Paying for a home phone line so the door opens
A home phone line kept only for the buzzer is a monthly bill for one job, and it does that job for one room rather than for the people in the apartment. Anybody who is out when the lobby calls is no better off. Before renewing, check whether your building panel actually needs a line at all, because most Toronto panels do not.
There is a specific kind of household bill that survives for years because cancelling it feels risky. A phone line whose only incoming calls are from the lobby is the clearest example in a Toronto apartment.
What the line is actually buying
One handset, in one room, that rings when a visitor presses your unit. If you are home and near it, the door opens. If you are at work, it rings an empty apartment.
That is the whole product. Every other function of a home phone has been replaced by the mobile in your pocket.
| Home phone line | A number that rings your phones | |
|---|---|---|
| Works when you are home | Yes | Yes |
| Works when you are out | No | Yes |
| Works for a roommate | Only if they are home too | Yes, up to 4 phones |
| Needs equipment in the apartment | Yes | No |
| Survives the copper being retired | Depends on the building | Yes |
Three questions before you renew
Ask these in one email to property management. The answers decide whether the line is a requirement or a habit.
- Is the entry system wired through apartment phone lines, or does the lobby panel dial out on a building line?
- What number is currently stored against my unit?
- Will the panel accept a mobile number?
If the answer to the first is that the panel dials out, the line was never needed. How to tell the two systems apart yourself.
The case where the line genuinely is required
Some older Toronto buildings run entry systems through the phone lines to each apartment. In those buildings the line is not optional and no phone number will substitute for it.
Those are also the systems facing carrier copper retirement, so the question is likely to be forced within a couple of years. What that means.
If more than one person lives there
Then a single mobile number on the panel repeats the landline problem in a smaller form. One phone rings, one person is responsible, and everyone else waits on them.
BuzzMeBro puts a number on the panel that is local to your building and rings up to 4 phones at once, for $11.99 a month, with nothing to install. The comparison with the other options.
Questions people ask
Can I get the cheapest possible line just for the buzzer?
You can, and it still only rings inside the apartment. Before shopping for one, confirm the panel actually needs it, because in most Toronto buildings the panel dials out on the building line instead.
What happens to my buzzer if I cancel the line?
In a dial-out building, nothing, as long as the panel has a reachable number stored for your unit. In a building wired through apartment lines, the buzzer stops. Confirm which you are in first.
Does the building pay for the panel line?
Yes. The line the lobby panel dials on is part of the entry system and belongs to the building. That is why being reachable on a dial-out panel costs a resident nothing.
Is a mobile number less reliable than a landline for this?
In practice they behave the same, because the panel is placing an ordinary phone call either way. The differences that matter are whether the number is reachable as a local call and whether it rings more than one person.
What replaces the line for a shared apartment?
One number on the panel that rings everybody. BuzzMeBro provides a number local to your building for $11.99 a month and rings up to 4 phones, so being out stops being the thing that decides whether the door opens.