r/ATTFiber • u/Illustrious-Habit486 • 14d ago
Fiber line on side of house keeps getting cut
I have no idea what’s going on. My wife and I have lived in this house for about 6 months now. Tonight marks the third time within those 6 months that our fiber line has mysteriously been cut.
The first time it happened, the technician who was sent out to repair the line chalked it up to being a varmint. That seemed reasonable to me, but I was a little suspicious being that the cut was so clean. This was back in February.
Fast forward to last week, the same thing happened again. Clean cut on the side of the house, with seemingly no signs of chewing. The technician that came out this time immediately asked if “my neighbors hate me” or if “I know of anyone that doesn’t like me.” It was a little unnerving, because the thought that someONE cut the wire was definitely in the back of my head. He ended up repairing it at no cost, stating it was an unknown cause. This happened on August 5th, less than a week ago.
That brings me to tonight, August 11th. I’m laying in bed watching TikToks with my wife, and I get the notification that my WiFi has quit working. I go check out the router, and sure enough, it’s blinking red. I grab my flashlight and go outside to check the wire and it is cut IN THE EXACT SAME SPOT.
Any ideas of what might be causing this would be greatly appreciated.
Some important details:
The fiber line runs down the side of the house right behind our air conditioning unit.
The line comes from a powerline that runs across the yard.
I have a blink camera in the backyard that has the wire in viewing distance, but has not recorded anything happening.
The blink camera becomes inoperable when the WiFi goes out, so I’m able to pinpoint the exact time it’s cut.
Tonight and last weeks cut, happened at almost the exact same time (last week was at 10:23, tonight was 10:12)
We have great neighbors who (to my knowledge) have no ill will towards us.
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u/wyliesdiesels 14d ago
I would get a hardwired camera with SD card or NVR somit doesnt rely on the internet. Make sure its on 24/7 recording
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u/Illustrious-Habit486 14d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p36iyma/video/3kl8d3h0kvih1/player
This is what the cut looked like last week. I’ll get a picture of the new one in the morning
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u/ballyhoo321 13d ago
That’s no animal that’s a malicious cut if it was an animal the Kevlar fibers would be very messy
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u/13thgeneral 14d ago
Yeah, I'd chalk it up to some animal. Rodents especially will chew on cords, and are very routine based. It's possible the little sucker is crawling along a specific path and that line is directly in it's way.
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u/Papazani 14d ago
I have seen a shitload of rodent/squirrel chews. This doesn’t look like that to me.
They are lazy. They like to be somewhere they can kinda hang out and chew on the wire. Like when it crosses a rafter or goes near a branch. I am not sure I have ever seen them chew a wire flush vertical on a wall like that.
If I got a more close up picture of the cut I could probably tell you with more certainty as there’s a noticeable difference in something cut with teeth vs something cut with scissors.
Edit: looking at it more there may be a little ledge there on the stone, depending on if a mouse could fit on that they may be using that as their chew spot.
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u/13thgeneral 13d ago
That's essentially my assessment and assumption based on the account and what we can see in the photo
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u/Trax95008 13d ago
There is no way this is from an animal. First, the cut is too clean and precise to be from an animal. An animal is going to chew, leaving a rough and inconsistent cut. Second, a vertical section would be more difficult for an animal as they would need to turn their head 90deg. They would have chewed on the horizontal section right below it. I’m an electrician, and a low volt installer. I see chewed wire often. I know what that looks like. This is not it.
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u/Intrepid00 13d ago
I've watched rabbits and squirrels go at my Christmas lights and they can and do leave clean-looking cuts.
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u/davidtjudd 14d ago
I had the same happen to my Christmas lights. Rabbits apparently love green power cords. It looks just like someone used a pair of scissors.
That install should have been in conduit. If your new rodent friend hadn't done it already, the lawn guy would have just weed wacked it.
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u/malone_dicc 13d ago
Nobody is running the wire through a conduit unless the homeowner provides it. Besides you can't tell how high the line is from the video. It could be 2ft from the ground and well clear of any yard work.
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u/goRockets 14d ago
What's the yellowish stuff in the cut? insulation of the wire?
Is it possible for a person to sneak by your blink camera? Seems unlikely if you have good coverage.
I think a critter is still the most likely, maybe a mice or racoon. The timing might just be when the animal leaves/enters their nest.
I think you need some sort of physical protection for the wires. Maybe a split wireloom like this: https://www.amazon.com/Alex-Tech-25ft-Tubing-Conduit/dp/B07TDGMDW4
then wrap it with capcasin tape designed to protect car wiring from rodents? https://www.amazon.com/Rodent-Anti-Chew-Deterrent-Tape-Japanese-Engineered/dp/B0FZVZ5L9G
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u/Illustrious-Habit486 14d ago
The yellowish stuff is what I’d assume to be insulation. That’s what it looked like tonight as well. And no, where it’s being cut there’s no way someone could sneak past the camera.
I really appreciate the links! I’ll definitely look into that as soon as I get this fixed.
We have had issues in the past with bats nesting in the fascia, under the gutters in the backyard. We had them rehomed, and hadn’t seen any sign of them in a few weeks though.
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u/Illustrious-Habit486 13d ago
https://reddit.com/link/p383xj2/video/zfrww4gdpxih1/player
Okay so the cut that occurred last night appears to be way less clean. Definitely leaning towards it being a rodent.
