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Silly Question About Using a Cell Phone instead of a Landline

bogey21

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So- do people without landlines keep their cell phones on 24 hours 7 days per week?

I have had nothing but a cell phone for more than 20 years now. I keep it on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and charge it while it is on. Note though that mine is a clam shell, not a smart phone....

George
 

WinniWoman

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Really? I always turn my phone off, then plug it in to charge it. It never turns back on. I have a Samsung Android. And for some reason I had always thought your phone should be turned off when it was being charged.


Nope. If mine is off and I plug it in it automatically comes on and charges. If I want I can shut it off AFTER that and it will continue to charge.

I too always thought it really should be off to charge, but I actually always seem plug I it into the charger when I am driving and it’s on then too.
 
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WinniWoman

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We have not had a landline that we used for a phone for about 15 years. When we moved to our current house 9.5 years ago it was cheaper with the cable company if you had a phone line, cable TV, and Internet then just cable and Internet. So we had the phone line. But our fax was connected and not a phone. So all those annoying telephone calls got our fax machine.

We keep our cell fones plugged in every night.

When we move again to NH we might get another landline because evidently cell service is not reliable during the tourist seasons by the lake when the population surges.
 

WinniWoman

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The one thing you may want to do is turn off all apps on the phone before charging it. (Swipe up on an iPhone turns them off.) Less activity on the phone itself, makes charging more efficient, and less wear and tear on the battery. Leave it turned on while charging.

I have a charging cable on my nightstand, and I plug in the phone when I go to bed. It charges overnight. I don't have landline any more, and my home security alarm calls my cell phone first, if there is an issue. I'm happy with how things work.

Dave

So just swipe up and leave the screen with the flashlight on it and that turns the apps off?

Leave it on when charging?
 

DaveNV

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So just swipe up and leave the screen with the flashlight on it and that turns the apps off?

Leave it on when charging?

Sorry, not that screen. Bring each open app to the main screen, and swipe that one up. The next one should pop up. Swipe it up, and then the next. When you get to only your pages of icons, and you can't swipe, then everything is closed.

Dave
 

WinniWoman

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Sorry, not that screen. Bring each open app to the main screen, and swipe that one up. The next one should pop up. Swipe it up, and then the next. When you get to only your pages of icons, and you can't swipe, then everything is closed.

Dave

Oh. Ok. Yes. That I always do. Thanks!
 

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We operate quite well without landline since we moved to our current house 1.5 years ago. I charge my phone overnight and never bring it to bedroom. No stress
 

Panina

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Make sure your cell phone gets reception in all rooms at the house you will be moving to. If not call your carrier to purchase a booster.

I have my cell phone on 24 hours.
 

Bucky

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Did away with landline many years ago. Ported that number to my wife’s iPhone. We leave them on the chargers anytime we are not using them. Have never had a problem. We also have the do not disturb set for 24 hrs a day. That way only those that are in our contacts can get through without having to leave a message. We have a connect-to-cell handset system with five phones spread throughout the house. That way we don’t have to carry our phones everywhere we go in the house or run to catch it when it rings.
 

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It is, lol. The trick is to stay very still, don't talk and keep your eyes shut.

Bill

Awwww... who's a good boy. Now roll over and play dead.

I've trained my dog to do the same thing! :clap:
 

easyrider

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Awwww... who's a good boy. Now roll over and play dead.

I've trained my dog to do the same thing! :clap:

Same here but no one pets me when I do a trick. Whats up with that ?

Bill
 

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We only have a landline because of our cable package and we have NOMOROBO set up to avoid spam calls. It is very rarely, if ever, used.

When we got android phones I deferred to my kids for advice. Here is what they said: Close all apps, leave on charger when not in use. We don't have iPhones but it does turn on when plugged into the charger. We've had these phones for probably about 5+ years and they still behave like new. We also keep them on 24/7 because we have elderly parents who may need us in an emergency.

Someone above mentioned draining the battery by inefficient charging. I was once told to drain the battery before recharging fully, but that made the battery wear out faster. So now I keep things on their chargers and it seems to save wear and tear on battery life.

I don't know how long phone batteries are supposed to last, but my philosophy is when the battery dies, get a new device. It's just not worth the expense to replace batteries in old technology since there's always something new and better on the market.
 

"Roger"

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You mentioned calling 911. About 70% of the 911 calls are from cell phones, but remember, your cell phone is not associated with a location like a land line. In the latter case, the dispatcher will know where you are. With a cell phone, you have to give the most specific directions that you can as to your location.

While this doesn't affect leaving the phone on, you might want to consider one of the cell phones where the default option is to work off the WiFi (presuming you will have WiFi set up in your house). These plans are often far cheaper than the usual monthly cell phone charges. I use Google's Project Fi. (The initial cost is higher in that you have to buy the phone as opposed to getting a phone for cheap but then paying steep monthly charges.)
 

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- do you keep it on 24 hours per day never shutting it down?

I have Do Not Disturb from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. During that time, I can allow calls from selected contacts--immediate family, for example. I've set it to No One, but that easily can be changed.
 

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Make sure your cell phone gets reception in all rooms at the house you will be moving to. If not call your carrier to purchase a booster.
Depending on your carrier, you can just use your existing WiFi -- no special equipment required. I have TMobile, and they have WiFi calling which allows the smart phone to use the WiFi connection for calls. We used to have very marginal service at our house (and no service when in the basement), but the WiFi calling fixed that issue perfectly.

Kurt
 

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When we move again to NH we might get another landline because evidently cell service is not reliable during the tourist seasons by the lake when the population surges.
I find this hard to believe.

Even if your cell signal is weak your phone will be connected to your WiFi and you can make calls that way.

Life is much simpler when you ditch a landline. You have one phone number for everyone and you never miss a call, message even when you are away from home .
 

WinniWoman

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Depending on your carrier, you can just use your existing WiFi -- no special equipment required. I have TMobile, and they have WiFi calling which allows the smart phone to use the WiFi connection for calls. We used to have very marginal service at our house (and no service when in the basement), but the WiFi calling fixed that issue perfectly.

Kurt

I guess I just sort of assumed that because we have WIFI in the house the phone automatically used it for calls and everything else since I have it set to WIFI.
 

WinniWoman

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I find this hard to believe.

Even if your cell signal is weak your phone will be connected to your WiFi and you can make calls that way.

Life is much simpler when you ditch a landline. You have one phone number for everyone and you never miss a call, message even when you are away from home .

Yes- good point. I read Kurt's reply also above. I didn't think of that. Silly me.
 

Panina

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I guess I just sort of assumed that because we have WIFI in the house the phone automatically used it for calls and everything else since I have it set to WIFI.
Being wi-fi does go down at times I like being able to rely on cellular service too.
 

WinniWoman

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Being wi-fi does go down at times I like being able to rely on cellular service too.

True. And in a power outage WIFI will not work without being hooked up to a generator. That is also why I liked having a landline. We will not be having a generator at the rental (UGH -fingers crossed no major power outages there this winter. I have been spoiled having a whole house generator for years) and not sure yet about the new house.

I guess I like having everything- cellular, wifi and landline. LOL! All backups to each other! But at least for now need to rely on cellular and wifi.
 

easyrider

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If you are seriously worried about power outages a cheap simple remedy is a cell phone battery for recharges.

We have a couple of those little boosters to jump a car or charge a cell phone. They are a little larger than a cell phone. So far, I have only used these to run my lap top.

Bill
 
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