Moving phone but not to EE

[#1]

I have a landline with low usage, but want to keep it. I've been happy with Plusnet and a bit disappointed that they are not offering VOIP services going forward. There is no way I'm going to switch to EE, based on my previous experiences with them.

So my plan is to stick with Plusnet and use a third party VOIP supplier (probably Voipfone).

My query is how to manage the changeover with minimum downtime. My Plusnet contract is "Unlimited Fibre Extra" with phone line. I have read that because this is not a full fibre service (it's fttc) then if I move the phone service I will lose the broadband at the same time. The suggestion was that I needed to upgrade to a full fibre broadband before moving the landline> But Plusnet's Full Fibre package doesn't include landline, so I would lose that service until such time as I could get the number transferred to the 3rd party VOIP supplier.

Additionally, as far as I am aware, genuine full fibre isn't yet available at my property, so it will still be copper from the cabinet to the house.

Ideally I'd sign up with Voipfone and transfer my number to them, then update my contract with Plusnet. But would that disconnect my existing broadband (and lose everything including the VOIP), and possibly break my current contract with Plusnet? All the help on Plusnet's website is geared at moving to EE, which is something I am not prepared to consider.

[#2]

@dimwatt 

Ideally I'd sign up with Voipfone and transfer my number to them, then update my contract with Plusnet. But would that disconnect my existing broadband (and lose everything including the VOIP), and possibly break my current contract with Plusnet?

Yes it would disconnect your broadband and close your account!

I have read that because this is not a full fibre service (it's fttc) then if I move the phone service I will lose the broadband at the same time. The suggestion was that I needed to upgrade to a full fibre broadband before moving the landline> But Plusnet's Full Fibre package doesn't include landline, so I would lose that service until such time as I could get the number transferred to the 3rd party VOIP supplier.

Additionally, as far as I am aware, genuine full fibre isn't yet available at my property, so it will still be copper from the cabinet to the house.

If full fibre isnt available then you need to transfer to SoGEA , confusingly called 'Fibre'.. Its a broadband only FTTC product. This 'detaches' the landline from the account so you are now free to port the number to a voip supplier without affecting your broadband. You then have 30 days to transfer the number to a voip supplier. As you say, it unfortunately loses the landline temporarily whilst waiting for the number to port which is usually around 5 days.

[#3]

Hi @dimwatt  - I think I'm in an identical position to you and was wondering the same things.

I have Plusnet Unlimited Fibre and a PN phoneline.  6 months left on current contract with PN.

We've had the '30 days until we move you to EE' email this week. Like you, I'm fairly reluctant to move to EE based on reputation and cost.

We only have FTTC here and seem to be towards the back of the queue for FTTP, as no date yet for 2026.  Our copper phone line will be migrated, or switched off, before full fibre arrives here.

I'd quite like to keep my phone number, if possible, as it's still useful.  The advice I've read on here is to switch to a Fibre only package (SOGEA) with PN then port the phone number within 30 days once that has been confirmed to a VoIP service.  I think there's inevitably a short period of downtime whilst this happens.

I'm not certain but I think it may be possible to set up a VoIP service before this happens but with a new number just to check it works.

Ideally I would like to take my whole broadband and VOIP contract to Zen and deal with one supplier for both but I understand that would incur early contract charges of about £175, which is a pain.  If I want to keep my number and only have one supplier then EE would be the only cost free option.

My other concern / query was hardware.  If I remain with PN then I cannot plug my DECT phone handset into the router with an adaptor as this function is not available.  So, I am assuming I will need to buy new phone handsets in order to make VoIP work for me alongside the PN service.  If anyone has any pointers on this I'd appreciate it.  If this costs more than £175 I might just bite the bullet and pay off the contract.

Apologies for jumping in on your post - I hope that the excellent knowledge of this forum can help.

P.s. Will miss Plusnet as have been a pretty happy customer since 2013 - and this forum is a friendly and helpful source of support!

[#4]

@dimwatt 

As @MisterW has stated you'll lose a landline service for around 5 days if you stay with PN. You CANNOT start the number port until it is confirmed you're on SOGEA.

You can check on here if Full Fibre is available to you and, if not, whether there are any plans to build it in the near future.

www.openreach.co.uk

Brian

[#5]

@Biglamb 

"My other concern / query was hardware.  If I remain with PN then I cannot plug my DECT phone handset into the router with an adaptor as this function is not available."

