Unplugging fiber from ONT
michael812
Enthusiast - Level 2

I want to put my ONT inside a cabinet, but to do that I need to disconnect the fiber temporarily.  Is this possible?  It seems very difficutl to unplug (possibly designed that way to dissuade people from doing this?).  Many thanks

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Re: Unplugging fiber from ONT
VUser50
Contributor - Level 2

Technically possible maybe but highly discouraged with a lot of room for error. Call Verizon and see if they can send a tech out and if there would be any cost. I suggest you frame it as a renovation or construction change and not just wanting to hide the box.

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Re: Unplugging fiber from ONT
gs0b
Community Leader
Community Leader

The fiber connectors are quite sturdy to insure accurate alignment and to eliminate loose connections.  They can be removed and reconnected, however you want to make sure both ends are kept clean while disconnected.

During install, Verizon uses dust caps to keep the fiber ends clean until the connection is made.  If the dust caps are still present, you can re-use them.  Just make sure they are clean.

Note that different models of ONT may be easier or harder to move.  If you post the model number, we might be able to give you more details.

If you're at all concerned about doing this yourself, contact Verizon.  I suspect the will be happy to do this, although they will most likely charge for a technician visit (probably around $100).

Good Luck.

Re: Unplugging fiber from ONT
michael812
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for your help.  The ONT model is I-211M-K.  I could not figure out how to remove the fiber at all.  

I don't think I have the dust caps.  Should I try to make a substitute?  

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Re: Unplugging fiber from ONT
ZombieRegime
Newbie

The other points about connector face cleanliness and such are quite valid, however you also need to be careful with the fiber itself. If you cause a crack or micro-fissure inside the glass fiber it could reflect light back to the source laser. This is not good for the lasing hardware. On top of that, if you are going to mess with a laser fed fiber youd usually have the laser turned off before disconnecting anything (an ISP technician has an app to control whether a laser is on or off either directly or by notifying the Network Operations Center (NOC) who will then take the necessary steps for ensuring the laser feeding that fiber is powered off). These arent <5mW pocket cat toy lasers. They are reasonably powerful infrared lasers. You might not see the glint that blinds you. At best youll see a dull purplish glow down the fiber as its burning a hole through your retina. IR light also does not trigger the blink/squint response, so your eye wont tell you its being damaged. In my experience with scientific equipment, machining and fabrication, high output devices both optical and RF, knowing how little energy it takes to harm the eyes even before its focused by exterior or your own eyes lenses, its my advice to NOT mess with ISP (or any for that matter, at least that arent LED based toslink style digital audio) fiber-optics unless you are well versed in work with and are comfortable handling optical fibers carrying dangerous levels of laser light.

If you're dead set on repositioning the ONT, get a mounting template (you can print these out) for the ONT and get everything ready, screws already in just waiting for the ONT, install the conduit/ways for the feed fiber from where it currently is to where it is going (pre-pulling a 'fishing line' would probably best if there is complex geometry or considerable length between the new and old locations. Its best practice to at least support the line at every stud which is ~16" if you're not using conduit. Typically ISP leave a few feet in the wall, my feed in a new built homes area has about 8 feet of extra length looped around the ONT in the telco box on the side of the house), and of course any power needed for the ONT. I also highly suggest adding an UPS to provide full power in case of a power outage, the ridiculous 16 C-cell holder they give you as a backup for JUST the POTS (telephone) circuits is a joke. All you need to do is power your ONT and router, and youll have the same internet during the outage as you do normally. Power inverters like they sell at autozone are also an option, the draw from the ONT and router shouldnt be more than a few amps. Well within the operating envelope of a 150w inverter (I use a cigarette plug B&D 150w inverter in case of outages as my ONT and router are on opposite ends of the house, even with the small voltage droop along 50 foot power cable runs its plenty solid), and if youre running it for a while, just start the car its plugged into for about 10-20min to fully recharge the battery. You can also use jumper cables to a spare battery outside the vehicle using this external spare for the inverter, to recharge just hook it up to a car (via the jumper cables) and fire the motor for a few minutes. This also works if you decide to acquire a larger inverter to power a deep freeze(~100w) and/or TVs/laptops/cell chargers while utility power is down. Just DO NOT use a cheater cable (called a widowmaker) to feed the house as that will back-feed the grid, youll be powering your all neighbors houses too, and can easily source more than enough energy to kill the poor sap working the lines trying to get your power back. SO DO NOT EVER DO THAT!!! ...Unless you know how to fully disconnect your mains supply (usually 'mains service disconnect' devices are used where things like generators are set up for backup power). But if you have power and support hardware all ready to go for the new ONT location all the tech has to do is hop on their app, turn off your laser, slide the ONT off the mounts where its at, slide it onto the new mounts, pull and plug in the fiber feed, turn your laser back on, and take a picture for proof of work to their boss. Easy peasy.

And, best part, if anything breaks while THEY are moving the ONT its 100% on them! Meaning the ISP will replace anything no questions asked. If anything breaks while you are moving it, theyll use whatever they can to infer you broke it and you need to pay for the damaged hardware (see above about reflections potentially damaging the lasing hardware, ie, not cheap).

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Re: Unplugging fiber from ONT
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

As this thread is now over two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.

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