Battery Backup for Hargray Home Telephone

Battery backup maintains working telephone service in case of a power outage. Working telephone service will allow you to call 911, connect home alarms, and sustain medical alert services for up to a maximum of 24 hours without electrical power. You may opt to purchase battery backup equipment before or after the initial setup of your home telephone service. Please note that a technician must install the battery backup. If you opt to add battery backup after your initial installation, you will be required to make an appointment for installation of the battery.

No. Battery backup is optional and can be added for an additional fee. However, it is important to understand that if you do not opt to add battery backup, your telephone service will not work during an electrical power outage. You will not be able to dial 911, and home alarm and medical alert systems will not connect to monitoring centers if triggered.

In order to determine whether you need battery backup to keep your telephone service working when the power is out, you will need to know whether you receive your service via fiber, HFC, or copper facilities. If your service is provided through either fiber or HFC network facilities, battery backup is required to maintain working telephone service during a power outage.

Customers served over copper network facilities do not require a battery backup to maintain service during a power outage, although it is important to note that a handset with a hardwire (corded phone) is necessary to access telephone service during a power outage, as cordless handsets will only remain active until the handset’s battery dies.

Yes, you will need a hardwired handset (a corded phone, a.k.a. an “analog” phone). A cordless handset will only be able to access service for as long as the handset’s battery retains power. A simple corded handset can be purchased from most major retailers that sell electronics such as Best Buy, Walmart, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon. Please note that Hargray does not sell corded or cordless handsets.

Please note that customers whose telephone service is provided via copper network will not require battery backup to maintain working telephone service during a power outage. However, we do recommend that you connect at least one corded phone to your telephone service so that in the event of an outage, you do not lose access to your telephone service when your cordless phone’s battery dies.

Battery backup will maintain working telephone service for up to a maximum of 24 hours without electrical power.

You do not have to take any special action to engage the battery backup once it has been installed. In the event of an electrical power outage, the battery backup will automatically activate and continue to power your telephone service until either the outage is resolved or until the backup battery is completely depleted (up to 24 hours). Once electrical power is restored, the battery backup system will disengage.

There is a one-time installation fee of $100 for battery backup. If your existing battery needs to be replaced, there is also a one-time fee of $100 that will be billed to your account.

Your battery backup system has an indicator light to display that the system is working properly. Please refer to the manufacturer information provided to you at the time of installation for more information about your specific system.

No, battery backup will only maintain working telephone service during an electrical power outage. During a power outage, your High Speed Internet and Digital Television services will not work.

You may want to consider battery backup even if you have a reliable cell phone for a number of reasons. Many customers with small children and/or elderly relatives that live in the home opt for battery backup to provide access to emergency telephone service for household members that do not have a cell phone. Additionally, cell phones are subject to a number of factors that can affect reliability, including limited battery life, cell site outages, interference due to inclement weather, etc. Lastly, you may have services such as home alarms or health monitoring devices that utilize your home telephone service, not your cellular service, for their connection. You should consider all of these factors when determining whether battery backup is the right choice for you.

You are responsible for disposing of the battery backup device if you no longer wish to use it. Hargray does not provide battery recycling or disposal. For information about how to dispose of your used battery, refer to the manufacturer's website or call them directly. The battery manufacturer name can usually be found on the bottom or side of the battery unit.

Additionally, there are a number of resources online that provide information about how to responsibly dispose of batteries in your local area. Earth911 has a recycling locator for all types of batteries – just enter your ZIP code to find the nearest battery recycling center. Call2Recycle has a similar ZIP code tool to help you locate the nearest recycling centers and drop-off locations for rechargeable batteries, including local municipalities and national retailers such as Best Buy, The Home Depot, Staples, and Lowe’s.