People who only use the landline

[DorothyL]

Aibu this is ever so slightly tedious? In the evening I'm shattered and want to make arrangements via text/message, but some people just don't respond to any communication other than a phone call.

Whatsapp requires an internet connection.
Some people may turn it off to save battery.
Proper text messages are more likely to reach their target.

I don't even have a landline phone. We have the line to the house but it accidentally got cut under the floor and we never fixed it. I still give out the number to some companies

This thread has made me hate my mobile even more than I did previously.

Anyone who lives in the sticks will more than likely have a very poor internet connection, so wifi isn't always available. Mobile reception may also be non-existent. So I am going with YABU, as not everyone has an alternative to a landline. It may be tedious to you OP but how do you think it is for those who don't have a choice?

Personally I hate the way that mobile phones have made us contactable at every single second of the day. It's really unnecessary

See i see it completely the other way!

99.999% of the time it's not an emergency and texts mean you can respond to a message when it's convenient for you. You're NOT immediately contactable every single second. That's the whole attraction of it for me. Unlike the days of landline only which could ring any time of the day or evening and your choice is ANSWER IT NOW or never know.

If there's anything approaching urgent going on here we text first, if that fails we'd ring the mobile, and if that fails we'd ring a land line if there is one.

But frankly in this family if someone isn't responding to a panicy text followed by a ring on their mobile it means they're genuinely uncontactable at that time, just like in the 'old days', ie working, sleeping, in the shower, or y'know just ... out. (without their phone).

I know people on the outskirts of London who live in houses with no mobile reception, there are things called hills you know.

I don't want a fragile expensive brick with a crap battery life, so I have a small mobile and a landline. Brickphones have even worse reception.

Landline p!us internet much cheaper and works. Mobiles often don't work.

NEVER use texts in an emergency. They can take up to 24 hours to be delivered or never get through at all.

if it is urgent, make a voice call.

I live in the centre of Glasgow yet have crappy reception in our house - probably because of the very thick walls We often have to get people to ring us back on our landline.

I too hate the assumption of always being accessible that some people now have.

I do like to use Messenger or WhatsApp for "group" communication (or Facebook groups, which we use to communicate for youth sports clubs).

But I don't assume or expect immediate response. I rarely switch my data on when I am out and about, relying instead on wifi connections. It could therefore be a while before I respond. I also don't have my phone tethered to my side - nor do I expect others to do the same.

I'm disabled and, because my legs don't work properly, I rarely go out. Maybe once a month or so. Why should I pay for a mobile? If you want to text me do it to my landline number. BT have a service that lets me hear your text!! Not so old fashioned
So yes, you are being totally, completely and utterly, very, very unreasonable

I hear you op
I'm wondering where you guys were when I posted this
Sorry if linking to old threads isn't allowed
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2617502-To-think-I-had-to-cancel-this

I don't find my mobile particularly comfortable to use for talking. And it's not always easy to hear others - particularly if they're on hands-free.

If you have a poor mobile signal at home, as we did, ask your mobile provider for a signal booster. EE sent us one which plugs into the router and in some magic way I don't really understand does as it says and boosts the signal so mobiles work fine.

parmalilac I wish! 02 want £££ for one. They offer TuGo which is beyond useless, it's an app that goes through your router, but it is not reliable and there are times when I have to be here to take calls and can't risk it on my mob because TuGo just doesn't always kick in.

Let's think - one phone call, five minutes, all sorted - or - ten texts, spread out over two hours when I'm trying to get on with something else, in text speak, and with the important content (time, date, place, etc.) in different messages?

Pass me the phone please.

But if you are arranging a night out with 5 people, that' 5 landline calls yak yak yak, as opposed to possibly one wotsapp saying shall we meet the same place as before next Tuesday at 8pm sorta thing. I think if you (me!) are the one organising I know which I'd prefer!

I arrange something between 6 people. I email with possible dates and then pick one and sort it. I'd do wotsapp but one of them doesn't use it!

Poor Mousefinkle's Nan! She wants to hear your voice, not get the equivalent of a post-it note (DD doesn't seem to get that I want to hear her, either...)

We've stopped answering the landline as it was only ever PPI or Soffits and faschias (??) or Indian call centres with a 'survey'.

My or DH's mobile are our official contact numbers everywhere. Anyone that needs to contact us calls on them. We do check the answerphone every few days in case we've missed someone.

I can chat on my mobile upstairs / downstairs/ in the garden and it's always in my pocket. With the landline I had to run to answer it and either missed it or it was another bloody sales call. Grrr

Not everyone is on Whatsapp though.

The landline still has its place and I get free calls through its package so I do use it.

If I don't want to answer (i.e. most of the time , I let it go to answerphone). I am quite famous for not answering any of my phones and people are constantly moaning at me but I agree with the person who said the phones are for my convenience, not anyone else's. I hate it that people always ring when I've just got the kids home and it's carnage or I'm cooking. I love texts because I can answer when I can. It's not 1980 anymore and we do have the technology to get back to people when we can. Anyone remember when they had to leave the phone off the hook and, when it did ring and we didn't get it, we had no idea who it was.

I think texting/messaging is far more liberating than a housephone ringing, demanding to be answered

• until the other person gets shirty because you haven't responded within half an hour, or you don't receive the message for ages, or your battery's died, or you left your mobile at home.

The mobile booster uses your internet connection to connect to the network, and then broadcasts a limited local signal to your mobile.

But I don't need it in the house, I've got a reliable clear cheap landline.I've also now got a call package that includes mobiles, although I rarely need to do that.

Yes, yes. I get that too. I hate it. My BIL is the worst. I feel like saying well, if you phone me halfway through a crap....Thing is, they have no bloody idea what you are doing.

Not everyone is welded to their mobile phones. I can hear the house phone from everywhere in the house, but can only hear my phone if I have it with me

Yes x1000. People just don't get this. When I'm at home my mobile is in my handbag, I don't carry it round with me. Sometimes I hear the beep if I get a text and try and respond quickly if I can. But the landline you can hear throughout the house easily.

I very rarely give out my mobile number. Call my landline, if I'm not there leave a message. But also I think manners have taken a downward turn since mobiles have been around. People think it's ok to have conversations on their phones whilst waiting in queues or just out and about. It's just rude. Phone calls should be made in privacy, ideally at home.

Yes. I don't hear mine either. I don't even hear the landline most of the time.

I hate answering the phone when I'm out and about - e.g. shopping. It means I have to put my bags down and fumble around in my bag for it when the call isn't even important most of the time.