Battery Backup Unit
nsek
Newbie

Hi,

My BBU is about 8 years old.  I am getting a RED replace battery light but no audible alarm - system status is still green.  When this happens, I loose both Fios TV and Internet service.  When I remove the battery, there is still no service.  I replaced the battery with a freshly charged battery (from reading the forum, I gather this is the responsibility of the homeowner) and all works good.

But after 8 hours I notice that the RED replace battery LED is on again, system status is still green, and I loose service again.  When I remove the battery and test its voltage, it has dropped to 8 volts (Initially, it was at 13 volts.)  I will try again with another new, freshly charged battery but if the BBU again drains the battery, will Verizon cover replacement of the BBU?  There were no power outages so the unit has not needed to rely on the battery - note also that when I remove the battery completely and leave the AC plugged in, the red replace battery LED and the green system status LED both go off and there is no service,

Thanks for any insight into this issue.

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Correct answers
Re: Battery Backup Unit
Capricorn1
Community Leader
Community Leader

First off, there at least two main types of BBUs. There are several that use lead-acid rechargeable batteries (with the AC/DC charger included) and are a quite a few different battery backup units as you can see here. Some models of ONTs use a PowerReserve unit that uses D-cells rather than a rechargeable 12V lead-acid battery, which apparently keeps the landline phone going for 24 hours.

The bottom line is how mine behaves (behaved anyway when it had a battery) and the way others behave may not be the same. I have this model (APC). When I had a landline phone, this BBU would keep that going for at least eight hours. As this link mentions, that's all the BBU keeps going. It does not power the Internet or TV. In practice, I found that not to be quite true. The BBU kept the Internet up for at least a few minutes before dropping it. I never checked to see if the TV stuck around for a while, too, since none of the STBs or TVs were/are on UPSs.

If the green light was on, you should have had landline service for at least eight hours. However, this assumes that your local central office (CO) has backup power of some type as well. That is, it doesn't matter if your ONT is up if the other end is down.

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Re: Battery Backup Unit
jonjones1
Legend

Maybe you are not following the correct instructions to completely remove the BBU.

here is a link to show the proper way you remove it.

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup/backup-unit#disconnect

If the issue s sue is such as you write I would call 1-800-VERIZON and have a truck roll for it to be fixed or replaced or removed.

Good Luck

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Re: Battery Backup Unit
Capricorn1
Community Leader
Community Leader

I would guess that the charging unit on your BBU has failed. The BBU is really only there to maintain your landline telephone service if the power goes out. From experience, it does seem to keep the Internet (and probably the TV as well) running for a few minutes. That's enough to get you through those short power blips. After a few minutes, only the landline telephone will continue working. The BBU is expected to keep that working for about eight hours. A fully-charged new battery worked for while until it too became discharged. Also, on my unit at least, the alarm doesn't constantly sound. It's more like the occasional chirp you get with a dying battery in a smoke detector.

If you really want to back up your Internet and TV, remove the battery from the BBU, use the Alarm Silence button to keep it from sounding again and plug the power cord into a real UPS. I use an APC 700 or 750 (not sure which). It keeps up the Internet for more than a half hour. (The UPS I have on the Linux box I use as a router shuts down about that time, so I don't know how long the ONT actually stays up.)

Since there are a few models on BBUs and ONTs in service, I'll post a picture of mine. The Replace Battery LED is always on since there's no battery in there, but the unit works as expected.


image

Re: Battery Backup Unit
tns2
Community Leader
Community Leader

Slight correction.  The BBU is required to supply power to your ONT.  However the battery is only there to supply Phone service for about 8 hours.  Note the battery also will work for a few minutes to continue to supply TV and Internet service.  Long enough to help you in very small power loses (usually a few seconds or less) without obviously losing service that many communities experience during storms, etc.

Re: Battery Backup Unit
Capricorn1
Community Leader
Community Leader

I hope I wasn't misleading to the point to cause people to start ripping their BBUs out. Smiley Happy It does supply line power to the ONT. (I've been under the impression that is not 110VAC, but maybe more like 12VDC.)

Re: Battery Backup Unit
jonjones1
Legend

@Capricorn1 wrote:

I hope I wasn't misleading to the point to cause people to start ripping their BBUs out. Smiley Happy It does supply line power to the ONT. (I've been under the impression that is not 110VAC, but maybe more like 12VDC.)


That battery backup unit is not necessary for ont power. In fact in the Verizon link for its removal it is obvious if you don't have phone service the battery backup unit is not needed.

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup

Read what it says.

and its removal instructions 

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup/backup-unit#disconnect

There is also another type of battery backup which can be turned on and off if necessary and it gets easy replacement with "D" cell batteries.

its called power reserve.

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup/power-reserve

Again the battery is not needed UNLESS YOU HAVE PHONE SERVICE.

the ont works on direct 110v electric not a 12v battery.

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Re: Battery Backup Unit
CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

Ont is DC powered not an.

You can't remove bbu as it also functions as a power supply to convert ac to DC.

Yes, battery backup is not required, but the device is.

For the op, I have been told that some onts need to have a battery in place to operate.

If it appears bbu is defective, not just a bad battery, contact support to have tech come out.

I just had a case where it appeared bbu was defective. No lights when powered up. Pulling ac would show battery  on. And removing battery would show red battery light.

Tech came out and it turned out ont was defective.

Re: Battery Backup Unit
tns2
Community Leader
Community Leader

That battery backup unit is not necessary for ont power. In fact in the Verizon link for its removal it is obvious if you don't have phone service the battery backup unit is not needed.

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup

Read what it says.

and its removal instructions 

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup/backup-unit#disconnect

There is also another type of battery backup which can be turned on and off if necessary and it gets easy replacement with "D" cell batteries.

its called power reserve.

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup/power-reserve

Again the battery is not needed UNLESS YOU HAVE PHONE SERVICE.

the ont works on direct 110v electric not a 12v battery.



ITs true that Verizon now is doing some  installs with a power supply that is not a BBU.  But most installs were done with BBU.  If you have a BBU (not a power reserve) it can't be removed although you can run without a battery in place.  Those instructions you posted do not tell you how to remove a BBU.

Re: Battery Backup Unit
jonjones1
Legend

Once again read the instructions here. 

https://www.verizon.com/support/consumer/battery-backup/backup-unit

It clearly shows how to remove the batteries as well as step 8 simply says to put the cover back on AFTER REMOVING THE RED & BLACK WIRES

the ONT is run on normal household current. 110v 

if the power is shut off, or knocked out by a power outage then there is no power to the ONT.

The main purpose for a BBU is to provide power to the phone service as it states at Verizon's own web site.

The BBU is not necessary period if you have no phone.

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Re: Battery Backup Unit
jonjones1
Legend

From Verizon's web portal

https://www.verizon.com/support/residential/internet/fiosinternet/general+support/getting+started/qu...

It uses direct electric connection to operate. 110v household current.

Oh I don't have the Power Reserve enabled. I have a black 3 prong plug in my wall socket. There is no BBU power supply either in my ONT nor around it.

The installer said it was not needed for install. Just a power plug to use.

Convert this to that is totally unnecessary in the grand scheme of installation.

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