Using BT digital phones with a different VOIP provider

[JillW]

Yes, I think that sums it all up pretty well! Thanks

[iniltous]

Just to correct a few inaccuracies, calls on DV are not limited to an hour , or become charged for , any time after that first hour ( if on the unlimited calls plan ) the ‘redial after an hour to avoid charges’ doesn’t apply to DV ,that’s the legacy PSTN unlimited plan.

Anecdotally,  it’s been noted various times that the BT unlimited calls plan ( list price £18 ) can be negotiated to £12 , so if a typical alternative VoIP providers residential call plan is £10 a month then 1p a minute, the costs are not that different (after 200 mins of landline calls ) and depending on the mix of call types ( lots of calls to mobiles for example , which usually are more than 1p a minute on VoIP provider plans ) , the £12 BT Unlimited plan may actually be better value.

BT do offer broadband without a telephone service .

BT DV doesn’t need specific BTDV handset to work , any modern phone from any manufacturer works , so a phone that stores its own numbers ( rather than on the hub ) will obviously be immune any factory resets of the BT router

[JillW]

@VeteranISPUser the phone is a BT "essential digital home phone" - I'm not sure if it's type A or B. The BT tech team have told me that the numbers stored in the handset are not backed up anywhere and there is no way to restore them if we reset the handset - two different people have told me this on two separate calls. If that is wrong and there is a way to do it that would be incredibly helpful.

What is the SH2 and how do we back up the numbers there then restore them onto the phone?

[licquorice]

The 'tech' told you complete nonsense.

With BT Digital Voice the contacts are stored on the hub (SH2) NOT the handset. They can be backed up and exported to a PC or laptop if required.

[JillW]

@iniltous ah, thanks for the info about the anytime minutes not being limited to an hour - I was basing it on what the BT website says here https://www.bt.com/help/landline/more-about-the-cost-of-calls under 'unlimited anytime calls' which doesn't specify it's only for legacy plans. Do you have a link to where it says it's truly unlimited on Digital Voice?

Re not offering without the phone line - this is what the BT person I spoke to on the phone told me, but it might be that he meant I couldn't renew as broadband only but would have to start a whole new contract with new router etc as you suggested. I'd rather not do that.

The VOIP service I was looking at does include calls to mobiles in the plan. It would be just under £10 a month for essentially the same as we're getting with BT DV with the added bonus of an online phone book. BT are quoting me £15.42 for their anytime plan, therefore there would be a saving of somewhere in the region of £5.50 a month which would be significant for my mum. For just under £15 a month the VOIP provider was offering added benefits including the option of a 'trusted person' to join calls if needed which could be a real benefit for us. But maybe if BT are open to negotiation it might be worth trying to negotiate them down on the call price plan. So far they haven't shown any sign of being able to offer anything better.

And finally, the issues seem to be with the handsets rather than the router, but buying new ones would also be expensive. These ones are under 2 years old and were bought when we took out the BT broadband & phone package originally.

[VeteranISPUser]

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@JillWwrote:

@VeteranISPUser the phone is a BT "essential digital home phone" - I'm not sure if it's type A or B. The BT tech team have told me that the numbers stored in the handset are not backed up anywhere and there is no way to restore them if we reset the handset - two different people have told me this on two separate calls. If that is wrong and there is a way to do it that would be incredibly helpful.

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Hi @JillW   Apologies, then you don’t have DV phones. They are “ordinary” phones that will simply plug into an ATA or telephone socket, however I don’t understand how they would use a network directory. I use a Gigaset Go-Box 100 (ATA) with S700H Pro phones with my VOIP provider. My contacts are stored and backed up on my Go-Box 100.

[JillW]

@licquorice could you explain how to back up and export the numbers to a PC then back to the phone handset once it's been reset? Or point me to somewhere which shows how?

[JillW]

@VeteranISPUser I'm not sure - the base for each handset only has a power cord, they don't seem to plug into the router at all. I'm not at my mum's at the moment so can't double check exactly what there is but did look at it all thoroughly last week and seem to think that the only things plugged into the hub were her telehealth (falls) alarm - into the 'phone' socket - and an ethernet cable. I didn't check what the ethernet cable was plugged into at the other end but it definitely wasn't either of the two phones.

[licquorice]

If you access the hub manager  by entering  192.168.2.254 in your browser address bar, select the box with your phone number and you will see the backup options.

[JillW]

@licquorice I just get a 'this site can't be reached' message for that - do I need to be on my mum's wifi for it to work? I'm at home, not her house, at the moment