Protection from Power Surges? If the Adapter doesn't have a surge protector, can a surge go through the Adapter into my router and fry it and/or my pc's?
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David, I will need to disagree with Chris on the surge protection issue. By my experience, I would say that a surge can cause damage to hardware up the CAT5/CAT6 line from the NETGEAR Powerline (The XAVB2501 to be exact). All of my equipment was surge protected except the XAVB2501 as it was recommended not to use surge protection on these. After a large storm one of my Powerlines was non-operational and the Cisco switch I had the Powerline linked with was also toast. The switch had been powered though a surge protector that had many other devices attached to it. All the other devices on that protector were fine. Could there be another cause for my switching being toasted that night? Perhaps, but being a resident of a rather stormy area of the united states I've always kept my electronics surged protected and I've never had anything release its magic smoke until this. The odds seem unlikely that the switch could be fried by anything other than the one device that was not surge protected, the Powerline XAVB2501. My thoughts, Noah P.
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I have been fortunate enough not to have the surge protector do it's intended job. I just looked at the unit and noticed that it does not have a reset, test like a ground fault circuit interrupter. I have a hunch that if the alarm is triggered un-plugging and re-plugging the unit will reset it. The device is cheap enough to protect your expensive appliances, I would have no problem buying another one if there was a problem with the actual device.Hope this helps.JerryO
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I think the surge protection would apply to all outlet including the USB. I use one of the USB port for a MagicJack Plus and it works fine although it sticks out of the wall a little bit.
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That is a excellent question. I assumed that they are since the surge would come from the AC 120 volt source at the outlet. I would think that the surge would hit the protection first before it could pass through the outlets. The JOULES rating of the device is not very high in the first place so the protection is minimal but is better than none at all. I purchased it because the prongs for the outlet fold up into the back and makes a nice compact package. The USB chargers work great also. I run my WIFI hot spot off one of the USB ports continually. Mediabridge makes excellent products. A really good surge protector would not be very portable and is bulky. The higher the JOULES rating the larger the protector and the higher the cost. Sorry for rambling but surge protection is a long complicated topic. Harold
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Charles, I don't know what is causing the power surge on the hub. I bought the pcmcia card to replace the internal USB ports on my laptop (HPDV4000). I was getting the "power surge on port" error messages erratically and then each time I tried to use a USB device. I finally had to disable the entire USB root hub/controller. That is why I resorted to using ports from a card.
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Are you using any power extensions or are the adapters bring placed directly in the wall outlets? Outside of that, the only things I can think of are that either the cable from the modem/router to the adapter is faulty or you may have a limit on the number of users allowed in that device.
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The unit provides protection against electrical spikes and surges. Your problem is with the electrical utility provider could be a transformer issue
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any cable not run through surge protector can fry the device connected to it. but, i am not sure about Cat5 cables. the wires are so small. i would think the Cat5 cable would loose continuity with a surge. i do not know for sure. even with a surge protector if lightning strikes the house or the grid near by you will not happy.
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Like most routers, it has an external transformer and actually runs on 12VDC. The transformer that came with mine will only adapt 110VAC down to 12VDC. If you buy this in a country that runs 220VAC, it is possible they will include a suitable transformer. Otherwise, you could probably find a transformer that will take 220VAC down to 12VDC, or hack something together from an old transformer and the supplied transformer's plug and cable.
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No surge protection. It barely weighs anything. Not sure about the shielding. It's basically just a cheap power strip. If that's all you want then you will be satisfied.
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I know this won't be helpful, but if it monitors power usage and finds nothing is in use, maybe it does. Even when it's plugged in the surge protector uses power. Unplug everything and see if it powers down.
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Built-in surge protection is not a feature of the Belkin Powerline AV500. We recently lost one of a two set kit during an electrical storm, along with a modem, router, and small screen TV. Best practice with any electrical equipment during a storm remains pulling the plug . . .
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Your surge protector is excellent insurance. Tempers all electrical spikes. Good luck
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So far, ABSOLUTELY. It seems forgiving when power is interrupted. I recently pulled the plugs on everything for a few hours to rearrange power distribution schemes; Not Once did my router loose track of its settings...
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I have all my electronic equipment plugged into my surge protector, including my modem and router. Doesn't affect my speed one iota!
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Uses external power cord with transformer. Power supply will be a function of that power cord, not of the router.
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I have the one plug by the router plugged into a surge protector and the other plug is plugged in downstairs in the outlet and everything works just fine.