Well heck!

[Webheadfred]

So the wife-unit and I were sitting and relaxing watching the TV. There was a thunderstorm passing and things were firing up. The CM3000 modem and the GT-BE98 Pro (with the latest Merlin of course) were sitting about 15 feet away doing their thing. The BRIGHTEST FLASH I’ve ever seen and the sound like a huge bullwhip. I immediately run to the garage to get a fire extinguisher thinking that something had to be on fire. I saw a little smoke and the smell of electricity. Seems the lightning had hit the cable equipment in the neighborhood. The box entering the house had been installed dubiously. The ground wire had come loose and the lightning blew up the modem and zapped the BE98 Pro through the network cable. I had a little conversation with the internet provider and I may be getting free internet for the next year. What. The. Heck.

 

[Justinh]

I have a modem you can have if you are not renting one ...

 

[Webheadfred]

I have a modem you can have if you are not renting one ...

That’s very generous of you to offer. Thank you. I have a backup ARRIS S33 and an old RT-AX88U that I’m limping along until the new GT-BE98 Pro gets delivered Monday. It was indeed spectacular and a lesson to me that the lightning will travel the Cat5 cable between the modem and router. The mains weren’t hit or the surge protector did its job. Afterwards, the BE98 Pro had a faint power light and the color lights were working. Interesting.

 

[Aiadi]

That sounds pretty scary and equally horrible. Glad you are safe.

 

[sfx2000]

What. The. Heck.

Been there - good to hear you are safe and the damage somewhat limited...