Battery Backup beeping and in the Red

[Phoonster]

I have Verizon Fios Internet, TV, and phone service since 2006 and recently renewed my 2 year contract with them this April 2010. For the last week and a half, I've been hearing intermittent beeping noises. I finally figured out what was making the beeps. There's a red light indicator for the battery backup unit. Apparently it needed to be replaced. I called up Verizon Fios support and the lady politely explained to me that the battery backup unit is only covered for a year and that I would need to shell out around $50 to replace the battery myself. If it was a new install, they would have covered the replacement. My complaint is, it's only been 3 months since I renewed a 2 year contract with Verizon Fios. Why isn't the backup battery replacement offered to me for free? I'm annoyed and aggravated by Verizon for 1. putting me on hold for 45 minutes to speak to a live person and 2. for telling me that had I cancelled my service, had them come and remove all the equipment, then call them back shortly after to resubscribe to Verizon Fios, the battery backup would be covered under the one year warranty. Needless to say, when my 2 year contract is over, I will immediately cancel my account with Verizon Fios.

[somegirl]

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@Phoonster wrote:

I have Verizon Fios Internet, TV, and phone service since 2006 and recently renewed my 2 year contract with them this April 2010. For the last week and a half, I've been hearing intermittent beeping noises. I finally figured out what was making the beeps. There's a red light indicator for the battery backup unit. Apparently it needed to be replaced. I called up Verizon Fios support and the lady politely explained to me that the battery backup unit is only covered for a year and that I would need to shell out around $50 to replace the battery myself. If it was a new install, they would have covered the replacement. My complaint is, it's only been 3 months since I renewed a 2 year contract with Verizon Fios. Why isn't the backup battery replacement offered to me for free? I'm annoyed and aggravated by Verizon for 1. putting me on hold for 45 minutes to speak to a live person and 2. for telling me that had I cancelled my service, had them come and remove all the equipment, then call them back shortly after to resubscribe to Verizon Fios, the battery backup would be covered under the one year warranty. Needless to say, when my 2 year contract is over, I will immediately cancel my account with Verizon Fios.

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The flaw in your logic is that Verizon doesn't remove the equipment when you cancel.

If I were you, I'd do a little troubleshooting. Make sure that the battery actually needs to be replaced and it isn't just an issue with power to the BBU.

[lasagna]

Plain and simple ... batteries wear out.   The battery itself comes with a one year warranty (not from Verizon), which if it fails during this time, will be replaced under that warranty (perhaps Verizon helps here by doing it for you).  It has nothing to do with the "service date", but the original "install date" of the equipment.

The battery in the BBU is disclosed as a "customer servicable part" when you install FiOS -- meaning it has nothing to do with a contract or installation of service.  The same thing applies if you get service from a different supplier (like the cable company) and get phone service thru them -- they give you a modem which has a little battery backup builtin -- when the battery wears out, you replace it (or accept the fact that phone service will go down if the power goes out).

So, when it fails, you replace it.

Now, with that said what can you do ....

1. Accept that batteries fail and pay Verizon to get a new one.   You are simply buying a user replaceable part from them.

2. Take the battery to a local "Batttery Warehouse" or other battery wholesaler and purchase a replacement from them.  It's likely to be cheaper and just as good.   No one says you have to buy it from Verizon -- if you have to pay for it, it's your call.   In fact, I've seen replacement batteries listed on various auction sites, etc. for as low as about $15 (buyer beware, YMMV).

3. Disconnect the battery and accept that anytime there's a power blip or outage that you will not have any service (Internet, TV, or Phone) until power returns and the ONT reboots.  Optionally, use your own UPS (which you can get from various office and computer stores) to power the ONT thru the BBU and not rely on the battery in the BBU.

[Witty-in-Tampa]

FYI,  I have found out that just because your Battery Backup Unit has the "Replace Battery" light on, and you get an audible alarm to draw your attention to this fact, it may not necessarily mean the battery has to be replaced.  I have on several occasions had this condition with my FIOS service BBU, and as noted in the article link below, the resolution may be as simple as unplugging the BBU from the electrical outlet, then opening the battery compartment door to allow access to the battery, then unplug your battery terminal from the BBU so that it is not providing backup power.  Leave the battery disconnected for approx 5-10 minutes, then reconnect it to the BBU and put it back in the slot in the BBU box, then plug the electrical power back in to charge the system.  I have found this will eliminate the red light and audible warning signal, and your battery may continue to function fine for many more months/years. As noted in the article, you can also take the battery to have it tested to determine if it is still good, or needs to be replaced.  I suspect there are a lot of good batteries being replaced that don't have to be.  See if this situation applies to you!

http://www.tpcug.org/newsletter/nl_2010/april2010/verizon.htm

[Hubrisnxs]

Cheapest place I have found it, was online at amazon.com for $11.50   

Keep in mind these have two types of connects, an f1 and an f2 terminal. View a comparison of F1 and F2 terminals.  you should always make sure you're buying the right battery with the right connector. 

