this is my first post - already searched the forum regarding this topic, but could not find anything.
I am struggling with POE+ on the BR2-Pro. When using the standard power adapter everthing work fine, but not if am using a POE+ switch (Netgear GS305EP and TP-Link SG1005P) to power it.
The unit boots up and keeps running until I do the inbult Speedfusion Speedtest. Then after a variating point of time the device restarts. It feels as if it does not get enough power. Measured that with an inline POE tester - at least the voltage never went below 53,8V.
I have already tested different types of cable (which are certified for POE+. for example Cat 7 4x2xAWG27/7 - 5 metres) but I did not find a cable yet that works.
So my question is: is the BR2-Pro kind of picky regarding the type of cable when powering it over POE, or could there be something else that I am missing?
Let me preface with - I am not an expert with POE stuff…… I just didn’t want you to think that nobody heard you.
it sounding like there is some power fluctuations at the device. Just out of curiosity - are you powering the POE switch with a UPS? A surge protector? Any other power outlet “sharing” device?
how many POE devices are you powering with your POE switch? Neither of the switches seemed to have a huge total power budget - but, they should be able to support this device without issue. I am wondering if all the POE ports are being utilized. The Netgear switch seems to cut power to one interface if the budget is exceeded - is it possible that is what is going on?
if you aren’t straining the POE source and there is an adequate power supply to the POE switch - you may want to start a support ticket - there may be something faulty with the hardware causing it to power cycle itself. It may be specific to the POE circuitry.
from what I can tell from the documentation on the devices you have mentioned - all of the technical standards seem to be compatible. For what that is worth - the switcheand the max br2 all seem to specify 802.3at - it should work.
I imagine someone with more POE knowledge will chime in shortly. There are a lot of smart folks that frequent This forum.
Jason, thanks for your thoughts and for your input!
There is no UPS or surge protector, already used the same setup in completely different buildings - same problem.
Always only used one port of the POE switches to power the BR2, nothing else. Also tried a POE injector - same thing.
What I figured out: right now I was able to run a speedtest powered by POE without power cycle for the first time. To achieve that I set the Output Power of the inbuilt AP to low and only used the 2.4 Ghz band. Furthermore I unplugged a USB WAN 4G Modem (Huawei)
So there seems to be an internal power vs performance issue going on
could you please let us know more details so that we could try to replicate the issue on our site:
What WAN sources where used when making SpeedTest? (eg… 5G, Ethernet).
BR2 Pro has 2x 5G Modems. Where they connected to the cellular network?
AP was set up. How many clients were connected to it.
USB modem was connected. Was it also connected to cellular network when you where testing?
Any other details we should know to recreate identical setup as you did?
For the PoE function, there is no need to use Cat7 cable. Cat5e, Cat6 is more than enough. The only thing need to check that all wires are from copper as sometimes cheap cables have CopperClad Aluminum (CCA) wires. Typically we use AWG24-AWG26 cable. For longer runs AWG24 is preferred as it has lower resistance and voltage drop. But in your case it was only 5-7m so not sure if AWG27 thickness was an issue.
Lastly from your posts it is not clear if the problem exists with the switch only or you see same issue with the PoE adapter as well ?
I will try to answer to your points as clear as possible
WAN Sources: Always used both internal 5G Modems (both had Sim inserted and were connected 4G or 5G of different providers, one Card from time to time was at the of its data plan, but this did not make a difference.) Also tried it with and without ethernet and wifi wan - all was resulting in power cycles. even with just powering it over eth wan 1 and DSL over wan 2
AP: there were two devices max. connected during the time of testing
USB Modem: was always connected to a network when plugged in
My impression was that the power cycle crashed in ealier when using the USB Wan, the dual AP 2.4/5 Ghz in high power and using worse cables for POE
It happens with all POE power sources I tested with, both switches and the injector/adapter (Intellinet)
I did the Speedfusion Speedtest TCP 4 Streams Upload and Download for this
Hope this helps to clarify, let me know if you need any further information
Sounds like you’re going to need a support ticket to resolve this, worse case you have a bad unit and in some respects I’d hope that was is all it is and that Peplink tested for full functionality under load with just a PoE input…
If you get anywhere please do let us know though as I was looking at a few of these to go into enclosures where they would be required to be powered by PoE!
I have the same unit with a similar set of issues. Powering mine off the Pepxim sim injector which is supposed to be compatible as a power source. 24 gauge wire. 20 ft away. On top of random uncommanded power cycling, we are having frequent Wi-Fi and network disconnects as well, where the SSID disappears completely for a minute or so, taking all connected devices down with it. Ethernet devices seem to disconnect at the same time, but the unit still shows a powered on state. Have had an open ticket for close to a month on this. Did you resolve your issue?
Hey Jason,
I have also had random ethernet disconnects yesterday,not powered over POE, but with the AC adapter. All WANs and the Speedfusion Tunnel stayed connected, but a client completely lost its ethernet and the internet connection over Speedfusion. I opened a separate ticket for this, Support said that it might have been because of extreme WAN health check time, but maybe there is something else
regarding the network disconnects I also opened a ticket, because the BR2 was unreachable via local network randomly for 2-5 minute slots.
The BR2 was replaced, this problem did not occur anymore
the POE problem exists with the new device aswell. The internal POE+ module does not seem to be able to provide sufficient power under load (and with a USB Modem plugged in) so active POE+ power sources are not a reliable solution. The only thing that really works POE wise are passive injectors. I have one now and cannot reproduce the problem with that.
Barely acceptable as the BR2 is described to be compatible to POE+ - so I am expecting the full functionality of the device when powering it over POE
I too had a POE failure but it worked fine with the AC adaptor. I use SIM injector to power. My devices has been returned and I am waiting for a replacement. Sounds like it may not work for long again. My original worked for a couple months with no issues.
Test environment: Unit: Max BR2 Pro 5G Power Source: Peplink SD Switch 24-Port Rugged/the wall wart/passive POE injector Load: Two cellular connections, and the POE WAN to the switch. No devices connecrted, no traffic being generated (besides the IC2 connection). Power draw: According to the switch, ≤18W, 802.3at Cable: Tried a CAT 6 and a CAT 5e cable, both about 4 feet, 24AWG
Behavior: Power stays on (the unit does not reboot), but the connection goes up and down. Momentarily connected, then “no cable connected,” then briefly connected again. Sometimes. At other times, simply stuck in “connecting.”
Once the PSU is used for power, everything (incl. WAN 1) connects and works.
Background info: The wall wart: When powered with the PSU then everything is stable and stays up. Passive POE: When powered with a 56V passive POE injector then everything is stable and stays up. The unit: Peplink MAX BR2 Pro HW4, FW 8.5.0 build 5636 Did a reboot prior to the testing.
I would really prefer to employ the POE straight out of the Peplink SD Switch 24-Port Rugged.
@zegor_mjol the symptom described could be related to the power… As you have experienced a similar outcome with the Passive PoE, as we highlighted in the BR2 Pro datasheet.
I noted the entry in the data sheet, hence the successful test of passive PoE as an alternative.
What puzzles me is that the power draw (as reported by the Peplink SD switch) is not that strong (≤18W), well within the specs of the data sheet’s 25W, and with the unit not doing much of anything.
Since this is a new unit to me I was concerned about the parameters for its deployment.
I’ll set the unit up again tomorrow and submit a ticket.
As always, thanks for your quick response (and support in general).
