Did I Make A Mistake Putting "ONT Box" Outside My Home?
Made_In_Italy
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hello everyone,

When i had Verizon in my old home i had the ONT box inside my basement which i hated. There was a battery inside of it that just constantly made a loud annoying beep every 20 minutes. I could even hear it from upstairs. 

So this time in my new home I told the tech who came to install service to put 'put that annoying box that beeps outside'... literally. 

The tech just responded " Sure whatever you like... it actually makes my job easier because i dont have to go 'in and out' " [meaning run wires in/out]

My question is:

Is that a normal request from customers?

Is the ONT box meant to withstand harsh winter temperatures ?

or is supposed to be inside ? 

Thank you in advance to everyone and all responses are greatly appreciated. I will gladly give kudos and mark as solved. 

I'd just like to know if any other Verizon customers did this and what are the pros / cons of putting the ONT box outdoors ?

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1 Solution

Correct answers
Depends on your ONT model
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

First of all, nice title font.

Whether an ONT is supposed to be placed indoor or outdoor is determined by the model number. Most of Verizon's ONT is made by Alcatel-Lucent, a subsidiary of Nokia. Alcatel-Lucent makes both indoor and outdoor series of ONT. For indoor ONTs, the model number starts with I- for Indoor, such as I-211M-L, I-211M-D, etc. For outdoor ONTs, the model number starts with O- for Outdoor, such as O-24121G-A, etc.

It is ok to put an indoor ONT outdoor if it is contained within a durable and weather-proof enclosure.

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Depends on your ONT model
Cang_Household
Community Leader
Community Leader

First of all, nice title font.

Whether an ONT is supposed to be placed indoor or outdoor is determined by the model number. Most of Verizon's ONT is made by Alcatel-Lucent, a subsidiary of Nokia. Alcatel-Lucent makes both indoor and outdoor series of ONT. For indoor ONTs, the model number starts with I- for Indoor, such as I-211M-L, I-211M-D, etc. For outdoor ONTs, the model number starts with O- for Outdoor, such as O-24121G-A, etc.

It is ok to put an indoor ONT outdoor if it is contained within a durable and weather-proof enclosure.

Re: Did I Make A Mistake Putting "ONT Box" Outside My Home?
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

What's done is done.. but a few notes.

ONT's never had batteries in them.  The battery backup units held the battery and beeped when issues occurred.  Battery backup units were always installed indoors, as commercial grade sealed-lead-acid (SLA) batteries do not handle heat and cold.  Verizon does not deploy battery backup units any more, and actively remove them when working on systems that have them.  You were never going to get one.

The ONTs themselves are rated for outdoor install.  However, I recommend they be installed whenever possible.  Temperature extremes, bugs and dust can contribute to a shorter lifespan for electronic devices.  I also like having them readily accessible for debugging.

That said, you've already got one installed and working.  You don't need to move it.  I'm posting this so if other folk read this thread, they will have a better understanding of the pros and cons of indoor vs. outdoor ONT installs.