Linksys Lies! WAPPOE(12) isn't 802.3af !!

I got a couple of sets of the Linksys WAPPOE12 Power-Over-Ethernet boxes for putting WiFi APs in distant places without needing AC power nearby, and checked very carefully to ensure that they were 802.3af PoE, as I didn't want one of the non-compliant PoE kludges, so I could be sure that everything was compatable, and safe to use with old and new equipment.

OOPS! I pulled the covers off the 'injector', the piece that connects the 48V to the spare pairs _only_ when the client device is determined to have PoE capabilities, and found

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Not a single semiconductor (well, except the power LED), switch, current limiter, or anything. Just slap the 48V right across the spare pairs and hope nothing blows up. The WAPPOE injector is the same, with the exception of a blue plastic case.

Well, I guess I know why it was so cheap. Sigh. I dunno if I even dare try to see if the splitter will work on 802.3af switches, which supply phantom power over the data pairs...

Grrrr.... The vendor doesn't want returns, hopefully Linksys will be open to a refund.

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Posted 5 years ago by William P. N. Smith in Wireless Networking

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