I’m new to Home Assistant. Recently, I saw a blog post that suggested it’s possible to make calls to Home Assistant using a regular phone.
What other functionalities does it have? Let me explain my situation: my mother is 80 years old and she has poor vision and difficulty remembering things.
Is it possible to connect a phone with an RJ11 connector to Home Assistant and then make a request like, “Call Mary,” and then Home Assistant would dial Mary’s number? Kind of like a phone redirect or what used to be called a call transfer/phone operator . One thing to take into account is the existing phone line. The reason is, if you connect a new VoIP provider, you get a new phone number. When my mother makes a call, they will see this new number and she wants to stay with her current phone company.
The thing you saw was a phone used to call the under development voice assistant in HA.
It was not a phone system as such.
The device to connect the phone and HA might be something that could be used to solve part of your problem though.
It is a VoIP to regular phone line converter box, that might be controlled by remote commands, which means HAs voice assisyor some other can use it to make a call.
Are you 100% sure about that?
I have transferred the number for the fixed line multiple times to different VoIP providers.
Another way to achieve what you want is to use a smartphone with app connected to a Fritzbox and command the voice assistant from the mobile app to call someone over the landline.
@WallyR
Oh, okay. Yes, I initially thought that since it was an IVR or virtual assistant, it would be able to initiate a call to a person. I guess I need to figure out how to trigger an action that can actually make a real call.
@Nick4
Yes, you’re right. What I meant to say is that, as far as I understand, this system is one-way communication, meaning it can only make calls but doesn’t have the capability to receive calls. That’s why I thought you might need two numbers: one with the IVR for making calls and another regular telephone number for receiving calls.
Regarding my mother’s experience with app like Google Assistant on her mobile, it doesn’t work perfectly. She often forgets simple phrases like ‘Okay Google’ or ‘Hi Google’ and ends up saying ‘Hey Google’ every time, and the app doesn’t always respond properly. So, I’m looking for a simple solution with a regular handheld phone.But 'll look into Fritzbox
A Fritzbox by itself will not solve your ‘problem’, it’s a modem/router/pbx.
I made that suggestion because you can use a smartphone (with an app) as an extension.
Which ever way you turn it, if you want to use automatic dialing you have 2 options (I think):
voice assisted dialing for which I guess you always need a start sentence
dialing with some sort of shortcut
for elderly people you have these ‘alarms’ which they carry around the neck but don’t know the capabilities of that
I think with a shortcut button and HA you can achieve that too
Since your mother already has an ATA device to use the landline, adding a Fritzbox would be overkill.
There are multiple options, ready to buy or DIY, to achieve what you want because with a VoIP system you have possibilities.