How long do cordless phone sets last?

[ea56]

I ditched AT&T about 6 years ago and haven’t regretted it.  The VOIP phone service from Comcast is superior in many ways.  I get Caller ID included at no extra charge and in todays world this is an essential service to avoid answering scam calls.  It includes unlimited nationwide Long Distance, AT&T charged for every LD call and it wasn’t cheap.  

 

At first I could still use the phone jacks in our home, as I’d back fed the Comcast VOIP signal through the jacks.  But about a year ago the jack in the kitchen stopped getting the signal, then eventually all three of the old jacks ceased to receive the signal.  I’m not sure but I think that in someway Comcast must have changed the signal strength so that it no longer sent a strong enough signal through the old copper wire jacks to support our old  corded telephones.

 

 This was the actual reason I went to all cordless phones, and even though I liked using the old phones I got over it. And the wi-fi from Comcast is lightening fast.  We get 500 mbps, the crappy AT&T DSL was only about 20 mbps, and it went down several times a week.  Plus I was constantly having to replace line filters and had to replace the modem THREE times between 2003 and 2014, and at my own expense.

 

 AT&T is dead to me!

 

Eddie

[this post was last edited: 3/17/2021-12:23]

 

[sudsmaster]

Yeah, I don't much trust AT&T or SBC (same I guess). I've been tempted to switch from Comcast internet to ATT fiber internet only, but not sure if that would be more or less reliable. About the same cost, probably. There are some wifi type internet services out there, but I suspect there can be problems with signal strength, and security.

 

[rp2813]

I can't complain about AT&T fiber internet service.  More reliable than what we had from Comcast at our other house.  Fiber is new, and I presume AT&T has budgeted adequately to keep it well-maintained.  Just the opposite of copper, which they would love to completely abandon.  They have petitioned the PUC to do just that, but I don't know what, if anything came of it.  It likely wouldn't happen right away even if the PUC, which is a questionable entity comprised of appointed individuals who seem to be utility sympathizers, did approve it.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I installed the batteries and let them charge for over 24 hours, but the problem persists.  I plugged a corded phone into the other phone jack on the back of he modem and calls were still dropped so I think something has gone wrong with the modem. 

 

[ea56]

Tom,

Maybe try resetting the modem? Sometimes that fixes things having to do with service over the cable/internet. I hope that works.

Eddie

 

[tomturbomatic]

Thank you, Eddie.

 

[ea56]

You’re welcome Tom!  Did resetting the modem work to stop your dropped calls?

 

Eddie

 

[paulg]

Panasonic

Panasonic machines have been quite reliable for us although the AT&T unit and Sony unit we had years ago were fine too. We still have an AT&T land line as well with touch-tone phones as we maintain an office at home.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Eddie, nobody has called. 

 

[ea56]

Tom try testing it by calling your number from your cell phone.  If it rings thru on your house phone then its working.  If not then you may need a new modem/gateway from your internet provider.

 

Eddie

 

[tomturbomatic]

Comcast tech arrived at 1:00 and left after 3. He replaced the wire from the pole into the house. I replaced the modem and called Comcast to get it activated and just finished that now. Thank you for your concern and helpful advice. I am glad I ordered the Surfboard modem yesterday and had it delivered this morning.

 

[ea56]

Tom,

I’m so glad this ordeal is over with for you!  Sounds like the wire outside may have been part of your problem with the dropped calls due to an intermittent connection from damaged/old wires.  Hope you are back in business now.  I’m glad I was able to be of some help.  Good luck with the new Surfboard modem.

 

Eddie

 

[tomturbomatic]

The old cable had water inside it. That happened a few years ago, too, thanks to squirrels. Thank you again for the good wishes.

 

[lowefficiency]

Even if an old cordless phone lasts forever, or its batteries are still available, anyone still using one might still want to consider replacing it.

The older phones, and many "not-THAT-old" cordless phones used analog radios with no scrambling or anything to prevent eavesdropping. Many either overlapped the AM radio bands, or were close enough that just a common radio (such as a car parked in the street) could be tuned far enough on the dial to listen to your phone calls.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I wish they'd operate like your cell as in instantly recording calls coming in, missed and going out...

Not something I manually have to program, I would never want to give up my land line...

-- Dave

 

[gusherb]

I have a few Panasonic DECT cordless phone sets with the eco and extended range feature and they will work all the way down the street at the corner 700' away from the house. The call clarity is almost as good as a corded phone too. I bought those probably about 10 years ago now and will just keep them around until they quit as we don't really use the "landline" anymore. I just keep some VoIP ATA's active on cheap service so my Bell System phones aren't just a mere table decoration and the cordless phones are used for the modern conveniences of caller ID and mobility around the house.

Our first cordless phone was a Uniden from the mid 90s that was about the size of a brick, was analog and ran on 900 mhz. It had pretty decent range and it survived a swim in the pool a couple times and still works to this day.