I'd love to get rid of my land line but I work from home, so it's essentially my business line. Saves on costs, sounds better, and is somewhat more reliable. I still also use my cell as well, since my landline has been known to go out. I go back and forth, because reliability varies for both.

Piping up from here to say it is frustrating to not catch everything said [for business or not]... yikes...

fixeditup - what state do you live in?

Bakersfield area is reportedly down--I only know this because I did a search after seeing fixeditup's post. It wasn't even reported on the Los Angeles local newscast I was just watching.

Much prefer my landline (cordless though) when at home for call clarity and comfort ... but the cell is a must have because big storms will take landline out sometimes for a couple days, (trees falling on the wires etc)

I will never be without a land line and wish my family would go back to having one also.

There have been multiple times in both Illinois and Colorado where we have lost power for hours or days at a time... and neither our cell phones or our wireless phones are any good in those situations.

We have a single phone that is NOT wireless and always works no matter what the situation might be.

It's simply more important to have a positive method of communication than anything else.

GPS can fail and isn't 100% accurate.
Cell coverage has dead spots even in populated areas.
You can't charge a phone without power...
and
Both cell phones and wireless phones break easily.

We have had our old phones for decades. They've been dropped thrown and been covered in a variety of food, fur, and drinks. They've been sat on, stepped on, and tossed in boxes every time we moved, and aside from needing heavy duty cleaning, still work better than every other cell phone, or wireless phone we've ever had.

Sometimes newer technology does not mean better! I'd rather have a household full of these with the annoying cords than have to deal with multiple dropped calls, people I can't hear, and a dozen other SMART features that create more grief than they solve.

I love land-lines. My parents home still has a rotary dial. Love it!

I love land-lines. My parents home still has a rotary dial. Love it!

T. J. My mom, as well, still has a rotary phone. She has the same phone and same phone number from when I was a small child.....and that was a very long time ago:)

i remember when i was very little i was taught our number with letters in it. i don't remember the letters, but we had the same number from 61 til they moved in 78, and have had that number ever since. because sometimes, it really is about who knows it.

I have a land line. Better sound quality, and when I'm talking to others it's always their cells that stutter and die, not my good old phone. There's a rotary upstairs; had to get a punch phone downstairs for all the stuff that needs "push this, push that." I've had the same number since 1970.

Cell phones only :)

Having fun, I remember ours well. It started with Tennyson2-xx61 (TE2).

My mom was a telephone operator and I can still hear her voice reading off those TE2 phone numbers ;-)

thanks for the smile!

Yes!! I'm from Greece and you can not have fast internet connection without a land line and mobile internet is too expensive!!

I was put on a heart monitor in my 30's and you have to phone the day's results in every night over a landline only--the signal needs to be reliably continuous. For the hearing impaired, landlines offer far better sound and recognition of the words being spoken. Cellphones and hearing aids can cause static between them, landlines are definitely the way to go.

Not to mention they're far more reliable in natural disasters.

We ditched the landline back in 1999.

Yes and I love having it for chatty chats....

Wow, what a great old phone!

I have a beige one upstairs and a yellow one in the kitchen. I foolishly gave the blue Princess phone back.

Hanging on to our land line for as long as I can. The cell service in our area is very unreliable. We need confidence that we are 100% available to family members and 911.

We had a serious emergency not long ago and the cell phone kept dropping 911. It was unnerving.

I keep the land line cuz it has always worked through every storm including Sandy! I was with my 90 yr. old mother @ the Jersey shore & I could call my husband at home & my brother in Virginia when they predicted tornadoes coming straight at us. I don't think I would have been as calm if I wasn't able to call my family.

Cell phones are still too unreliable - dropped calls and dead batteries, etcetera. But my trusty old landline hangs right in there. I don't have to worry about anyone hacking into it - who uses wiretaps anymore? Conversations are pretty tame so I don't worry anyway. In case of emergency, give me a landline anytime. But I do keep a cell for road emergencies.

I agree with easttexfarmer about cell phones and landlines!

I have a hardwired 1940's kitchen wall phone for several reasons; the first being my ph company told me they would charge me MORE for internet WITHOUT a landline, then they were currently charging me to keep both the landline AND the internet combined (go figure!)! Second reason are the frequent and often prolonged power outages... cell ph batteries die - hard wired landlines don't (cordless phs are DOA as soon as the power goes out). Then there is of course, 911... with a cell ph, in an emergency 911 operators are unable to pull up your address. And, since I do still have a landline and only use it for emergencies, that means only telemarketers, politicians, robo callers, and IRS scammers are the ones calling THAT line :)

No land line; just cell. We are a family of text messengers. Cell phones have GPS and can be tracked by first responders when necessary. For those with land lines, you know you can get on the Do Not Call registry so you don't get junk calls.

https://www.donotcall.gov/

xartemis... I'm as glued to my cell as everybody else; but before you or anyone gets too comfortable with depending on the GPS on your cell in an EM, you might want to be aware of the flaws in this...

