Check devices & alarms

Telecare compatibility checklist

Use this checklist to record whether your telecare or personal alarm is ready for the move to digital phone lines. Print it out, fill it in, and keep it somewhere safe. If you care for someone who uses a personal alarm, fill it in on their behalf or go through it with them.

For full background on what is changing and why it matters, see telecare and personal alarms.

Landline Switch | https://www.landlineswitch.co.uk

Printed on

The checklist

1. Equipment details

Make and model of the base unit
 

Look on the back or underside of the base unit for a label with the manufacturer and model number.

2. Connection type

How does the base unit connect?
 

Follow the cable from the base unit. Does it plug into a phone wall socket, a broadband router, or does it have a SIM card slot? Write whichever applies: phone socket, router, or SIM.

3. Monitoring provider

Who monitors the alarm?
 
Phone number for the monitoring provider
 

This is the company or council service that answers when the button is pressed. It may be different from the company that supplied the equipment.

4. Digital voice compatibility

Has the monitoring provider confirmed the alarm works on digital voice?
 
Date confirmed
 

Call the monitoring provider and ask: "Has this model been confirmed as compatible with digital voice?" Write the answer and the date you asked.

5. End-to-end test

Has an end-to-end test been done since the line moved to digital?
 
Date of last test
 

An end-to-end test means pressing the alarm button and confirming the monitoring centre receives the signal correctly. A voice call alone is not enough. The alarm's data signal must get through. Ask the monitoring provider to run a recorded test if one has not been done recently.

6. Power-cut behaviour

Does the base unit have a built-in battery?
 
If yes, how long does the battery last?
 
Does the broadband router have a battery backup?
 

If the alarm connects through the router and the router has no battery backup, the alarm will not work in a power cut, even if the base unit has its own battery. Both the base unit and the router need power. See battery backup basics for options.

7. Mobile or cellular fallback

Does the alarm have a mobile/cellular fallback?
 
If yes, is there reliable mobile signal at the property?
 

Some newer base units have a SIM card that lets them call the monitoring centre over the mobile network if the broadband connection fails. This only works if there is mobile signal at the property.

8. Priority Services Register

Are you registered on the Priority Services Register with your phone provider?
 
Are you registered on the Priority Services Register with your energy supplier?
 

The Priority Services Register is a free service. It means your provider will give you advance notice of planned work, priority fault repair, and help during power cuts. You can sign up by calling your phone provider and your energy supplier. According to Ofcom, providers must maintain a Priority Services Register and offer additional support to those on it during the landline migration.

This is general guidance from Landline Switch. We are not your phone provider and we do not certify devices or installations. If you rely on a landline for safety (for example, a personal alarm), check with your provider and your device supplier.

Not monitored. If you need urgent help, call 999. To report a power cut, call 105.

What to do with the completed checklist

  1. If the alarm connects via the phone socket and has not been confirmed as compatible: contact the monitoring provider and your phone provider now. Do not wait for the line to be moved.
  2. If no end-to-end test has been done: ask the monitoring provider to run one. This is the only way to confirm the alarm actually works on the new connection.
  3. If there is no power-cut protection: ask your phone provider about battery backup options. See battery backup basics.
  4. If you are not on the Priority Services Register: call your phone provider and energy supplier to sign up. It is free and there is no downside.
  5. Keep this checklist. Store it with the alarm documentation, or stick it on the fridge. If a carer, family member, or housing officer needs to check the situation later, everything is in one place.

For the full explanation of how the digital switch affects telecare, including common questions and what to ask each provider, see telecare and personal alarms.