Just Kick Me to the CURB.....

[dottiesyrky]

I am not sure that Uverse is a cable system. I thought it was a kind of DSL phone line hook up. I know that in my area I did not want ATT Uverse as it was too slow compared with Cox cable. If they are using the land phone line to power your computer, then probably the phone goes through the commuter. If you wanted a separate phone line you may need to get an extra ATT or other company line.
iDK, but that may be what is going on. I would call ATT and find out what the deal is.

[dottiesyrky]

So I have Cox cable for TV and Internet , and ATT land line for phone.
Of course if you use one line for Uverse and computer and another for the phone you will need to.pay for two phone lines!
I did not have Cox phone as I wanted not to be totally cut off if the cable went out!

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by matese

The reason ATT bundled TV svce, computer & phone is you get a discount for bundling. ATT may have to put in sep. lines just for your phone, they will take the phone off the bundle meaning you will not get a discount for having all 3 as a bundle. I have to assume when they installed your phone lines they connected it to the cable lines if you can only get svce through the computer. If you don't mind changing your phone # go with a diff company for landline svce, I have to assume they would hook up phone lines to your house as it seems your landline is in someway connected to your cable line.

Like Anna RoseAnna Dana used to say, "Its ALWAYS something!!!!!!"

[Cindy_17]

It sounds like you may have digital cable instead of regular. Just went through this with my MIL, there are routers with built-in modems now, we did not know or understand this until we were on the phone for an hour trying to set up a router without a modem that wouldn't work as she does not have a PC. Her cable, landline & internet is all connected somehow. It's confusing to say the least, good luck!

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by Cindy_17

It sounds like you may have digital cable instead of regular. Just went through this with my MIL, there are routers with built-in modems now, we did not know or understand this until we were on the phone for an hour trying to set up a router without a modem that wouldn't work as she does not have a PC. Her cable, landline & internet is all connected somehow. It's confusing to say the least, good luck!

I have no idea what I have...all I know is it is all bundled into one pack, and it is with ATT U-Verse........my computers/ and my phones/ and my TVs......are all together, and if the power goes off, there is NOTHING!!! All this time, I thought I had phones because they are plugged into the wall jack....well, WRONG!!!! So, I have to do something to fix this.....I have to sleep on it, clear my head......

[Silver Lace]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

You are all over this!!! That is exactly what I am finding myself mucked up to my neck in!!!! Now, as it is right now, I have ATT U-Verse and my TV/computer/phones are all on the same deal.....so what you are saying I need to do, just to get these old brain cells wrapped around this correctly, I have to separate my phone service OUT from that package deal? Did I understand you right???

Thanks for the help...this is crazy.....

Can ATT separate out the phone from that bundle so I can use the landlines, or do I have to go through a completely different company?

You did understand me right.
I am not sure if ATT can give you phone service that does not connect to your modem but I do know that I use a completely different phone company. I had the phone service first before I ever had a computer that was on the internet and always kept that so I never had the problem you are experiencing. I wish you well with this so upsetting and frustrating problem YorkieMom1.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Ours is really confusing, it's all through the cable line but it's not bundled.

Digital Cable TV through Comcast.

High speed internet through Earthlink, but it's billed by Comcast. If we have technical problems, we call Comcast. We've had it for about 10 years, and the price hasn't gone up (suspect we are flying under the radar on price increases because we signed up with one party who did the pricing and are distanced from the company that provides the service).

Phone service is VOIP (through the cable line) and the provider is Phonepower. I used Vonage but they kept switching us to more expensive packages that were ridiculous bases on our low calling needs. I was also getting aggravated at the high number of scammer robo calls and wanted a service that allowed me to block calls.

I vaguely remember setting up the VOIP in our house about 8 years ago when switching from and AT&T landline to Vonage. I had to go out to the little box on the side of our house, open it up, and change something around. I can't recall what that was, but they provided the diagram and it was very simple. That somehow switched us from the incoming AT&T phone line over to being able to make phone calls through the computer. Took less than a minute. Then I connected the phone adapter to the computer and into one of the wall jacks, and that made all of the wall jacks VOIP.

If you want to go back to a landline, you (or the installation technician) are going to have to make that simple change to the box outside of your house and you will have to un-bundle your service. This could be a problem if you have a contract, even if you are staying in the AT&T family and keeping them for your landline. And AT&T landline service prices are ridiculous, IMO. Still, it may be worth it to you to bite the bullet, pay to break your contract, pay more for the un-bundled cable and internet, and pay their landline prices.

Another thing you can consider that is much simpler than the above, it's what we do with Phonepower but I don't know if AT&T has a similar service: We can log into our Phonepower account online and indicate our preferences, change settings, block numbers, etc. We can go into our preferences and give a "fail-safe" number, and in the event of a power outage (or anything that interrupts phone service, like a problem with my router or the phone adapter), any calls to our home phone will be automatically forwarded to that number, which is my cell.

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by OwnedByJezebel

Ours is really confusing, it's all through the cable line but it's not bundled.

Digital Cable TV through Comcast.

High speed internet through Earthlink, but it's billed by Comcast. If we have technical problems, we call Comcast. We've had it for about 10 years, and the price hasn't gone up (suspect we are flying under the radar on price increases because we signed up with one party who did the pricing and are distanced from the company that provides the service).

