Was I right to switch to Fios Voice?

I wish I had the option of an old-fashioned landline. I say stick with the old line if it’s just $10.

I switched to VOIP back in 2005 (Vonage), and then got FIOS voice in 2012. There are no downsides. Like you said, the battery backup will keep your phones active during power outage. And you can forward your voicemail to your email. It will arrive as an mp3 attachment, which is convenient to listen to from your mobile devices.

I’m trying to drop voice altogether now, but FIOS wants to charge me more to lose it.

@notnotnotnot I know. Every time I ask about dropping part of the bundle, it would cost me more to do.

@JLeslie Do you have reasons for your opinion?

Why in the world do you feel you don’t have the option for a landline @JLeslie? Just call AT&T (or whomever) and have them install one.

Yes, with backup. I’ve had VOIP since 1995. I added my own battery backup.

In my city we have three options for phone service (four if you count Verizon Wireless for homes) first is Century Link for copper wire traditional phone service, second is Charter (Spectrum) and third is Greenlight which is city run phone service similar to cable but on their fiber optic system. All this competition keeps the price down.

I decided to cancel it. We have a lot of storms here and I’d rather have the security of the old lines working. Also, I remembered that if you switch to VOIP you can’t switch to another company. And also, Verizon seems to always add on installation charges they don’t tell you about when you make a change. I feel more secure now even if I’m wrong.

@janbb,
> I feel more secure now even if I’m wrong.

I think that’s the key. As long as you’re not doing something utterly risky and stupid, like running an electric space heater in the shower, that feeling of security is worth it. Who knows what will work anyway in a disaster? Your land lines may be undamaged, but you may be 100 miles away. Meanwhile, you feel easier about it, and that’s a fact of daily life.

Also, I remembered that if you switch to VOIP you can’t switch to another company.

That is no longer true, the FCC required portability in 2007.

@Call_Me_Jay I thought it had to do with the technology?

It is FCC controlled (phone company use to claim the phone # as their’s) you can switch from copper wire land line to cell phone and switch same number to VOIP.

Right but my question is can you switch back to copper wire if you have switched to VOIP?

Yup ! Switch and switch. It is only a ten digit number on a computer it could be phone company or mobile phone company . . . .

My opinion is because when the power goes out you don’t have to worry about it if it’s the old-fashioned copper lines. Those traditional landlines almost never go out.

When my power was out for 8 days my phone still worked, because I had a tradition landline, which was nice. Most parts of the country you don’t lose power for days though. I’m in Florida, so hurricanes come through here.

I can’t get one in my new house because thatvthie of during was never laid for these houses.

My line, which is fiber optics, so I assume like the fios has very good clarity though, I don’t have any problems with that.

Not only can you port your existing number back and forth, you can actually request a particular number. They just have a big old list of numbers to choose from so they can tell you if it’s available or not.