How Cellphones Are Changing 911 (Feb 6, 2016)

"....When a caller dials 911 on a landline, the telephone grid routes the call to the correct dispatch center, and the 911 system tells the dispatcher the caller's address, which helps emergency responders get to the scene.

But a cellphone tries to connect to the nearest cell tower, which might or might not be in the caller's jurisdiction. And cellphone technology does not always provide a caller's precise location to a 911 system.

Dispatchers who are able to figure out that a caller is in another jurisdiction can forward the call to the right center.

But in an emergency, a delay can be fatal....

Smartphone apps often seem more accurate at locating phones and giving driving directions.

That's because the communication system between carriers and 911 dispatch centers doesn't yet use the same technologies as those apps, said Matthew Gerst, director of regulatory affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association...."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-911-cell-phones-20160206-story.html 

On TV crime dramas, when the good guys want to find someone, they simply go to their computers and instantly locate that person via their cellphone signal. In real life, it's not quite so easy.

If you're outdoors, and your phone's GPS chip can connect with satellites above or the phone hits a series of cell towers on the ground, the 911 operator will know your latitude and longitude—within 50 meters or so—most of the time.

But make that emergency call from inside a building — where it's hard for your phone to "see" the satellites and cell signals tend to bounce around a lot — and your location information could be off by 100 meters or more.

...."In most cities, just a few meters can mean the difference between several buildings and that can be the difference between life and death."

"We have a lot of cases where the distance between where the caller actually is and where the cell phone says they're located is up to a mile different," said Steve Souder, director of 911 communications in Fairfax County, Virginia .....And if the call gets dropped, they may never know if you don't (or can't) tell them...."

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/why-calling-911-your-cell-not-always-good-idea-n99736 

Xartemis, I can tell you haven't had a landline for a while.The do not call registry doesn't cut Dow on calls one bit anymore . The telemarketers completely ignore them. They have figured out that it won't be enforced

bouncy5 they get around the Do Not Call list by just going by computer-generated lists of phone numbers. Some numbers are good, some aren't. That's why you'll sometimes receive a call where the caller asks for another person instead of you or someone in your home. They just use random names and try to get your name from you when you answer.

We only answer when we recognize the number. My husband blocks the number if the continue calling. We still hear 1 ring.

FYI; The National Do Not Call list does NOT prohibit...

political calls (come election season that's non-stop), charities, debt collectors, "informational" calls, and telephone surveyors. In addition, companies may still call if you’ve "recently" done business with them. If you ask a company not to call you again, however, it must honor your request.

Also... "If your number is disconnected and then reconnected, you might need to re-register. You also might need to re-register if you change calling plans or change the billing name on your account."

However... "Since 2009, the FTC has seen a significant increase in the number of illegal sales calls – particularly robocalls. The reason is technology. Internet powered phone systems make it cheap and easy for scammers to make illegal calls from anywhere in the world, and to display fake caller ID information, which helps them hide from law enforcement."

I've personally managed to cut down on 99% of the live telemarketer calls by having my answering mach say "If you're a telemarketer, please hang up NOW; all others please leave a message" ...hearing that telemarketer hang up is always such sweet music. Of course it doesn't work on the political, surveyors, or robo calls....

Only have a landline because it came bundled in the package for our new house. We didn't have one for 10 years.

Yes, it's still important.

No. I live in one of the most "wired" cities in the world. We own a business, and travel for it- our customers can always get in touch, even when we're out of the country. N hassle, no transfer- nothing.

911 not a concern, as our cell provider and our phones have that as a back up, even if the battery is dead. And at home? I have a wired-in security system with 3 panic buttons that go to police, fire and EMT services. Works off a cell, and there's no way to externally cut it off- unlike a landline.

A fun thing, though- I have a supermarket customer number that is the last landline I ever had. 13 years ago

I know most of my friends and family have gone to cell-only, but it will only take one time when that cell goes out (for whatever reason, and they do, although it's rare), as mine did once several years ago, for them to realize having no means of communications for just 1 day is frightening. Especially if you have an infant or small children. I know I'll eventually drop the land line, but it's a small price to pay for my peace of mind.

Cell phone for everyday use, land line for emergencies. The one time I had to call 911, the operator already knew the address, saving precious time. Also, in S. California, we use a reverse 911 warning system to notify of evacuation orders during brush fires. So far as I know, that service is only good for land lines. Have had one reverse 911 call to evacuate. Hope to never hear another, but will keep the old land line functional, just in case.

