Power Outages

With the possibilty of power cuts over the 2023/24 winter months we have produced the following quick guide to stay in touch and internet connected.

See National Grid Live Status here.

Before the Outage.

1. Ensure that all equipment is protected by being connected using a mains surge protector.

2. Consider fitting an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

3. Make regular backups of vital data.

4. Prepare a method of powering your router during an outage. A quality UPS or a battery backup (ensure you use the correct voltage for your router).

5. Ensure you have sufficent battery powered forms of lighting with spare batteries.

6. Keep an Ethernet cable in case your wireless access fails, so that a laptop can be directly connected to the router.

Getting connected in the Outage.

1. Connect your router to either the battery backup or if using a UPS then this should automatically start.

2. Using a mains powered PC will be difficult because most mains powered PC's will drain batteries very quickly, including a UPS. Therefore keep a laptop or tablet fully charged when outages are likely as these have their own batteries as does your mobile telephone and tablet.

3. Once you have a functioning router and laptop, then internet connection should be available using your wired internet service. Internet connections relying on mobile data may not work if your nearest cell tower has no battery or generator backup.

Telephones in an Outage.

1. Corded (plugged in) telephones are likely to work as they take power directly from the exchange and as long as the exchange has power they should work. Many exchanges have battery and or generator backup.

2. Cordless telephones will not work as the base station needs mains power to operate. This is why we recommend all homes should have at least one hard wired corded telephone.

3. Voice over IP may not work as the broadband router, and potentially other equipment in the home, need mains power to operate and do not tend to have batteries.

4. Mobile telephones may work providing they are charged and active, and it depends on how widespread and long the outage is and if the local cell towers have batteries or generators.

5. If you have a working router then you could try using Wi Fi calling on your mobile using the router, providing your router has wifi available.