Internet Service Box

Have you ever heard a beep from the internet box where your connection comes into the house, probably located in the basement or garage. It usually shows a red light and says 'replace battery' or 'battery low'. Turns out the battery is just for the in-house phone line and provides a few hours backup to make landline calls in case of power failure.

The battery also provides a few minutes of backup for internet service. That is not enough to even finish watching an ad. If you call, your service provider will tell you to replace the battery (at your expense, and preferably from them). There is a button for 'silence alarm'. Press and hold it for a few seconds and the alarm will temporarily stop. If you do not have a landline phone, you can disconnect the battery.

A recent study confirmed about only 6.5 percent of US homes have just a landline. About 30+ percent have a landline and mobile phone service. Mobile phones are not affected by home power failure.


If you want to replace the cable box battery, they can be purchased at Walmart, Amazon, Lowes, etc. and cost between 18 and 50 dollars. For the vast majority, the fix is to unhook the battery and eliminate the beep. It is cheaper, simple to do, and you can find instructions online. You are welcome.