This topic

BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

milleniumaire — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:13:19 GMT

My elderly in-laws have the twin BT Big Button 4000 phones in there home, but both phones keep showing the "Power Cut" message. When I say both, it is usually one at a time, but either phone can show the message.

When this happens it is no longer possible to call them and the only way to fix it is to make a call from one of the phones, which obviously means having to travel to their home. Once the "Power Cut" message has been cleared and the call made, it is then possible to contact the phone again.

Any thoughts? Are these just rubbish phones or is something more sinister going on?

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:21:14 GMT

@milleniumaire

Welcome to this user forum for BT Retail phone and broadband customers.

There could be an issue with the base power unit, or the communication between the base unit and the phones.

The first thing to try would be to unplug the power supply unit to the base for about two minutes. That should reset the communication link.

It would seem more likely that there is an issue with the power unit, or where it is plugged into, perhaps there is a problem with the mains feed to that socket, or the power unit is not plugged in fully.

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

milleniumaire — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:25:52 GMT

Thanks for the quick reply.

Is it possible for only the "main" phone to be used i.e. to disconnect the 2nd phone base unit from the mains and not use it at all?

I assume this wouldn't cause any communication issues with the "main" base unit?

My elderly in-laws don't make calls, they only receive them, so having only one phone available isn't an issue, and I'm thinking this may potentially half the number of "Power Cut" issues they appear to be experiencing.

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

Keith_Beddoe — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:33:28 GMT

Of course they can stop using the second phone, but its not going to fix the issue if its a power supply problem. Only one phone working will not upset the communications.

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

milleniumaire — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:18:23 GMT

I'm not convinced it is a power supply issue i.e. the electrical supply to the house being cut as they live in the same village as we do and we haven't had any power supply issues.

Also, if it was the supply to the house, I would expect BOTH phones to show the same "Power Cut" message, but usually only one of them does and it varies as to which one.

So, by removing one of the phones, I'm potentially reducing the possibility of the problem occurring, I think, as only one of the phones is left to experience the strange "Power Cut" issue.

Today, I've removed the 2nd phone and base and will see how the remaining phone performs. If the issue still occurs, it may be time to replace it, although these phones are less than a year old!

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

NeilO — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:19:32 GMT

@milleniumaire welcome to the community and thanks for posting. That's a strange issue, I can't see anything in the user guide for help with the power cut error. I'd recommend getting in touch with the Big Button 4000 helpdesk to see if they have any suggestions.

By phone: 0800 145 6789 Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm

By email: Click here for email support

Neil

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

sr150 — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 13:03:42 GMT

Hi, email link not working, please advise

Thank you

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

JohnC2 — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:19:48 GMT

Hi @sr150, sorry about that and thanks for highlighting it.

I've checked the user guide and the phone number for the helpdesk is the only contact method listed. You'll need to give them a call and I'll report the email contact link to get it removed.

Cheers

John

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

Keith_Beddoe — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 14:37:20 GMT

@milleniumaire

https://shop.bt.com/help/returns-and-refunds/bt-products-technical-help,-user-guides-and-after-sales-advice

BT Products: Technical Help.

Product Range	Phone Number
Corded phones	0800 218 2182
Cordless phone	0800 145 6789

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

Anonymous — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 15:32:45 GMT

Sounds like a faulty base station to me. My 8500s regularly report both false power cuts & line cord errors but it has no impact on the ability to receive calls. My 8500 base station is plugged into a UPS, so even if I did have a power cut it wouldn't lose power.

I'd be inclined to buy another set to test. If the problem goes away you know it was a faulty base station. If it doesn't then just return them.

Might be worth trying the base station in a different mains outlet first in case the one it's currently using is dodgy. If a bad connection in the socket is causing the power to the made & broken multiple times in rapid succession it might cause the base to lock up. But then I'd expect the base to need to be restarted, not just make an outgoing call.

Re: BT Big Button 4000 phone keeps showing "Power Cut" message

milleniumaire — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:07:22 GMT

The base station is plugged into a brand new extension lead along with a router, which hasn't suffered any power issues, so this is definitely not being caused by a "real" power cut. The phones are more than a year old, so not sure if they are still under warranty. I'm certainly not going to be throwing good money after bad and if they are replaced, it will be with a different phone, although at the moment I have no intention of replacing them, just living with the fault.

... just determined they are sold with a 1 year warranty. Clearly BT don't expect them to last longer than this otherwise they would give them a decent warranty, but that's no different to other manufacturers/suppliers. Unfortunately, we live in a throw away society and products are made to be cheap and replaceable rather than actually lasting a reasonable length of time.