Eliminate Your Landline Phone Carrier (ZT)
已有 54853 次阅读 2009-04-25 10:52 标签: Landline Carrier Phone Eliminate Your
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Step Three: Buy A Docking Station For Your Cell Phone There are a few devices on the market which will dock your cell phone (via Bluetooth or a cable) and allow you to make and receive calls over your corded and cordless phones already in your home. While the landline will no longer service your home externally, your home is still wired internally. A docking station connects a cell phone to your home wiring. Callers will never know the difference. You simply "dock your cell phone and use your corded or cordless phones to make and receive cell phone calls, effectively turning your wireless service into a fully functional wired service without having to pay wired service monthly fees". There are currently three cell phone docking stations on the market that we are aware of that will convert your home wiring for use with a cell phone. |
Dock-N-Talk This is the one we bought (and the reason we know so much more about this one than the other two). Dock-N-Talk (DNT) from PhoneLabs has been on the market the longest. As of June 2007, the most recent firmware was version 1.11, and it uses your choice of either a cable or Bluetooth to connect to your cell phone. Both are sold separately. The most recent Bluetooth version is BT02 which is Class 1 with a range of up to 300 feet. The Bluetooth and DNT module are both firmware upgradeable, and the DNT is also hardware upgradeable. The BT02 can pair up to 8 cell phones (although only 1 at a time). We are pairing just one cell phone. | |
DNT supports telco standards for call waiting, comes with 2 line cords, has a switch which allows cellular service to be placed on line 1 or line 2 so it can be used with a land line or second DNT, two RJ-11 jacks --- one for connection locally to a home phone and one connected to a wall jack, and it allows redial from an extension handset. PhoneLabs is an American company which has been in business for 17 years and has been the acknowledged leader in this field of docking stations for 3.5 years and hold the patents for the technology. The Dock-N-Talk currently supports over 1100 cell phone models. A list of supported phones and more details about the DNT can be found on their website. They also offer great customer service support that got me up and running in less than 5 minutes. |
XLINK Cellular Bluetooth Gateway The XLINK Cellular Bluetooth Gateway connects your Bluetooth enabled cellular phone with your standard desktop phone, allowing you to use your regular home or office telephone over your cellular service network. There is no cable option. You must have a Bluetooth phone. The XLINK features a 30-foot range and can link up to 3 cell phones. XLINK is a Canadian start-up company and the XLINK was introduced in the late Spring 2007. You can find more information on their website. |
MERGE MERGE is made by CIDCO Communications and its use is limited to a few Motorola cell phone models. I believe it has been around for almost 3 years. The unit physically acts as a cradle for your cell phone. Their website was abandoned sometime prior to April 2008. There is likely no customer support for this device. I still provide info on MERGE because you may come across this unit on eBay. | |
Common Feature Sets All three appear to support caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding --- assuming your cell phone and handsets have these capabilities. All three can be used whether or not you choose to lose your landline. If you want to keep your landline service, you can still dock your cell phone and make calls from any handset in the house. Other benefits of being able to use your landline phones with your cellular phone plan include: the ability to use your free unlimited nights, weekends and mobile-to-mobile minutes to their fullest, and eliminating cell phone radiation for extended conversations since you are not physically making calls on your cell phone handset (you are using your home phone handsets). Purchasing Details All three can be purchased through their respective websites or eBay. New models of Dock-N-Talk without the Bluetooth module sell on eBay for about $130. The Bluetooth module adds about $50. XLINK can be had on eBay for about $165, and Merge for about $45. (All prices include shipping). Prices are slightly higher on the official websites. Used models also exist, but beware, they are likely out of warranty and have old firmware which needs to be updated (at a cost) to be used with newer cell phones. |
Step Four: Disconnect Your External Landline Connection These instructions are very similar to what you would do if you were installing Vonage's Broadband Calling Service as an alternate to replace your landline service. We have simply adapted their excellent installation presentation to this application. IMPORTANT: This step assumes you are the owner of a single family home. If you live in a multi-unit building, have a home alarm system linked via your landline, or are a renter, it is not a good idea to mess with the phone wiring. WARNINGS: You will be working with lines that carry a small amount of voltage. Therefore there is a chance of causing a fire or damaging your phone lines and equipment. Be sure to wait for a dry day. Do not stand on wet ground while working. When you modify your telephone wiring with these instructions, you will be totally disconnecting yourself from the phone company. These instructions are intended for use by someone with common sense who has a pretty good understanding of what they are doing. I can't come up with warnings for all possible scenarios and I assume no liability. (But relax, as long as you don't do anything stupid, like cutting wires, the process can be reversed if the devices do not work to your satisfaction or you happen to sell your home). Final note: I am not an electrician. Consider hiring a professional electrician or telephone technician to do the job if you have any concerns. |
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4. Confirm the line is disconnected before installing your converter. Go inside your house and pick up a phone plugged into a jack that previously worked. You did good work if the line is now dead. You should hear absolutely nothing. If the line is not dead, go back and check your work. If your work looks correct and the line's still not dead, it means that voltage is somehow still being carried on the line and it's not safe for you to proceed any further. Consult a professional electrician or telephone technician for help. |
Step Five: Installation Installation varies slightly for each of these landline-to-cell phone converters. From my experience, the Dock-N-Talk was very easy to set up following their manual. It took less than 5 minutes to set up the Dock-N-Talk, and another 5 minutes with Tech Support to help me synch the Bluetooth between the Dock-N-Talk and my cell phone. I talked to a real person at 5pm on a weekday, and they answered immediately. I had also spent about 15 minutes disconnecting the landline from my house following the instructions in Step Four prior to setting up the Dock-N-Talk. |
Step Six: Enjoy Your Cell Phone Service At Home You should now have a dial tone. Call your home phone number. All the phones in your house should ring. Hang-up. Now pick up any phone in the house and call someone. You should have no problem connecting. Congratulations, you are now free from the landline telephone company and have become an even more profitable customer of your cellular phone company. |
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Answer 6: The Federal Trade Commission has set up a Wireless Local Number Portability site to answer frequently asked questions.
Question 7: Are you living under a rock? Why not use a DSL/Cable Broadband phone service instead?
Answer 7: That might work well for many folks, and it is certainly an option. In our area, cellular service is far more reliable than cable service, and it is a lot easier to reach customer service at Verizon Wireless than at our cable company.
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