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Care At Home Peterborough: Why Your Parent's Pendant Alarm Might Stop Working Soon

Author : Greenwood Homecare | Published On : 06 Oct 2026

If a parent wears a pendant alarm, there is something worth knowing right now. The old landline network these alarms rely on is being switched off, with most homes moved over by the end of January 2027. For anyone with an alarm connected through a landline, this can mean it quietly stops working, without anyone finding out until it is too late.

This matters a lot for care at home Peterborough families already rely on, since a working alarm is often what makes safe independent living possible in the first place.

Why people get caught out

Many assume their alarm is fine just because their broadband was upgraded. The alarm box and the phone router are usually separate things, so upgrading one does not fix the other automatically.

What to check

  • Look at the alarm: does it plug into a phone socket or connect through a SIM

  • Call the landline provider (BT and Virgin Media customers can dial 150) and ask if the switch has already happened

  • If the alarm came from a local council or private provider, contact them directly and ask whether an upgrade is needed

Why it matters alongside home care

If support is limited to a few visits a day through personal care, the alarm usually covers the gaps in between. If it stops working, that gap becomes a real risk silently, especially overnight or when nobody is due to visit for several hours.

Most providers are offering free replacement devices for those affected by the switchover, so it is always worth asking directly rather than assuming there will be a cost.

A simple thing worth checking

Most older people living alone would not think to check this themselves. If you know someone relying on a pendant alarm, this is genuinely one of the more useful things to look into this year.

At Greenwood Homecare, we believe care at home in Peterborough works best when carers, family, and safety equipment like alarms are all actually working together, not left to chance. If you want to talk through what proper support should look like for a parent, get in touch.