segask's profile

New Contributor

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2 Messages

Saturday, January 19th, 2019

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Does Cox Internet stay up as long as Cox Phone during a power outage?

I've been thinking of switching from Cox phone to another voip service like OOMA or Obi with Google Voice.  But in order for OOMA or Obi to work during a power outage the Cox internet signal has to be there.  Even if my cable modem and router and OOMA or Obi box is plugged into a UPS backup power supply, the Cox internet signal has to still be active.  From what I've read, there are regulations that require phone companies to have backup power for their phone system if there is a power outage.  

Does the Cox phone modem lock on to a different signal from the regular internet signal?  And does that phone only signal have a Cox backup power system while the regular Cox internet signal does not?  Or, does the Cox backup power system keep the regular internet up as long as phone?  If I switch to an internet phone service like OOMA or Obi with google voice would my phones work as long as they would as if I were still on Cox phone? 

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Honored Contributor III

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5.7K Messages

7 years ago

Yes, Cox telephone uses a different signal than Internet as well as TV.  All three services use the same cable albeit on different frequencies.

Yes, Cox telephone modems (eMTA) have internal and replaceable battery back-up capabilities.  As far as I know, Internet modems do not have this capability.

As long as you have a serviceable battery inside your Cox eMTA, you'll have telephone service until the battery depletes.  If you have an all-in-one device (eMTA & modem), the battery will only power the eMTA...not the modem.  Therefore, if your only power source during an outage is the battery inside your eMTA, you will not have Internet service.

To use telephone service during a power outage, you'll need to connect a corded telephone...that does not require power...directly to the telephone jack on the eMTA.

If you have another phone service and your telephone and modem are connected to an UPS, you should have service.

The new Cox telephone service with an aMTA is called Cox Voice.  Cox Voice is an Internet service...VOIP...a packet-switched voice connection.  It's the same technology as OOMA, Obi and Google.

www.cox.com/.../phone-modem-battery-policy.html

New Contributor

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2 Messages

So lets say you have two next door neighbors who both have Cox internet.  One neighbor also has Cox Voice with a backup battery installed in their phone modem and a corded phone.  The other neighbor has OOMA with their cable modem, router, and OOMA unit plugged into a UPS backup power supply, and a corded phone. The neighbor with OOMA would have their phones working for the same length of time as the neighbor with Cox Voice?

Honored Contributor III

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5.7K Messages

Connect OOMA to the modem and you may get 4-8 hours on the UPS.

Former Moderator

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1.5K Messages

Hi Segask, when the power goes out and the telephone back-up battery kicks in, the power supply typically lasts about eight hours on standby and up to four hours of talk time. Here's a link providing additional information about the battery.

www.cox.com/.../telephone-modem-battery.html

-Kevin M. Cox Support Forum Moderator

Contributor II

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421 Messages

7 years ago

Just so that you are aware, if the power goes out during a call it will be disconnected as the interruption forces the phone modem to reboot.

Honored Contributor III

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5.7K Messages

I don't think a lot of people directly connect one telephone to the modem.  If power goes out, the wireless base-unit would stop broadcasting anyway.

Contributor II

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421 Messages

Plug it into a UPS unit and that problem should be addressed.

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