Phone company repairmen can enter a number, then hang up and that same phone will then ring. This is a way to check a line and to check the loudness of the ring! It's a way to call yourself. Does anyone know that number? I need to help a shutin find a phone which rings loud enough so that he can hear it and it would help to be able to call his phone FROM his phone. Do I make myself clear? I sure hope so!
@audiofixer wrote:... I need to help a shutin find a phone which rings loud enough so that he can hear it and it would help to be able to call his phone FROM his phone ...
I don't know the telco number, but I don't see why your (or his, or his son's, etc.) mobile phone wouldn't do the job. Does your friend have, or can someone lend, a cell phone?
No, this is an old fashioned copper wire telephone! The operator I finally rteached earlier today said the number USED TO BE 958, but she wasn't sure if it works anymore. I tried it and It doesn't. My second call was answered by a man who said "Oh, we can't give out that information". What aload of balogna! THIS nonesense is why I will leave Verizon a.s.a.p.
I'm just trying to help a disabled person determine whether the phone I bought for him is loud enough for him to hear it. Of course, there are other ways I can make this determination, but I thought it would be faster to be able to call his number FROM his phone and have it ring while I'm in the room wirth him. Used to be easy, now seems to be "secret knowledge".
I'm sure all the repairman know the number, but it seems none of the regular office emplyees are privy to it. Sheesh!
@audiofixer wrote:No, this is an old fashioned copper wire telephone! ...
Perhaps my earlier comment was confusing. Do you have a mobile phone ? If so, call his number while in the room. If you do not have a mobile phone, perhaps you can borrow one for a few minutes. This technique should resolve your problem.
Well no, your message was not confusing. Perhaps you find it hard to understand that there are people who don't have a mobile phone and don't want one and don't even know anyone within a ten mile radius who have one! We are what you call Luddites. I guess we don't count - it's called dictatorship of the majority 😉 Anyway, what's wrong with letting customers know how to check their lines? This is a totally harmless thing!
@audiofixer wrote:... Perhaps you find it hard to understand that there are people who don't have a mobile phone and don't want one and don't even know anyone within a ten mile radius who have one! We are what you call Luddites ...
No question that from time to time I do encounter things I don't understand. In the present instance I find it puzzling that you are lashing out at me, an individual you've never met, for trying to assist. Sorry for the inconvenience, old sport, and may you find a method to resolve your issue in a manner you deem acceptable. Best wishes for the holiday season.
Sorry you felt I was "lashing out at you". I didn't mean to. Really, I didn't. And I appreciate your effort to help. Your suggestion was perfectly sensible and, if I had a mobile phone (which I used to), I would have done just what you suggested!
Thanks again for your responses.
Doug
If there is a computer with internet near by and someone has a gmail account you can log in and use google voice for free to call any phone in the U.S. We don't have a home phone and on the rare occasion I misplace my cell in the house I have had to do this. Maybe you can find someone wilth a cell to help, neighbor or friend. Mary
The ringback number can vary per location. In some cases though, if you were to dial your own number and then disconnect the phone quickly, it may cause your line to ring and pick up to nothing, which may accomplish what you're looking for. Otherwise what you can try doing is dialing a number (preferably a dead one), flashing over to "another line" and then hang up. That should ring the phones.
On my Frontier telephone line (I an a customer of both Verizon and Frontier), their ringback is as simple as dialing your own number. When the telephone company switch detects what you're doing, it will ask you to hang up the phone. When it detects the phone is no longer off hook, the switch will ring back and you'll simply get an empty call.
@audiofixer wrote:Well no, your message was not confusing. Perhaps you find it hard to understand that there are people who don't have a mobile phone and don't want one and don't even know anyone within a ten mile radius who have one! We are what you call Luddites. I guess we don't count - it's called dictatorship of the majority 😉 Anyway, what's wrong with letting customers know how to check their lines? This is a totally harmless thing!
A few suggestions that might have been overlooked, if the cell phone method is not an option:
1) when you are at the home of the person with the hearing disability, and you do not have a mobile telephone handy, you can call a relative or friend from the landline telephone, ask that friend/relative to call you back in 5 minutes to check the phone.
If you cannot think of a friend/relative available who you can call, then schedule this at a particular date/time (perhaps arrange to have someone at your own household be present at home -- call them, and then have them subsequently call you back).
2) call the operator by dailing 0#, explain the situation (you are assisting a person with a hearing disability check their phone for proper volume) and ask them to call you back.
I remember requesting this type of call-back from the telephone operator many many years ago when I was not certain if there is something wrong with the landline phone's ringer.
3) use the technique suggested by the other forum poster to utilize the internet to have a telephone number dialed.
I just don't think it is appropriate to focus anger towards the telephone company because of the perception that they are withholding a 'code' from you, when in actuality, there are various ways for any individual to seek a quick solution regarding this matter.
It is not dictatorship of the majority; rather, throughout history, companies, particularly, technology companies present ideas and options to make lives easier and simpler for the consumer; this is progress!
The consumer has the ultimate decision to pick from these many choices/options.
There are some folks who decide to forego the latter and not embrace technology. This is fine, and is not an issue as we all have free will.
What becomes problematic is when these limited few develop the perception that certain "others" are making situations difficult for them (by not giving in to what they are asking), when in fact, they have been given tools and choices to use themselves, have decided to opt for the antediluvian route, and are in some fashion creating challenges/obstacles in their own lives.
There are many ways to figure this problem out, and the simplest solution is to just have someone call you (through whatever method).
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
