Another what is this

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Any idea what this could be?

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I know mine in the last two homes I've owned it wasn't an alarm. The only alarm it ever made was when the battery went bad and it beeped. I disconnected the battery in this house because I no longer have AT&T cable or U-verse when the battery went bad.

In my previous house I had to replace the battery because I was still using AT&T. I called AT&T for a replacement but they said I had to pay for the battery myself. Got one from Amazon and replaced the bad one. I don't recall exactly what the unit is for.
 
Originally Posted by ls973800
I know mine in the last two homes I've owned it wasn't an alarm. The only alarm it ever made was when the battery went bad and it beeped. I disconnected the battery in this house because I no longer have AT&T cable or U-verse when the battery went bad.

In my previous house I had to replace the battery because I was still using AT&T. I called AT&T for a replacement but they said I had to pay for the battery myself. Got one from Amazon and replaced the bad one. I don't recall exactly what the unit is for.

Exactly how i discovered this thing 1yr after i moved in - beeping for dead battery. So, is that something for ATT service? I mean, it is, there's an ATT sign on it. But what exactly is this thing?
 
It is the emergency battery backup unit to allow your VOIP landline phone to work for up to 8 hours on the router/modem in case you have a power outage. Without this reserve battery, the landline would go dead every time electrical utility power was lost due to a storm/downed power lines. It does not have enough capacity to power up the modem to provide full internet connectivity, just voice over internet protocol service for the landline. I have a nearly identical unit for my Verizon FiOS internet service.
 
The white box labeled AT&T is a battery backup unit for the communications device coming into your premise. Most likely you have some sort of fiber (like Verizon FIOS) and the battery backup keeps the unit running for a while during power loss. That way your phones still work. In the old days with copper lines, they had an outside power source so your phone still worked. Many places have laws / regulations that cover 911 services, to make sure phones still work in the event of power loss.

Depending on the quality of the battery, you may have to replace it every 3-5 years. You can disconnect the old battery to get the size numbers, and lots of places sell replacements. AT&T will sell you a battery but you have to pay for it (same as Verizon and the other carriers). I generally get mine off of eBay for about $25. I have a big UPS for my computer that uses 4 of the same size batteries, so I sometimes rotate them around.

The black box on the bottom ? No idea.
 
Thanks for the information about what it is! No land lines in this house connected so I just removed the dead battery. Last house did have land line connected so I replaced the battery in it when it went bad.
 
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