This is one of those questions where I might answer "OF COURSE! Who wouldn't?" yet the grandkids might answer "What in the world is a land line and why would you want one?"

Haha everyone has a preference and I can't judge either side of the argument.

Yes and No.

I have a land line at one home and it's only used for the cable company to put our phone service over the cable lines.

At our new place, we have zero landlines and will probably never have them. Why? The tiny phone company that controls that area makes anything out of a 15 mile radius a long distance call. I saw that scam from the start and said "No Thanks". We have decent cell service there, so there's really no point in a land line.

What we don't have at either place is anything with AT&T. I had them for years and absolutely hated their service. If you drive around the county, you will see that every single phone box near the road is beat up, bent, on the ground, open and rusting in some cases. The lines sound static-filled and horrible. The service men will "pretend" to fix something at your house and simply sit in the van for 20 minutes then leave and charge you for "fixing" the lines. It's a total rip-off. Never again will I purchase ANYTHING from AT&T.

Yes, telemarketers & salespeople can leave a message & not disturb me. I can also block their numbers

Gerety B&R...had to laugh at your grandkids' comments; I suppose the equivalent to our generation is the "party line" that my husband's grandparents had in rural Virginia. His friends would tag along on family visits when he was a kid, and when the phrase came up in conversation they would ask, "What is THAT??" Several homes on a given street paid for the same phone line, and one might pick up the phone and overhear someone else's conversation. As the years passed, people moved (or passed away) and new people moved in and paid to have their own lines put in, but the grandparents were still paying a fraction of the price for their party line.

I have three old phones, all land lines. I've had to make one service call (phone lane replaced FREE) in the 47 years I've lived in this house. Two of the phones are the heavy old AT&Ts.

I like having a central phone that never runs out of batteries or accidentally is turned to silent. I like that when my kids call the house phone they want to talk to both/either of us. I giving the house number to less personal callers. I like having house phone so I am not bothered on cell and the answering machine (!:) discourages callers who need to be discourage

I got rid of my landline number that was here for 45 years (28 of them mine), and wish I didn't disconnect. It was getting expensive (about $65 for the least expensive plan), and I only got cold-calls on it, so I figured I'd save money. However, I hate having to carry my cell phone from room to room. I've been caring for my elderly parents, so I need to be close by if a text or call comes through. I also have bad, bad, bad reception (hilly part of So Cal), so there is only about 1-2 spots I can make calls from home if I cock my head just so....it's a pain. Wish I stuck with my landline for piece of mind (emergency, making out-going calls, if my cell phone breaks or has issues, etc).

we're getting rid of our landline in the coming month, when our verizon bundle expires; we're dropping the landline and cable. i've kept record since jan 1, not a single (useful) phone call has come in on the landline that couldnt call our cell (and 2. we watched one thing on network tv, and i can say as a patriot's fan that didnt work out too well.)

we dont wish to carry our cells around in the house either, but we have a set up at our vacation home that makes the cell phone ring the 'regular phones' throughout the house. doesnt work for texts, but thats ok.

our power was out for 30 min, and our landline instantly didnt work. they no longer have a back up battery at all. phooey on them.

Unless things have changed significantly, I learned years ago that cordless phones are useless during an outage since the base requires electricity (try unplugging the base from your outlet and see if you still get a dial tone). I also found out when I tried to dump my landline that it was actually going to cost more for internet than it was to keep the landline... go figure!

Since friends and family call my cell phone, while everyone else calls my landline; I just keep it unplugged. In an emergency or prolonged power outage however; should my cell phone battery die I can always plug the landline back in. Not only does it not need electricity or batteries, but the landline always seems to remain in service during outages caused by heavy windstorms or snow and; when it does go out, it's never for very long... unlike my power which sadly can be anywhere from hours to days.

bad news, mahta.... your landline odds are no longer functions in a power outtage. give it a try next time and see. the phone company has changed things quite a bit.

if you get a 3 item bundle you are correct, you save very little/nothing if you drop just one item. thats why we're dropping landline AND cable.

folks ought to own a portable cell phone charger/generator, it has a hand crank, doesnt take long to give you some emergency juice. a great christmas present, too.

Yes due to my illness I require one

My husband unplugs the landline because the telemarketers are that bad!

Whenever the land line rings.....I ignore it. I don’t even know the number.

I only ever use the landline to call my cell phone when I cannot find it.

Yes, we'll always have one. Having worked in 911 ... cell phones aren't always reliable and the location isn't definite or accurate. If you ever have to call from a landline or a cell, no matter what give your address or location right away because if you get disconnected they'll at least know where to send help.

cell phones aren't reliable enough when you live in the country.

We have a house phone that I like since it is one number to give that can reach anyone in the house but it is over the internet so we are not paying a “phone” company. We use Ooma and just pay the taxes/fees the government charges around $6 per month.