Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[MaximusPrime]

Hi,

just after getting a TP-Link router, switch & Wireless Access Point (WAP)

The WAP - EAP 650 is running hot at the back

Has anyone else got this issue? Or seen it with other WAPs?

cheers

[Alex Atkin UK]

I wouldn't really call running hot an issue, a lot of devices run hot.  Most silicon is designed to run well north of 60C which would quickly burn you without the plastic casing in the way.

If it doesn't have stability issues, its fine.

[MaximusPrime]

I'm going to return it, I don't trust it

If I put it on the ceiling it could go on fire imo

None of my other devices get this hot

Only time I had an overheating problem b4 was a motherboard incorrectly overclocking a CPU

Destroyed the CPU & the motherboard, temps over 100C, only found out the cause shortly b4 it stopped working

[meritez]

Hi,

just after getting a TP-Link router, switch & Wireless Access Point (WAP)

The WAP - EAP 650 is running hot at the back

Has anyone else got this issue? Or seen it with other WAPs?

cheers

Seen this with Unifi AP AC Lite, got 4 bricked ones in my possession, the cooling is not the greatest.

[MaximusPrime]

Yes that is another problem the device could fail soon outside return period  :'(

[Alex Atkin UK]

Seen this with Unifi AP AC Lite, got 4 bricked ones in my possession, the cooling is not the greatest.

On the contrary, if its getting hot that implies the cooling is doing its job.  If you can't feel the heat but its overheating internally THEN the cooling is bad.

Newer devices use more power and so produce more heat, its really that simple.

I'm going to return it, I don't trust it

If I put it on the ceiling it could go on fire imo

None of my other devices get this hot

Its a small device doing WiFi 6, its not got a lot of space to get rid of that heat so yeah its going to feel hotter.  Unless the plastic actually starts to melt, you're fretting over nothing.  I mean have you felt how hot LED light bulbs get, never mind old incandescent ones?

[MaximusPrime]

My current Hub (Router + switch + Access Point) never gets hot & it's a multi-purpose device

My managed switch says the PoE port for the Access Point was using under 6.5 Watts - my new Router uses 8 Watts max according to specs & it is not hot

The device was getting hotter & hotter

I wasn't going to leave it longer in case the device stopped working, it might have blew my switch too

The device was under no load. How hot would it get under heavy use?

Wasn't going to risk it

[Alex Atkin UK]

Access Points are fairly compact devices, the components may be nearer the surface than your switch which often are shells full of air.  I can assure you if you were to touch the components inside, its probably just as hot.

PoE wont let it pull more power than its requested, so blowing your switch is rather unlikely.

If the router isn't PoE, it wont have the conversion circuit from 48v down to the internal operating voltage(s), which likely will produce a decent amount of heat.  It feels hot to the touch is not a good measure of anything, 40C feels insanely hot, MOSFETs can run up to 125C safely, incandescent light bulbs would run at 93C, my LED lights easily run to 60C as they are too hot to touch.

The only indication it shows is they probably aren't spreading that heat out across the device so its making one spot much hotter than the rest.

[MaximusPrime]

switch which often are shells full of air

The access point has no air vents & that is 1 of the reasons why it is over heating imo

MOSFETs can run up to 125C

What about my wooden ceiling the WAP would be screwed to? What if the heat builds up & it goes on fire?

aren't spreading that heat out across the device

The heat starts in the middle of the back of the device, then spreads out over the entire back of the device. At that point I got concerned & powered it off

It's gone now & I'm glad because I didn't feel safe with it

[g3uiss]

You have made the right choice. No piece of consumer electronics should run hot, or even warm. There are so many cases of fires caused by faulty kit.

Very sensible decision

[MaximusPrime]

Yeah, safety first, didn't want to be worrying about it all the time

Out of normal heat range for an electrical device imo

[Alex Atkin UK]

You have made the right choice. No piece of consumer electronics should run hot, or even warm. There are so many cases of fires caused by faulty kit.

Out of normal heat range for an electrical device imo

It really isn't.  I literally cited light bulbs which do, this is not unusual by a long shot.  My laptops PSU gets too hot to hold.  Being hot does not mean its a fire risk, the temperature to burn your hand is dramatically lower than to set something on fire.

There are literally legal requirements for things you are likely to touch to mandate their maximum temperature to prevent burns, for example laptops where they might be on your lap and your hands are resting on them.  These do not apply to fixed appliances like light bulbs or Access Points which are meant to be mounted out of range of sticky fingers.  Its quite likely it does apply to routers, which generally are placed lower down, thus the difference.

[MaximusPrime]

My laptops PSU gets too hot to hold

I suggest u take the bottom of your laptop off, clean the airways & apply new thermal paste to the chips. The heat should blow out the back

fixed appliances like light bulbs

In my house the light fittings have arms away from the walls or they hang down from the ceilings. I would only place a low powered LED bulb close to a wall/ceiling

Type in "electrical fire" into google & go to news, type in "laptop fire" as well

[Alex Atkin UK]

I suggest u take the bottom of your laptop off, clean the airways & apply new thermal paste to the chips. The heat should blow out the back

Applying new paste (if required) would literally make it hotter to the touch, as it would transfer the heat more efficiently to the external chassis.  This is literally my point, any device which is passively cooled and gets hotter and hotter quickly after powering up is a sign its designed well to transfer that heat away from the components.  Its literally a sign of well designed device, not a bad one.  A router that never gets hot is either just not very powerful to begin with, or it has a poor thermal design so its not cooling as well it should be.

I said the laptop PSU, the power brick, the bit that sits on the floor and would melt the carpet if it was dangerously hot.  Like I said, its way too hot to hold after a gaming session, but its not hot enough to melt the carpet - this is by design.  Something "feeling" hot does not mean its remotely close to hot enough to be a fire hazard.  If its not something you are meant to touch during operation, the legal requirements for how hot the surface can get is much hotter than is comfortable to touch.

I have several LED lights that are like the old portal style, they literally dissipate their heat against the ceiling.

Type in "electrical fire" into google & go to news, type in "laptop fire" as well

Laptops are prone to fires because the batteries are extremely volatile.

Seriously, I trained to be an electrician in college but could not pursue it for medical reasons.  I'm well aware of the difference between a fire hazard and a device that runs hot to the touch because you're not meant to touch it in operation.  The old DG834 routers used to get so hot the plastic discoloured.  Just because some routers don't get that hot, doesn't mean its dangerous that some do.

I literally heat the house most of the year from the waste heat coming off electrical appliances.  Also worthy of note, central heating radiators are usually WAY too hot to touch too, between 50-60C.

[MaximusPrime]

Dude, I started this topic asking about heat from Wireless Access Points (WAP)

do u have a WAP, is it very hot to touch or not?