Storm Preparation and Precautions

Thunderstorms, tornadoes, winter storms and even hurricanes are all part of weather in Alabama. While our cable plant is designed to withstand weather problems, there will be times when your service may be interrupted due to storms.  You can take some steps to protect your personal electronics, as well as the equipment that has been issued to you by Bright House Networks.  We've put together some tips and instructions for handling storm-related issues with your computers, TVs, cable modems and cable converters.

The best way to protect your computers, TVs, cable modems, stereos, DVD players and home entertainment equipment is to turn them all off and COMPLETELY unplug them before the storm arrives. When the electricity goes off, there's no way of knowing if the outage will last for a few seconds or continue until the storm ends and crews restore electricity. Electronic equipment is often damaged as a result of surges when power is restored.

In addition to unplugging power cords, make sure you also unplug any telephone or coax cable lines. Lightning strikes and surges can travel through power, phone and cable lines, and failing to disconnect any one could result in damage to your electronics.

Many consumers use power strips, Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) or surge protectors. These devices provide varying degrees of protection, but they are not fail-safe. If you are using power strips, surge protectors or a UPS, Bright House Networks recommends using those that include protection for coax cable lines. Again, the best way to avoid damage to your electronics is to completely unplug them, including any power strips, surge protectors or UPS units.

Take these steps to protect your equipment and avoid costly repairs:

• Shut down your computer's operating system before powering it down. The procedure will vary slightly depending on the operating system. Unplug it from the outlet. Unplug any computer peripherals like speakers or printers from outlets.
• For convenience, if computers, peripherals or electronics are plugged into a surge protector, UPS or power strip, once they've all been powered down, simply unplug the power strip, surge protector or UPS from the wall. But remember to power down the UPS first, and don't forget to unplug cable and telephone lines from the outlets or the devices.
• Walk through your home, checking each electronic device. If TVs, stereos, VCRs and DVD players are protected by surge protectors or power strips, unplug them from the wall.
• Unplug cable boxes and cable modems from electrical outlets and disconnect the coax cable.
• In case of a power outage, have a portable radio or TV with fresh batteries.

If you do lose power, when it's restored, plug in and power up your PCs and electronics in the following order:

1. Plug in your UPS, power strip or surge protector. (Note: If you have problems with your UPS, it may be necessary to reset it by unplugging it, disconnecting the battery from the unit, waiting for a few seconds, and then reconnecting the battery.)
2. Hook up any telephone or coax cable lines you disconnected.
3. Plug your computers, cable modems, peripherals or electronics into your power strip, surge protector or UPS.
4. Turn on your UPS, power strip or surge protector.
5. Power up your cable modems or cable boxes.
6. Turn on your computers, peripherals and home electronics.

Please note that if you do unplug all your electronics, when you plug them back in, you may need to tune your TV to channel 3 or 4 in order to receive the signal from your cable box.

Getting service after the storm

1. My neighbor across the street has cable and High Speed Internet, but I don't have service.
2. My power is restored, so why can't I see any channels or the Navigator interactive on-screen guide?
3. I can see the Navigator interactive on-screen guide, but all of the channels say "NO DATA."
4. I can see all the channels, but my Digital Remote doesn't seem to work.
5. Why can't I turn my television or Digital Converter on?
6. The power on my cable modem is on, but I can't get online.
7. What about credits for my service for the period when it was out because of weather-related outages?

1. My neighbor across the street has cable and high speed Internet, but I don't have service.

   Your neighbor's service may come from a different cable node. If that's the case, cable service to the node that serves your home may not yet be restored.

   Back to top

2. My power is restored, so why can't I see any channels or the Navigator interactive on-screen guide?

   There may be two reasons:

   • Some televisions automatically turn on to channel 2 after the power is lost. Our Digital Converters must have the television tuned to channel 3 to function. Verify that your television is set to channel 3.
   • Your television may default to an audio/video input that may not be the one used by your Digital Converter. Verify that your television's video input is set to the input used by your Digital Converter.

   
   Back to top

3. I can see the Navigator interactive on-screen guide, but all of the channels say "NO DATA."

   If your Digital Converter does not display or loses the Navigator interactive on-screen guide data, follow these steps to reboot the Digital Converter:

   1. Press and hold the power button on the face of the Digital Converter until the word BOOT appears on the display.
   2. The Digital Converter will cycle for a few seconds before the current time is restored. Sometimes the Digital Converter will automatically turn itself on once the current time displays. If not, press the power button.
   3. A "Passport Now Loading" screen will be shown until the rebooting sequence is complete.
   4. Once the Digital Converter has finished rebooting itself, you should be returned to regular programming and your problems should be resolved. If not, try rebooting the Digital Converter one more time.
      
      
   Back to top
   
   
4. I can see all the channels, but my Digital Remote doesn't seem to work.

   If the light at the top of the Digital Remote lights up when you press a button, it is not necessary to replace the Digital Remote's batteries. Otherwise, if it does not light up, it may need new batteries.

   Once you have verified that the batteries in your Digital Remote are working, it may need reprogramming. Click for instructions about programming your Digital Remote.

   Back to top

5. Why can't I turn my television or Digital Converter on?
   
   
   • Outlets controlled by a light switch - the equipment might have been plugged into the unswitched wall outlet prior to the storms, but in the switched outlet after the storms.
   • Switched outlet on the Digital Converter - if the default setting is for the television to be turned on and off with the Digital Converter, this may have been reset when the Digital Converter lost power. Refer to your Digital Converter's manual or call 205-591-6880 for information on how to configure it.
   • Tripped outlet - if the outlet contains trip/reset buttons, power outages may have tripped it and pressing these buttons in may resolve the issue.
   • Surge protector trips/fuses - some surge protectors can be tripped or reset, and some have fuses. Press the reset button or check the fuse, if one exists.

   Back to top

6. The power on my cable modem is on, but I can't get online.

   There are other factors contributing to online access. You may need to "reboot" your modem. Follow these steps:

   1. Unplug the power cord from the back of the modem.
   2. If you have a router, unplug the power cord from the back of the router.
   3. Wait approximately 20 seconds.
   4. Plug the power cord back into the modem. Depending on your modem, lights will flash on or off at different intervals. Wait approximately one minute for the modem to reset itself.
   5. If you have a router, plug the power cord back into the router, after waiting at least one minute from the previous step.
   6. You should now have Internet access.

   Here is a listing of modem lights and what they mean:

   Function	Color	Definition
   Power	GREEN	Off power off * Reset the modems connection to the power outlet. Solid power on
   Cable	GREEN	Off no downstream RF carrier present or power off Flashing slowly downstream RF carrier present and ranging in progress Flashing fast registration in progress * Contact us at: 205-591-6880 . Solid the cable modem registered and ready to transfer data
   PC	GREEN	Off no Ethernet carrier present or power off * Reset connection of Ethernet or USB cable from Cable modem to the computer or contact our technical service support at 205-591-6880. Solid Ethernet carrier present
   Data	GREEN	Off no user data going through the cable modem or power off * Reset the modem's connection to the power outlet, or contact us at: 205-591-6880 . Flashing slowly downstream RF carrier present and ranging in progress Flashing user data going through the cable modem
   Test	AMBER	Off initial self-test of the cable modem OK or power off Flashing self-test of the cable modem in progress or software downloading of the cable modem in progress Solid self-test of the cable modem

   Back to top

7. What about credits for my service for the period when it was out because of the storm?

   Credits will be applied to customer statements that have been affected by the outages caused by the storm. Affected customers will see the credits on a future monthly statement.

   Back to top