Cox Voice Preferred (landline) is a contract-free home phone plan that costs $20 monthly. It’ll cost you as low as $1.66 to make calls outside the U.S. It uses the internet to make phone calls. And this plan works best for anyone who wants to upgrade their existing home phone.
I want to help people get the most value from their service provider. That includes landline services. I compiled information from everywhere regarding Cox’s landline services.
Throughout this guide, I’ll cover the following:
- Pros and cons
- What is it?
- Who it’s best for
- International calling plans and pricing
- Costs
- Deals
- Customer service
- Getting started
Let’s take a closer look.
Cox Landline Pros and Cons
Here are some pros and cons of the Cox Landline.
Pros:
- Free unlimited calling to some European countries
- Easy-to-manage features
- Affordable
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons:
- It doesn’t include free battery backup anymore
- No free calling to cellphones in Mexico
- Not transparent with fees: you have to dig deep to find additional fees
What Is Cox Voice Preferred?
Cox Voice Preferred is a contract-free landline Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. It enables you to make and receive calls over the internet.
Cox’s equipment uses the same switching equipment as other landline providers. You won’t have to buy a new phone when switching to Cox landline.
Let’s explore the features.
Cox Landline Features
Cox Voice Preferred services include:
| Call Waiting ID | Simultaneous ring | Block robocalls | Speed dial |
| Call forwarding | Call waiting | 3-way calling | Selective call forwarding |
| Block selective calls | Caller ID | E911 |
Cox used to provide backup batteries for phones. But made a bit of a vile decision to start charging people for them. Since these provided such vital functionality for homes.
And prove as one of the few things that make home phones relevant.
The backup batteries provide 12 hours of talk time and 24 hours of standby service. Enough time for your power access to return. Cox doesn’t specify the pricing for their battery (of course). You must call them at 855-324-7700 to know the price.
If you’re eligible for a Lifeline discount, Cox will credit you the battery’s cost. Lifeline is a government program meant for low-income individuals.
And the backup battery unit has a 1-year warranty.
You can also use Voice Tools by visiting voicetools.cox.com. You’ll need to log into your Cox online account.
This toolbox allows you to manage your features, transcribe voicemails, review all your incoming and outgoing calls, and listen to voicemails.
You can also use this tool to manage contacts. I like this feature because you can add tags to specific contacts. For instance, if you know 2 Johns—one a relative and another a coworker—you can tag them differently.
For instance, you could have John with the tag ‘Family’ and John with the tag ‘colleague.’
Let’s briefly cover each feature.
Enhanced 911 (E911) automatically sends your location to emergency services during your call. An essential feature if you don’t have time to tell the emergency operator your address.
The features in the table above are otherwise self-explanatory. Caller ID shows the number of the person calling. And ‘block robocalls’ blocks numbers from known robocallers.
Robocallers are usually scammers who call you with an automated service that tries to get payments or other personal information from you.
But you may not know all the features.
Simultaneous ring makes it so multiple phones can ring at once. It’s useful if you’re in another room and can’t hear (for instance) your living room phone.
3-way calling makes it so you can talk to 2 other people during a single call. A great perk if you want to have more than 1 family member in a call.
Call waiting is a fancy way of saying you’re putting someone on hold.
Speed dial “8” and “30” refer to the number of phone numbers you can add to your speed dial.
Shortcuts To Enable or Disable Cox Voice Preferred Features
To access your Cox landline features, you’ll need to dial these numbers:
| Feature | Activate Your Feature | Deactivate Your Feature |
| Call Waiting ID | *37 | *38 |
| Block Selective Calls | *60 | NA |
| Caller ID Per Call Blocking | *67 | NA |
| Call Forwarding (Busy Line) | *90 | *91 |
| Call Forwarding (After Set # Of Rings) | *92 | *93 |
| Call Forwarding (All Calls) | *72 | *73 |
| Speed Dial 8 | *74 | NA |
| Speed Dial 30 | *75 | NA |
| Call Return | *69 | *89 |
| Busy Line Redial | *66 | *86 |
Who Is Cox Landline Best For?
Cox landline is best for anyone who wants a means to call people during a power outage.
You’ll only have this benefit if you buy a backup modem battery. Otherwise, you’ll only find this plan useful if you want to keep landline calling at your home.
Cox Landline International Calling
You can make international calls to cell and home phones for as low as $1.77 a minute. Pricing will vary by country and phone type you’re calling.
They will also vary by address. Visit this page, enter your address (or ZIP code) to find the most accurate rates.
Pay $2.99 a month for the Simply Worldwide plan, and you can get discounts up to $1.69 per minute.
Without Simply Worldwide, calling a home phone in Australia would cost $1.77 per minute. When adding this plan, you’ll pay only $0.08 per minute.
Significant savings if you make frequent calls overseas.
To make an international call, you’ll need to dial ‘011,’ the country code, then the phone number.
How Much Does Cox Landline Cost?
Cox landline only has 1 plan that costs $20 monthly. This price won’t increase after a year.
This price includes equipment rentals but not sales tax, installation costs, or other fees.
One of these fees includes a security deposit. Cox will run a soft credit check on your account, and if you don’t have the best credit history, you’ll likely have to pay a deposit.
They don’t specify the amount you’ll have to pay.
