Blacklist and Digital Voice directing calls to voicemail

[Queenie9]

Hi there. I have an elderly mother who takes around 90 to 120 seconds to reach the home phone to answer,  due to limited mobility. Unwanted cold/scam callers cause her distress, and we're concerned for her as she is vulnerable to manipulative people. Does activating the blacklist function mean that the digital voice phone will send all non-blacklisted calls to voicemail after a certain number of rings, before my elderly mother can get to the phone? She is not tech savvy enough to grasp how to access voicemail, which means she would miss the few genuine calls that she does get. Unfortunately she is unable to use  portable handsets, due to mislaying them and not managing to keep it with her. She finds even basic mobiles too complicated and again they get mislaid.

[Gaz2023]

Not sure this helps but there are a few things I would suggest:

1, From your mothers DV phone dial 1571 and select the settings to make sure the phone rings as long as possible (or short) to give the best chance for her to answer before being diverted to voicemail. Press Option 2 then 2.

2, You would need to ask your mothers permission first but you could setup the ‘link to mobile option’ when dialling 1571.  This would send a text message to your phone (or another family member to manage) every time a voicemail is left for your mother.  You could then dial into the message remotely from your phone (as long as a PIN is setup via your mothers phone to allow access) and manage her messages.  You could then advise her if a specific voicemail is genuine or not and to call the person back if needed? Press Option 2 then 3 to set PIN, then Opt 2 then 4 for ‘Link to Mobile’

3, Dial 1572 and check the junk mail settings. There you can manually add numbers you want to block or set different types of calls to be blocked like international numbers or numbers withheld.

Hopefully some of the above help

[Queenie9]

Thank you Gaz for your detailed and helpful reply. Unfortunately it's never long enough for her to reach the phone before clicking to voicemail, even on the longest setting. It's not practical for me to field her calls via my mobile, as any call to made to advise her of her messages would last a minimum of 30 mins (she loves to talk!). She also likes to feel in some sort of control and I know she'd get cross at me effectively vetting her calls for her. I also don't want to block witheld numbers, as this could include her GP or other social/healthcare provider. Thanks for trying though, it is appreciated 🙂

[imjolly]

can you not just disable voicemail  see message 12 https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Digital/Can-Voicemail-1571-be-switched-off-with-Dig...

alternatively if phone is connected to socket on back of hub can you not get a free DV adapter and plug that and phone nearer your mother?

[Queenie9]

Yes voicemail is currently disabled. What I'm asking is whether I can turn on the blacklist function against numbers I identify as scam/spam. I don't think blacklist can be activated without the unwanted voicemail function also being triggered. Happy to be told otherwise. Mum already has a 2nd phone in her bedroom at her small flat. The problem is that it takes her an age to answer, even if only a few metres away.

[imjolly]

Blacklisting calls that you identify as scam/spam is pointless as the numbers are computer generated and constantly change so what you block yesterday appear next day but different address.  The ideal is to whitelist numbers that you identify are safe and can get through but BT SH2 does not have that facility.  You would need a 3rd party router