Use VOIP phone with landline phone jack?

Question

I am terminating my VOIP provider service due to poor call quality and am left with a $200 four handset VOIP phone set. I have a landline at home and was wondering how to use my VOIP handsets with an analog landline phone jack. Or are those phones now garbage? Anyone with experience with this? Thanks!

Answer 1

It depends on if the phones are locked to the voip provider. If they are, than you're out of luck. You might wanna check into selling them on ebay or something.

If they are standards-based, than you can use them with a different voip provider.

While it is, in theory, possible to connect a voip phone to a landline, it would be rather difficult. And probably expensive. You'd need a computer with a special card/adapter connected to receive the incoming analog phone signal, and convert it to a digital format for the voip phone. A system like that is a good decision for a small business, but not so much for a consumer.

It would be much more helpful to list who the voip carrier was, and what the make/model of the phones are.

Answer 2

It would be helpful to know the model numbers of the VoIP phones.  

If your VoIP handset(s) are cordless and connect to a base unit, it may be possible to use with PSTN phone line - just depends on base unit features.

If VoIP unit is "dual" function, meaning it accommodates PSTN fallback as well as VoIP it may be possible.

For example, I have a JOIP Globarange phone (Panasonic + DeltaThree service) that I obtained for beta testing the JOIP service.  It functions as both, VoIP phone AND standard PSTN phone.  It has 2 jacks on back - Ethernet jack for the VoIP Internet connection and standard PSTN jack for regular phone line connection.  I have used for PSTN connection without the VoIP and it works fine.

So, it just depends on your phones hardware features.

If it is strictly VoIP and no PSTN jack on back, then it is not likely you can use it with any other VoIP service because the VoIP provider usually "locks" the configuration settings so you cannot "reconfigure" with another provider.

Answer 3

if these are an IP phone, that connected directly to your internet connection, then thats all there good for, VoIP service... you may be able to program them to work with another voip provider, but not with a landline...