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

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

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!

[licquorice]

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.

[jac_95]

@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.

[licquorice]

@jac_95 thanks for the clarification

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

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.

[licquorice]

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

[BLaZiNgSPEED]

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.

[licquorice]

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.

[Tim123]

@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! 🤣

[Angelica30]

Hi

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!