Is a simple basic phone available anymore?

redtom

Well-known Member
Okay, Mom and dad in assisted living. In their 90's. Can only work their old "landline" phone from home. The catch is the only service offered there is the cable, so I got them hooked up to "cable" phone. It has been a total nightmare! I have been on the phone to the cable company 6 time most of them around an hour long trying to get the bill straight. I hate the cable company and want to get rid of that phone. My question is: Is there a "simple" cell phone or something that they could operate that's available. If not, what a big untapped market. Many seniors can't figure out a cell phone but why cant they make a cell that dials and functions like a landline type phone.
 
phone company wants to do away with land lines. keep raising rates but not as controlled on cell phones. all are switching to fiber-optics as well. want you to up-grade to that.
 
I second the notion to find out about a Jitterbug...I don't know anything about them except they are larger buttons and designed to be simple for older folks.

My siblings got Dad a regular cell phone before he passed away - but he really couldn't operate it well.
 
My new job supplies a Kyocera Brigadier phone.. No case just loose in my pocket.. Every time I dig it out the screen shows some obscure screen I've never seen.. Push the answer now button, some times it answers some times it doesn't.. I actually hate this phone to no end.. My old Samsung Convoy phone is great for what I'm using it for..
 
We have something from Verizon that is a small box with an antenna. You unhook your old land line where it comes into your house. Then you can plug the Verizon into any phone jack in your house and work any regular phone you have now. I like ours. I think it's dead if the power goes out because it also needs a 110 outlet. But calls are clearer then on a cell phone.
 
What you want is a cell phone to landline bridge. One of these is the Dock N Talk. I have not used it. My ATT cordless phone system will do the same thing.

Basically you purchase a cell phone, a traditional telephone, and a bridge. You transfer your old number to the cell phone. Then you either plug the cell phone into the bridge or use Blue Tooth to connect. When the cell phone rings it will ring any traditional phone plugged into the bridge

Hope this helps,

Cliff(VA)

Further Reading
http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/replace-landline.html
Dock n Talk
 
Tracfone offers a wide variety of phones, including The Big Easy, which is easier to use than most. Take a look. Mine's an Alcatel.
 
I use a nettalk voip device

it will plug into the modem or the usb of the laptop

I've had my local number attached to it

if it's off or I don't answer the voicemail is stored on my email as a voice file

I can use it anywhere I get internet

or leave it attached to the modem at home like a simple landline

it does require adding area code to local numbers

other than that it was $29yr 39 a year with taxes

I can plug a regular phone into it
turn off voicemail and it will answer from the machine like the old days

like anything it's problamatic somedays
sometimes it seems the phone co gets puffy (repower modem) cause all I pay is $32mo in dsl and the phone is like free cause I already payed the subscription for a year fo the services
 
Look at ConsumerCellular.com. Phones for all levels, including VERY simple for seniors. Also have cellular bridge to use old land line phones with. GREAT rates, good customer service based in USA. Uses AT&T towers.
consumer cellular
 
You can get a good UPS battery backup from staples, or similar places. They are advertsied mostly for computers but they don"t HAVE to be used with just a computer. you won"t need a big one to power your phone, so a smaller one for $30-$50 would do you fine, and it would power that phone device for at least a few hours during a power outage.

I use 1 for my computer and network gear, but I have a separate one thats for the DVR recorder, and my security camera system.
 
That is what my Wife and I have. No voice mail or anything. The phone does have a camara in that you cannot unload pictures out of but you have to go in special if you want, I do not use it.
 
What ever you do don't consider the Straight Talk phone Walmart offers. Their customer service people are the biggest idiots in the world. I got one of their phones and used it for a long time until I broke it. I then bought the same model phone to replace it and tried to transfer the service and their people couldn't do it and every time they screwed it up they have to mail you a sim card to make a change. The first sim card they kept the phone number but at the time the new phone was in a dead zone at my house and didn't know why. I called customer service and told them that something was changed with the new phone and the guy insisted I go home and call him so he could sort it out. I said how, I'm in a dead zone at my house and he said he could do nothing then. I had to call back and go through the story with someone else and gave my zip code and this lady told me my service had been changed to Team Mobile from AT&T so she sent another sim card to make change it. The second sim card they changed the service back to AT&T but gave me a new phone number. The original phone number was my business phone so I had to have it back. The third sim card they got my phone number back but changed the service again back to Team Mobile. The fourth sim card they changed the phone number again with another new number and kept it on Team Mobile even though I told them all the problems I had and that I had to have AT&T and my old phone number back. Then they wanted to send me another sim card and I said no thanks I'm going to AT&T.
 
If your Verizon box is like mine, it has a battery in it that will last a day or so on standby and a few hours of phone call usage.

Some have used it in a car or truck with a 12V feed just like an old bag phone that is more powerful and actually can reach towers better in weak locations!
 
I use a Straight Talk Home base unit from walmart. A separate wired type phone plugs into the base and together, they function like the old land line system. Will last a few days without the 120 volt adapter. You can also take it with you for an extended amount of time if you use a 12 volt adapter. Cons.. Caller id only displays numbers and not names. the numbers need to be dialed at the correct speed. I just tap the number than use redial button to get the right speed.
 
redtom,

Might check w/ AT&T. I use their land line. They are telling me they now have a wireless system that looks and works like a regular phone. $20 a month and unlimited calling. I am going to look into it for myself. Might depend on your location also. Plus can't say it is good since I am just looking into it also.

Good luck,Bill
Untitled URL Link
 
The phone companies are not getting rid of landline to screw people. Because so many people now have cell phones, and cell has proven "reliable enough," people have been dropping their landline service by the millions.

Only the most remote people, who are of course the most expensive people to maintain, are keeping their landlines. Of course even if the government let you, you can't charge them what it REALLY costs, or they would quit landline too and use smoke signals. Thus, phone companies are losing their a$$es on landline service.

Pound your fist on the table and be mad all you want. For better or worse landline is obsolete and circling the proverbial toilet bowl. Unless you're willing to let taxpayer dollars subsidize it, or are willing to pony up hundreds of millions of your own dollars to subsidize it, phone companies are going to eliminate it as quickly as they can in favor of cellular and fiber optic.
 
I've got a Samsung flip phone that is supposed to be rough use, model? I've had it 4 months or so and so far I really like. Every other phone I've had couldn't stand up to sweat and being knocked around. The battery charge lasts me several days but I don't use it much. The only problem I see is the small numbers
 

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