use either of those calling features you have nothing to worry about. I don't believe a pulse-to-tone converter would help in this instance, but I may be wrong.

I find Recall a great way of dealing with any junk calls I accidentally answer. Press "R" button - leave for a few seconds (optional) for caller to hear BT network voice saying "Please hold the line" - then hang up. Phone rings again - caller hears ringing tone, is properly confused and gives up! 🤣

Re: What happens to analogue phone line when switching to Digital Voice?

Angelica30 — Tue, 12 Jul 2022 21:59:02 GMT

I too have a new contract with BT and I wanted same as before however I found out today I have been switched to digital so my phones did not ring all day and only by speaking to tech I found out phone had to be plugged into hub. In no part of the call when setting up new contract was it mentioned to me about moving to digital, or explained to me that phone had to be plugged into the hub. Only that I would get a free alexa phone, which I said I didn't want. I have raised a complaint and I will be speaking to them tomorrow to put me back to analog. What they don't realise is that us old age pensioners who don't have mobile phones cannot call 999 if there is a power cut or Internet goes down. I am not a happy customer at the moment. And to add, the free phone has not even arrived!