You are looking for a 12v 7ah sealed lead acid battery

[Hubrisnxs]

that is great info witty in tampa.    

[tjnolanjr]

The procedure given by Witty-in-tampa is worth a try before shelling out the bucks for a new battery - I tried it this morning since I too had the annoying beep and the replace battery indicator glowing red.  Well it worked - follow the instructions exactly and it may work for you too provided your battery isn't really dead or the backup unit is not totally defective.  Having cleared the beep and the red indicator tells me the backup units verizon has been using or perhaps are still using have a problem or a design flaw.  A backup lead acid battery should last more than a year or two if it is not stressed by repeated or long power outages.  I wonder why Verizon dosen't tell its customers about this simple procedure to test and possible clear the problem?  Maybe they get a kick-back from the battery companies........... 

[barrymcconnell]

At least as of today, Verizon is giving people this solution.  It worked for me.

Here is an extract from a chat message when I went to get online support from their agents.  It was pretty clear this is from a canned solution and was pasted in, not typed manually as with the other responses in the chat. (because it appeared so fast!)

[...]

Roger: Yes....I want you to do a manual reboot there and that should clear this erroneous bbu light issue. 

Roger: So.. 

Roger:

To do this from your Battery Backup Unit (BBU): 

1. Please go to the smaller beige box and follow its power cable to the 3-prong power outlet. 

2. Disconnect the power cable from the outlet, you may hear a beep. 

3. Go to the larger beige box, remove the battery panel to reveal the black battery. Follow the black/red leads until you get to a plastic coupler that hooks into the BBU. 

4. Once disconnected, all lights on the larger box will be off. 

5. Let it sit for 1 minute then reconnect the battery and plug the power cable back in. 

Roger: can we try this? 

[trieste]

I tried this today (about 20 minutes ago) and so far it seems to have worked: no more beeping. We will see if it holds out. Thanks for your inputs.

[VBSam]

Mine started beeping sometime after I had the power off for a couple of hours.

Took me a while to figure where the beeping was coming from.

After reading these posts I disconnected the battery ----- reconnected and it hasn't beeped since.

I did order a replacement battery online for $24.00 shipped since the battery is about 4 years old.

[eddsrealm]

Thanks Witty in Tampa!!!!  That is the kind of info Verizon Help Desk/manual should offer. I think if enough of us would raise a stink about this issue, it would give them something to think about!

[jacob2222]

Hi,

To my surprise the solution provided by Mr. John {Edited for privacy} worked very well.

I unplugged the FIOS unit, opened the battery compartment on the top of
the FIOS unit, disconnected the batter and took the battery out. I kept
it completely disconnected for about 3 - 4 minutes, and after that put
everything in place. First, I inserted back and connected the battery,
closed the battery compartment and plugged the FIOS unit back.

After initial hesitation everything started to work and the battery
replacement light is not longer light up.

My greatest thanks to Mr. John {Edited for privacy} and all people who discussed
this issue for their help.

Best regards,

Jacob {Edited for privacy}

[CAHomeboy]

Unplugging the BBU and the battery then plugging them both back in after 5 min worked for me!  Thanks for the post.

[lywamh1141]

My unit was beeping for the last 4 months -- since I moved in. Unit was in the garage so i ignored it. I followed the advice for removing, disconnecting, etc. When I reconnected the battery, the unit immediately started up without plugging it in and all my televisions and internet worked off of the battery. So like others have said, there was  othing wrong with the battery. There is some kind of problem with the unit itself. No more beeping!

[CBR11]

This worked for me in January 2013. Thank you very much. Saved a lot of hassle.

[Ruby44]

Removed the 12 volt battery to test and found it to be virtually new, ie. over 13 volts. (new 1.5 volt flashlight batteries test about 1.59 volts). So I waited more than the 5 or10 minutes and re-installed it. The red light went out and the beep stopped. Thanks for the tip. Saved me further aggravation. Hopefully the fix will last.

[Blizzardof67]

Thanks...big headache saver

[stevedrummer]

A good fix is to disable the alarm.

Take off the box covers and disconnect the wire labeled alarm and battery status indicator.

Use a small screwdriver and lift up the tab for the end 2 connectors.  You may have to unplug the connector (meaning no tv or phone while doing this) but it is a permanent fix without having to replace battery.  This does not affect anything else in the system.  A few hour battery backup when phones etc. need power is useless in a power outage.  Espedially with cell phones, etc.  The battery backup if for Verizon liability I suspect and does very little for our convenience, especiall since most phones require power for use.

[Timeshifter]

Instead of dissconnecting wires, I took a glue gun and filled the hole in the round speaker housing with hotmelt glue.

Now it is an ineffectual tiny beep you'd have to stand next to to hear.

[Smack-A-Fool]

Thanks for the advice! Tested my battery before buying another ($40, Radio Shack) and it turns out mine had nearly a full charge. Would probably have blindly swapped it out it if not for your post.

[Mamasita5]

Thank you. This still helps.