APC are the IBM of the UPS world (sorry about all the acronyms, but hey, it’s IT). However, they are far from the only brand worth considering.

Take a look at https://www.cablemonkey.co.uk/776-ups-power-backup as a starting point and then branch out from there.

Oh, and just in case, has your inverter got a backup power output port? If so, might it be preferable to do something there so you’re actually using your own power as a UPS instead?

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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Oh, and just in case, has your inverter got a backup power output port?

We have a manual changeover switch to go into island mode, but that of course doesn't stop the wifi from tripping when the supply goes down.  (I didn't want auto switchover to allow me to switch off the heat pump, cooker etc.)

So for a longer outage I will switch over to our GivE 19.5kWh batteries and that would recharge the UPS.

Posted by: @downfield

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We had a short power outage during a thunderstorm last week and when the power came back we had a wifi signal but no connection to the broadband signal.

This happens surprisingly often and also when an electrician turns the power circuits off for maintenance additions.

I was going to suggest getting an SPD on your consumer unit (or a new unit) which would protect from damage but if I understand it right, none of the appliances or internet gear ever get damaged? 

If it is about getting wifi repeaters working, I would explore two options:

- find a way to ensure the wifi repeaters are restarted after electrical work in the sequence that guarantees service. 

- upgrade the system to mesh wifi 6 or wifi 7, which is possibly lot more reliable as they use various Ghz bands. Linksys seem to have good kit, but there’s more choice

Posted by: @batpred

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I was going to suggest getting an SPD on your consumer unit (or a new unit) which would protect from damage but if I understand it right, none of the appliances or internet gear ever get damaged?

We have 2 SPDs already - not sure why - perhaps one for the battery circuit?  But I was more worried about service continuity than voltage spikes.

We had the TP-Link kit installed professionally and it uses PoE for the WAPs which the installer said was more reliable than wifi extenders or mesh.  So far it has been rock solid except when the power goes down.

Posted by: @downfield

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We had the TP-Link kit installed professionally and it uses PoE for the WAPs which the installer said was more reliable than wifi extenders or mesh.  So far it has been rock solid except when the power goes down.

I am half guessing, but perhaps you would just need a simpler method to force a restart of the PoE WAPs after your broadband is restored. 

My internal walls are not stone or anything similar so I am personally planning to install a mesh system to reduce reliance on repeaters. A little over 6 months, I purchased a TP-link hub but even if it is supposed to deliver 1G, wifi is in practice limited to 400M + other issues.. Hence linksys

Posted by: @downfield

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Posted by: @batpred

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I was going to suggest getting an SPD on your consumer unit (or a new unit) which would protect from damage but if I understand it right, none of the appliances or internet gear ever get damaged?

We have 2 SPDs already - not sure why - perhaps one for the battery circuit?  But I was more worried about service continuity than voltage spikes.

We had the TP-Link kit installed professionally and it uses PoE for the WAPs which the installer said was more reliable than wifi extenders or mesh.  So far it has been rock solid except when the power goes down.

He or she was absolutely right. Wifi extenders and mesh rely on wifi signal between nodes whereas wireless access points are ethernet all the way back to the router. Not only are WAPs more reliable than wifi extenders or mesh nodes, they're also far less prone to network congestion.

Bear in mind that any UPS you install will act as an SPD anyway. Your kit will get its power from the UPS, not the mains; it just so happens the mains into the UPS will continuously be keeping it topped up.

@batpred, given @downfield has said he gets wifi back immediately after a power outage (just not broadband), that rather confirms that the wireless aspect of his network doesn't need any changes at all.

@downfield, it would be interesting to see, when you have a power outage and get wifi but not broadband back, what you can and cannot do with a laptop connected by an ethernet cable to your TP-link hub or the router itself. Oh, and just as an aside I suspect strongly that the hub isn't a hub after all but a 4-port switch (which is preferable anyway).

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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Oh, and just as an aside I suspect strongly that the hub isn't a hub after all but a 4-port switch (which is preferable anyway).

Dead right Major - I just looked up the spec and it is thus:

To supply, program, install and commission two new indoor Wi-Fi-6 1750Mbps Mu-Mimo Tri-Band Wi-Fi Access Points, incorporating your existing outdoor Wi-Fi Access Point onto this system, along with an Omada Cloud Controller and a 5-Port PoE Gigabit Network Switch, along will all new Cat6 Ethernet cabling.

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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@batpred, given @downfield has said he gets wifi back immediately after a power outage (just not broadband), that rather confirms that the wireless aspect of his network doesn't need any changes at all.

Yes, it is either that some of the broadband side it not recovering (or not fast enough) or that the wifi WAPs are not reconnecting quickly enough to the broadband. In our IT world, the old reboot close to the endpoint often fixes it. But it could be a workaround..

Posted by: @majordennisbloodnok

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@downfield, it would be interesting to see, when you have a power outage and get wifi but not broadband back, what you can and cannot do with a laptop connected by an ethernet cable to your TP-link hub or the router itself. Oh, and just as an aside I suspect strongly that the hub isn't a hub after all but a 4-port switch (which is preferable anyway).

Yes, it makes absolute sense to do this test. 

Posted by: @downfield

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To supply, program, install and commission two new indoor Wi-Fi-6 1750Mbps Mu-Mimo Tri-Band Wi-Fi Access Points, incorporating your existing outdoor Wi-Fi Access Point onto this system, along with an Omada Cloud Controller and a 5-Port PoE Gigabit Network Switch, along will all new Cat6 Ethernet cabling.

Thanks, the WAPs are using wifi 6 with Mu-Mimo. What we will move to..

Posted by: @batpred

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...

Yes, it is either that some of the broadband side it not recovering (or not fast enough) or that the wifi WAPs are not reconnecting quickly enough to the broadband.

...

In the strictest sense, it won't be the latter. The WAPs don't connect to the broadband; they connect to the switch or router. From a network point of view, the router will see the WAP (and any devices attached to it) and the laptop plugged directly into the network as similar devices. If the network's up but the broadband's down, the only place the issue can be is the router (or, of course, the ISP's kit at the other end of the fibre cable).

That last throwaway comment, though, raises an interesting wrinkle in any troubleshooting. ISPs are no more immune to power outages than anyone else, and the mitigation they'll have put in place is exactly what you're intending, @downfield; UPS backup power up the ying-yang. UPS power only lasts so long, so if the power outage is widespread and more than a short blip then the ISP systems may well be down, and necessarily will take longer to come back afterwards. If the problem’s in your house, @downfield, it’ll be with your router. If the problem’s with the ISP, it’ll look to you like your router. If I were you, I’d pick a quiet time chez downfield and flip your main power switch to simulate a power cut, then bring the power back on again a few seconds after. If you see the same symptoms you can be pretty certain it’s your side of the fibre cable.

I have used APC UPS for as long as I can remember for home/small office PC equipment. Even the most basic APC UPS should be more than adequate for a home router / wifi which will draw next to nothing.

APC UPS are bombproof and last forever - my current Back-UPS CS 650 unit must be around 20 years old, and the battery can be easily replaced if required. It still says it can provide 20mins backup time for my home server (big old server box, not some low powered Raspberry PI). Maybe find an old one on freecycle and put a new battery in it.