Linksys BEFW11S4 Power Surge?

I've had this happen on two Linksys BEFW11S4's (one v1 and one v2).

The symptoms are:
1. Power supply inoperative.
2. After replacing the power supply, discover that all wired ports are
inoperative.
3. Also discover that all network cards connected to the router (Ethernet
Cat5) are inoperative.

At first, I suspected the power supply for my wireless Internet antenna
which uses "power over Ethernet". That's the power supply that failed the
first time (leaving the router powered, but wired ports fried). The latest
failure that occurred last night left the router's p/s inop, fried ports,
but the WiFi Internet p/s was functional.

In both cases, the WiFi Internet antenna continued to function (pretty much
discarding the idea of a lightning strike). All components are powered via
UPS on a GFCI-protected circuit. The only failures were the two power
supplies downstream from the UPS.

I've sent an email to Linksys, but haven't heard back. In perusing Google,
I've found some reference to Linksys replacing p/s's, but I haven't found
out why (bad batch? persistent problem?).

The only thing I know for sure is that I'm not inclined to continue spending
this much money to replace the router and network cards every few months due
to equipment failure.

Has anybody else had or heard of this type of problem?

Thanks.

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
__________

"John T" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ws.com...
> I've had this happen on two Linksys BEFW11S4's (one v1 and one v2).
>
> The symptoms are:
> 1. Power supply inoperative.
> 2. After replacing the power supply, discover that all wired ports are
> inoperative.
> 3. Also discover that all network cards connected to the router (Ethernet
> Cat5) are inoperative.
>
> At first, I suspected the power supply for my wireless Internet antenna
> which uses "power over Ethernet". That's the power supply that failed the
> first time (leaving the router powered, but wired ports fried). The
latest
> failure that occurred last night left the router's p/s inop, fried ports,
> but the WiFi Internet p/s was functional.
>
> In both cases, the WiFi Internet antenna continued to function (pretty
much
> discarding the idea of a lightning strike). All components are powered
via
> UPS on a GFCI-protected circuit. The only failures were the two power
> supplies downstream from the UPS.
>
> I've sent an email to Linksys, but haven't heard back. In perusing
Google,
> I've found some reference to Linksys replacing p/s's, but I haven't found
> out why (bad batch? persistent problem?).
>
> The only thing I know for sure is that I'm not inclined to continue
spending
> this much money to replace the router and network cards every few months
due
> to equipment failure.
>
> Has anybody else had or heard of this type of problem?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> John T
> http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
> __________
>
>
Sounds to me like you have a problem with the "wireless Internet antenna
which uses power over Ethernet". Would this 'wireless Internet antenna' be
a power amp for the BEFW11S4? ...a client Ethernet adapter for a WISP?

PoE should use about 36-48 volts, which is way too much voltage to get
crossed with the data pairs in the Ethernet cable. It's also too much
voltage to shove into a non-Ethernet ready access point like a BEFW11S4.
Normally a PoE-enabled access point or Ethernet client adapter has an
internal switching voltage regulator or external 'power picker' to convert
the 48 volts to 5 volts. If a staple through the Ethernet cable applies 48
volts to one of the data pairs, it could result in a lot of damage to
network cards.

Don W.

I have 11S4 v1 that is connected to Belkin UPS. I have seen a lot of posts
on the 11S4's, but I have never seen one with these issues. And for it to
happen twice leads me to think that something else is happening.

Duane

--
The protection of the machine is a process and is not a given!
"John T" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ws.com...
> I've had this happen on two Linksys BEFW11S4's (one v1 and one v2).
>
> The symptoms are:
> 1. Power supply inoperative.
> 2. After replacing the power supply, discover that all wired ports are
> inoperative.
> 3. Also discover that all network cards connected to the router (Ethernet
> Cat5) are inoperative.
>
> At first, I suspected the power supply for my wireless Internet antenna
> which uses "power over Ethernet". That's the power supply that failed the
> first time (leaving the router powered, but wired ports fried). The
latest
> failure that occurred last night left the router's p/s inop, fried ports,
> but the WiFi Internet p/s was functional.
>
> In both cases, the WiFi Internet antenna continued to function (pretty
much
> discarding the idea of a lightning strike). All components are powered
via
> UPS on a GFCI-protected circuit. The only failures were the two power
> supplies downstream from the UPS.
>
> I've sent an email to Linksys, but haven't heard back. In perusing
Google,
> I've found some reference to Linksys replacing p/s's, but I haven't found
> out why (bad batch? persistent problem?).
>
> The only thing I know for sure is that I'm not inclined to continue
spending
> this much money to replace the router and network cards every few months
due
> to equipment failure.
>
> Has anybody else had or heard of this type of problem?
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> John T
> http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
> __________
>
>
>

"Don W." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Tr6cncmJBs1elZOiXTWc-(E-Mail Removed)
>
> Sounds to me like you have a problem with the "wireless Internet
> antenna which uses power over Ethernet". Would this 'wireless
> Internet antenna' be a power amp for the BEFW11S4? ...a client
> Ethernet adapter for a WISP?

That's what I've been thinking, too. Yes, it's a WISP antenna using a power
coupler on the Ethernet cable. The "pig tail" from that coupler is what
plugs in to the router. I've been looking at Ethernet/RJ45 surge
protectors, but I haven't been able to determine just how effective they
are.

You wouldn't happen to have any experience with those (or other protective
measures), would you?

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
_______________

"Don W." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:fjKdnV3IwdljzpOiXTWc-(E-Mail Removed)
>
> Having said all that, I don't think lightning (or surge) is the
> problem here. Is it possible you have an intermittant short between
> conductors in the ethernet cable to the WISP device? Consider
> running a new cat 5 cable to the WISP unit. Make sure there are no
> staples piercing the wire. When you run PoE, it's critical to keep
> the power away from the data pairs. Any short between the two can
> cause the kind of catastrophic failure you've experienced and a surge
> protector probably won't protect you from THAT kind of surge.

I agree that ligthning is a very unlikely culprit (after all, this antenna
is *not* grounded and any lightning strike would very likely leave it a
smoking wreck). I suppose it's possible that some sort of static charge can
build on the antenna and discharge but, again, I think that's much less
likely than some sort of power supply issue inside.

Just to review, the first failure saw the WISP PoE p/s die (the antenna
functioned just fine with a new p/s) and the second failure saw the router's
p/s die. Both failures zapped all the router's wired ports and connected
NICs.

I'm confident there are no issues with the cable running from the antenna to
just inside the house. However, I'll double-check the Cat5 running from
there to the power injector (near the router). I don't think it has any
supporting staples, but it's easy enough to just create a new cable.

Maybe one of the junctions malformed...

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
_______________