Digital Switchover 2027: Will Your Personal Alarm Still Work?

Millions of older people in the UK rely on a personal alarm or telecare pendant to call for help if they fall or feel unwell at home. A national change to the telephone network, due to complete by 31 January 2027, means some of these older alarms may no longer work reliably. With the digital switchover deadline now only months away, here is what it could mean for your home safety, and the simple checks worth making now.

What is the digital switchover, and why is it happening?

For decades, home phone calls in the UK have travelled over the Public Switched Telephone Network, or PSTN, an ageing copper-wire system that carries analogue signals. The major providers are retiring this network and moving everyone to digital landlines, where calls are carried over a broadband connection instead. The full switch-off of the old network is scheduled for 31 January 2027.

The migration is already well advanced. In September 2026, BT reported that around 95 per cent of its customers had moved to its Digital Voice service, and the government confirmed last year that more than two-thirds of all lines had already been migrated. For most households, a digital line is a straightforward upgrade that brings clearer, more reliable calls. The complication lies with the equipment that quietly plugs into the old network in the background, and personal alarms are top of that list.

Why this matters for personal alarms and telecare

Telecare systems support around 1.8 million households across the UK. A typical set-up uses a base unit and a wearable trigger, usually a pendant or wristband, that connects the user to a 24-hour monitoring centre, known as an Alarm Receiving Centre. Press the button after a fall and the centre can speak to you and dispatch help or call a named contact.

Many older alarms were designed for the analogue network. Once the PSTN is switched off, some of these devices may not send their signal reliably, and in an emergency that could mean the alarm appears to work but the call never reaches the monitoring centre. The risk is not theoretical. In 2023, two people died after telecare devices failed during earlier stages of the industry-led switchover, prompting the government to pause forced migrations until stronger protections were in place. Testing has since shown that analogue alarms can fail on digital lines in a meaningful share of cases, and consumer group Which? has warned that some analogue devices are still being sold despite the looming deadline.

Who is most affected?

The people most exposed are often those the system is meant to protect: older homeowners living alone, and disabled people who depend on their alarm to stay independent. Households in sheltered, supported and retirement housing are also a concern, as recent industry research suggests only around a quarter of these grouped schemes have fully upgraded their telecare to digital.

There is a further group that can slip through the net entirely. If you bought a personal alarm privately, rather than through your local council, your provider and your telephone network may have no record that you use telecare. That makes it easy to be overlooked when providers contact vulnerable customers about the switchover. Anyone using an unmonitored alarm that simply dials a family member, rather than a monitoring centre, should be especially careful, because these devices rely on exactly the network that is being withdrawn.

What you can do before the deadline

The good news is that the checks are simple, and you do not need to be technical to make them. A few practical steps are worth taking now:

• Contact your telecare or alarm provider and ask directly whether your device is digital-ready, and what they will do to upgrade or replace it. A reputable provider should have a clear plan.
• Tell your phone or broadband company that someone in the home uses a personal alarm. Providers keep a register of vulnerable customers and can offer extra support.
• Ask about a power cut. Digital lines do not work in a power cut unless there is a battery back-up unit, so check what happens to your alarm if the electricity goes off.
• If you rent from a council or housing association, ask the housing team where your scheme stands with its telecare upgrade.
• Do not buy a second-hand or cut-price analogue alarm as a stop-gap. It may not work when you need it most.

If you are helping an older parent or relative, a single phone call to their alarm provider is one of the most useful things you can do this year.

The bigger picture: staying safe at home

For many families, a personal alarm is one part of a wider plan to stay safe and independent at home, alongside changes such as grab rails, better lighting on the stairs, and a stairlift where climbing steps has become difficult. The digital switchover is a timely reminder to review the whole picture rather than any single device.

If you are weighing up adaptations, it is worth knowing that help with funding may be available. Our guide to stairlift grants and the Disabled Facilities Grant explains how councils can contribute towards the cost of making a home safer, and our stairlift price guide sets out what to expect if you are considering one. Whatever you decide, checking that your alarm will still call for help after January 2027 is a small task now that could make a real difference later.