AT&T U-verse Battery Backup
Residential Gateway with Battery Backup
AT&T U-verse Voice, like other Voice over Internet Protocol ("Voice over IP" or VoIP) services, requires electrical power at your home to operate.
Your AT&T U-verse Voice service will include an initial Residential Gateway Battery Backup unit ("BBU") with an initial backup battery, to help maintain your AT&T U-verse Voice service in the event of a short disruption to your commercial power. The BBU provides approximately 4 hours of battery backup time with a new, fully charged battery. Note: If you have an Optical Network Terminal ("ONT"), an equipment box generally attached to the outside of your home, which terminates AT&T's fiber network, you must also have battery backup power at the ONT for AT&T U-verse Voice to function in the event of a power outage. Choose the Terminal Backup button on the left to find out more information.
In the event of a power outage, you should ensure that you have one corded single-line touchtone phone connected directly to the RG or your in-home wiring and the RG connected directly to the BBU (rotary/pulse phones will not work with AT&T U-verse Voice). If you connect more than one corded phone, it will use more battery power; if you connect a cordless phone, it will not function without a separate battery backup, and not all cordless phones are so equipped. Also to conserve battery power for your AT&T U-verse Voice service, you should not connect the BBU to any device other than the RG or use it with any service other than your AT&T U-verse Voice service. (However, if your alarm company installs an IP-based panel that will use AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet as the communications pathway, you must ensure you have functioning battery backup power for your Residential Gateway (and your Optical Network Terminal, if you have one) for your high speed Internet service to work with your alarm panel during a power outage). If you have a monitored home alarm, you should never plug a multi-line phone directly into the RG—it could interfere with the alarm signals. Choose the U-verse Voice and Home Alarms button on the left to find out more information.
The Figures below illustrate how the BBU should be connected to the AT&T Residential Gateway ("RG"). This is how the professional AT&T technician will configure your RG and BBU when your AT&T U-verse Voice service is installed.
The BBU connects directly to your RG. The BBU is specifically designed for the RG to act as an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) in the event of a power failure.
Please ensure the BBU is connected to the POWER connection on the back of the RG and the BBU ON/OFF switch located on the back of the BBU is in the ON position.
The BBU will alert you with an audible alarm when it is supplying power from the battery to the RG to support your AT&T U-verse Voice service. The alarm will sound for either a power failure OR if the BBU has been unplugged from the power outlet. You should ensure that the MUTE switch on the front of the BBU is not in the muted position. If the MUTE switch is in the muted position, the alarm will not sound.
Your BBU has a ground plug and must be installed at a location with grounded outlets.
It is your responsibility to ensure the battery inside the BBU is maintained so that battery backup power is available at all times. For battery replacement and recycling information, please call Belkin at 1-866-539-5791 or go to www.belkin.com/gatewaybattery.
The BBU uses a combination of visual and audible alerts to indicate the status of the BBU. See Table 1 below for alert combinations.
| Front-Panel Label | Visual Indicator | Audible Alarm | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| ON A/C | Green LED lights | None | The RG Battery Backup is operating on A/C. |
| Testing Battery | Green LED flashes | None | The RG Battery Backup is conducting a self-test. This automatic procedure is normal and will occur when the unit is first switched on. This procedure will last approximately 5 minutes. |
| ON Battery | Yellow LED lights | Tone every 5 seconds | The RG Battery Backup is operating on battery power. The alarm will stop when main power is returned. |
| Low Battery | Yellow LED flashes | Tone every 1 second | The battery energy is running low. This alarm will continue until the unit performs a forced shutdown when the battery is depleted. |
| Replace Battery | Red LED flashes | Tone every 2 seconds | This alarm warns that the battery has reached the end of its useful life. The user must replace the battery as soon as possible to ensure proper operation of the RG Battery Backup. |
| Fault | Red LED lights | Continuous tone | A fault has occurred. Disconnect equipment from the RG Battery Backup prior to checking equipment. |
For more detailed information about your BBU, please refer to the Belkin® | Residential Gateway (RG) Battery Backup User Manual.
Typical battery backup time is 4 hours with a new, fully charged, CSB or YUSA branded battery or other battery recommended or supplied by Belkin, with one corded single-line touchtone phone connected to the AT&T U-verse(SM) Residential Gateway directly or through your in-home wiring, and with no other equipment and no service other than AT&T U-verse(SM) Voice service drawing power from the RG Battery Backup. Actual results will vary, depending, among other things, on battery age, usage patterns, and environmental conditions.
It takes approximately 18 hours to charge a new, fully depleted battery at normal indoor temperatures. If a power outage occurs before the battery is fully charged, the typical 4-hour battery backup time will be reduced. Therefore, you should not rely on battery backup power for at least 18 hours after your BBU is initially installed or a replacement battery is thereafter installed. During these periods especially, and at all other times in general, you should ensure that you have an alternative means of dialing 911, such as via a cellular telephone.
