Will my Enterphone stop working the day my landline is disconnected?

If the panel dials your landline number like any other phone call, yes, buzzes will fail as soon as the number is gone. Change the directory entry to the new number first, test it, and only then cancel the home phone so there is no gap.

Can I keep my old home phone number for the Enterphone?

You can port a landline number to a mobile or VoIP provider in Canada, and the panel will keep dialing it. That avoids a directory change, but whoever holds that number still has to answer every buzz.

My building says the Enterphone needs a landline. Is that always true?

Not necessarily. It is true for panels that ring a handset over the building's internal phone wiring, but most panels that dial a regular phone number can be pointed at a cell or virtual number with a directory change. Ask whether your entry is a dial-out number or an in-suite line.

Blog / How to Keep Your Enterphone Working After You Cancel Your Landline

How to Keep Your Enterphone Working After You Cancel Your Landline

By Ty · 2026-10-21

You are paying for a home phone line that only one caller still uses: the Enterphone in your lobby. Every time a guest buzzes, it rings the cordless phone on the kitchen counter, and you would like to cancel the line and answer on your cell instead. Before you call your provider, it is worth knowing which kind of Enterphone setup your building has, because one kind moves to a cell with a quick request and the other needs the building’s help.

How to fix it

There are two common setups behind an Enterphone that rings a home phone.

The panel dials your landline number. This is how most condo and apartment Enterphone panels work today: the directory entry stores a phone number, and the panel places an ordinary call to it. Your landline is just the number that happens to be on file. Ask your building manager to change your entry to a different number, test it with a friend, then cancel the landline.

The panel rings your suite over building wiring. Some older installations reach your unit through the building’s internal phone wiring instead of dialing out. If your Enterphone only ever rings the phone plugged into your wall jack, and never a cell, this is likely your setup. Ask your strata or property manager whether your entry can be switched to dial an outside number, which many panels support.

Once your entry can dial out, pick where the calls go.

Option	Pros	Cons
Keep paying for the home phone line	Nothing changes at the building	A monthly bill for one use
Port the landline number to a cheaper VoIP or mobile plan	No directory change needed	Still one number, someone still has to answer
Ask your building manager to put your cell on the Enterphone directory	Free, rings you anywhere	Every buzz interrupts you, missed calls strand guests
Google Voice number on the Enterphone directory	Free, can ring several phones	No automatic entry, no guest passcodes
Lowkey	Rings every phone in your home, auto buzzes in expected guests, guest passcodes, entry log	Quick one-time setup with your building

If you live alone and are happy answering, putting your cell on the directory is the simplest swap. If your household shared the landline so anyone could answer, you want something that rings everyone, otherwise one person becomes the doorman. The Enterphone to cell phone guide covers the directory change in more detail.

Where Lowkey helps

Cancelling the landline is a good moment to upgrade what the buzzer does. Lowkey for Enterphone gives your unit a dedicated virtual number to put on the Enterphone directory in place of the old home phone. Buzzes then ring the app on every phone in your household, just like the shared landline did, but from anywhere. You can let deliveries in automatically, give guests a 4-digit passcode to enter on the Enterphone keypad, schedule access for regular visitors, and see a log of every entry. It works with any buzzer that dials out to a phone number, which covers most Enterphone panels, and there is nothing to install.