UK landline telephone in Canada
 

Hi all,

I would like to take our landline telephone with us to Canada - question is, does anyone know whether it would work over there before I find another home for it?

Many thanks in advance.

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

nope

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

I have to ask...why? Why would you want to bring a phone with you? Many people don’t even bother with the extra expense of a landline, as most have cell phones.

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

Just wondering as I like it and if I could use it then I might! - its a decent phone and I like the look of it (looks futuristic and like a piece of artwork in its on right lol), but if I can't use it then no point and I will sell it before moving.

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

What is the make and model of the phone? Do you have a model number? It might mention in the manual if it is compatible or not. I know in Canada we use the smaller-style phone jack compared to the UK, and caller-ID works differently as well (in the UK it is sent before the phone rings, in North America, it is sent after), and there may be other protocol differences.

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

We were given for Christmas one year a Union Jack telephone from the UK. Didn't think it would work, plugged it in and got a dial tone, so happy!

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

If your phone is an old-fashioned corded phone and has a BT plug on the cord, it will need an adapter. North American phones use an RJ11 plug - landline sockets in houses are RJ11 jacks. If you need an adapter, buy one in the UK before you leave - nobody in Canada will know what a BT plug is. You could cut the end off and wire an RJ11 plug, but frankly the crimping tool you need to do that properly will likely cost more than a new phone. If it's modern enough that the cord plugs in to the phone at one end and the wall at the other (i.e. it's not hard-wired into the phone) then your best option is to buy a new cord with RJ11 at both ends (it's almost certainly RJ11 at the phone end already).

If it's a cordless phone, don't bother. For sure, you could change the plug on the base station, but the UK-standard DECT may not be used in Canada because its frequency (1800-1900 MHz) is assigned to cellular communication over here. Equally, North American DECT equipment may not be used in Europe, as it works in the 1920-1930MHz band and interferes with some European cellular and emergency services communication systems.

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

Agree with Oakvillian, you should be able to make it work with appropriate cutting and recrimping or possibly using a BT631 to RJ11 adapter if such a thing exists. A bit of a nerdy project, something i would do just for the hell of it.

Re: UK landline telephone in Canada
 

If you sign up for a Voice over IP service and can use your own ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) which supports UK standards (eg Linksys), you can run a UK phone with full features (and even a UK ring cadence). You could also have UK dial tones / ring tones etc if you really want to. Using a VoIP service you could even give it a UK geographic number... but that's probably a step too far.

As mentioned by others, the Caller ID standard is very different. Technically the ring standard is different too (which affects telephones with a real bell inside) and various other standards are different. Number/letter mappings differ, so dialling 1-800-EAT-CAKE will go to a different number. (That's about the only time you see letters used in phone numbers here). DECT standards for cordless phones are different here too (different frequencies).

If you really like the phone, keep it as a souvenir. Personally I'd replace it with something local for everyday use.