Recommend cordless phone that will work during power failure?

Can anyone recommend a cordless phone system that will work during a power failure? I guess the base unit would have to have a battery as well as the handsets. I checked the Staples and OfficeMax big box office supply stores, but all their phones fail in a power outage as none have base-unit batteries.

Frankly I think it should be against the law to sell a cordless phone that wont work in a power outage, but thats beside the point.

Has anyone seen a base-battery cordless phone system readily available from the usual big box stores in the US?

Reply to
RickH
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It is called a "Cellular Telephone."

G.S.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

I'd have to agree. About the only option would be to connect the basestation up to an Uninterruptible power supply.

Reply to
Kurt Ullman

It is recommended that you always have a hard wired phone available somewhere in the house for emergencies, as you found, cordless don't work without power and they also fail frequently. A hard wired phone can be real cheap to buy but a lifesaver.

Reply to
EXT

Maybe, but it totally depends on what carrier it is on. VZW is totally anal about having large amounts of battery and generators for almost all of their stuff. The other carriers have minimal battery and a few trailer mounted generators that may have to cover a few states. Lots of folks just assume that it will work because they have never seen "behind the curtains". I don't work for any of the carriers but I have friends who do and there is an amazing difference between the carriers.

Reply to
George

For sure, and it is likely almost everyone has one (or more) in their "I am going to throw this away someday" junk box that could be left plugged in to the jack in the bedroom that is never used etc just in case.

Reply to
George

I've got an old plug in phone for use when power goes out. I suspect my computers back up batteries could also handle. Cheapest APC units could probably handle a phone for many hours. Big power outage, I start my generator.

As other poster pointed out, phone and cable companies have back-up generators also. One of my EPA friends was looking into these mobile pollution sources ;)

Reply to
Frank

Something like this might be available for other brands:

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I had both Sony and Vtech phones 10+ years ago that had a slot in the base to charge an extra battery, primarily for use in the handset, but it also served as a backup for the base station. I don't know if any current models have such a slot -- a combination of better battery life and cheap multi-handset packages (just pick up the other one when the first dies). And even if it's there, you'd have to check whether it provides backup power for the base station.

Josh

Reply to
Josh

Hi, It's not carrier dependent. It's cordless pgone itself. When power fails wall wart does not work which inturn cordless base d

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Why does it have to be cordless? You can have one $10 corded phone in the basement that rarely gets used, but will work when the power goes out.

Reply to
Bob M.

A little work with Google found this model that claims "battery backup for power failure"

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Reply to
Reed

why is this so important? Just go to the wired phone if you MUST yak in the dark.

Reply to
Steve Barker

A lot of cordless base have a plug in for a wired phone. Once I had one that you could plug a battery into but thought that was a little silly.

Jimmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

Get a UPS. A decent sized one should be able to run a phone setup for days since they are made to power computer systems.

Lou

Reply to
LouB

Of more concern to me is that there doesn't seem to be any commercially available alarm clock that works when the power is out. Battery powered alarm clocks don't seem to have a loud enough alarm to reliably get the job done, and most (all?) AC powered ones only back up the timekeeping function with AC power loss, they won't actually set off the alarm.

I do have a gas water heater, so so long as I actually wake up in the morning, I can get ready for work without AC power...

nate

Reply to
N8N

My wife "has to have" a cordless phones. I do have a wired phone in the basement. I just thought since I have to replace my old cordless phones anyway I'd get something that will work for 911 in a power outage. I dont really care about electronic features, just if it continues to work without power.

Reply to
RickH

I imagine there are a few with battery backups, but you would have to look around. Try an Internet search. It can find things for you.

Cell phone is one option. Second option is to have a real land-line telephone that plugs directly into the jack. You can keep this phone hidden and out of site when you have power. They also come in handy when your telephone service goes bad and you want to determine if it is an outside or inside problem by plugging the real land-line telephone into the network interface box.

Reply to
R. F. Duffer

You're awfully eager for some level of government to interfere in a private transaction.

Man up and get an old phone. In a pinch, the handset can be used to inflict blunt-force trauma on an intruder.

Cindy Hamilton

Reply to
Cindy Hamilton

What good is a wired phone if the cable co's modem goes dead when the power goes out?

A cell phone and a car charger is my backup.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I agree. Garage sale season is starting, there should still be a few real Ma Bell phones floating around out there. Personally, I hate cordless phones, and would never pay money for one. I have enough vintage phones in a crate downstairs to last longer than I will, so no way will I buy something that will last 5 years if I am lucky. I have a real phone in every room but the can.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

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