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Power Outage Question
My U-verse voice and Internet system survived a 13-hour power outage very well. The backup battery unit kept my Gateway lit during the entire outage. My two wireless phones were out of commission during the outage. But I was surprised that my hardwired phone was operational during the outage. Since my three phone, now with U-verse, operate through the Internet, I thought all three phone would be down. Is my hardwired phone still considered a landline phone and is thus immune to power outages? Or was my hardwired phone operational because the backup battery unit kept the Gateway lit? Any info would be appreciated.
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aviewer
Expert
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10.1K Messages
10 years ago
The hardwired phone gets its operating voltage from the dial tone connection, so, it will work as long as that dial tone connection has sufficient voltage. The battery backup keeps the RG providing that sufficient voltage.
The wireless phone needs a seperate electrical connection to keep its electronics working.
For POTS service, the backup power supply is at the CO - both batteries & generators - keep the voltage on the tel line suffient for the wwired phone to work.
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worker37
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42 Messages
10 years ago
Aviewer,
Thanks for the ino. It sounds like I owe my hardwired phone operation to the battery backup unit. Now that I'm with U-verse, my hardwired phone no longer has the POTS service - is that correct?
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35.2K Messages
10 years ago
Depends on what you ordered. I have POTS with my U-verse IPTV and Internet. Others have U-verse Voice service along with IPTV and Internet. Since your backup battery was installed, I'm going to guess you have U-verse voice service. Keeping your phone alive during a power outage is the intended function of the backup battery.
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skeeterintexas
ACE - Expert
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27.8K Messages
10 years ago
This is why it's a good idea to have at least one hard wired phone in your house.
If your electricity goes out, yes, the BBU on the RG will keep your services going (VOIP/Internet/TV) for awhile but any cordless phones you may have will be rendered useless.
More than once, when we've had a power outage, I've had to feel my way to the wall phone in the kitchen (yes, I still have a wall phone!) to call to the power company to find out what was going on. My cordless phones didn't work because they had no juice going to them.
ETA: 13 hours? I'm impressed. My BBU has only lasted about 4 hours.
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worker37
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42 Messages
10 years ago
JefferMC,
Thanks for the info. My ATT bill justs lists only U-verse Voice and U-verse Internet. So I assume it was my backup battery that preserved my hardwired phone operation. But was surprised that the backup unit held out for the entire power outage of 13 hours. I thought it was advertised as good for just 4 hours?? Is it because it doesn't take much power to keep the Gateway humming along by itself?
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worker37
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42 Messages
10 years ago
skeeterintexas,
Thanks for the info. I now realize I did the right thing by keeping my hardwired phone.
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skeeterintexas
ACE - Expert
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27.8K Messages
10 years ago
Yes, you get a Battery Backup if you have Uvoice. I started with Internet and TV and it was only when I added Uvoice that they provided a BBU.
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aviewer
Expert
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10.1K Messages
10 years ago
Regarding the the battery backup lasting 13 hours - I will go out on a limb & speculate that you have a really good battery that was fully charged.
The four hour statement is probably a minimum number that satisfies regulatory requirements & they will not say any more than they have to. Rather dazzle you with brilliance (lasted three times as long as expected!) than disappoint you ( did not last even 24 hours).
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worker37
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42 Messages
10 years ago
Aviewer,
Thanks for the info.
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