blocked calls

[1LtCAP 4,262]

this one's interesting/annoying.

 as you all know, we all get unsolicited calls. well. i've got one that's hitting my shop phone and my cell phone. it's on the auto reject list on my cell phone....yet they seem to be able to get through to my voicemail. on the shop phone it's set up to automatically call forward. to another robo caller. yet.....it gets through and rings here. it's the only one that this is happening with. it's not a different extension. it's the exact same number that's blocked/forwarded.

 

 anyone else have this issue? or know how to solve it?

[Howard 538]

Try NoMoRobo on the landline if your provider supports it.  On the Cell I use Hiya which does a good job blocking stuff.

[AVB-AMG 530]

Howard:

I just enrolled my tel. numbers in NoMoRobo....

Thanks for suggesting that fix.  I hope it makes a big difference in cutting out all of the unsolicited calls asking for donations that I/we have been getting.

AVB-AMG

[45Doll 5,874]

21 hours ago, Howard said:

Try NoMoRobo on the landline if your provider supports it.  On the Cell I use Hiya which does a good job blocking stuff.

That looks interesting. But I note that it only works on VoIP lines (voice over IP) typically used by cable companies or Internet phone providers. It's no good on the traditional copper POTS line. (Plain Old Telephone Service) Too bad.

[07002er 12]

Howard:

I just enrolled my tel. numbers in NoMoRobo....
Thanks for suggesting that fix.  I hope it makes a big difference in cutting out all of the unsolicited calls asking for donations that I/we have been getting.
AVB-AMG

Try RoboKiller. Not only blocks them, but taunts them with annoying recorded dialogue too, lol


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[1LtCAP 4,262]

now that idea i like, lollol

[1LtCAP 4,262]

robokiller only works for iphones. dammit. nomorobo doesn't handle traditional verizon landlines....which is what i have at home.

[Howard 538]

29 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

robokiller only works for iphones. dammit. nomorobo doesn't handle traditional verizon landlines....which is what i have at home.

I think NoMoRobo has a paid version that works on POTS lines.  But the bigger question is why do you have an expensive POTS line?  I have two VoIP "landlines".  One is on MagicJack and the other on Ooma.  I don't recommend MagicJack, but I got it for $99 for 5 years of service, so I have kept it.  The base Ooma service is under $5 a month and is great.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

it's just sumthin' about not wanting to give up the old copper line. when power's out they still work.

[Howard 538]

it's just sumthin' about not wanting to give up the old copper line. when power's out they still work.

I’ve got a UPS on the cable box and router and they continue to function during power outages.

[Zeke 5,504]

18 minutes ago, Howard said:

 

I’ve got a UPS on the cable box and router and they continue to function during power outages.

 

^^^^ this.

but, cable can experience other outages. 

[Howard 538]

^^^^ this.
but, cable can experience other outages. 

True, but so can phone lines. There is no one perfect answer. But between VoIP and cell I have never been totally without phone service.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

and although it's rare.......i had a complete outage here the other day. phone and interweb went down. both through comcast here at the shop. i'm stubborn. gonna keep the old copper line at home till they just don't work any more.

Just now, Howard said:

 

True, but so can phone lines. There is no one perfect answer. But between VoIP and cell I have never been totally without phone service.

remember the wind storms a couple years ago? my neighbors with comcast and/or cable phones.....went down. 'cause electric was out. cell towers were turned off to us civilians.

[Zeke 5,504]

1 minute ago, 1LtCAP said:

and although it's rare.......i had a complete outage here the other day. phone and interweb went down. both through comcast here at the shop. i'm stubborn. gonna keep the old copper line at home till they just don't work any more.

That may happen sooner than you think 

[Howard 538]

and although it's rare.......i had a complete outage here the other day. phone and interweb went down. both through comcast here at the shop. i'm stubborn. gonna keep the old copper line at home till they just don't work any more.

You do realize that in most areas the copper wire that goes to your home actually transition to fiber optic before going to a central office so if power goes out it will likely not work the way it did 40 years ago.

[AlDente67 563]

Ii have been getting bombed with robo calls on both my verizon landline and t-mob cell in the past few weeks.  I mean almost constant calls.

 

I may have to change the number.   last night, some Indian call center bugged girl me to sell some thing, so I conferenced it in to 411 and muted myself.  I could hear her saying  to the 411 woman "Yes, i was just speaking with Haywood Jablowme.  Can you put him back on the line?" and the operator sounded a little pissed.

I get a few free 411 calls per month, so it was free this time, but can't pull that stunt too many times.

Almost as bad are the solar panel shysters.  They just don't get that Go Away equates to No.  One even called me and said he would like to offer me significant savings, but I'll have to cut all my trees down.  What?  Who even asked you?  I could tell he was looking at a google map image because there is a car in my driveway that i sold in 2010, next to some trees that came down during Sandy.  Lazy crooks can't even be bothered to drive past the house before cold calling their sales pitches.

[bhunted 887]

Try RoboKiller. Not only blocks them, but taunts them with annoying recorded dialogue too, lol


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Yep! I laugh my ass off at the robots. Great ap.


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[1LtCAP 4,262]

ha!!  just found this site, lololol

 

listen to a couple of these

https://gizmodo.com/todays-hero-made-an-ai-that-annoys-telemarketers-for-as-1756344562

[Malsua 1,422]

On 11/1/2017 at 3:31 PM, Howard said:

 

True, but so can phone lines. There is no one perfect answer. But between VoIP and cell I have never been totally without phone service.

I know I'm late to the party on this.   I can't think of my POTS line EVER going out, going all the way back to the 70s in the dozen or so homes I've lived in.  It is so ridiculously redundant and over built, it is as close to 100% reliable as you can get.   Is anyone shocked at all if your cable isn't working?   

