The Digital Switchover in Liverpool: What It Means for Your Personal Alarm

The analogue phone network switches off on 31 January 2027. If a personal alarm in Liverpool plugs into a phone socket, it may stop being able to reach a monitoring centre. Liverpool City Council does provide safety alarms, through an assessment rather than an order form, and it has not published anything about what the switchover means for them.

What is changing in Liverpool, and when?

The old copper telephone network is being retired. Openreach has confirmed it is retiring the analogue phone network by 31st January 2027, after which every landline runs over a broadband connection.

Households are converted in batches now, not all at once in January. Someone in Norris Green may be switched months before a neighbour in Aigburth. When it happens the telephone moves from the wall socket to the router, and anything else that used that line has to be checked: alarm units, older fall detectors, and warden call systems in sheltered blocks.

Will my personal alarm still work after the switch-off?

It depends on how the alarm calls for help. An analogue unit dials the monitoring centre through the phone line using tones the digital network handles unreliably. Some old units survive, some drop calls, and some fail silently, which is the outcome that matters because the pendant still lights up when pressed and nothing reaches an operator.

A mobile connected alarm is unaffected. It has its own SIM, ignores the phone line entirely, and works the same before and after the change. Ours are of that type, monitored around the clock from our own UK alarm receiving centre in Southport, further up the Merseyside coast.

One national commitment is worth knowing. The Telecare National Action Plan states that "no telecare user will be migrated to digital landline services without the communication provider, the customer or the telecare service provider confirming that the user has a compatible and functioning telecare solution in place". It relies on your provider having been told.

How do I check whether my alarm uses the phone line?

1. Look behind the base unit. A cable running into a telephone socket, or into the back of a router, means the alarm is on the fixed line.
2. Look for mobile signs. A SIM tray, a short aerial, or a label mentioning 4G means the switchover will not affect it.
3. Ask during your monthly test. Press the pendant and ask the operator directly whether the unit is digital ready.

Our article on what happens when a telecare alarm stops working explains silent failure in more detail.

What about alarms provided by Liverpool City Council?

Liverpool City Council does provide personal alarms and sensors. Its own safety alarms page names Millbrook Healthcare as the provider of the Liverpool Technology Enabled Care Service, and states that "Alarm sensors are free and at present we do not charge for installation or response centre monitoring". That is unusually generous compared with most English councils, which charge weekly. The route in is an adult social care assessment, with a separate referral path through the Independent Domestic Violence Advisor service for people at risk of domestic abuse.

Two honest points. First, Liverpool City Council has not published any page explaining what the digital switchover means for its telecare users, or when home equipment will be changed. Its general care technology page even notes of the suppliers it lists that "The suppliers listed are not endorsed by us". If a council alarm is in the house, ask adult social care about your specific unit rather than waiting for a letter.

Second, a naming trap. Many Liverpool families remember ringing "Careline" for social care. That was the council's contact line, not an alarm brand, and it was replaced by Adult Access on 0151 459 2606. Companies elsewhere in the country sell alarms under Careline style names, so a search for "Liverpool Careline" can easily lead somewhere that has no connection to the council at all.

What should Liverpool residents do now?

Establish who supplied the alarm. If it came through adult social care, contact Adult Access and ask whether the base unit is digital and what the plan is for replacing it. If it came from a private company or a housing association, that organisation carries the responsibility.

Then tell whoever bills you for the phone line that there is a telecare alarm at the address. It costs nothing and it is the trigger for extra care during migration. If the person using the alarm lives in Sefton, Knowsley or Wirral rather than the city itself, remember that a different council runs their service even though the postcode may still start with L.

Frequently asked questions

Where to start: Check the back of the alarm for a phone cable, tell your phone provider there is a telecare device at the address, and ask the supplier whether the unit is digital. See our digital switchover guide, our UK coverage information, or pendant alarms for Liverpool. Call our UK team on 01704 332840.

Holden Grange is a UK telecare provider based in Southport, a TSA member and certified under the TEC Quality Standards Framework. Our alarm receiving centre is UK based and operates 24 hours a day.