Hi. BT have notified me that they are converting my old analogue
telephone line to the new BT digital voice service.
As part of that switch over they are offering you either a free
adapter, if you have a second corded telephone line somewhere in your home
or they're offering you a free wireless handset.
And I've ordered the wireless handset
and it's now been delivered and I'm just about to unpack it.
It comes in a plain brown box,
so it's clearly not for sale in the shops, at least not in this packaging.
On top is an instructional leaflet.
On the top flap of the box there is a list of contents.
I've done a close up of this because if in the future the batteries
do not hold enough charge this shows the spec of the rechargeable batteries.
The implication is that you can buy and replace the batteries yourself.
However, at the moment
I've not figured out how to get into the battery compartment.
I think the handset is reasonably smart,
although we all used smart mobile phones with big touchscreens.
So it seems a bit old school in comparison - with no touchscreen
and all the buttons.
It's also a bit clunky in comparison to a mobile phone.
And frustratingly, there's a rounded back.
So if you put it on a flat surface
it will rock if you're trying to press the number keys.
So you'll need to hold it with your other hand.
If, for example, you phone a call center and you need to hit the number
keys, to get through to the right person or team.
There is a label that indicates that the rechargeable batteries are already fitted.
The power supply is integrated into a UK plug.
It has a long 3m cable.
This is the base station which the handset stands on to charge.
Plug the power supply into a mains socket and plug the cable
into the back of the base station.
Now hold the handset and gently pull the rechargeable battery label.
When the label is removed the handset will spring into life and
display a message indicating that you need to register the handset with your hub.
I put the phone on the base station and left it overnight
to give the batteries a full initial charge.
I then went to my BT Smart Hub 2.
If you haven't got a BT Smart Hub 2 that looks like this,
you will need to contact BT because you need one for digital voice.
Press and hold the WPS button for a few seconds
so that when you release the button, you see the blue light.
Now get your new handset.
Press the OK button.
I'm so used to touch screen that I was trying to press the screen!
To press.
OK, you need to press the physical button just below the two dots and level
with the red button.
I've already pressed the WPS button, so I just waited
and the handset performed the registration process
I don't want to add contacts at this point.
I videod the handset set up before my digital voice service went live.
So at this point, the handset just told me that it was unable to make
or receive calls.
Apologies about the lights reflecting on the screen.
If you go to a device connected to your Smart Hub
and in Chrome, or another browser,
enter 192.168.1.254
The Smart Hub 2 manager will show you that the digital voice
service is not configured because the icon is greyed out
You should have an email from BT which will give you a 48 hour window
when your digital voice service will start.
I got an email at 3.30
in the morning of the first day of the 48 hour window.
This email told me
that my digital voice service was ready.
If you go back to the Smart Hub 2 manager, you will see that the phone icon
is no longer grey and it now shows your phone number
If you click on it, you get confirmation that your phone service is ready to use.
You will also get a list
of all the handsets that have registered with your Smart Hub 2.
I only have one handset, but if I purchase another I would click
start registration to register the new phone with the Smart Hub.
If you click on the handset, you can get more information
about the handset and also rename the handset.
You can also click Find Handset, which I assume will trigger it
to ring loudly when you've lost it down the back of the sofa.
You can also import and export all your contacts from one handset to another.
To test the new BT handset.
I called my landline from my mobile phone.
The new handset rang.
It's also worth pointing out that I'd left my old analogue
phone plugged into the old analogue telephone socket.
This phone did not ring.
It can therefore be unplugged.
I didn't answer the call After 20 seconds,
the call diverted to BT's voicemail service
Welcome to BT voicemail.
The person you are calling is not available at the moment.
Please leave a message after the tone
"Hello.
123".
If you want to listen to your voicemails.
Press the green button with the voicemail symbol.
Thank you for choosing voicemail.
You will know when a message arrives in your mailbox because your dial tone
will change from a steady tone to an interrupted tone.
When you hear this tone on your line, you can listen to your message
by dialing 1571.
You've 1 new message.
Main menu. To listen to your messages.
Press 1 to use a personal greeting....
First new message.
Message received today at 10:07 a.m..
"Hello. 123"
To return the call
press 0 to listen to the message again press 1
to save it press 2 to delete press 3.
There is a charge for call return.
Deleted.
End of messages.
Main menu.
To use a personal greeting.
I hope this video helps you to set up
your new BT handset on your new BT Digital Voice service.