UK Landline Switch-Off on 31 January 2027: What’s Actually Changing and What to Check Now
UK landline switch-off 2027
There’s a good chance someone you know still has a phone with a curly cord, or a small alarm box that plugs into the wall, and has never thought about what’s behind it. In the UK, that old system is being retired, and the date on the calendar is 31 January 2027.
If you read this from the US or elsewhere in Europe, this one is UK-specific, but the idea travels. Phone lines everywhere are moving from old copper voice networks to calls over the internet, and the same questions come up: what stops working, who has to act, and what happens in a power cut? This guide draws on the UK government, the regulator Ofcom, the network operator Openreach, a local charity and two trade-press reports. I’ve marked where they say slightly different things. It’s general information, not advice for your particular line, and your own provider is the person to ask.
UK landline switch-off 2027
What Is Actually Being Switched Off
The old landline network is analogue: a copper line carries your voice directly, and in most cases the exchange powers the line itself. Openreach’s page says that “by 31 January 2027, all UK providers must move from analogue to digital phone lines,” and that most customers will need a digital phone line by then. Analogue lines haven’t been sold to new customers since September 2023, according to the same page.
The replacement is a phone service that runs over broadband. The words you’ll see most often are “digital voice.” A trade-press report puts it simply: if you want to keep a landline, you can plug a normal phone into your broadband router.
How firm is the date?
Openreach says there will be no extension. A technology news site quotes it saying the old network “will be retired on January 31, 2027,” and adds that the deadline has moved before, from an earlier plan of the end of 2025. A government plan from February 2025, as reported by a telecoms news site, says telecare users were already given until January 2027 while the general deadline was technically earlier. So the date is firm for now, but I’d still check it with your provider, because it has shifted once.
“100 days” and other loose numbers
Some headlines say “100 days.” From 1 November, the real gap to 31 January is about 91 days, and it’s roughly 83 days as I write on 9 November. It’s a small thing, but it’s a reminder to check numbers rather than rely on headlines.
Who Needs to Do Something, and Who Doesn’t
Here the official sources point slightly different ways, and it’s worth seeing both.
The government’s guidance says that “you do not need to take any action until your provider contacts you directly.” It adds that the change is industry-led, not a government programme, and that most customers are expected to have switched by the end of January 2027. It also says some providers may not require a move to digital by then, so you should ask yours.
Openreach and the trade press take a firmer line: don’t wait until the deadline, and contact your provider as soon as possible. Openreach’s own page says some providers may upgrade you sooner if you change provider or update your service.
Both can be sensible. My reading, which is my own and not from a source, is this: if you have a normal home phone and good broadband, you can probably wait for your provider’s message. If you rely on the line for anything important, don’t wait. Ring them.
If you don’t have broadband
The government says landline-only service remains available for people who don’t buy an internet connection. It also says customers without broadband may get an interim dedicated landline service until a digital option is available, or until 2030, whichever comes first. A technology news report mentions a temporary emergency voice-only service for people who haven’t switched by the deadline, and a trade-press report names a different arrangement for homes without fibre. I couldn’t find either on an official page, so I can’t tell you which applies to you. Ask your provider.
Check your fibre options
Openreach says to use its fibre checker to see whether full fibre is available at your address. If you can’t get it by January 2027, the same page says you can still add a digital phone line to your existing broadband.
[YOUR NOTE: one line about a relative, neighbour or customer who still uses an old landline, and what they use it for. Keep it light and don’t name anyone who wouldn’t want to be named.]
The Power Cut Catch
This is the practical difference most people haven’t heard about.
An old analogue phone line can carry its own small amount of power, so a basic corded phone can keep working in a local power cut as long as the exchange has power. The government’s page says digital landlines “cannot carry a power connection,” so your handset and your router need electricity from your home, or a battery or generator. It recommends keeping a mobile phone as a backup.
What providers are expected to offer
Ofcom’s page says providers must offer at least one hour of power resilience in a power cut. The government guidance says the same solution “should be offered free of charge to those who are at risk,” and that calls to emergency services from the landline must be free of charge during a power cut. Providers are also meant to identify at-risk customers and talk to them directly. That’s what the rules say. I haven’t tested how well it works in practice, and I haven’t seen figures on how many customers have been offered a backup.
What this means at home
My own suggestions, not from the sources:
- Know where your router is, and whether it has any battery backup.
- Keep a charged mobile phone, and know where the charger is.
- If you rely on the landline for emergencies and have poor mobile signal, say so to your provider.
Alarms, Care Devices and Card Machines
The switch-off doesn’t only affect phones. Several things use the old line.
What the sources name
The government’s page warns that telecare devices connected to a digital landline “may not work during a power cut.” It says devices such as alarms may need an upgrade, a battery or network backup, or an adaptor. Openreach’s page tells people to check whether car alarms, smoke or security alarms, cash machines or healthcare products will work on a digital line, either with the manufacturer or the company that supplied them. A technology news report adds shop card terminals and fire and security alarms to the at-risk list.
Telecare: special care
A local Age UK branch, in a July 2025 article, advises anyone who uses a telecare alarm, or knows someone who does, to call their landline provider and tell them they are a telecare user. The government’s February 2025 plan, as reported, says no telecare user should be moved to digital until a compatible, working telecare solution is confirmed. I haven’t found anything current that says whether those fixes are complete, so don’t assume they are.
If you look after someone who relies on an alarm, it’s worth ringing the alarm company or the council service that supplies it, as well as the phone provider. A phone call now is easier than a problem in January.
Small businesses
A trade-press report quotes Openreach urging businesses to audit their analogue services now, and says charges for legacy business lines have risen. I haven’t verified the amounts.
Scams to watch for
The government guidance warns people to be wary of marketing that looks like provider notices. If a message about “your landline upgrade” asks for payment details or a rush decision, contact your provider using the number on your bill, not the one in the message.
[YOUR NOTE: if you’ve set up or helped someone with a digital phone line, one honest line on what surprised you or what you’d do differently.]
A Plain Plan for the Next Twelve Weeks
These steps are my own suggestions, built from the sources.
- This week: write down everything in your home or business that uses a phone line. That means the phone, alarms, care devices, card machines, fax or door-entry systems.
- Next week: ask your provider whether you’ve been moved, when you will be, and what equipment you’ll need. Keep the answer in writing.
- If you use a telecare device: tell your provider, and ask the alarm supplier whether the device works on digital lines and in a power cut.
- Before December: check your router’s position and power, and decide where your backup phone and charger live.
- In January: test a call, test any alarm, and keep the old equipment until you know the new set-up works.
What the sources don’t say
I haven’t read an official page that gives the number of lines still on the old network, or a statement of what happens to a customer who hasn’t switched on 1 February. I also haven’t covered Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or other countries’ phone upgrades, because the pages I read didn’t.
What I couldn’t confirm
I couldn’t read the original reports that quote Openreach directly, so the quotes come from the trade press. The government page I read shows a last-updated date of February 2024 on the page itself, although its metadata hints at a later change, so treat the details as a guide and check the live page. And the Ofcom page is dated January 2024, so the rules may have been updated since.
A short wrap-up
For most people, the move to a digital landline will be dull and quick. The people it matters to are the ones who rely on a line for care, safety or business. If that’s you or someone you know, the best thing to do is the simplest: pick up the phone now and ask.
