We're probably in the minority on this, but we prefer to have both. Most of the time when I am home, I am no where near my cell phone. It's either on the docking station or in my purse. Much of the time I have the volume down. I'd never hear it. LOL While I want to have a phone convenient at home - especially during the night in case of emergency, etc. but I do not want to feel "tied" to a phone. I don't want to have to carry my cell phone around with me. Does that make sense?

My husband is pretty much in agreement.

tina

We still have both.

Like you I have considered dropping our landline. I think I need to be convinced that a 911 call will pinpoint my location when using a cell phone.

ML

I still have my land line because I also live rurally and cell reception isn't the best. Don't think I would even consider taking out my land line. I've had the same phone number for years and would feel like I disappeared off the face of the earth.

Only a select few know my cell number and when I am out and about, I like it that way. I'd hate to be *always* available to everyone.

We got rid of our land line one year ago...we made the number our cell number so there is no problem with "disappearing" :) We only have one cell for the 2 of us...DH and I. We carry it with us on trips , otherwise it stays on the chest in the front hall. I am pretty sure we are in the minority as far as how many cells we have but other than an emergency when traveling and to let others know our arrival time etc we just never use it.

Our reception in this 1890 house is not great so we use the phone on the porches or stand under the skylight. c

Cell reception at my house is terrible so I'm keeping my land line.

We have both, but our land line is part of our cable company's "bundle". When we first added it to our cable service our total cable bill actually went down. We also get free long distance in the US and Canada, which is nice because my DH is Canadian, so he can call his mother whenever he wants.

I have both primarily because there is no savings by eliminating the land line when it's bundled in with my TV and internet.

My cell reception at home is good and I'd never think it would be a problem but last night I actually noticed I had No Service for a short time. I'd hate to have No Service when I had an emergency.

I also like having a phone number to give out when I think it might lead to SPAM phone calls - kind of like an email address that's not my primary email address. I don't want a bunch of junk calls and texts coming to my cell phone.

Goldie makes some good points. I don't give my cell out to everyone either. We live rural, but don't have reception problems - not sure about 911 - that is a good point. Alarm systems may be a consideration too.

tina

I use cell phone with signal booster (+antenna for GPS signal since my house is like a steel cage), VoIP device (landlines, just pay taxes which is about $3 a month with unlimited US calling), and google voice (which we set up to ring on both cell and landlines).

Some very good points to consider...Thanks for the feedback everyone. I could keep it but drop all the long distance, that would cut the bill in half.

Texask, you've peaked my curiosity, can you elaborate more about the signal booster, VOIP device and Google Voice?

Unlike Europe, where you can have two phones with the same number, in the U.S. you can't have two cell phones share a phone number. It's that fact that is keeping me from dropping our landline.

suero, if you sign up for Google Voice you can have one number ring through to multiple phones. It also translates your voice mail messages to text emails.

I am attached to my home phone number - have had it almost 42 years (along with my P.O. Box)...would be like giving up my hubby :). Plus it is DH's business listing also.

Seriously, I want both. I like to use my house phone at home..can't find my cell half the time. Like Tina, it will be in my purse, turned down.

We were seriously affected by the hail storm/tornados/straight line winds that occurred here in Eastern Kentucky on March 2nd and most of us found out what it was like to be cut off from the rest of the world. We always like to think that cells are better in major communication and utility outages - not so. So many towers were down, affecting most providers in our area. If you didn't see it on national news, google West Liberty, Kentucky to see how terrible it was - the town is practically gone. I don't live in West Liberty, but in a close-by county and our phone and electric coops are located there. Cell phone were all out the night the tornados hit, occasionally could get a text through after it was over, land line was out, but it was back in service before the cell towers were repaired. Some cell providers (AT&T) and land lines were out for days. And computers don't work if fiber optic is wiped out or damaged.

After what we went through, I want both! Very scary time.

One other thing, I love my cordless house phones with 2 or 3 scattered throughout the house, but I will never give up the one direct land line phone that doesn't rely on electrictiy to operate or charge. And remember, cell phones have to be charged.