Cox Landline Hidden Fees
Cox’s other Voice Preferred fees include [1]:
| Service | Fee |
| * Long Distance Calling Rates (State-To-State) | $0.18 per minute |
| Calls To Mexico | $0.10 per minute |
| Returned Payment | $25 |
| Late Payment Fee | $25 |
| Unreturned Equipment Fee | $65–$200 |
| Voice Manager (2+ Lines) | $2.00 per account |
| IP Centrex (Multi-line rate) | $1.00 per account |
| IP Centrex (Bulk rate) | $5.00 per account |
| PRI | $5.00 per account |
| Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee | 2.8% of your international charge |
| Network Interface Fee (Single Line) | $7.50–$9.25 |
| Network Interface Fee (Multi-Line) | $9.25–$9.60 |
| Network Interface Fee (Bulk) | $46.25 |
| Bursting Feature | $0.10 per minute or $0.35 per message |
| Access Recovery Fee (Voice Manager) | Single line: $1.00 per line or trunkMulti-line: $2.00 per line or trunk |
| Access Recovery Fee (Centrex Legacy Trunks) | First 1–24 talk paths: $2.00 (capped at $10)Subsequent talk paths: $10 |
| Access Recovery Fee (IP Centrex) | First 1–24 talk paths: $1.00 (capped at $10)Subsequent talk paths: $5.00 |
| Access Recovery Fee (ISDN) | $5.00 |
Cox landline hidden fees.
* Long distance calling rates apply to every state. And the following U.S. territories:
- Guam
- American Samoa
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
- Virgin Islands
- Puerto Rico
- District of Columbia
The “returned payment” fee refers to what’ll happen if Cox denies your credit card or electronic funds transfer for some reason. You can only avoid this fee by ensuring that your payment method has funds.
Or at least if you can prove you have funds when Cox charges this fee.
You can also buy add-ons like a backup battery, the “privilege” to keep your existing phone number, and directory preferences.
The backup modem battery allows you to make and accept calls when the power goes out. The only way to make this plan useful.
Say you want to cancel Cox. And if you don’t return their modem, you’re potentially liable for an unreturned equipment fee. I can’t find the cost from Cox.
They only state that you must return their equipment within 10 days of canceling your service. Or purchased equipment from Cox within 30 days.
You “purchased” the equipment. Technically, shouldn’t that make it yours?
Anyway:
But other sources state that this fee ranges from $65–$200 per unreturned item [2, 3].
Cox Voice Deals
You can get unlimited free calling to any of the following countries:
- Ukraine: +380
- Poland: +48
- Romania: +40
- Moldova: +373
- Hungary: +36
- Bulgaria: +359
This deal only lasts until January 9th, 2023.
You don’t need anything special to use this “deal.” Just ensure you dial the right country codes. I included those above.
Cox Landline Customer Service
Cox doesn’t have a specific customer service line for their landline services, but you can reach their account, retention, technical support, and billing services by the following means:
- 800-234-3993
- Their live chat: quickest response in most scenarios
- Twitter: send them a direct message to the username @CoxHelp
If you want to order a backup battery unit for your modem, you’ll need to call 855-324-7700.
For the most part, I’ve had a pleasant experience with their customer service. They didn’t try to upsell me, request my information (for the most part), and quickly provided answers.
SOMETIMES they may not have all the answers. I recommend reading Cox’s policies to familiarize yourself with the service.
How To Get Started With Cox Landline
Order your Cox landline service. You can do so by ordering online or visiting a local Cox store.
Visit cox.com/local/search and enter your ZIP code to find the nearest store.
Place your order before 1:00 pm local time Monday–Friday, and you’ll receive your Easy Connect kit the next day.
When receiving your package, inspect the package’s contents for the following:
- Voice modem: the box that powers your services
- Ethernet cable
- Coax cable
- Power cord
- Telephone cable
Find a coax port in your home. Connect one end of the coaxial cable to your modem and the other to the wall port. It doesn’t matter which end you use for each connection.
Plug the AC adapter (power cord) into your modem and then into an available power outlet.
Connect 1 end of the telephone cable to your modem’s “Tel 1” port. Then the other into your phone.
If you also got Cox home internet services, plug one end of the Ethernet cable into the yellow Ethernet port on your modem. Then plug the other end into your Wi-Fi router.
Wait a few minutes for your modem’s “Online” light to emit a solid green glow.
If that light doesn’t power on, open your browser and type cox.com/activate into your address bar. Log in to your Cox account and follow the on-screen instructions.
And if the modem still doesn’t work, follow these steps:
- Unplug your modem’s power cord
- Wait 10 seconds
- Plug it back in
- Wait 3 minutes to see whether the light powers on
Or you can call 800-234-3993 and have someone else deal with the troubleshooting. When speaking with the automated assistant, tell them you want to talk to technical support.
FAQs: Cox Landline
Here are commonly asked questions about Cox’s landline service.
Can I Get Discounts When Bundling Cox Landline With Other Services?
You don’t get discounts bundling Cox’s landline service with their TV, internet, or home security.
How to Forward Calls From Cox Landline to Cell Phone?
Dial “*72” on your phone. Upon hearing a dial tone, dial the forwarding phone number. After entering this number, listen for a shutter dial tone, followed by a regular one. This will mean your call forwarding is successful.
How Do I Block Robocalls on My Cox Landline?
Visit voicetools.cox.com, log into your account, and expand the ‘Settings’ tab. Find the ‘Nomorobo/Simultaneous Ring’ feature and toggle it on. Then click the text that says ‘Activate’ beside ‘Activate Nomorobo.’
How to Block Incoming Calls on Landline Cox?
Dial “*60” on your phone’s dial pad, then press “#” to add a new blocked number. Enter the phone number you want to block.
Wrapping Up
If you’re someone who can’t resist using landline services, Cox Voice Preferred may serve as a viable solution for your home. The plan doesn’t cost too much and works best for anyone who doesn’t want to make long-distance calls.
Unless they’re calls to certain European countries. Then you’ll have unlimited calling.
But it doesn’t have a contract. You could try the plan for less than 30 days. And if you’re not satisfied, cancel it without consequences.
