BT VOIP with my Virgin Hub 3.0

[biggerdave]

I'm sure this has been asked before (although I couldn't find precise answers here, sorry) but like millions of other BT landline users, we're being forced to go the voip route and wondered if anyone here can clarify things for an old codger like me as BT are no help whatsoever! I currently have an analogue Panasonic answerphone plugged into my Openreach/BT analogue landline phone single socket with another 2 extra remote handsets which all work fine.   

1. When I eventually get this, can their new Smart Hub 2 be plugged directly into one of my spare TP-Link Powerline Adaptors (which is how I currently get my internet connection from the hub to my Desktop PC in a different room as WiFi's not good enough due to my room layouts) and/or could it be plugged into my Virgin Hub 3.0 to enable me to access their voip phone line and therefore allow me to plug my old analogue Panasonic into the phone port in their hub to avoid having to replace my handsets with VOIP versions (with all the hassle involved with reloading all my contacts etc)?

2. Am I right in thinking that IF I wanted to use their digital voip handset I could still do this "just" by plugging it in, via their filter, directly into my Openreach/BT wall socket and not bother with their Smart Hub?

Sorry to bother you guys but it's worrying me because BT don't seem willing or able to clarify some pretty fundamental questions like this in their user forum

I'm sure once I get some (hopefully positive) responses to this I'll be back for sure!

tia  

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @biggerdave 

Thank you so much for your post and welcome to the community forums, it's great to have you here. 

I am so sorry for any confusion caused by the change over and I do hope we can provide some clarity here. 

If you do have a Super Hub 2 then we would need to upgrade the Hub to a newer one with us, which we can do without charge via an engineer visit. If you also have other devices in multiple sockets an engineer would be needed to help sort the connection. 

With the switch we would just send out a cable that you use to plug your handset into your Hub, we would not send out an actual handset. 

Please do let me know if you would like us to take a closer look into this with you and arrange the engineer for the Hub change over if one is needed. 

[goslow]

To avoid any confusion before answering your question, do you pay BT just for your landline phone service and have a separate service/account with VM just for your broadband?

[biggerdave]

Thanks for the warm welcome Ashleigh. I'm just trying to get ahead of things with BT as I'm in Croydon so changeover could be anytime before 2025 although BT don't even know themselves yet!  

So, for clarity, once I get (or I'm notified that their Smart Hub 2) it's on its way then I would need to ask you to arrange an engineer to visit to replace my Virgin Hub 3.0. 

So, if that all went to plan could my 1st choice above work (using my old analogue handset) as that would certainly be preferred option rather than the non-preferred 2nd choice above whereby I'd use BTs voip handset & you could supply a cable to plug it directly into your new hub & not bother with the BT hub?

As I say, apart from my Desktop PC which connects to your hub via a TP Link Adaptor there's nothing else connected. Sorry for all the questions but as you can probably guess, I'm no techie for sure!

[Steven_L]

Thanks for coming back to us biggerdave, Are you wanting to use a BT phone line via a Virgin Media router? As goslow asked, do you pay BT just for your landline phone service and have a separate service/account with VM just for your broadband?

Kind Regards,

Steven_L

[Client62]

Note VM telephone customers do not use VOIP phones.

The VM Hubs have an analogue telephone socket that supports the telephone equipment that plugs into a regular BT wall socket.    See image below of the rear of a VM Hub with and adaptor for BT style of telephone / answerphone.

We have TP-Link Powerline adaptors to connected to a VM Hub that works fine.

[biggerdave]

Hi Steven, goslow & Client62, thanks for you helpful comments.

To clarify my current set up: I use/pay for BT just for my (currently analogue) landline and VM just for my broadband; so Ideally I'd like to be able to carry on using my BT landline AND analogue handset(s) (albeit with their new all-singing all-dancing VOIP system) rather than have to change my handset to a BT VOIP handset etc.

So after the BT changeover, I'm imagining I will have 2 choices; a) getting a newer Hub from VM to enable me to plug in a BT Smart Hub 2 which would then allow me to continue using my analogue handsets after their VOIP switchover or I have to accept a new digital VOIP handset & plug that into their hub which I could plug into my BT wall socket utilising their "filter"?

I appreciate that my current VM hub 3.0 has phone sockets in the rear but I'm guessing they're only going to work until the dreaded VOIP changeover? 

I think I read somewhere that I could still use the Openreach/BT wall socket but not too sure about that.

Either way, please keep coming back to me as Im still on a steep learning curve which I thank you for 🙂 

[Client62]

If you do nothing, at some point BT / Openreach will provide you will a working solution.

The other end of the options scale is we have ported our 3 BT numbers to Sipgate a real SIP / VOIP provider, this means we no longer have crazy high monthly line charges and we are no longer tied to this building. Sure it takes a some setting up but it saves around 90% of the cost of having phone numbers with BT or VM.

[Tudor]

BT have not as yet announced what is happening with people who just have a landline and no broadband from them. They have announced what will happen to their broadband and phone customers. You will definitely not be able to use a BT landline connected through VM equipment. You have 2 options.

1) wait for BT to announce their plans

2) change to a VM landline which will use the VM hub, it is not true VoIP so you existing BT handset will almost certainly work.

[goslow · Accepted solution]

Tudor and Client62 have provided all the necessary info, I think.

For avoidance of any doubt though, there is no association between your BT landline and your VM broadband now or in the future. They are two separate entities run by two separate companies.

So, as advised by Tudor, you can just wait and see what BT offers you as a replacement for the telephone wall socket, when the time comes. That won't have any effect on your VM broadband and that will carry on as normal.

Come the time, I think you will probably have three options

1) As per Tudor, wait and see what BT offers as a replacement for the landline phone. Your BT landline and VM broadband would carry on separately from each other

2) Port your existing phone number over to VM. This would close down your BT landline service and your dealings with BT. Your existing phone number would move to VM and you would need to add the VM landline service to your VM package of services. You would connect an ordinary phone to the phone socket on the back of the VM hub as per Client62 photo above. There are, however, a very long list of unusual issues which keep getting regular mentions on here about VM's landline service from the hub. These may settle down over time. Depending on how much you use the landline you might want to think very carefully before porting a number to VM just at the moment.

3) As per Client62 port your number to a true VOIP provider and setup a true VOIP connection/service

A 4th option (if you wanted to consider it) would be to decide if you wanted to continue having a landline at all. Due to the high costs involved in line rental and call charges, many on here have opted to simply use mobiles come switchover time and have just got rid of their landlines altogether.

As per Tudor, you should probably just wait and see what it is that BT offers you at some point in the future. In the meantime you can just be considering the possibilities of what the other options might offer.