Tuesday

Lukkiirish

For my cell phones we use a micro cell (at&t) but every provider sells their own. You might not need a cheap $12 external GPS antenna if you can place your micro cell in a good spot. But I live in a steel cage so I needed that cheap external antenna. If you complain to your service provider they might give you a micro cell for free nowadays. We got ours when they first came out. There is also another more expensive and complex way too. You can buy a wireless repeater and attach to your roof/outside. Then run that through a bi-directional antenna inside your house.

Think there are also lots of VoIP providers nowadays. Up until a few months ago our VoIP service was completely free (now about $3 a month). VoIP = Voice over Internet Protocol. We purchased an Ooma several years ago from Costco. I think they might still sell them.

Suero explained the google voice. That was/is free. Since we moved from Maryland we were using just our cell phones with our Maryland numbers. This gave us a way to provide a local number (Texas) plus you can do neat stuff, like receive your phone messages as text messages to your phones. However sometimes real message is totally different the text message receive....

I keep my land line because it always seems to work during our frequent winter storm power outages. This year the power was out for a week, but the phone worked. The snow was so deep that my all wheel car couldn't get through it, so I was stuck here. I did have to dig around for the corded phone, but I keep one just for this purpose. In previous storms the cell towers were out, too. I heat with wood and the thought of not being able to call the fire dept is disturbing to me.

I cancelled all long distance on land line when I got my cell phone years ago, but I keep a calling card with minutes on it (remember those?) for emergencies. If I am close to going over my minutes on cell, I use that..it's way cheaper than over charges on cell phone.

DH and I are like Tina and her DH. First, I cannot stand to talk on a cell or wireless phone. We do keep a wireless to take outdoors if we're expecting a call, but we don't use it much.

It's hard to hold them and hear/talk in it, plus the numbers are so small I have to put my glasses on!

We have "regular" phones in every room. I like talking in them, resting the phone on my shoulder so I can write, etc. I have a pink Princess phone in the bedroom. :)

My cell stays in my purse turned off. I only use it for emergencies.

Oh! Here's a great example of why cells/wireless are so uncomfortable. Yesterday I was watching the grands, the 3 year old wanted me to call Grandpa to say hi. After they talked for a minute or so, GS kept saying, "Grandpa, where are you?", over and over again. They have to be put to the ear exactly right. Me no likey. :)

We live in the middle of the city. Our cells (Consumer Cellular) are only good if we walk outside to use them. I've heard it's a different story with Verizon. We have a cheap plan, because dh is the only one who uses a cell. Like Oakley, mine sits in my purse, turned off, for emergencies only. Will never be without a land line. I hate talking to people on cells. I hate dropped words and that annoying delay.

Hi Natal,

Do you have high speed internet? If so a micro-cell may work for you for your cell service inside your home. The Micro cell acts likes cell tower.

I live in a city too (San Antonio). But my problem is this house is a steel cage... my walls are stucco, my roof has a metal heat shielding, and windows are UV protection. Never could use our cell phones in this house without that micro-cell.

Texask, yes, but I'd still have to deal with the dropped words and annoying delay.

Very interesting Texask! I've not heard of that. Don't get me wrong - I love my iphone and I do use it just not at home and prefer to keep the landline. We do have one phone (in the garage) that is not wireless. I don't have any complaints about our wireless or cells - can't tell the difference. No drops or delays. Even rural we have great coverage.

I do keep my cell phone out on days I work. That's the number most friends and family would use to call or text. Speaking of - I could not do without texting. Absolutely love it. Quick and convenient.

Also, we don't have long distance on our landline. LD is no extra charge on our cells. We have friends right now at Mayo for at least 4 months and it's great to be able to call/text daily.

tina

No drops or delays? I encounter that almost every time I talk to someone using a cell whether it's local or long distance. The delay may only be a split second, but it's noticeable and extremely irritating.

I have both but am seriously considering dropping the land line. We never use it.