Phone service is VOIP (through the cable line) and the provider is Phonepower. I used Vonage but they kept switching us to more expensive packages that were ridiculous bases on our low calling needs. I was also getting aggravated at the high number of scammer robo calls and wanted a service that allowed me to block calls.

I vaguely remember setting up the VOIP in our house about 8 years ago when switching from and AT&T landline to Vonage. I had to go out to the little box on the side of our house, open it up, and change something around. I can't recall what that was, but they provided the diagram and it was very simple. That somehow switched us from the incoming AT&T phone line over to being able to make phone calls through the computer. Took less than a minute. Then I connected the phone adapter to the computer and into one of the wall jacks, and that made all of the wall jacks VOIP.

If you want to go back to a landline, you (or the installation technician) are going to have to make that simple change to the box outside of your house and you will have to un-bundle your service. This could be a problem if you have a contract, even if you are staying in the AT&T family and keeping them for your landline. And AT&T landline service prices are ridiculous, IMO. Still, it may be worth it to you to bite the bullet, pay to break your contract, pay more for the un-bundled cable and internet, and pay their landline prices.

Another thing you can consider that is much simpler than the above, it's what we do with Phonepower but I don't know if AT&T has a similar service: We can log into our Phonepower account online and indicate our preferences, change settings, block numbers, etc. We can go into our preferences and give a "fail-safe" number, and in the event of a power outage (or anything that interrupts phone service, like a problem with my router or the phone adapter), any calls to our home phone will be automatically forwarded to that number, which is my cell.

Thanks for this info....I am printing this so I can read it to the next person I get on a phone...maybe someone can come do this or help me do this....at least it is a solution....I just can not believe I am the only uninformed person on this forum, that is sitting there, thinking you have a working phone jack, (if the tv/computer/phone is bundled)and you do NOT!! That handy little bundle system goes out with a power shortage and you have nothing coming from those phone jack holes in your wall!!! All those "emergency princess phones" you have plugged into phone jacks in separate rooms that you are thinking have absolutely NOTHING to do with your computer or tv, they are all DEAD when you loose power!!!! I did find out I have an emergency modem thingie that provides emergency power if the electricity goes off, but it does not last forever, and I had no idea what that little box was back behind my tv, so of course, it is dead....if I had known I needed to be sure it was "powered up, charged, changed out, WHATEVER", periodically, that thing is like a battery pack and will keep phones up for awhile.....but I have to get the plug in outlets for phones in each room, activated so that phones plugged into those outlets, WORK, whether you have electricity or not!

The realization that I had no phone service if power went out, was as stunning/shocking/unbelievable to me, as if my gas stove did not work in a power failure! In my senior mind, all that is separate stuff......if your water goes off, that has nothing to do with your phones.....if your gas goes off, that has nothing to do with phone service or lights......if your power goes off, that has nothing to do with phones or your water!!!! I am beginning to believe the conspirator theories....."they" have us all hooked up to ONE source of energy, so all "they" have to do is flip ONE switch, and we are all left with NO SERVICE to ANYTHING!!!!!!

[dottiesyrky]

I feel your pain!! I think the phone and cable companies want all phones to be either cell or via the computer modem.
Almost every day I get a letter from Cox pleading for me to bundle all my services including phone. I have resisted for the reasons you mentioned, if one goes out all goes out!! In big emergencies even cell service can go dead or too busy from the larger usage. I like my land line and the message machine that I can SEE if there is a message instead of having to call the cell message number.
Hope you can resolve this with the phone company soon.

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

I feel your pain!! I think the phone and cable companies want all phones to be either cell or via the computer modem.
Almost every day I get a letter from Cox pleading for me to bundle all my services including phone. I have resisted for the reasons you mentioned, if one goes out all goes out!! In big emergencies even cell service can go dead or too busy from the larger usage. I like my land line and the message machine that I can SEE if there is a message instead of having to call the cell message number.
Hope you can resolve this with the phone company soon.

You hang with it....dont wake up weak some day, listen to some fast talking salesman that FAILS to mention, "oh by the way, you do this and you will NOT have a phone if all this other crap goes out"....and then to back out of this bundle krap....they have to come out and tramp all over your house, in all your rooms, (all I see are diseases and germs dropping off their clothes and shoes, onto my floors and furniture where all my babies walk!!!), re-wiring stuff....such a mess!!!! But I will get this fixed like I need it for me.....I just did not even REALIZE I had an "unacceptable for me" issue until yesterday!!! TOTAL SHOCK!!

[dottiesyrky]

Thank you, I will not be beaten down by them and submit to a cable phone.
Had to laugh at your picture of all these persons tramping all over your home trailing dirt and germs in their wake. Ha, Ha! Make them put on a protective suit as if they had EBola?
This fix should be very simple and should only require a change in the connexions in the outside utility box, as far as I can tell. Just may need to come inside to test?
I can see you are armed and ready for them when they do dare to come visit you Good Luck!

[EarthAngel]

There wouldn't be any reason for the cable company to go into every room with a phone jack. They would just unbundle...maybe you can bundle TV and Internet and leave off the phone from them. A phone company would then have to be contacted...as you would if you moved to a new place...and they would do what they do to activate a landline.

The only difference you will have is paying for your TV and Internet in addition to the phone company for your service. No one should be traipsing all over your home for any of this.

[Yorkiemom1]

Thank you all for the suggestion at solving my problem....I am copying all these and will present them to ATT to get this resolved!