Getting a home phone from Bell or Rogers for the buzzer
A carrier can sell you a home phone line, but it cannot make your buzzer work, because the buzzer is programmed by your building rather than by Bell or Rogers. Before ordering a line, ask your building whether the entry panel dials out on a building line. If it does, a mobile number goes into the same field and no home phone is needed.
People call a carrier about the buzzer because the buzzer feels like a phone problem. It is a building problem with a phone number in the middle of it, and that distinction saves a lot of time.
What a carrier can actually do
Bell and Rogers both sell residential home phone service. What arrives is a working line and a number. That is the entire scope of what they control here.
They cannot edit your building entry directory, see what number is stored against your unit, or tell you which digit opens the door. All three live with property management.
The question to ask before ordering
Email property management: is the entry system wired through the apartment phone lines, or does the lobby panel dial out on a building line to whatever number is stored for the unit?
If it dials out, a line changes nothing about the buzzer. If it runs through apartment lines, you need one and the choice of carrier is the only decision left. The whole question in detail.
| Building answer | Do you need the line | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| The panel dials out | No | Give them a number to store that is local to the building |
| It runs through apartment phone lines | Yes | Order the line, and ask the building about the copper retirement plan |
| Handsets on the apartment wall | No, and a line will not help | Raise a system replacement with the building |
If you do need one
Order it, and understand what it buys. The handset rings in the apartment, so it works for whoever is home and nobody else.
Also ask the building about the copper being retired across Ontario, because entry systems on those lines are the ones being replaced. What that means.
If you do not
Then the useful decision is what number your building stores. It has to be reachable from the panel line as a local call, and it can ring more than one phone if you choose one that does.
BuzzMeBro provides a number local to your building for $11.99 a month and rings up to 4 phones on it, with no line to order and nothing installed in the apartment. Get your number.
Questions people ask
Can Bell or Rogers program my buzzer?
No. The number your buzzer dials lives in your building entry panel, and only property management or their panel vendor can change it. A carrier has no access to it at all.
Will a carrier tell me whether I need a line?
They are not in a position to know, because they cannot see your building system. The answer comes from property management, and it is one email.
Is a copper line more reliable for a buzzer than a mobile?
For a panel that dials a number, both are just numbers to call. The practical differences are whether the number is reachable as a local call and whether it rings more than one person.
What if I already have a home phone?
Then check what number the panel actually holds before assuming it is that one. Panels frequently hold an older number, sometimes a previous tenant, whatever service you currently have.
Can I keep the line and still fix the shared apartment problem?
Yes. The line and the buzzer are separate once the panel dials out. BuzzMeBro changes only what the panel dials, so the buzz rings every phone in the apartment while your home phone carries on doing whatever else you use it for.