Delaying Digital Voice

[Toomanychoices4me]

Can somebody, please, help me or at least point me in the right direction.

Having recently had a stroke I am thinking about having a care device in case of falls. I can't do this with DigitalVoice so, until I decide, I am trying to delay my switchover on the 9th of December.  I have delayed it once before with no problems.

However, for the last week, I have been trying to do this via the bt.com/DigitalSwitchover page but after I enter our account number it says 'we are experiencing a technical fault, please try again later'.

I have tried this so many times and it hasn't been 'fixed'. I don't believe they don't know this fault exists, but I can't get round it. 

Ringing is not easy because the stroke has affected my speech. 

It's 2024, it,surely, shouldn't be this hard to get in touch with a leading telecommunications  company.

Thanks for your time.

[Keith_Beddoe]

All providers of such care devices would have been aware of the closure of the PSTN phone network for a long time now, and should have alternative products available that use a different method to connect, like the mobile network.

Try contacting them and see what solutions they offer.

[iniltous]

Delaying being switched to DV for existing customers with equipment that the ‘alarm’ provider hasn’t been sufficiently bothered about making  ‘IP’ compatible, or using something like mobile phone network , is bad enough , but are you saying that 7 or 8 years after these companies knew that the PSTN network was being retired they are still supplying equipment than doesn’t work on anything other than that ? , that seems incredibly reckless, as stated  if this equipment is ‘new’ ( new to you ) , you should insist it’s build to current IP standards, not the standard that was in place 40 years ago .

However , if you have delayed migration once ,  even if that process is not to your liking , that’s what you ( or an agent acting on your behalf ) will need to do again , posting here won’t directly help , all the mods can do is reiterate who to call .

[Toomanychoices4me]

Apologies for disturbing your very busy life there, you didn't have to answer!

You ever had the misfortune to have a stroke? Let's hope not as it might make it more difficult for you to understand my clearly written question.

I, funnily enough, don't know what these companies are producing and/or why they haven't changed things if they need to, all I know is what it says on BT's literature.

As for delaying again by doing what I did before, I CAN'T. IT SAYS THERE IS A TECHNICAL FAULT!!!

I have also explained that I can't ring them and the reason I asked the community in case, I don't know, someone might be kind enough to direct me to a link without rudely criticising me.

[Toomanychoices4me]

B.T.'s own literature says they won't work with it. I have to trust they know what they are talking about.

[jac_95]

@Toomanychoices4me 

You need to contact the supplier and company that provides your care alarm so they can check compatibility and upgrade the device if it's not compatible with digital landlines.

Care alarm manufacturers have been working with the telecoms sector on the move to digital based landline since 2017. You just need to make sure the care alarm device you have been supplied is a compatible one and if not to get up upgraded.

You also need to call BT customer services to make sure they are aware that you have a care alarm so when they do migrate you that extra checks are done to make sure everything still works.

See https://landlinesgo.digital/telecare-and-care-alarms/

[licquorice]

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@Toomanychoices4me wrote:

B.T.'s own literature says they won't work with it. I have to trust they know what they are talking about.

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No it doesn't. Please provide a link that says so.

Any company that says their devices don't work with Digital Voice are either lying or so incompetent you shouldn't be dealing with them.

[Toomanychoices4me]

Between now and August 2025, telephone providers will be switching off all analogue telephone lines as the UK’s telecoms infrastructure is upgraded to digital fibre network.

The switchover affects everybody who uses a landline telephone that is not already upgraded to the digital network.

This includes customers of over 600 telephone service providers such as Virgin, BT, TalkTalk, Vodafone and EE.

Havering Telecare Service has been proactively working on the switchover for several years and we will be providing all our Telecare clients with new compatible digital equipment.

Until this time, however, Ofcom strongly advises against transferring your existing analogue lines over to digital.

This switch is usually facilitated by an engineer from your provider, and although they have been warned against switching their customers over to digital when there is a life saving device in their home, there have been instances where this has happened.

For most of our clients, switching to digital telecoms lines will mean your Telecare equipment will no longer work and you could be at risk in case of an emergency.

Therefore we strongly advise all our customers to refrain from moving over to digital, until Havering Telecare Centre have provided you with new digital equipment.

That's  Havering council. They are working on it but not everyone has it yet. 

[licquorice]

Then Havering Council are totally useless if they haven't got a solution despite "working on the switchover for many years"