Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
Phoonster
Enthusiast - Level 1

I have Verizon Fios Internet, TV, and phone service since 2006 and recently renewed my 2 year contract with them this April 2010. For the last week and a half, I've been hearing intermittent beeping noises. I finally figured out what was making the beeps. There's a red light indicator for the battery backup unit. Apparently it needed to be replaced. I called up Verizon Fios support and the lady politely explained to me that the battery backup unit is only covered for a year and that I would need to shell out around $50 to replace the battery myself. If it was a new install, they would have covered the replacement. My complaint is, it's only been 3 months since I renewed a 2 year contract with Verizon Fios. Why isn't the backup battery replacement offered to me for free? I'm annoyed and aggravated by Verizon for 1. putting me on hold for 45 minutes to speak to a live person and 2. for telling me that had I cancelled my service, had them come and remove all the equipment, then call them back shortly after to resubscribe to Verizon Fios, the battery backup would be covered under the one year warranty. Needless to say, when my 2 year contract is over, I will immediately cancel my account with Verizon Fios.

1 Solution

Correct answers
Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
viafax999
Community Leader
Community Leader

You could just disconnect it and leave it disconnected.  I believe that will stop it beeping.

View solution in original post

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
somegirl
Champion - Level 3

@Phoonster wrote:

I have Verizon Fios Internet, TV, and phone service since 2006 and recently renewed my 2 year contract with them this April 2010. For the last week and a half, I've been hearing intermittent beeping noises. I finally figured out what was making the beeps. There's a red light indicator for the battery backup unit. Apparently it needed to be replaced. I called up Verizon Fios support and the lady politely explained to me that the battery backup unit is only covered for a year and that I would need to shell out around $50 to replace the battery myself. If it was a new install, they would have covered the replacement. My complaint is, it's only been 3 months since I renewed a 2 year contract with Verizon Fios. Why isn't the backup battery replacement offered to me for free? I'm annoyed and aggravated by Verizon for 1. putting me on hold for 45 minutes to speak to a live person and 2. for telling me that had I cancelled my service, had them come and remove all the equipment, then call them back shortly after to resubscribe to Verizon Fios, the battery backup would be covered under the one year warranty. Needless to say, when my 2 year contract is over, I will immediately cancel my account with Verizon Fios.


The flaw in your logic is that Verizon doesn't remove the equipment when you cancel.

If I were you, I'd do a little troubleshooting. Make sure that the battery actually needs to be replaced and it isn't just an issue with power to the BBU.

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

Plain and simple ... batteries wear out.   The battery itself comes with a one year warranty (not from Verizon), which if it fails during this time, will be replaced under that warranty (perhaps Verizon helps here by doing it for you).  It has nothing to do with the "service date", but the original "install date" of the equipment.

The battery in the BBU is disclosed as a "customer servicable part" when you install FiOS -- meaning it has nothing to do with a contract or installation of service.  The same thing applies if you get service from a different supplier (like the cable company) and get phone service thru them -- they give you a modem which has a little battery backup builtin -- when the battery wears out, you replace it (or accept the fact that phone service will go down if the power goes out).

So, when it fails, you replace it.

Now, with that said what can you do ....

1. Accept that batteries fail and pay Verizon to get a new one.   You are simply buying a user replaceable part from them.

2. Take the battery to a local "Batttery Warehouse" or other battery wholesaler and purchase a replacement from them.  It's likely to be cheaper and just as good.   No one says you have to buy it from Verizon -- if you have to pay for it, it's your call.   In fact, I've seen replacement batteries listed on various auction sites, etc. for as low as about $15 (buyer beware, YMMV).

3. Disconnect the battery and accept that anytime there's a power blip or outage that you will not have any service (Internet, TV, or Phone) until power returns and the ONT reboots.  Optionally, use your own UPS (which you can get from various office and computer stores) to power the ONT thru the BBU and not rely on the battery in the BBU.

