Protecting Your Equipment During Thunderstorms

Thunderstorms can cause sudden electrical surges through power lines and telephone cables. These surges can damage delicate electronic equipment, including routers, modems, phones, and computers. Protecting your devices now can save you the cost and inconvenience of repairs or replacements later.

Before a Storm: Safety First

When a storm is approaching, follow these precautions to protect your home setup:

• Unplug Non-Essentials: Disconnect any non-essential equipment from both mains power and telephone wall sockets while the storm is still at a distance.

• Safety Warning: Never attempt to unplug equipment if the storm is directly overhead. Touching equipment during a lightning strike poses a significant risk of electric shock or serious injury.

What to Do If Your Power Goes Out

If a power outage interrupts your home broadband, you can use your smartphone’s Mobile Hotspot (tethering) to keep your other devices connected.

How to Enable a Mobile Hotspot

• Apple iOS: Go to Settings > Personal Hotspot (or Settings > Cellular > Personal Hotspot) and toggle on Allow Others to Join.

• Android: Go to Settings and search for "Hotspot" or "Tethering." Tap to switch it on.

• Connect: Once the hotspot is active, open the Wi-Fi settings on your laptop or tablet, select your phone’s hotspot name, and enter the password shown in your phone’s hotspot settings.

• Ensure your Mobile Data is enabled for these steps to work.

After the Storm: Troubleshooting

If you suspect damage after a storm, follow these steps to isolate the issue:

1. Clear the line: Unplug all equipment (routers, filters, phones, etc.) from all telephone sockets in your home.

2. Test the main line: Plug a basic, corded telephone directly into the main master socket.

   • If you have a dial tone: The incoming line is likely working. The damage is likely isolated to one of your devices. Plug your equipment back in one by one to identify which device is faulty.

   • If you have no dial tone: There may be damage to the external network or your internal wiring. Contact our support team so we can test the line and log a repair ticket if necessary.

Important Information

• Insurance: Damage caused by lightning strikes is typically not covered by standard equipment warranties or maintenance contracts. We recommend checking if your home contents insurance policy covers weather-related damage.

• Responsibility: While Sure will repair any damage to the external telephone line network, we are not responsible for the replacement or repair of customer-owned equipment (routers, handsets, filters, or mesh systems) damaged by lightning.