how do I hook up my landline phone to a linksys ac1900 router and connect them to cable?

[DeniseLo]

I was told by CableCo. (Xfinity) if I have my own router I would not have to pay for there's. I went out and purchased a Linksys ac1900 to use in place of cable's (xfinity) router to find out that the linksys does not have phone line ports to connect my land line in. I then went to Best buy to see if I could purchase a simple modem to plug my phone line in so I could, in turn, plug the modem into the Linksys but was told they didn't have anything that would work for that. Is there anything else I can do to correct this dilemma, short of sending my Linksys back and using cable's router/modem?

 

[abailey]

I am a little confused. Does your internet come in on a COAX cable or a telephone cable? Who is your ISP, Comcast?

 

[USAFRet]

Assuming you have cable internet service (coax), it doesn't work like that.

If you are paying the company for internet, phone, and maybe TV, the installer guy will do the necessary connections between their system and your existing house phone wiring, and their system and your existing house coax wiring.
You don't plug the phone directly into the modem/router.

Unless you have an Ooma or similar VOIP system.

 

[bill001g]

So I am going to be lazy and not search my facts so be aware this is my best memory of this.

The feature you want that provide the ability to run a anolog voice phone over a cable modem is called eMTA. There is a extremely limited number of cable modems/routers that have this feature. Mostly arris brand. There used to be restrictions on buying your own router when you needed the voice feature. Some cable companies will not sell you the service if you own the device claiming it was a restriction related to providing phone service. You can buy these devices though.

The router you purchased will not even come close to working by itself. You at least need a cable modem to put before it. If you want a 802.11ac router/modem combo most people like the newest motorola device but it does not have phone ports in it.

The cost of the phone service from any of these companies is extremely expensive even when bundled. You could get a magicjack and plug your phone into your router if you really wanted to use old land lines otherwise there are a bunch of things like skype and vontage that offer phone service over a internet connection. Almost everyone I know just uses their cellphone.

 

[christinebcw]

(I would express wariness towards MagicJack. It may be "free phone service" (as long as you buy the device and subscription) but it's not "unlimited" phone service. When the MagicJack's contracted servers get busy, phone-calls get bumped off to make way for other users. It's free (as long as you pay for it). Not unlimited. Big distinction.)

 

[USAFRet]

I concur with the MagicJack issues. I had one when they first came out. It was terrible.
Newer ones may be better....dunno.

But my Ooma has been absolutely flawless for almost 2 yrs.

 

[christinebcw]

I really want a MagicJack type device to work. Until I met the owner... sheesh. I thought all those types drank the koolaid in Guyana!

Nevertheless, his ability to find massive banks of telecom servers and weasel his way into time-sharing on them - it IS an interesting concept. Like you, we had bad then good tests with the original few devices, but the "unlimited" issues were too bothersome, and their suggestion "Get a second device and continue your call on THAT one" was too irksome to consider.

"Do I hear 3? 3! How 'bout 4? 4?"

We are much bigger fans of the Oomas. All of them.

 

[christinebcw]

Oh, back to the original topic - the eTMA. Thanks for that. This original question left me wondering how this matter was resolved. "And now for something completely different" I assume.