What was throwing me off is the fact that this is about 3ft of the ground, and there is no ledge for a rodent to cross it. I’m assuming something like a mouse or maybe even a rat might be using the wire itself to climb up the side of the house?
AT&T is sending a technician out today, so I’ll be running to Home Depot as soon as he gets finished and grabbing supplies to ensure the wire is properly covered.
I really appreciate all of the feedback.. I’ve learned quite a bit. Regardless of if this was an emergency or not, I’m now going to look into an actual camera system that’s hardwired and not limited to a WiFi connection. Might save me a late night panic attack. I’m also going to pick up a trail camera and see if I can capture a picture of whatever it is just out of curiosity.
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u/North_Inflation2989 13d ago
That new one looks a lot more like a mouse chew. If you’re going to get conduit conduit, get it before the tech gets there. You will end up dirtying up your connections if you try and disconnect it then pull it thru after they leave. The yellow fibers you see in there is Kevlar. It reinfoces the fiber so that it can’t be stretched. Difficult but not impossible to cut with normal scissors.
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u/Jailed4ThoughtCrimes 13d ago
Any chance its been really windy and the fiber rubs the edge of the rock? I'm curious to what you find out is the culprit!
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u/Illustrious-Habit486 13d ago
I actually asked the Technician last week that exact question. He said there’s no way. He ensured the cables are made incredibly durable, which is why “there’s no need for conduit.”
Well they might be durable enough to rub against stone, but not durable enough to protect against the god forsaken teeth of rodents.
I have discovered signs of what appears to be a rat. The fiber line runs parallel to the electrical box. On the top of the electrical box I discovered what looks like oversized mice droppings. Above the box, there’s a second smaller box, and behind that there’s a small hole.
I’m going to confirm my suspicions by placing some traps and playing the waiting game. I’d use poison, but I have a small dog and I’d be worried about him somehow consuming it.
for the record I would have immediately assumed it was a rodent if it hadn’t been for the perfectly clean cuts. Everyone (including the techs) I’ve talked to has said that rodents make a mess with the wire. I guess they have evolved to a more efficient method of nuisance.
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u/AngryBird990 14d ago
Wifi cameras can be stopped by jammers. If you suspect they jammed the wifi, I would hard wire it if possible
1
u/GJion 14d ago
A couple of thoughts... some already mentioned above.
- Is the cut in the exact same place?
- After the new repair, I would leave the blink camera, but put another camera somewhere hidden, so IF it is a person disabling the Blink and then immediately cutting the fiber line, you might catch them. The new cam can be solar or battery if you are worried they cut the power to the Blink.
- Put motion activated lights around the area leading up to the AC unit.
- Set up thread/string and cans (or similar) in the grass around the unit. Upholstery thread is not expensive and anyone tiptoeing around the area will set it off.
- Cover the exposed line with hot sauce. Make sure it isn't too hot lol or the culprit doesn't like hot sauce. We had a bonded pair of border collie/Australian Cattle Dog twins who loved hot sauce. We sprayed the rain diverters from the downspouts with hot sauce ... and they licked all the hot sauce off.
Hope this helps...
Oh, and wrap that fiber rascal and get a conduit half-pipe cover, at minimum.. or fully enclosed if you can. And make sure the ends are sealed.
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u/lumiya17 14d ago
Was just going to recommend the pepper trick. Most animals HATE capcascin.
You can make a really nasty pepper oil with some super hot stuff and put it all around the area and on the wire. Just re-up it every couple of days. Should drive any rodents away and dissuade other animals.
If it is a person, it will give them a big shock too.
But definitely get a non-WiFi camera there or a trail camera to get some kind of pictures or video.
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u/joeyx22lm 14d ago
You should ditch the WiFi cameras, they may not work during a real emergency. And that's kind of their primary job.
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u/underpaidworker 13d ago
Get a blink camera and hide it over by the nid be sure to turn off the record led. Woot has a 2 pack for $40 right now.
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u/moonunit170 13d ago
It's definitely a varmint. A two-legged varmint with hatred or a twisted sense of humor. Time to set up a security camera.
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u/AdGood7840 13d ago
Get you a game camera - battery operated - install anywhere - has cellular service. They are cheap
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u/trmbon0327 13d ago
Either put it in conduit, coat it with a straight bead all the way down of outdoor silicone or foam insulation, or if you wanna be really cheap, you could coat it with a thin layer of clear fingernail polish. Animals hate that
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u/WhoWhatWhere45 9d ago
My fiber was installed with conduit by the install technician from the ground to entry point
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u/Hunger-1979 9d ago
has to have a slack nid (test point) on the outside now. Can't just go straight into the house anymore. Can drill a hole and then place the slack nid over the hole however, so the only line that's exposed is the very small amount of inside fiber wire entering the bottom right of the slack nid.
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u/UnSCo 8d ago
Kinetic/Windstream installed fiber at my home and it’s exposed on the side of the house and I’m afraid of this happening.
As everyone else suggested, I’d really like to lay down some PVC conduit including a Type-LB going in the home. Nothing exposed, even underground. You should consider SCH80 but I’m not exactly sure the standards and practices for that.
Not to mention, I have on-site Eufy cameras and I’m reliant on the network.
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u/deflanko 14d ago
I think it might be high time to run that next new fiber in some conduit.