Is the love affair with the home phone over?

We're living in an era where we have more access to technology than ever before. We have smartwatches that can make calls, laptops that are tablets and phones, and even the ability to control our home appliances from our smartphones. Yet there is still one device that has been around for going on 100 years or so: the home phone. Some people are still holding on to their landlines, but many others have abandoned them in favor of cell phones or other forms of communication. Do you really need your house line? And if so why?

Even those who still have landlines are giving up on them.

The number of people who have a home phone is falling significantly, with the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that only about 65 percent of Americans have a landline. That figure is down from over 90 percent in 2003; it's also the lowest percentage since at least the early 1960s. This trend has been going on for so long that those born after 1995 may not ever remember life before cell phones were ubiquitous or even know what "dialing" means.

Calls to the house line can go right over the home phone.

The first step is to set up the home phone to forward all incoming calls to your cell number. This is a very simple process and can be done in most cases by dialing *72 and then the 10-digit number of your cell phone, or simply calling customer service. Be aware that this will only forward incoming calls from landlines or other devices; if someone calls your house line directly with their smartphone, it won't work—but don't worry, we'll talk about how to fix that too!

Once you've made sure that all incoming calls are forwarded through, try out this fun little trick: Set up both lines so they ring simultaneously! This lets you answer a call on either device while keeping them separate from each other so one isn't tied down with an endless stream of notifications from texts or email messages coming in over its own individual app (which can get annoying).

If you prefer for just one device at a time but still want some way for them both run off one connection point like an internet router without having two separate lines installed (and paying twice as much), there are plenty of options available here too! In fact there might even be some benefits depending on which option you choose.

Having a cell phone doesn't mean that you should give up on the home phone.

Even if you don't use your home phone much, it makes sense to keep it around. In case of an emergency, you'll want the most reliable way to communicate with the outside world. And even if you do have a cell phone, there are still some things that only a landline can do:

Call 911 from anywhere in your house or apartment building (for example, if there's a fire)
Make calls to family and friends who also have landlines

And finally:

Use your internet connection over Wi-Fi or ethernet cable

Phones can be hacked, and always will be.

Phones can be hacked, and always will be.
That's because they're devices that connect to the internet and require a power source—two things that are routinely exploited by hackers.
The good news is that your home phone isn't as vulnerable as it used to be. So while there are still ways to hack into your home phone, they're not as easy or common as they were in the past.

There is no need to abandon your home phone if you are still using it

Even if you decide to ditch the home phone, there are still many advantages to keeping it around. For example, your home phone can be used to make and receive calls. You can use your home phone to call 911 or the police in an emergency situation if you're not near another phone such as a cell phone or landline. You can also use it to directly call other people who have landlines without incurring long distance fees from calling a cellular network provider.

There are many other reasons why people choose not to switch out their old-school phones yet:

Conclusion

As we’ve seen, there are many reasons to keep a home phone service. The ability to use it as an alarm clock or find your family members through call forwarding is only one of them. If you’re thinking about switching to a cell phone only plan, then keep in mind that there are still benefits to having a landline—especially if you’re concerned about security and privacy. In fact, the privacy concerns surrounding cell phones are part of what has driven some people away from them entirely!