Tina I have family spread across the across the country (outside as well), so I completely understand. I love the VoIP because you have unlimited calling for $3 a month. Our Ooma connects to all of our landlines so you can use your existing phones. I also believe it can port most existing landline phone numbers.

My husband and I are older but decided to get rid of the land line when we built our last house. We joke that we're just like the kids who use nothing but cells. We have different carriers (his for business) and have never been without service for over 4 years. Don't miss the old phones at all.

we use our cells more than house phone now, and i find texting really convenient.......just wish more of my peers were on board. So nice to send out a quick question , for example, without having to go through the usual how r you's., etc. to whomever answers their home phone. oh wow! I just went into text Mode abreviating. I do see it as an Example of how our world is changing, and not all for good. Liife is spinning by so much faster. are we becoming too Impatient for old fashioned civilities? Hope not, but I see this in myself. And I often think that between texts and emails, actually speaking to communicate may be dying . Yikes!
Sorry for the digression. back to the Op, our cells sound clearer than ole'AT&T landline, and drops are rare, and delays? Never. Keeping the land line for a backup. I'm pretty much echoing Tina., I think.

Martinca, no matter how good the reception is, I can always tell if someone is on a cell phone.

Tuesday, I know what you mean! I'm in OK. and right in the middle of tornado alley. High winds from downdrafts, etc., can wipe out cell towers. Not only that, when big storms happen the cell calls won't go through because so many people are using them. I'd never be without a landline.

The only time I couldn't use a landline was after the OKC bombing. My DH worked a block away from the Fed. building and phone lines were down. Scared the you know what out of me!

Well you have all really given me some food for thought, thank you. I think I'll have my DH read this. We have tornadoes too, one hit Dexter pretty bad which is about 40 miles from us. A lot of our phone lines are still above ground so if a tornado hit here, I think we'd still be without service.

Texask, I looked up Microcells and found out they were offered strictly by ATT to help with poor reception issues but from what I can tell Verizon might have a comparable option, though pricey...maybe it would be worth it though. Thanks for the added info. That ooma looks interesting too. :c)

For those off you who have ditched traditional land line phones, do you have have a need for fax machines? My DH runs his business out of our home and feels he has to have a dedicated fax line - never wants a customer to get a busy signal when trying to send a fax. Is there a way around that scenario?

Hi dlm2000,
My fax works with my setup (Ooma).

Texask, do you do the 119/yr deal to get the extra features or do you just use the basic Ooma?

We just have the basic .... but that has lots of stuff... which was free up until January 2012.

Oh so none of that stuff is probably available now. A day late and a dollar short! Ha! I think we're going to give it a try. We have nothing to loose if we buy it at Costco. I'm pretty stoked about it, thank you so much for the suggestion!

lukkiirish: We are in an area that has no cell reception within a mile or two of our home, so purchased the Verizon booster and it works great inside the house. I think it was around $170. but has been worth it to us.

I've opted to keep my landline. I have a houseful of kids and do not want to worry about them using my cell phone to make calls. Plus, I don't want their friends calling on my cell phone when I'm out and about and don't necessarily have the kids with me. Perhaps I'm in the minority here with kids still at home but I can't imagine not having a landline in that case. There are times my kids are at home when I'm not there, so how would they make a phone call? Plus, sometimes my mom babysits and she does not have a cell phone so she would have no way to call me or 911 if there was an emergency. I also live in an area where power frequently goes out, so I have a regular plug in phone (not cordless) to use when power goes out.

I might reconsider once all of my kids either have their own cell phones or are no longer living at home. I also reserve giving out my cell phone number to select good friends/family/school - I don't like people having constant access to me when I'm not at home. If I'm not at home, chances are I don't want to be bothered with a phone call so I prefer they leave a message at home and let me call back when convenient. I suppose I'm weird like that but I don't like people calling me while I'm driving, while I'm out grocery shopping, etc.

As far as keeping the landline for faxes - there are service that you can use that will fax directly to your email. I've linked to one below, though I don't know anything about this particular service.

Here is a link that might be useful: Efax