[bhunted 887]

I know I'm late to the party on this.   I can't think of my POTS line EVER going out, going all the way back to the 70s in the dozen or so homes I've lived in.  It is so ridiculously redundant and over built, it is as close to 100% reliable as you can get.   Is anyone shocked at all if your cable isn't working?   

Only time I had probs with POTS getting messed is when one of the junctions on a pole got wet. We ended up with a party line. When they finally found it, it was 2 miles away from us.


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[1LtCAP 4,262]

2 hours ago, Malsua said:

I know I'm late to the party on this.   I can't think of my POTS line EVER going out, going all the way back to the 70s in the dozen or so homes I've lived in.  It is so ridiculously redundant and over built, it is as close to 100% reliable as you can get.   Is anyone shocked at all if your cable isn't working?   

by POTS you mean the old copper lines?

 

 yea...i still have that at the house. for the reason you said. they never go out.

[Malsua 1,422]

6 minutes ago, 1LtCAP said:

by POTS you mean the old copper lines?

 

 yea...i still have that at the house. for the reason you said. they never go out.

POTS = Plain Old Telephone Service.   Analog over copper.  What everyone had until cellphones and ultimately VOIP/ISDN or other technologies. 

[1LtCAP 4,262]

Just now, Malsua said:

POTS = Plain Old Telephone Service.   Analog over copper.  What everyone had until cellphones and ultimately VOIP/ISDN or other technologies. 

gotcha.

 yea...i keep mine. when everything's down.....i still can call out. problem is that everyone else is down, so there's really no one to call, lolol

[Malsua 1,422]

1 minute ago, 1LtCAP said:

gotcha.

 yea...i keep mine. when everything's down.....i still can call out. problem is that everyone else is down, so there's really no one to call, lolol

My father worked for AT&T and during the blizzard of 77 my family lived in Ohio.  We got a tremendous amount of snow and I lived on farm, far from anywhere anyone cared about.  Anyway, we had no power, we heated with an old Franklin stove but my dad would call out to Chicago(he had call franking at the time, which was basically free Long Distance for ATT employees) and get weather updates and to get information from the Chicago office about the status of Ohio.   We knew that the Ohio National Guard was plowing the roads with tracked vehicles.  Coolest thing I ever saw was M111 personal carriers with a blade on the front plowing the road.  Didn't do a great job but it was enough that the other trucks could work on it.  What a wild time that was.

[Howard 538]

17 hours ago, Malsua said:

I know I'm late to the party on this.   I can't think of my POTS line EVER going out, going all the way back to the 70s in the dozen or so homes I've lived in.  It is so ridiculously redundant and over built, it is as close to 100% reliable as you can get.   Is anyone shocked at all if your cable isn't working?   

The only problem is that in most places POTS really no longer exists.  I is rare from what I understand to find a situation where the single copper pair actually runs all the way from your home to the Central Office.  Instead, the copper pair typically meets up and is converted to fibre optics at some point and that is what goes to the CO.  That means any electrical outage and your phone goes out.

[jackandjill 683]

Agree with @Howard. Real end-to-end POTS is largely gone. Too much cost to maintain. Digital routing is cheaper, faster, optimized and better (for the company).  All that copper is still buried, but disconnected. So highly unlikely what you have is a real POTS end-to-end, but a switch over to digital first opportunity it gets. 

[1LtCAP 4,262]

10 minutes ago, jackandjill said:

Agree with @Howard. Real end-to-end POTS is largely gone. Too much cost to maintain. Digital routing is cheaper, faster, optimized and better (for the company).  All that copper is still buried, but disconnected. So highly unlikely what you have is a real POTS end-to-end, but a switch over to digital first opportunity it gets. 

and less reliable

 

[Mike J. 7]

How much do you pay for POTS service? For two lines through Verizon it’s almost $160 not including calls. Not my account but a relatives account and they are insistent on keeping the POTS service and spending a small fortune every month for the “reliability”.

As someone else has already pointed out, POTS lines are typically split to fiberoptic at some point, whether that be 2 miles or 20 miles from your house. Word in the industry is that Verizon is allowing the system to die off and pushing voip and other alternatives to work on getting POTS customers off the system and so that they can eventually pull the plug on the service. Will this happen soon? No, it will likely be many years before Verizon entirely kills off POTS service.

A few years ago I helped someone setup a landline using a T-Mobile SIM card and a wireless gateway I purchased off eBay, the Chinese made gateway cost about $60 and all you needed to do was insert the SIM card of you’re choice and plug a landline into it. T-Mobile at one pint offered a $25 / month unlimited minutes plan and that plan along with that gateway was very reliable and cost effective. 

[NJGF 375]

3 hours ago, Mike J. said:

..... Word in the industry is that Verizon is allowing the system to die off and pushing voip and other alternatives to work on getting POTS customers off the system and so that they can eventually pull the plug on the service. Will this happen soon? No, it will likely be many years before Verizon entirely kills off POTS service.

I still have POTS and Verizon really tries to push you into fiber. The lines, I believe, are purposely not "maintained well" so they do go down. When you contact them they push fiber. They can't force you off without regulatory changes but they do their best.

I even had a Verizon repair guy coming to my door saying they were converting everyone in the neighborhood and would convert me that day. I politely said no.

It cost Verizon to maintain these lines so they will do anything to get you off. I get snail mails everyday about converting.

And yes somewhere down the street (sometimes miles away) it does get converted to fiber.

[1LtCAP 4,262]

quick update on this....

 

 i downloaded hiya onto my cell. in less than a week it's totally eliminated the bs calls. that was quick. makes me smile.