AFAIK there is no reason why you can't plug an ATA into the Plusnet Hub 2 router. It would just go into one of the normal Ethernet ports. What isn't possible is plugging a landline phone directly into the Hub 2's Phone port (covered by a sticker) because this is inactive on the Hub 2, as Plusnet are not offering a VoIP telephone service.

[#6]

@Biglamb 

Have a look at A&A as a VOIP supplier.

https://www.aa.net.uk/voice-and-mobile/voip-information/

You can set up an account in advance and use a generic number to check that things work with your phones. Once you've ported in your main number you cancel the generic one. Costs a few quid but might give you peace of mind.

As for your phones you should not have to buy new ones. What you do need however is an ATA (Analogue Telephone Adapter). This connects to the router via ethernet cable and you should be able to plug your phone into this. I believe A&A will sell you the router they use for broadband. This I believe has a built in ATA.

Note that house extensions don't work with VOIP without some work and VOIP does not work during power cuts.

Brian

[#7]

Aha!  That is interesting to know - I assumed that the Hub2 was just incapable of VoIP altogether and I'd need separate hardware.

I'll look into an ATA and if I can just put this into a spare ethernet port then this might be the easiest option for now.

Thanks for the tip 😀

[#8]

Thanks, that's what I feared.

Unfortunately PNs website makes no mention of SoGEA.

I currently have "Unlimited Fibre Extra" (fttc) and PN have suggested I upgrade to "Fibre" if I don't want a landline. It doesn't say if this is SoGEA, but can I assume that "Fibre" is a SoGEA  service?

I still have just over a month to go on my current contract, so in the meantime I'll see about buying a Grandstream or other adapter, and a Voipfone generic number to check the technology. The initiate a switch when PN disconnect my landline.

Mrs Watt won't be happy about the interruption, but that has to be better than going to EE!

[#9]

Cheers Brian - I'd seen A&A recommended a lot on these boards and it would probably be the one I would go with.

I don't mind paying for a brief overlap of numbers to ensure it all goes smoothly.

Thanks to you and @pvmb I'm now better informed on ATA's as well, which is good to know.  If A&A do an all-in-one option then this might be ideal.

Thanks both - I said these forums were friendly and helpful!

[#10]

@dimwatt 

I currently have "Unlimited Fibre Extra" (fttc) and PN have suggested I upgrade to "Fibre" if I don't want a landline. It doesn't say if this is SoGEA, but can I assume that "Fibre" is a SoGEA  service?

Yes, as I said earlier,  the 'Fibre' product is SoGEA. Its basically the same FTTC broadband service that you currently have but with no phone service. Changing from your Unlimited Fibre Extra to Fibre is all done remotely and an order should complete within 24 hrs. Once completed (and as @bmc says , you need to wait for the completion confirmation) you can then initiate the number port to voip.

Note that you would need to take a new contract when changing to Fibre.

[#11]

@Biglamb, you can get your 'landline' number on an app on your mobile phone. No cost outlay at first. If you have it just for incoming calls, answer them on your mobile. I current use groundwire with our ported number via A&A

[#12]

We've had the '30 days until we move you to EE' email this week. Like you, I'm fairly reluctant to move to EE based on reputation and cost.
<snip>
Ideally I would like to take my whole broadband and VOIP contract to Zen and deal with one supplier for both but I understand that would incur early contract charges of about £175, which is a pain.  If I want to keep my number and only have one supplier then EE would be the only cost free option.

It does seem very unfair that if you still have several months left on your contract with Plusnet, and if they have emailed you to say you have 30 days to make a decision, that you would be charged an early termination fee for the remaining full duration (rather than the remaining length of the 30 days).

[#13]

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@Yorkie6 wrote:

It does seem very unfair that if you still have several months left on your contract with Plusnet, and if they have emailed you to say you have 30 days to make a decision, that you would be charged an early termination fee for the remaining full duration (rather than the remaining length of the 30 days).

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The corporate view is that the contract will be honoured to its conclusion, only the brand name changes. This corporate view does not recognise brand loyalty as a valid reason for cancellation. On completion of the contract you are free to move to Zen.

[#14]

Yes @Baldrick1 you're right.

If I do nothing and let the service switch to EE the remaining contract length and price stay the same.

The lazy option would be to go with the flow and just see out the final 6 months with EE and then switch.

However, I don't want to buy services from EE (previous poor experience) and have been happy with PN for many years.  But, as you say, loyalty is a long forgotten concept in today's marketplace.

So as a result I'm looking at my options and, thanks to this helpful thread, considering the switch to VoIP.  I'd somewhat naively assumed that my copper landline would continue until FTTP arrived and I could make the switch then but not to be.