Landline Costs

[Yesheadjon]

Hello,

I have a broadband package with EE but did not take out landline as we rarely used it at our last property. Where we have moved to is much more rural and the mobile signal is patchy. I am considering getting landline added for when we call utility companies etc. You can wait so long to get through and sometimes I find that the person's accent can be difficult to understand. This can be made even more difficult if the line is not good. I looked on the EE site and it seems that the only two options are £5 a month with a 31p connection fee and high per minute charges, or unlimited at a whopping £18 a month. As you can be waiting 30 minutes to even get through to utilities, and I can never be sure if the number comes under a category EE charge for this doesn't seem like a good option. On the other hand £18 is virtually the cost of both mine and my wife's EE mobile with unlimited calls and data. This seems excessively high for a basic landline service?

Am I missing something or are these the only landline options for a customer with broadband and mobiles with EE?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Jon  

[bristolian]

I can't help with the landline call costs, that's not my area, but some perspective on the poor-coverage issues...

WiFi-calling enables full use of an EE mobile for calls & texts regardless of mobile signal, and don't then fall foul of the 60minute limit that most landline providers have on inclusive calls.

But I totally agree with anyone who retains a landline rather than relying wholly on one technology/provider. It only takes a problem with your mobile service for you to otherwise be stranded. You're doing absolutely the right thing in weighing up the mix, of where your outgoing calls will primarily be done from.

[Yesheadjon]

Thanks for replying so promptly. I'm not great at this so would you mind explaining what Wifi-calling means in this context. We can use Messenger and WhatsApp to utilise wifi, but are you saying that we can use an EE mobile to make what seems like ordinary calls and texts, but is actually going through the wifi rather than the mobile network? If so, how would I set that up, as it sounds like the connection would be more stable?

Many thanks

Jon

[JimM11]

@Yesheadjon Would also see why they have stopped the 700 minutes rate at the £9.18 digital home phone rates. You could also look at some other VOIP phone provider that is another option also! The EE wifi calling option worked very well connected was a life saver, without it on the EE Router would have had a couple off brick mobiles NO MATTER what EE said with the stupid coverage checker false information!

How Much do Calls, Texts and Data Cost? | Home Phone Help | EE

[bristolian]

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@Yesheadjon wrote:

Thanks for replying so promptly. I'm not great at this so would you mind explaining what Wifi-calling means in this context. We can use Messenger and WhatsApp to utilise wifi,

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Messenger & WhatsApp are internet-apps that just use whatever internet connection you have, in the same way as any other internet-app.

WiFi-calling is a way of using your phone's normal call dialler & messaging app, to send & receive using the WiFi router rather than the mobile network. Your calls & texts are still routed through EE's core network exactly as if you were using the mobile network - so incoming calls from landlines, outgoing calls to non-smartphone users, etc. In extremely simple terms, your WiFi router acts as an in-home mobile cell.

https://ee.co.uk/help/mobile/manage-use/using-phone-features/use-wifi-calling 

[Yesheadjon]

That's brilliant. I had thought for a while that with VOIP it should be possible, but had no idea there was a phone setting to do it. I've now switched it on. I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out, it is much appreciated. I shan't be bothering with a landline.

Thanks again for your help

Jon

[JimM11]

@Yesheadjon As a final test now that you have the wifi calling turned on with the mobile, you should also put your mobile into airplane mode, the wifi calling should pop off and come back on again if it does not do that then just return and disable the airplane mode that can be phone dependant operation, with that done then make a call out to someone you know to test, then have them call you back as the final check to it, been a couple times the EE WiFi calling has stopped working but going to say 98% off the time it hung in there and worked good!