Forum Discussion

Ellgee77's avatar
Ellgee77
Joining in
2 days ago

Landline moving to digital - house alarm dial-up will no longer work

We’ve had an email today saying that our landline will be switching to digital in September.

We only use the landline for our house alarm to be able to dial out to us if the alarm is triggered. This is a wired box from the alarm controller (in the hallway) to the main telephone socket (in the office). 

Has anyone else got alarm dial-up in place? What are our options when we switch over to a digital phone line?

Is there a wireless solution - as our hub is two rooms away from alarm controller and I can’t see a way to get a cable between the two.

Looking forward to hearing your ideas, 

4 Replies

  • Graham_A's avatar
    Graham_A
    Very Insightful Person
    2 days ago

    Do you have a telephone extension socket near the hub? If you do then a VM engineer can connect the Hub to the extension socket and that way the main telephone socket will remain live.

  • Vikki_M's avatar
    Vikki_M
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    2 days ago

    Hi Ellgee77,

    Thanks for your post and welcome to our community. 

    If you have connected devices that use your phone line – like healthcare alarms,  telecare devices, or even security or burglar alarms – you’ll need to check with your device provider to make sure they’re compatible with digital voice and will work independently in a power cut. There is more information here 

    If you have any further questions, please pop back to us and we'd be happy to help. 

     

  • jpeg1's avatar
    jpeg1
    Alessandro Volta
    2 days ago

    A lot depends on the alarm type, because the socket on the Hub will only accept certain types of signalling. You'll need to consult the alarm supplier. 

  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    23 hours ago

    If you tell your alarm supplier that VM is switching your phone line, chances are the alarm supplier will simply try to sell you a new alarm based on similar past topics on here.

    As per jpeg1, it might depend on how your alarm calls out on the phone line. In some past topics we have seen alarm systems which send electronic data from the alarm panel to a call minding service which, in turn, sends a text to the alarm owner. That sort of system seems to have trouble sending electronic data over the VM line via the hub.

    If your alarm system simply phones you and plays a pre-recorded message from within the alarm panel that there has been an activation then that should be able to function. An alarm with a recorded message is similar to making a normal call on the line.

    As per Graham_A, you would need VM to link the phone sockets in your home to the new 'master' socket on the back of the hub which should reactivate your existing telephone sockets and allow the alarm to dial out. VM should offer this free of charge as part of the switchover.

    I claim no expertise in security alarms. The above is just my recollection of some similar past topics on here.