Battery life on BT (Landline?) phones

[JohnMutley_65]

Have had 3 BT 8600 Trio handset phones for a while, (cannot find a receipt!)  a couple had started to "drop off" after only 30-40 mins conversation,  I am presuming battery problem, anyone else out there  had similar problem?

As our current contract with BT expires in June we are considering not renewing with BT as the old safety net of having a phone working when there is a power cut is no longer available due to VOIP , so any thoughts/comments would be welcome.   

[gg30340]

The chances are that it is the rechargeable batteries that are failing.

As regards landline phones being changed to VOIP. This is happening to all landline phones that use the Openreach infrastructure so moving provider to get a "copper" landline that uses the Openreach infrastructure will be impossible.

Your options will be to get Digital Voice from BT or get a VOIP service from a provider of your choice or use the mobile phone networks.

As for what happens when there is a power cut. There are numerous threads about this on the forum so rather than repeating everything here you would be better to have a search through the forum and you will find all the information you need.

[Mooly]

If you do by chance decide to get new batteries and stick with BT and VOIP then be aware that many phones 'object' to higher capacity batteries being used and which at face value would be an obvious choice. Failure to charge when these are fitted is fairly common.

Poundland seem to often have Kodak AAA rechargeable cells assuming these are what are fitted to yours and these are 'low' capacity and perfect for cordless phones.

[barnpiece]

Best not to leave them on the bases plugged into mains the whole time.

I have had a pair on Digital Voice phones and only one base plugged in. I got used to swapping them roughly every 12 hours, one upstairs and one downstairs plugged in. They are still going strong after more than 5 years.

Richard

[Mooly]

I sometimes run mine down and find it can go around 4 days before the low batt warning appears. Even then the cells read around 1.2 volt under load and I can go another two or three days before recharging. I do that every  six months or so. 

Mine is around 6 years old and now the new Kodak 300mAh cells are as good as the original BT supplied 500mAh ones so there has been some loss of capacity which is to be expected. 

[JohnMutley_65]

Thanks for that info, makes sense now what you say but I fear the damage may already be done.

John. 

[JohnMutley_65]

Thanks for your comments, I am aware of the move away from copper landline, (more's the pity) we had BT Digital Voice imposed on us by BT a while back, not impressed, calls drop off occasionally, BT is no longer the reliable service it was, all to do with profit margins isn't it, maintaining quality of customer service went out of the window some time ago.

Looks like we will have to be reliant nowadays on just a mobile, the grandchildren of tomorrow will not comprehend that we used to have an efficient telephone system that worked, took your calls when you were out, and you did not have to carry a mobile around with you.

As regards power cuts, yes, I am aware of the comments and criticisms  from those many parts of the UK where people are cut off during power cuts, the "techy" guys just do not think ahead and look at a wider picture or plan ahead, they only know what they know.

Thank you again for taking the trouble to reply.

John.

[gg30340]

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@JohnMutley_65wrote:

Thanks for your comments, I am aware of the move away from copper landline, (more's the pity) we had BT Digital Voice imposed on us by BT a while back, not impressed, calls drop off occasionally, BT is no longer the reliable service it was, all to do with profit margins isn't it, maintaining quality of customer service went out of the window some time ago. It is Openreach not BT retail that is closing down the "copper". The landline phone infrastructure exchanges, lines etc is so old and expensive to maintain and along with that it was never designed for broadband and certainly not at the speeds that are now available so it has had its day and technology moves on.

Looks like we will have to be reliant nowadays on just a mobile, the grandchildren of tomorrow will not comprehend that we used to have an efficient telephone system that worked, took your calls when you were out, and you did not have to carry a mobile around with you. BT Digital Voice has a free answering service and you can divert your calls to a mobile phone if needed so they will also allow you to take calls when you are out. You can also take two calls at the same time. The grandchildren  will also be unable to believe that you could not use your phone anywhere except at home and that we used old decrepit copper phone lines to deliver broadband at a max speed of 80/100 Mbps when they can now have over 900 Mbps 

As regards power cuts, yes, I am aware of the comments and criticisms  from those many parts of the UK where people are cut off during power cuts, the "techy" guys just do not think ahead and look at a wider picture or plan ahead, they only know what they know. If you presently use a cordless phone, which I bet the majority of people who still have a landline phone do, they also stop working if there is a power cut. 

Thank you again for taking the trouble to reply.

John.

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