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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity  |
Decided to separate this from the other $$ topic. We now have 2 smartphones on a good plan — $70 for 2 lines, unlimited data. But we still have a “landline” with Verizon that we’ve had for 30 years, and we no longer “need” it, but it uses 3 cordless handsets, which are very convenient as they are spaced around the house. We would love to ditch the Verizon, which is now over $90 a month! But my wife loves the cordless handsets and much prefers talking on those at home. Have not been successful at pairing the cell phones via Bluetooth with the cordless handsets. I guess we could add VOIP to our cable plan and transfer our Verizon number over, for $20/month. Any other suggestions?
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Were you able to ascertain why the Bluetooth pairing between your cell phones and the cordless phone doesn't work?
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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity |
It seems that any given model of cordless phone has a number of specific cell phones -- only certain makes and models -- that its Bluetooth will work with. We bought a newer model cordless set recently, and it still doesn't work with our iPhones.
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Sounds like you've pretty much covered the options that are available to you. I remember the thread about trying to connect but not the details. Was it determined with certainty that your particular iPhone models will not connect? Is there any chance it's a procedural error in the connection process? There's this checklist from Panasonic: http://eng-ca.faq.panasonic.co...one-to-the-base-unit. The first item about HFP led me to this:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204387 I guess I'd be focusing on getting the iPhones to connect to the cordless units. Or maybe you'll just have to wait till you replace your cell phones and get ones that will Bluetooth to the cordless unit. Ninety bucks a month is a lot to spend on that landline. It's just hard to imagine that Apple devices can't do this. We've had three super cheap Android phones and they've all worked with the Link2Cell feature on Panasonic. And I know a half dozen other people who have iPhones who also use it. I don't mean to drag you through an exercise you've already been through trying to connect, so feel free to ignore the questions above. ... 
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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity |
Thanks, I’ve tried that connection process and failed, but it was over a year ago. It deserves another try. Yes. Panasonic here, so I am encouraged that it works for you. I am a bit concerned that there may be a limit to how many devices can be linked via Bluetooth. Like, if your cell is paired to your car, or to your hearing aids, then it can’t also be paired to your cordless. That’s what one of those instructions seems to imply.
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Minor Deity |
Just pull the bandaid off. Her preference for which handset to use is costing you a lot of money. It took a while for us to go all cellular too, but we did it a few years ago and now it's just the norm. We have 3 lines unlimited everything for $90 a month. Our daughter has one.
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Google Fi.
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Jodi| Has Achieved Nirvana |
I thought of one more possibility...an Apple Watch. I don't know if your wife prefers the physical handset of the cordless phone over using an actual cell phone, or if it's simply the ability to answer a phone from different places in the house. Until we got a cordless phone with the Bluetooth feature, I found my cell phone to be a giant step backwards. It was like the old days when you had one phone in the house and had to race from wherever to answer it. It's a pain. Having the Panasonic system let me continue using one of the five cordless handsets we have scattered through the house. I don't know much about Apple Watches, but I do know you can answer an iPhone on some models of a Watch. It would give her the ultimate portability when it comes to answering her phone. And with the cost of your landline you'd probably be ahead of the game in just a few months. Maybe worth investigating?
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
And as far as your inability to Bluetooth your current cell phones to the Panasonic.... I hadn't considered that you are also pairing the iPhone to other devices like hearing aids and the car. I have my cheapo Motorola cell phone paired with the Panasonic cordless system, our Subaru, and a Jabra headset. I only use one connection at a time. I'm pretty sure my headset won't connect until I leave the house and I'm out of the Panasonic's Bluetooth range. So it may well be that you have a concurrent use problem with your particular collection of devices. Maybe someone with more tech skills can add to the discussion....I'm way past my Bluetooth expertise level...
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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity |
HOLY COW!! I just succeeded in pairing an iPhone to the Panasonic!! I watched a YouTube video how-to, and it showed a step not explained anywhere. When the DECT device shows up on your iPhone, you have to TOUCH that name with your finger! I never knew that. Then it connected instantly. Woo-hoo! 
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Has Achieved Nirvana |
Yahoo! 
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Hot diggity!!!  edit: There are two things you do with Bluetooth: Pair (usually a one-time thing) and Connect. What you just did was "pair" the devices; it means you've given them permission to recognize each other from now on. They also connect when you do the pairing. As I recall, when you do the initial pairing there's a box you can check to allow them to reconnect automatically after they are out of range of each other for a while, and then get within range again. So when you leave the house with your iPhone and come back, they should just automagically reconnect. I can't remember if that's done at the Panasonic or the cell phone end, or both. If they don't automatically reconnect, and rather than manually connecting them each time you come back home, you may have to unpair the devices and pair them again, selecting the "auto-reconnect" option when you do so. But....Yay!!!
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| Foregoing Practicing to Post Minor Deity |
Yes, I think they automatically reconnect when they get within range. There are a bunch of other options to decide about, like ringtones, and which handsets respond, etc. Will deal with these as we explore!
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| Has Achieved Nirvana |
Yes, there are more options than I ever imagined/needed. We have both of our cell phones connected, have different ringtones for each phone, and have all of the handsets and the base unit ring when either phone rings. And your landline will continue to work, too, for as long as you have it. We also downloaded our contacts from our cell phones down to the Panasonic. Makes calls out easier when you have the phonebook downloaded to the cordless system. We don't tend to add a lot of new numbers to our cell phone contacts so we don't do it very often. Every six months or so, we delete the whole phonebook on the Panasonic and re-load from our cell phone contacts.
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