How to set up your Digital Home Phone service
Before you start, you’ll need to make sure your Smart Hub (router) is working and has a solid blue light. You can get help setting up your Smart Hub.
- Plug one end of the power cable to the back of the charger base of your Digital Home Phone.
- Plug the other end into a mains socket and switch it On.
- Pull the plastic tab away from the handset to activate the batteries.
- Place the handset on the base to charge and you’ll see the screen light up.
- Follow the instructions on the phone screen and press OK.
- You'll be asked to press and hold the WPS button on your hub for two seconds (the WPS button has two curved arrows).
- The WPS button will flash while your phone and hub connect.
- Your handset might need to download a software update, which it will do automatically. This will only take a few minutes.
- You'll be prompted to add some contacts now. You can press Yes, or No to add them later.
- Charge your handset fully by leaving it on its charging base for 16 hours (you can still use it during this time, but remember to put it back on the charging base after you're done).
If you need to set up any more phones in your multipack of Digital Home Phones, follow steps 1 to 4.
Need to know
If you are using a healthcare alarm or medical pendant you must consult your service provider to confirm it's compatible with Digital Home Phone and call us to let us know.
How to set up Digital Home Phone on your existing handset
- Unplug your existing home phone from the master socket (the master socket is a white box fixed to the wall, usually in the hallway).
- Plug your phone’s cable into the green Phone port on the back of your Smart Hub.
- Your phone and the hub will connect and set up your service.
- When the light on your hub turns solid blue, it’s ready to use.
- You'll start receiving calls to your Digital Home Phone after 15 minutes (if we're moving your existing phone number onto your new service).
If your number was originally given by another company, it might take until 8am on the next working day after you set up your Smart Hub for your Digital Home Phone service to work. Your old service will work in the meantime. You can leave a phone plugged into the wall socket until your service is set up.
Once you're receiving inbound calls to your Digital Home Phone, unplug any existing handsets from the wall sockets. They’ll no longer work.
Please note: Phones bought before 2015 may not ring while connected to your Digital Home Phone adaptor. If you are experiencing this issue, call us on 150 from your EE mobile or 0330 123 1105 from any other phone and we'll supply a free microfilter that will enable your phone to ring.
Need to know
Voicemail
When there is a voicemail message left for you, the interrupted dial tone you'll hear when you use your handset will sound different - this is a signal to you to check your voicemail.
If you're using one of our Advanced or Essential Digital Home Phones, the screen will also show if you have any messages. And you can press the Voicemail button to get them.
How to use a Home Phone Adaptor
Need to know
Don't plug any healthcare alarms or medical pendants into the adaptor. You must plug compatible devices into the green port on the back of the broadband hub.
Please speak to your alarm provider for guidance.
You’ll need a Home Phone Adaptor if you want to use your Digital Home Phone in a different room from your hub, or if you want to use more than one handset.
If you use cordless phones, you only need to plug the main phone base into your hub or Home Phone Adaptor. The other cordless phones will connect wirelessly through the main phone base.
If you use corded phones, you need to plug each one into either your hub or Home Phone Adaptor.
- Plug your Home Phone Adaptor into a plug socket close to your hub.
- Press the WPS button on the back of your hub (the WPS button has two curved arrows).
- After a minute, press the WPS button on the adaptor and hold it for 6 seconds.
- When the light on the front turns green, the devices have paired.
- You can now unplug the adaptor and move it to another room.
Set up Battery Back Up Unit (BBU)
Battery Back Up Unit provides power to your hub for at least an hour if there’s a power cut. This is so you can still make emergency calls from your Digital Home Phone or existing corded handset.
You’ll need to make sure you've connected your digital handset to your Smart Hub or plug your corded handset into the phone port in the back of your hub.
You’ll have received one BBU for your Smart Hub, and another if you have Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) to power the Openreach Optical Network Terminal (ONT).
Connect your Battery Back Up Unit with your Smart Hub
- Slide open the battery compartment of your Battery Back Up Unit and remove the battery.
- Slide the battery back in part of the way so you can connect the red wire to the red terminal.
- Slide the battery in fully and replace the cover.
- Plug the Battery Back Up Unit into the mains using the power cable.
- Turn On the mains power.
- The Battery Back Up Unit status light will show green.
- Unplug your hub’s existing power cable.
- Connect the hub to the Battery Back Up Unit using the supplied hub connector cable.
- Your hub light will show green, then amber, then finally blue once the hub is up and running.
The battery takes 24 hours to become fully charged but you can still use your hub in the meantime.
If you have Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) and you need a BBU to power the Openreach Optical Network Terminal (ONT)
Connect one Battery Back Up Unit to your hub and one to the ONT.
Connect to the ONT
The ONT is also known as a fibre box and it allows the fibre optic cable to be connected from inside your home, out through your property and to the fibre network. It's usually in your hallway, by your front door.
- Slide open the battery compartment of your Battery Back Up Unit and remove the battery.
- Slide the battery back in part of the way so you can connect the red wire to the red terminal.
- Slide the battery in fully and replace the cover.
- Plug the Battery Back Up Unit to into the mains using the power cable.
- Turn On the mains power.
- The Battery Back Up Unit status light will turn green.
- Unplug your ONT’s existing power cable.
- Connect the ONT to the Battery Back Up Unit using the supplied ONT connector cable.
- When your hub light is on or flashing, its ready.
The battery takes 24 hours to charge fully, but you can still use your ONT in the meantime.
Using Digital Home Phone during a power cut
Your Smart Hub must have power to make calls using Digital Home Phone.
If there’s a power cut, the Battery Back Up Unit will give you at least an hour of service. You need to make sure you've connected your digital handset to your Smart Hub or plugged your existing corded handset into the phone port in the back of your hub.