Bring your favorite Peplink router with you while you’re out and about.
The 4-Pin to USB-C Power Cable allows you to charge your router with two concurrent power sources.
Worried about running out of power when you need it the most? Hot swap power banks without the need to power down your device and ensure your network stays up and stays strong.
This is a great option for folks working on multi-battery setups for pop-up and tactical use cases. I’ve got my cables on order.
From the documentation:
Which power source is suitable for powering up the device using this cable?
We recommend using a power source capable of delivering 15V for use with this cable. Although our devices can be powered and operated with 12V, using 15V will ensure reliable performance.
But wikipedia doesn’t list 12V as one of the USB Power Delivery levels: Link
but it sounds like 12V is an unofficial voltage? E.g. Link
Can you clarify what this means? Will the cable first attempt 15V, falling back to 12V if available?
It is presumably using the USB Power Delivery spec, where higher voltage levels may be negotiated. Thus, the onus is on making sure your power bank can supply the higher voltage levels via USB PD. The FAQ doesn’t exactly make this clear, however.
The standard doesn’t require 12v but manufacturers can opt to support it in their power supplies.
If the device you plug in requests 12v and the power supply supports it, it will deliver 12v. If the power supply doesn’t support the requested voltage it provides the next available voltage lower which will be 9v assuming the device complies with the PD standards.
I’d say it would be helpful to receive a technical explanation from the nice folks at Peplink as to how this works. Maybe @WeiMing can shed some light on this? Is there a tiny V regulator in there? A diode in each leg? Is expected behavior to use the supply which exhibits the higher of the two V?
Hey everyone! Thanks for giving your feedback. I’m here to clear up some of your doubts.
Let’s address the first question first. Can the router be powered up by 12V? Yes, it can.
Now, let’s dive into the details.
Our routers are designed to work with a 12V power supply. However, we’ve taken into account factors like efficiency and the possibility of fluctuating power output from the power banks. To ensure a stable performance, we recommend using a 15V power source.
While 12V doesn’t match the USB Power Delivery standards exactly, we’ve observed that some PD 3.0 power banks do offer this voltage option. That’s why we make it a point to inform users about it, so they won’t be caught off guard.
The cable itself doesn’t have a voltage regulator, but each USB-C port has a diode to protect against reverse voltage. In terms of power supply, the expected behavior is to draw power from the supply that has a higher voltage between the two options.
