Landline switch-off checker: are you ready?

What is the landline switch-off?

The UK is retiring the old analogue phone network, known as the PSTN, and replacing it with phone calls carried over broadband. Instead of plugging your handset into a socket on the wall, it plugs into your router, and the call travels as data. Providers usually call this Digital Voice or a digital phone line. The industry is working towards 31 January 2027, with most households moved during 2026.

The same programme is retiring the older copper broadband technologies, so ADSL and part fibre (FTTC) lines are being replaced with full fibre where it is available. Providers stopped selling new analogue phone lines back in September 2023, so the change has been under way for some time. Cable customers are affected too, as Virgin Media is moving its phone service to a digital connection in the same way.

What changes in your home, and what does not

For most people the change is small: you keep your number, you keep making calls, and the handset often plugs into the back of the router instead of the wall socket. Call quality is usually the same or better, and providers normally handle the move for you.

• You keep your existing phone number.
• Your provider will normally send a new router, or an adapter, and tell you where to plug the phone in.
• Some very old handsets may not work, though most will.
• The important difference is what happens in a power cut, which is covered below.

What happens on the day?

For most households the migration is a five minute job, and often no engineer is needed at all. Your provider writes to you with a date, sends any equipment you need, and on the day your handset moves from the wall socket to the back of the router. Then you make a test call in and out, and check anything else that used the line.

Some homes do need an engineer, particularly where full fibre is being installed at the same time, and your provider will tell you if that applies. If you have a care alarm, this is the point at which it should be tested, not afterwards.

Why a power cut matters more than it used to

The old copper line carried its own power, so a corded phone kept working in a power cut. A digital phone runs through your router, so when the power goes off, the phone goes off with it. That is the single biggest practical change, and it is why the rules give extra protection to people who depend on their landline.

Ofcom requires providers to make sure customers who depend on their landline can still contact the emergency services during a power cut, for at least one hour, at no extra cost. In practice that usually means a battery backup unit for the router, or another arrangement your provider offers. It is not given out automatically to everyone, so if this applies to your household, ask for it.

Care alarms and telecare: the part to get right

If anyone in your home uses a care alarm, telecare pendant or monitored medical alarm, treat this as the priority and speak to your alarm provider before your phone line changes. Some older alarms were designed for the analogue network and may not work properly once the line is digital, and there is no regulatory guarantee that telecare will keep working through a power cut, because these devices do not dial 999 themselves.

The industry has taken this seriously. Providers signed a charter committing not to move telecare users until a compatible and tested setup is in place, and Openreach rolled out an engineer service across the country in October 2025 to check telecare devices at the point of migration. Even so, the safest position is to tell both your phone provider and your alarm provider that a telecare device is in use, and to have the alarm tested after any change.

Who to contact about what

Three different organisations handle three different parts of this, and going to the right one saves a great deal of time. Your phone or broadband provider owns the line itself, so they are the ones to ask about your migration date, about battery backup, and about being added to the priority services register. The company that supplies a care alarm owns whether that alarm works on a digital line. And anything else on the line, such as an alarm panel, a lift line or a card machine, belongs to whoever supplied it.

Watch out for switch-off scams

Criminals are using the switch-off as a way in, because it is a genuine national change that people have heard of but do not fully understand. The usual approach is a phone call out of the blue, claiming your line is about to be cut off unless you act immediately, then asking for payment or for access to your computer.

The difference between a real provider and a scammer is not subtle once you know what to look for. A genuine provider writes to you first and gives you notice. They will never ring and ask for your bank details, they will never need to install software on your computer, and they will never mind you hanging up and calling them back on a number you already have. Anyone who pressures you, rushes you, or tells you not to check with anyone else is not who they say they are.

What should you do now?

If nothing has happened yet, there is no need to rush, but there are a few sensible steps. Most people will simply be contacted by their provider and moved with very little effort. The households that need to act are the ones with a care alarm, anyone who depends on the phone line, and anyone with other equipment plugged into it.

• Tell your provider if anyone in the home is vulnerable or relies on the landline, and ask to be added to their priority services register.
• If you use a care alarm, contact the alarm provider before any change, and test it afterwards.
• Check any other kit on the line, such as an alarm, a lift line or a card machine, with whoever supplies it.
• Keep a charged mobile as a backup where you can.
• If you are still on an older copper connection, see what full fibre is available at your address, because you will be moving sooner or later anyway.

Frequently asked questions