I want to park my landline

[dpep]

My landline phone number is currently bundled with internet provided by AT&T which I am getting ready to drop because I have gone with IQFiber. I never actually use that line but I have had the number for over 40 years now and do not want to relinquish it totally just yet.

I am looking to park the number with a service that will juse record voicemails. From searching the interwebs it appears that service is available for somewhere in the $5-10 / mo range. Names that came up included parkmyphone.com, unitelvoice.com, and numberbarn.com.

Before going further I wanted to check with our national GSR panel of experts on just about anything you can think of. I know someone here has done this already and learned something in the process that I would do good to know.

[Suzukian]

You should be able to use that landline number with any cell phone service. I use Mint Mobile, as it is cheap, uses T-Mobile lines, has a great data bundle, and works with my 5G Google Pixel 6A Pro phone. You could buy or bring over a phone to mint mobile, and use your landline number, which must be done during activation. You could also set up your present mobile phone to forward all your landline calls to it. This would allow you to get rid of the physical landline. By 2025, all wired landlines will be gone, so if you want to keep that number, you have to transfer the number to a new account. If you have the calls forwarded, you would still have to pay for the landline service.

The only real option is to get an inexpensive phone, transfer your landline to it at activation, and then, if you wish, have the calls of that phone forwarded to your present Mobile phone. You will have to pay for the landline (now mobile) account, but you can forward the calls, texts, etc, to your mobile phone. I hope that made some sense. A little redundant, sorry.

[dpep]

The only real option is to get an inexpensive phone, transfer your landline to it at activation, and then,........

I don't think that is the case. The three services I list above do not require a physical phone to park the number.

[Sandy]

Not sure if this would work or not but some new phones are dual SIM capable. Keep your cell number on one SIM and park the home phone number on a cheap no data plan on the other.

[joequesmith]

You could look at ooma. I've been using them for six or so years now.

https://www.ooma.com/

[Suzukian]

From what I have read, you have to pay a nominal fee to "park" your number. The lowest I've read is $2 dollars a month. That doesn't allow you to use the number till you port it to a phone, which you can do to an older phone you just wish to use on your home WiFi. This would also allow you to forward calls to your main mobile number. I have not read of any low cost way of parking a number and still using it like a mobile phone. If that were the case, everybody would be doing it. Google has a system that allows you to park your number, but you can port it up to 6 phones and receive calls and texts on it. It's $20 bucks a month though, which is more expensive than just buying a new phone plan and at activation, using the number you are trying to save.

There's no way to park a number and still use it as a phone without paying nearly or more, sometimes, than it would be just to activate a cheap phone with it, and forward the calls from that phone to your main number.

Funny, I had the same number for so long (40+ years), I got rid of it so a lot of people I did not want to be able to contact me, and the tons of spam I was getting would be gone. I had all the phone numbers I cared about, and transferred them to my new mobile phone, then cut the cord. What a weight I felt that was lifted off of me. That option I found was best. You have the contact info for your old friends and business's, and it's easy enough, a little time consuming at first, to add those numbers. Then it costs you nothing.

I am interested to see what you come up with. I'm always willing to learn.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

I guess I'll be the one to ask "why". I dumped my land line years ago as everyone in the house has their own cell. Haven't missed it. Our internet came from the same company at the time. I think I saved maybe $20/month to remove just the phone/land line from the account. After a while, we got our internet through the cable company, cheaper and faster.

The funny thing was, the phone company gave my land line # to the then new Rusty Rail Brewing Company as their main #. It's a business owned by the same company I work for and occupies the building next door to mine. I have business dealings with folks at the Rusty Rail. Whenever they would call out from that line, my name would show up as the caller ID. It was quite odd to see my name show up on the screen of my office phone when someone from there called my office. It took me several phone calls over a few years to get it straightened out.

[Suzukian]

From what I understand, it's all the connections dpep has made with other people that he wants to keep hold of on that line. There are number holding options, but they cost a nominal fee, which goes up, if you want to somehow use that number.

[dpep]

You could look at ooma. I've been using them for six or so years now.

Yes, I have given them a thought. If nothing works out with my original intent I could go that route.

[dpep]

I have no intention of using the 'parked' number as a regular phone. Otherwise it would not be parked, it would just be switched to a different carrier. What I want essentially is a voice mail only service which each of the vendors I listed provide apparently. I was just curious to see if anyone else had already done it.

[storm 64]

Comedian:
"You know, back in the day no one ever lost their phones...
"That's because it was bolted to the #%@☆ WALL !!!

Speaking of phone numbers, how many of you can still remember your phone number when you were a kid. I do and most of my friends numbers too. My one friends actually had TWO phone lines coming in. One for mom and dad, one for the kids.

[dpep]

Speaking of phone numbers, how many of you can still remember your phone number when you were a kid. I do and most of my friends numbers too.

Into the late 60s phone numbers had letters in them as in Beechwood 4-5789 (dialed BE45789).

[bccap]

I can't remember what I did yesterday but my phone number when I was six years old ? .... Hemlock 4-7982 .....

[bonanzadave]

I can't remember what I did yesterday .....

I can believe I could win pizzas on a call in radio contest.......on a rotary phone !!!

[Suzukian]

I always wondered why the rotary phones used the heaviest springs they could find. You dial an "800" number, mess up the last one, and you had to start all over again. When I first got into electronics, I made a Black Box that generated the tones, and by putting the mouth piece up to the speaker, you could dial tones. I had a chip that stored 10 numbers. That seemed so high tech back then.

Ooma is a one time fee of $39.95, is that right?