What to do when your business internet goes down

Step one: is it the internet, or just one thing?

Before calling anyone, spend two minutes working out how big the problem is. A lot of "outages" turn out to be one device or one WiFi network.

1. Try two or three different devices: a computer plugged into the network, a register, a phone on the office WiFi. If only one is offline, the problem is that device or its connection to your WiFi.
2. If everything is offline, go to your modem (the box your internet provider gave you) and your router (often a separate box, sometimes combined). Note which lights are on, off or blinking. Take a photo; your provider will ask.
3. Turn the modem off, wait thirty seconds, and turn it back on. Give it two or three minutes to fully start. Then restart the router the same way.
4. Still down? Check your provider's outage page or app from your phone, using cellular data rather than the office WiFi.

Calling your provider

Have your account number and service address ready. Business support lines usually move faster than residential ones, and it helps to say early that you're a business and you're down completely.

• Ask whether there's a known outage in your area and whether they have an estimated repair time.
• Ask them to test the line to your building. Many providers can see whether your modem is reachable from their side.
• If they need to send a technician, ask for the earliest window and a ticket number.
• If the outage lasts more than a few hours, ask about a credit on your bill. Many business agreements include one, but you often have to request it.

Keeping the business running in the meantime

Card payments are usually the first worry. Many terminals have an offline mode that stores payments and sends them later. It keeps the line moving, but those payments aren't approved at the time of sale. A card that turns out to be declined later is a lost sale, and processors limit how much you can take offline. Decide in advance whether you're comfortable using it, and who's allowed to switch it on.

Phones come next. If your phones run over the internet, they're down too. Most business phone systems can forward your main number to a cell phone when the desk phones go offline. Set that up now, while everything works. Then an outage means calls ring on a manager's mobile instead of going unanswered.

A phone hotspot can keep one computer or one register online for a while. It isn't built to run a whole store or office: it drops when the phone takes a call, the battery drains fast, and it only handles a few devices well.

After it comes back

• Check that registers sent any offline payments, and look for declines.
• Turn call forwarding off if your phone system doesn't do it automatically.
• Write down when it started, when it ended and what it cost you in sales or staff time. That number is useful the next time you decide whether a backup is worth it.

Making the next outage a short one

The dependable fix is a second internet connection that takes over by itself. For most small and mid-size businesses that means cellular backup: a cellular connection sitting next to your main line, ready to carry traffic the moment the main line stops.

Cellular is a good choice for backup because it reaches the internet a completely different way. A backhoe that cuts the cable in your street doesn't touch the cell tower down the road. The switch happens at your router within seconds, and traffic moves back to your main line when it recovers. Most of the time, nobody in the building notices.

FAILOVER5 cellular backup plans start at $88 a month on Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile, month to month. You can use your own router if it supports a second connection, or one of our recommended Peplink routers.

Backup internet for

• Restaurants
• Retail stores
• Medical clinics