Digital Voice

[momo]

I was switched to digital voice 2 weeks ago and have already had one power cut, fortunately on ly lasting a short while then.  I have a Smart Hub 2 with 4  yellow ethernet connections, and I received an Advanced Digital Phone for  my bedroom as the landline there was of  no further use  .  I bought an adaptor to plug into the hub  (which is in my lounge),  and connected  into the  phone slot my normal landline and also an OK Each Day service phone , on which I have to press the OK button twice a day.

I approached my OK provider who said they are not supplying existing customers with any battery back up , and therefore it is up to BT to help me with a BBU for emergency use if power or broadband etc goes down.   BT Shop does not appear to list what I need it seems for my hub and I do not want to make a mistake in purchasing a wrong  product either.  I am not a technical person, so can someone help me to try to sort this - I would be very  heppy if they could.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@momo 

The BT one is not in stock any more.

Do you have an FTTP connection (Openreach Modem) as well as the smart hub 2, and are they both located next to each other? Or  is it just the smart hub 2 (FTTC)?

[momo]

Hello Keith

Hope the following will assist you - I am on Fibre with BT Halo 1 with BT.  With my Smart Hub 2  on its back I have  a cable or wire whatever you call  it connection direct to the Openreach Master Socket 5C  MK4 which is on the wall about 6 ft away, and another cable/wire  going direct to the power wall socket.   There are no other filters or boxes along the length of these connections. 

[Keith_Beddoe]

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@momo wrote:

Hello Keith

Hope the following will assist you - I am on Fibre with BT Halo 1 with BT.  With my Smart Hub 2  on its back I have  a cable or wire whatever you call  it connection direct to the Openreach Master Socket 5C  MK4 which is on the wall about 6 ft away, and another cable/wire  going direct to the power wall socket.   There are no other filters or boxes along the length of these connections. 

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So you have FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) and only have the Smart Hub 2.

What you can buy is a unit which provides mains power in the event of a power cut. It has three protected  mains sockets which you can plug the Smart Hub 2, and any other main powered phones that need to work during a power cut, possibly your OK unit as well, as I assume it has a mains socket.

The Cyberpower BR700ELCD-UK (about £84 from Amazon)  is what some other forum members are using.

https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-phone-including-Digital/Digital-Voice-and-power-cuts-mitigation/m-p...

It has an internal 12V sealed battery which just needs connecting up, as shown in the instructions.

The other three sockets are just surge protected outlets, and are not maintained during a power cut.

[momo · Accepted solution]

Thank you Keith

You have answered my question now and pointed me in direction to take to solve my problem as it seems to work perfectly on reading other posts now.

[Keith_Beddoe]

@momo 

You just need to follow the installation instructions which involve fitting the small 12V sealed battery to the connections and closing the bottom panel.

Once its all connected up to what you need to power, then you can turn it on and it will supply power direct from the mains and the battery will charge up.

Provided the internal battery is charged up, then if the mains fails, the unit will then switch almost instantaneously to its internal inverter which will then maintain the mains output until the battery is discharged.

Meanwhile if the mains comes back, it will switch back again, and the battery will be re-charged.

Its important to make sure that nothing else, other than the home hub and phones are plugged into those three protected sockets, otherwise you may cause the unit to shut down.

If you want to prove it all works, then wait until the battery is fully charged, then turn off the mains input for about 20 seconds, and you should see everything continue working. You will hear a regular beep to tell you its providing backup power.

The advantage of this type of unit, is that you can simply plug in your existing equipment, without any special adapters. The battery lasts many years, and can be replaced.

[momo]

Thanks Keith for additional information today which I know will be very useful when I set this up  in due course. You have been more helpful than I expected when I contacted the forum - and it is good to have this resource when wanting good advice.