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A Mysterious Power Failure In My Office


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2020 Jul 7, 12:59am   868 views  15 comments

by ohomen171   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

#xfinitybusinessinternetThere is an old saying from ancient Greece as follows:
"It takes a great mind to comprehend the obvious."
I installed a new internet system in my home office a few weeks ago, It has "all the bells and whistles including a back up modem that switches me to cell phone towers if the Xfinity internet goes down. It is super fast which makes me more efficient and productive when I work. It has an advanced battery that would keep me online for 12 hours if we had a catastrophic power failure.
Early yesterday morning there was a big pop. It went dead. I did all normal recovery procedures and nothing worked. I assumed that Xfinity was doing maintenance to the entire system. Late in the morning it was still dead. I talked to 5 different Xfinity customer service reps after playing "the 800 number shuffle." On try #6, I insisted that they send out a tech. My whole afternoon was lost waiting for the tech to arrive. He arrived late in the afternoon. He turned on the high-powered battery. Power came back on. He left. The battery kept going off. Fortunately the tech was still downstairs doing post-service paperwork. I brought him back up. He did a further investigation. He discovered that a light switch had to be turned on to provide power to the battery, The tech who did the installation never saw this. I had been running on battery power for weeks.

Comments 1 - 15 of 15        Search these comments

1   PeopleUnited   2020 Jul 7, 4:49am  

Sounds like operator error.
2   Booger   2020 Jul 7, 5:05am  

That's one good battery!
3   WookieMan   2020 Jul 7, 5:36am  

PeopleUnited says
Sounds like operator error.

Yup, this. It's your house bro, you should know if an outlet is on a switch or not. Would have never had to deal with a tech coming out.

Not sure if the visit cost you any money, but know you're own home. Know how to repair things and what things do. It can save your thousands to ten's of thousands over your lifetime.
6   Automan Empire   2020 Jul 7, 7:51am  

Google reviews:

"I can't believe they charged me $XXX.xx to flip a switch!"
7   NDrLoR   2020 Jul 7, 9:03am  

ohomen171 says
"all the bells and whistles including a back up modem that switches me to cell phone towers if the Xfinity internet goes down
Hi-tech flummoxed by low tech all the time!
8   clambo   2020 Jul 7, 3:46pm  

My father's condo had some switches which affected power outlets.

I went around taping them in the "on" position with blue masking tape.

Those things drive me nuts.
9   Automan Empire   2020 Jul 7, 4:01pm  

clambo says
My father's condo had some switches which affected power outlets.


I've seen this in condos and tract houses. Betting it's because it saves 3-4 figures per unit not to install ceiling lights. In a condo it puts 100% of the lighting equipment in the hands of the tenant. Also it eliminates the costs and risks of replacing bulbs in high vault ceiling fixtures. Definitely a feature to everyone involved EXCEPT THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY LIVE IN THE UNIT.
10   WookieMan   2020 Jul 7, 7:39pm  

Automan Empire says
Betting it's because it saves 3-4 figures per unit not to install ceiling lights.

This is correct. I don't mind it in a lower ceiling house or condo. I like floor lamps and end table lamps. Gives you more flexibility to not have to change out a fixture if you want to change things around. Hard wiring a fixture is a minor task, but it's more effort than plugging in a lamp. Also, having dealt with real estate in the past, people get so fucking opinionated about fixtures. Lighting or otherwise. Women don't know how to install them and literally won't buy a house because of ugly lighting fixtures. So it's a money saver and a bitch pleaser for owners/builders.
11   astronut97   2020 Jul 8, 5:03am  

Actually, having a power outlet tied to a wall switch is part of the building code in many places. The reasoning is that this allows one to switch on a light before one enters a room and so is a safety feature. Doesn't matter if one has a ceiling light they still have to have switched outlets, typically the one(s) furthest from the door (at least in my house).
12   Shaman   2020 Jul 8, 6:55am  

This is just like the standard tech support response to grandpa’s computer problem: “is the power on?”

Some people are tech hopeless.
13   Eric Holder   2020 Jul 8, 10:10am  

I'm surprised nobody mentioned that outlets controlled by switches are easily distinguished from the regular ones because they are mounted upside-down, i.e. with ground hole facing up. So when you plug something into it you know it's not a regular outlet.
14   Automan Empire   2020 Jul 8, 11:00am  

Eric Holder says
because they are mounted upside-down


I've literally never seen this. If you think the fuss Karens make over light fixtures they dislike is off-putting, imagine her holding up a 6 figure real estate transaction by whining, "SOMEBODY doesn't know how to install OUTLETS! Entire house is therefore junk and unacceptable!"
15   Eric Holder   2020 Jul 8, 11:05am  

Automan Empire says
I've literally never seen this.


I literally never seen it not done like this. At least in California. I believe it's in the code.

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