Will a power strip/surge protector with battery backup help?

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,233
Out xfinity xb7 gateway 1607624138466.png is extremely sensitive to even the briefest power fluctuations. Even if nothing else in the house is affected -- like the clocks on the stove and microwave -- the gateway will reboot, which takes 10 minutes or so, and then another 10 for the ORBI and its satellite to re-establish itself. And unlike our previous gateway (the black one), this one does not even have a backup battery compartment.
So, first the question above: will a surge protector with a battery backup keep this from happening if (duh) the gateway is plugged into it (i.e., does it "switch over" quickly enough)?
If yes, can someone recommend a good one? There seem to be several within the $50-$150 range.
 

cgori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2004
3,999
SF, CA
If it's really power fluctuations/drops (and not some internal device flakiness) then yes a UPS will help. A decent one basically drives the outputs (via an inverter) directly from the battery and then charges the battery in the background, so the "switchover" is transparent when the supply power cuts out.

The more expensive ones either have "true sine wave" output (almost certainly not necessary for this use) or better monitoring features (again not a big deal here).

So any of the BackUPS or CyberPower lines in that $50-150 range should be fine for this. I would spend the lowest you can and see if it fixes the problem.

BTW: as far as I understand it that previous battery backup was to support landline usage for 911 in the event of power outage (if Comcast provides triple play with phone service they have some obligations to provide emergency services, I think). Does the new gateway not provide landline service?
 
Last edited:

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,233
If it's really power fluctuations/drops (and not some internal device flakiness) then yes a UPS will help. A decent one basically drives the outputs (via an inverter) directly from the battery and then charges the battery in the background, so the "switchover" is transparent when the supply power cuts out.

The more expensive ones either have "true sine wave" output (almost certainly not necessary for this use) or better monitoring features (again not a big deal here).

So any of the BackUPS or CyberPower lines in that $50-150 range should be fine for this. I would spend the lowest you can and see if it fixes the problem.

BTW: as far as I understand it that previous battery backup was to support landline usage for 911 in the event of power outage (if Comcast provides triple play with phone service they have some obligations to provide emergency services, I think). Does the new gateway not provide landline service?
Thanks. I'm 99% sure its not internal to the device, as it noticeably coincides with, say, a brief light flicker during a storm.

The new gateway does do landline. I hadn't made the 911 connection. We have a landline because home cell service is pretty bad in our entire neighborhood and Verizon wont let customers "force" wifi calling. (A topic for another thread).
 

cgori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2004
3,999
SF, CA
Thanks. I'm 99% sure its not internal to the device, as it noticeably coincides with, say, a brief light flicker during a storm.

The new gateway does do landline. I hadn't made the 911 connection. We have a landline because home cell service is pretty bad in our entire neighborhood and Verizon wont let customers "force" wifi calling. (A topic for another thread).
Interesting. It suggests they slightly over-reduced the number/amount of capacitors when they developed the newer version of the gateway. Probably just a bit too much cost-cutting.

That 911 thing was my understanding, like I said. If you get landline that way and there's no battery backup, maybe I'm wrong (or maybe the regulatory requirements changed).
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,233
Interesting. It suggests they slightly over-reduced the number/amount of capacitors when they developed the newer version of the gateway. Probably just a bit too much cost-cutting.

That 911 thing was my understanding, like I said. If you get landline that way and there's no battery backup, maybe I'm wrong (or maybe the regulatory requirements changed).
They dont spend all that money on lobbying for nothing. :(
 

Harry Hooper

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2002
34,367
I threw a link to a Cyberpower UPS unit in the Tech Bargains thread about a week ago.
 

VORP Speed

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,633
Ground Zero
Ever since the pandemic started and I’m working from home 100%, I notice that our internet goes down for 5-7 minutes at least a few times per week. Always seemingly during an important Zoom. It’s been driving me crazy. It’s always about the same amount of time, and roughly the time it would take to reboot the system. It never occurred to me until reading this thread that it might be due to power fluctuations. I just thought it was because Frontier sucks. Is this a common problem? I might buy one of these battery backup things (which I had never heard of until reading this thread) just to see if it fixes it.
 

Marceline

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2002
6,441
Canton, MA
the cyberpower battery backup power supplies are great. I have my internet/wifi hooked up to one and my home office stuff hooked up to another one. In a power outage it runs all day and I can work uninterrupted.
 

LoweTek

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 30, 2005
2,183
Central Florida
the cyberpower battery backup power supplies are great. I have my internet/wifi hooked up to one and my home office stuff hooked up to another one. In a power outage it runs all day and I can work uninterrupted.
+1 Cyberpower. It's all I buy now. If you can get the pure sine wave models (more expensive) I recommend highly.
 

Marceline

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2002
6,441
Canton, MA
+1 Cyberpower. It's all I buy now. If you can get the pure sine wave models (more expensive) I recommend highly.
Yep, the 1500vac sine wave ones go on sale for $150 every so often. I picked up 2 last time after seeing how well the standard ones worked.

So now I have 2 1500vac sine waves for my internet/wifi/home office and I use the smaller one upstairs for the kids to use chargers and such when the power goes out. If you don't have a generator it's the best solution (or just for power fluctuations as noted above).
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,233
Got a cyberpower unit.
Is there a downside to using the highest sensitivity? Other than the battery kicking in more often.
 
Last edited:

cgori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2004
3,999
SF, CA
Got a cyberpower unit.
Is there a downside to using the highest sensitivity? Other than the battery kicking in more often.
Theoretically that wears the battery out faster, I believe. But probably not a huge deal for your use case, and the higher sensitivity is likely the bigger win for you / your router situation.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
7,877
Boston, MA
I inherited about 10 CyberPower UPS units at my current job. They were the desktop models that were connected to servers and network switches, so they were not being used for their intended purpose, but every one of them failed. Not just a battery that needed to be replaced, but the screen started flashing strangely and no power was supplied to the connected devices at all. The power to the building was good and these allegedly uninterruptable power supplies were taking down my equipment. I replaced all of them with APC and TrippLite models.

Maybe they're better than they were 5-7 years ago when those were purchased or they survive better when hooked up to less demanding equipment, but I'd never buy one.
 

Harry Hooper

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2002
34,367
That's funny because I was an APC loyalist until they moved manufacturing overseas and the newer ones all crapped out on me in under 7-8 months of use. Currently using about 70% Tripp-Lite and 30% Cyberpower
 

LoweTek

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 30, 2005
2,183
Central Florida
That's funny because I was an APC loyalist until they moved manufacturing overseas and the newer ones all crapped out on me in under 7-8 months of use. Currently using about 70% Tripp-Lite and 30% Cyberpower
+1. Moved to mostly Cyberpower and some TippLite. Newer APC units were failing like clock work at 3-5 years. I had 4-5 APC and now have none.
 

Harry Hooper

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2002
34,367
Hell has frozen over. I saw these APC units on sale for $89.99 in Staples today, but YMMV. It rang up at the register at $139.99, but there was clear labelling on the shelf that is was on sale for $89.99. Since Amex has a $25 off a $100 purchase at Staples, I pulled the trigger. Three-year warranty on these.
 

cgori

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 2, 2004
3,999
SF, CA
Hell has frozen over. I saw these APC units on sale for $89.99 in Staples today, but YMMV. It rang up at the register at $139.99, but there was clear labelling on the shelf that is was on sale for $89.99. Since Amex has a $25 off a $100 purchase at Staples, I pulled the trigger. Three-year warranty on these.
I had one of those exact ones. It lasted 7-8 years, very solid.