Phone alert device

[donhay]

My elderly father is a VM subsciber and like a lot of us recently had his landline switched over to the fibre network.

He is particularly hard of hearing and unless he is sitting by the phone he often misses phone calls. At the moment he has a Powertel 46+ which has a loud ringer, but it is really not enough to alert him to an incoming call.

Is there a device that can be plugged into the line that flashes a bright light during an incoming call? There are lots about on the usual websites but I suspect most won't work on a fibre network.

Or perhaps someone could suggest a replacement phone that does the same thing?

[goslow]

The term 'fibre phone' is often used in a confusing way. The phone connection from the back of the hub is designed to behave in the same way as a conventional telephone socket.

There are occasional mentions on the forums of equipment which is incompatible with the phone connection from the hub but such problems are not that common on here and issues usually apply to equipment that is old (generally 15+ years).

I don't think anyone will be able to guarantee for you that any particular ring amplifier equipment will work via the hub but it is more likely that it will work than it won't.

Many of these devices seem to be pass-through bits of equipment where the ring amplifier connects to the phone socket, then the phone plugs into the ring amplifier. You might need to double check on the connecting leads that come with any device to make sure the plugs are compatible to make such a connection.

Would suggest you look at branded devices with known supplier names which have a UK base which may be more likely to work (as opposed to generic unbranded imports). Buy from somewhere which has a good returns policy so that if it doesn't work for any reason you can send it back.

[Serena_C]

Hi @donhay

Thank you for making this post regarding a flashing light phone alert for your elderly father.

As @goslow advised, the phone connection to the hub is designed to behave in the same way as a conventional telephone socket. So in theory, a recently-made phone with a ringer amplifier or flashing light alert should work with the Hub connected phone. But unfortunately I am unable to guarantee a particular equipment for this.

Kind regards,

Serena

[Steve1701 · Accepted solution]

Hi donhey ,

A deaf relative of mine used one of these before passing away last year. His worked perfectly well with VM ...

Audio Visual Phone Alert. 

🤞

[donhay]

Thanks all for your input so far.

Steve1701, I have just looked on your link and noticed this,

Compatible with most analogue telephones with a standard BT style line socket. NOT SUITABLE for digital or IP/Internet phone systems.

The question is, is a VM fibre phone line a digital or IP/Internet phone system? My guess would be this will now not work with VM fibre land lines.

I really don't want to order and send back several units before (and if) I get one to work.

I was hoping that someone with the new system has an alert device working and could let me know the make and model.

(As an aside, I marked Steve1701's post as a "helpful answer". For some reason it has taken that as a solution. Can that be removed from the first post please? It was helpful but not the solution.)

[goslow]

You are able to unmark the answer yourself should you wish to (a quirk of the forum software that it is marked as 'solved') but the suggested device looks like it would probably be a suitable one to try.

Similar-looking units are branded Geemarc, which does have a UK presence, and there is a manual at the link below showing setup.

https://geemarc.com/uk/product/cl11/

From the Amazon link and the link above, it looks like it can be plugged in alongside the phone (via a socket doubler adapter) or in between the phone and the socket (pass through connection).

You are confusing the terminology. IP phones are a separate type of device which connect to a computer network to receive the service and digital phones might be found on an office PBX phone system to provide additional call handling features.

The phone connection from the back of the hub is not VOIP/IP nor a digital connection it is designed to emulate the behaviour of a standard POTS connection.

You can wait for someone using a ringer amplifier in that kind of setup to reply but you might possibly have to wait a while.

IMO the suggested item from @Steve1701 is probably a reasonable one to try, with all the above provisos.

[Steve1701]

Hi donhey ,

We had read that too, but it worked fine ... Originally we plugged the light/alarm into the hub, then the phone into the light/alarm, and the phone & the light/alarm were placed side by side on a small table behind where he usually sat.

But we quickly realised that we could plug both the phone & the light/alarm into a two-way splitter, which we plugged directly into the Hub, so effectively, the phone could stay on the table, while the light/alarm was on a small cabinet to his right, in the opposite direction, well within his line of sight so he could see the light very easily. In fact, I'm pretty sure he turned the ringer off at one point, and just used the light 🤔

But it always pays to be cautious. I hope you find something suitable Sir.

😊

[goslow]

---

@Steve1701 wrote:

Hi donhey ,

We had read that too, but it worked fine ... Originally we plugged the light/alarm into the hub, then the phone into the light/alarm, and the phone & the light/alarm were placed side by side on a small table behind where he usually sat.

But we quickly realised that we could plug both the phone & the light/alarm into a two-way splitter, which we plugged directly into the Hub, so effectively, the phone could stay on the table, while the light/alarm was on a small cabinet to his right, in the opposite direction, well within his line of sight so he could see the light very easily. In fact, I'm pretty sure he turned the ringer off at one point, and just used the light 🤔

But it always pays to be cautious. I hope you find something suitable Sir.

😊

---

I don't think the OP can get any clearer endorsement and explanation than that!

[Steve1701]

@goslow 

Thank you, much appreciated 😊

[donhay]

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond. It is much appreciated. 

Steve1701, I have ordered the slightly bigger unit from your link. I’ll come back and let you know how it works out.