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Internet lost when electric utility fails
Is there some dependency of the data line coming into my house to the commercial power on the utility lines?
have a consistent problem with Spectrum internet loss when there a loss of electrical power on the grid. I have a UPS feeding the modem and the router as well as the signal box for the cable input and distribution. The house has an emergency generator & transfer switch for the electrical distribution panel as well.
Whenever power on the utility line that feeds the house is lost the internet feed goes away. Because of the UPS & generator the modem and router never loose power, but the phone and internet go away. The modem keeps attempting to acquire the internet but there’s nothing there.
If I create the same senecio during normal conditions by opening the main breaker on my home electrical distribution panel, the internet & phone remain operational during the entire time the UPS / generator are supplying power. This test never looses the internet connection.
Best Answers
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Thank you for that input! Yes in moments of a blip of the power going out your services may not go out as that blip may be within the home and not on a wider scale. This also goes for if just your home loses power for any other reason but the area as a whole is still on. But for wider scale power issues our services most likely will be affected.
-Tyleen
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Cable can be impacted in the same way. It is more than just the cable plant that needs power. The line cannot maintain serviceable signal levels the full run from the plant to home without repeaters refreshing that signal along the way.
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@KennyJoe all of our service comes in via a line either coax or fiber and those lines come from other sources like a node/hub/headend as stated so the services are usually impacted if those areas do not have the proper power. On top of that our service needs in home devices like a modem or cable box depending on the service you are trying to access to use the service so if your home is without power and you do not have a generator the services won't work.
In some cases as shown above generators are placed at a node to have services up in cases of some power issues but this is not always going to be the case as the node may not be where the issue is.
So the general answer is our service needs power in various places and for various things to work. There are some exceptions to the general answer though.
-Tyleen
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Answers
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I have a consistent problem with Spectrum internet loss when there a loss of electrical power on the grid. I have a UPS feeding the modem and the router as well as the signal box for the cable input and distribution. The house has an emergency generator & transfer switch for the electrical distribution panel as well.
Whenever power on the utility line that feeds the house is lost the internet feed goes away. Because of the UPS & generator the modem and router never loose power, but the phone and internet go away. The modem keeps attempting to acquire the internet but there’s nothing there.
If I create the same senecio during normal conditions by opening the main breaker on my home electrical distribution panel, the internet & phone remain operational during the entire time the UPS / generator are supplying power. This test never looses the internet connection.
Is there some dependency of the data line coming into my house to the commercial power on the utility lines?
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Is there some dependency of the data line coming into my house to the commercial power on the utility lines?
have a consistent problem with Spectrum internet loss when there a loss of electrical power on the grid. I have a UPS feeding the modem and the router as well as the signal box for the cable input and distribution. The house has an emergency generator & transfer switch for the electrical distribution panel as well.
Whenever power on the utility line that feeds the house is lost the internet feed goes away. Because of the UPS & generator the modem and router never loose power, but the phone and internet go away. The modem keeps attempting to acquire the internet but there’s nothing there.
If I create the same senecio during normal conditions by opening the main breaker on my home electrical distribution panel, the internet & phone remain operational during the entire time the UPS / generator are supplying power. This test never looses the internet connection.
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Hello! Welcome to the Spectrum Community!
I do apologize for any issues but our service does require power to work. The nodes, hubs, headends, etc do need power to work. Some of the parts have generators to help keep the service working but when the power goes out our service usually does as well.
-Tyleen
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Let me ask the question another way. If the utility power to my neighborhood goes out but I have a generator to supply power for my house, should my Spectrum internet function normally?
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The Spectrum service can still go out as the infrastructure such as the nodes, hubs, and headends need power to supply the service to your home. So your home and modem/router may have power from the generator but our infrastructure may not have power that is required to send the service so our service would be out.
-Tyleen
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I am interested in this question as well,
We have a Whole Home Generator as well, along with a free first year of monitoring. The guy who come out to check said that at least once, it activated itself during a storm. But the power outage was so small ,off for like a second at most that there was no loss of CATV, Internet, or phone. When the tech was here, he asked for our password to connect the home generator to our WIFI. Now I am assuming that (knock on wood) this means that the Internet should work if the generator kicks in when the power goes out, if and only if it activates within that couple of seconds of no power interval.
But, there is another issue, this has to mean that other things relating to the need for Spectrum's power have not gone out on their end. (Network, nodes, hubs, a line down.) There still could be something down, and if that "something" goes down, you will lose your Spectrum services, regardless of a home generator's involvement. I suspect that there is more than just power needed to keep these services running. This type of networking is more complex than just keeping your lights on, and your heat or central air working, or basement utilities running.
Satch
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Thanks for the answer and explanation. Do you know if cable TV signals are still available from Spectrum during extended power outages described in the prior message?
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During Hurricane Isais we had a protracted power outage. Spectrum brought a portable generator to the local node and we used our generator for internet, CATV, and Home Phone.
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This is the exact info I was looking for. I had a transfer interlock installed on my service panel and am now shopping for a portable backup generator. I was going to pay a premium for an inverter generator solely to power modem, router, computers, TV's with clean power. But, if Spectrum is down when the grid is down, then it doesn't make sense to pay for an inverter generator. On the other hand, Verizon Fios lines are passive and don't need power along their networks. All they need is power at the source and backup power at the customer's ONT, Modem, and Router. Verizon Fios is more likely to be up during a localized outage than Spectrum. Different technology.
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Actually, fiber runs can still face the same issues.
Fiber transit may not degrade at the same rate as a copper line…but it does periodically have to go through repeaters/hubs just like the coaxial runs. Copper typically hits a wall around 100 meters… fiber about 100 kilometers (unless some very specific measures are in place). Depending on the run, they both can need refreshing periodically. If those repeating devices loose power, signal stops flowing.
It really depends on the infrastructure in place… distance and complexity matters as well for fiber, just perhaps to a lesser degree.
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If you use a good UPS for your hardware, you may not need an Inverter Generator. A decent UPS will filter the generator power.
We have a UPS for our Internet & Network hardware and another for our 55-inch TV and STB. Our generator is a basic Harbor Freight 3200/4000 watt generator and we've used it a couple of times for several days during protracted power outages without issues. Besides, the UPSs protect our equipment from brief commercial power "hiccups".
The UPS(s) are older APC models bought second-hand at thrift shops. I replaced the batteries after purchase and do so periodically. Our APCs have built-in diagnostics via a USB cable to a laptop.
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