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
Witty-in-Tampa
Enthusiast - Level 1

FYI,  I have found out that just because your Battery Backup Unit has the "Replace Battery" light on, and you get an audible alarm to draw your attention to this fact, it may not necessarily mean the battery has to be replaced.  I have on several occasions had this condition with my FIOS service BBU, and as noted in the article link below, the resolution may be as simple as unplugging the BBU from the electrical outlet, then opening the battery compartment door to allow access to the battery, then unplug your battery terminal from the BBU so that it is not providing backup power.  Leave the battery disconnected for approx 5-10 minutes, then reconnect it to the BBU and put it back in the slot in the BBU box, then plug the electrical power back in to charge the system.  I have found this will eliminate the red light and audible warning signal, and your battery may continue to function fine for many more months/years. As noted in the article, you can also take the battery to have it tested to determine if it is still good, or needs to be replaced.  I suspect there are a lot of good batteries being replaced that don't have to be.  See if this situation applies to you!

http://www.tpcug.org/newsletter/nl_2010/april2010/verizon.htm

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
Hubrisnxs
Legend

Cheapest place I have found it, was online at amazon.com for $11.50   

Keep in mind these have two types of connects, an f1 and an f2 terminal. View a comparison of F1 and F2 terminals.  you should always make sure you're buying the right battery with the right connector. 

You are looking for a 12v 7ah sealed lead acid battery

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Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
Hubrisnxs
Legend

that is great info witty in tampa.    

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
tjnolanjr
Enthusiast - Level 1

The procedure given by Witty-in-tampa is worth a try before shelling out the bucks for a new battery - I tried it this morning since I too had the annoying beep and the replace battery indicator glowing red.  Well it worked - follow the instructions exactly and it may work for you too provided your battery isn't really dead or the backup unit is not totally defective.  Having cleared the beep and the red indicator tells me the backup units verizon has been using or perhaps are still using have a problem or a design flaw.  A backup lead acid battery should last more than a year or two if it is not stressed by repeated or long power outages.  I wonder why Verizon dosen't tell its customers about this simple procedure to test and possible clear the problem?  Maybe they get a kick-back from the battery companies........... 

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
scoobie1
Enthusiast - Level 1

I had the same experience as the OP. Called Verizon and was informed that they will send out a replacement battery. Waited a week and still no battery; so I searched the web and found this page, followed the procedure in the article mentioned in Witty in Tampa's post, and lo & behold the red light and annoying beep went away (at least for now). If the battery does eventually arrive I will keep it in the garage for future use. By the way, I had FIOS for less than a year, I read somewhere that Verizon covers the back up battery within one year of service. In either case, it's worth a call to Verizon first to see if they will send a replacement.

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
lasagna
Community Leader
Community Leader

You are correct scoobie ... Verizon covers the battery while it's under warrenty (one year at last check), but also clearly discloses in the subscriber agreement that the battery is considered a user replaceable item ... meaning that once the warrenty expires, it is the end user's responsibility to have it replaced.   Verizon will gladly sell you a new battery, but as many others have cited, the same component can be obtained from a number of online sources at a much cheaper rate.

Re: Battery Backup beeping and in the Red
barrymcconnell
Enthusiast - Level 1

At least as of today, Verizon is giving people this solution.  It worked for me.

Here is an extract from a chat message when I went to get online support from their agents.  It was pretty clear this is from a canned solution and was pasted in, not typed manually as with the other responses in the chat. (because it appeared so fast!)

[...]

Roger: Yes....I want you to do a manual reboot there and that should clear this erroneous bbu light issue. 

Roger: So.. 

Roger:

To do this from your Battery Backup Unit (BBU): 

1. Please go to the smaller beige box and follow its power cable to the 3-prong power outlet. 

2. Disconnect the power cable from the outlet, you may hear a beep. 

3. Go to the larger beige box, remove the battery panel to reveal the black battery. Follow the black/red leads until you get to a plastic coupler that hooks into the BBU. 

4. Once disconnected, all lights on the larger box will be off. 

5. Let it sit for 1 minute then reconnect the battery and plug the power cable back in. 

Roger: can we try this?