March 4, 2010
Whenever there's a storm, the DCSI support team receives quite a few calls from customers whose modems have been destroyed by a power surge. Unfortunately,
damage from surges is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty on modems, and so affected customers have had to purchase a new modem out of their own pocket!
Many cheap products that claim to protect you from surges will actually do very little to save your equipment in the event of a lightning strike. While a 'normal'
electrical surge would be around 30,000 volts, lightning that strikes nearby could induce a massive spike of over 50,000,000 volts, which can come into
your house through your power or phone lines. This is more than enough to destroy unprotected modems/routers, computers, and other electronic devices.
Aside from simply unplugging your modem/router from the power and phone lines during a storm, your best form of protection is to spend that little bit extra on
a high-quality surge protector from a reputable brand. Another option is a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) which, in addition to providing surge protection
on your power and phone lines, also has inbuilt batteries that can keep your equipment running for a limited time in the event of a power outage.
* Note that some phone line surge protectors may impede ADSL performance. Ask your retailer which is the best protector to use with an ADSL modem.
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