Should I turn off, or disconnect my DSL modem from my computer during a thunder storm?

Question

Are there any hazards I should worry about?

Answer 1

It's probably a good idea.
I have a surge protector that not only protects my power cords, but it has a phone jack as well, so I put it in between my wall and my modem. You might want to consider that as well:
http://www.belkin.com/surgeprotection/compact/

Answer 2

If there a is link from the outside to your hardware, your equipment is at the mercy of the lightning strikes. Your modem is liable to get fried if you don't disconnect the telephone line somewhere before it reaches the modem, or at the modem. Same goes for electric wires and in that regard any equipment plugged in is vulnerable.

However, surge protection can be a great ally. Obviously the best thing you can do is unplug things when a storm approaches. But, surge protectors (depending on the quality of the model) can provide great protection.

The problem is that way too many people don't also protect their phone lines using surge protection. Then, like clockwork, after every major thunderstorm there will be some dial-up customers calling their ISP and wondering why they can't get online. Since DSL is also over the phone line, don't forget to add surge protection for on the phone line before it arrives at the DSL modem.

So, the best thing you can do is use surge protection (both electrical and phone line) and unplug both power and the phone line whenever you can during a thunderstorm. The next best thing is just to use just surge protection and hope it's good enough or that the equipment plugged into it is not worth the hassle of unplugging during every thunderstorm. If you're going to be home for every thunderstorm, then you could just unplug each time one shows up and omit the surge protection, but I wouldn't recommend this.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

The MIL has a tendency to flick the power at the mains during an electrical storm so you CAN'T use desktop computers. My part of the house gets VERY popular when this happens- I use a laptop computer with a wireless modem and I have a battery operated TV. Not only that but because MY kettle is the only stove top one in the house they have to play nice with me if they want a cuppa!

Answer 4

Lightening can hit the phone wire and send a high voltage spike into the wire. This could and often does take out the DSL modem.

If it is big enough, it can, in principle also go through the modem to your equipment. It is not as common as usually the modem gets burned out only but this is not always true.

If you feel lucky, don't unplug. If you don't feel luck, unplug. As Clint Eastwood says, "Do you feel lucky?".

Answer 5

just like a regular dial up modem, it can get fried, anything hooked to your phone line is an easy target for an electric strike. it's best to have it unplugged or on a surge protector.(one with the phone line connections) It is extreeeeeenmly rare for the pc itself to get zapped without getting zapped first by the DSL (a surge through the phone line is exponentially greater than an actual zap through the power lines), so anyone that says the PC is more important doesn't know what they are talking about since the modem is hooked to the PC anyways. not to mention if a PC did get zapped, it would more than likely just blow the power supply, (20$ fix) before anything else, even so, the hole pc is not going to burst in to flames. anything getting zapped, the PC, anything in it, or anything hooked up to it, is almost always on a case by case basis, meaning your only going to have to replace one thing.

The best thing to do is to just have everything including the phone lines plugged in to a surge protector.

Answer 6

Worry about the pc more than the modem. You can easily replace a modem but a pc is harder. Just unplug the power cords to both the modem and pc to be safe.

Answer 7

Yes, though a surge protector will guard against the electrical portion of the hookup, it is no guard against zaps down the phone line path. (It took a long time for my DSL provider to respond to my query, but they finally did...) Anything hooked to a land line should be unhooked, hassle that it is. Groan!

Answer 8

There is the possibility of a power surge... so it def. wouldn't hurt to unplug it.

As long as you have the lines going through a decent surge protector though, they should be safe.

Answer 9

I turn everything off when we have a thunderstorm, if its bad lightening I unplug everything, my friend got her computer fried so I learned real quick from her mistake,

Answer 10

as far as i'm concerned i don't think you need to. i never do and nothing ever happens and i can still use the internet during a thunder storm.