Ubiquiti Amplifi Router – USB-C Power Supply Issue

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Ubiquiti Amplifi Router – USB-C Power Supply Issue

mhb

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#270591 16-May-2020 19:24

Hi

We have happily been using the Ubiquti Amplifi Router since November 2017.

However today it suddenly just stopped working – no sign of life etc. Doing
some investigation it appears that is is a power supply issue.

Currently power is supplied via USB-C from mains. Trying different USB-C power
adapters causes the router to show "Adapter error".

Googling around shows that it appears to be a known issue. e.g.
https://help.amplifi.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016908134-Troubleshooting-Power-Adapter-Error-and-Replacement
https://community.amplifi.com/topic/1026/amplifihd-router-power-supply

I was wondering what the situation here is in NZ.

It was originally purchased from Ascent on 12 November 2017. I doubt it is
still under warranty. Which is fine.

I have tried searching their site for the relevant NZ power adapter but to no
avail. Does anyone know where one could buy a USB-C power for Ubiquiti Amplifi
Router?

Mark

1024kb

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#2485051 16-May-2020 20:49

I just repowered my Amplifi router with a Tommox MU520C. Works perfectly. Because there's 4 other power ports on the charger, I'm using a 2m USB-C to C cable, leaving the charger accessible when I need it.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBPTMX0001/Tommox-PD-Charger-75W-Type-C-Adapter-QC-30-1x-PD-6

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mhb

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#2485123 17-May-2020 10:23

Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely take a look.

For the record, I have tried powering up using the following with no luck i.e. always get the ‘Adapter error’:
* Raspberry Pi 4 USB-C cable mains adaptor
* Apple USB-C cable and USB-C adapter (A1693)
* Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter (A1540) and USB-C cable
* Apple 10W USB Power Adapter (A1357) using Belkin USB-A to USB-C cable
* Olala powerbank (S102-i) and Belkin USB-A to USB-C adapter
* Olala powerbank (S102-i) and a multi-thingy-octopus type USB-A to USB-C adapter

Have ordered another Amplifi Gigabit Router (with 3 year warranty!) and will try out the power unit that comes with it on the existing router first.

sbiddle

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Biddle Corp

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#2485152 17-May-2020 12:01

mhb: Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely take a look.

For the record, I have tried powering up using the following with no luck i.e. always get the ‘Adapter error’:
* Raspberry Pi 4 USB-C cable mains adaptor
* Apple USB-C cable and USB-C adapter (A1693)
* Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter (A1540) and USB-C cable
* Apple 10W USB Power Adapter (A1357) using Belkin USB-A to USB-C cable
* Olala powerbank (S102-i) and Belkin USB-A to USB-C adapter
* Olala powerbank (S102-i) and a multi-thingy-octopus type USB-A to USB-C adapter

Have ordered another Amplifi Gigabit Router (with 3 year warranty!) and will try out the power unit that comes with it on the existing router first.

Just a few observations from your testing that might add some value.

It's worth noting the Amplifi needs 9V to power it - not 5V. That powerbank and Apple 10W charger you tried only output 5V so even with a USB-C cable it's still only going to output 5V, not the required 9V

USB-A chargers or powerbanks support 5V only unless they have QC2.0 or QC3.0 support (where they can then support 9V or 12V), but to use 9V or 12V the end device needs to support QC2.0 or QC3.0, which I'd highly doubt the Amplifi supports (it's typically only in Qualcomm phone chipsets)

USB-C chargers and powerbanks can output 5V, 9V and 12V and a USB-C PD capable charger or powerbank can then also output 15V, and 20V in various amperage steps right up to 100W using 20V @ 5A, and newer PD capable hardware can also support intermediate voltage steps as well.

Mehrts

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#2485164 17-May-2020 12:45

Man, what a muck around simply to get power to a device!

1024kb

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#2485165 17-May-2020 12:49

9v USB-C is slightly out of the ordinary, yes. Amplifi is a pretty good device though, I'd definitely say it's worth the effort.

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1eStar

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#2485171 17-May-2020 13:25

You could try a Samsung "Adaptive fast charger" which is equivalent to QC2.0 ie supports 9v 1.67A using a quality USBA to UsbC cable.

sbiddle

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#2485176 17-May-2020 13:42

1eStar: You could try a Samsung "Adaptive fast charger" which is equivalent to QC2.0 ie supports 9v 1.67A using a quality USBA to UsbC cable.

I'd be 99.9% confident this would not work.

Unless the Amplifi supports QC2.0 / QC3.0 (and basically nothing out there other than phones that support a Qualcomm chipset do) then it has no way of negotiating the 9V via a USB-A charger. USB-C on the other hand natively supports 9V and 12V as part of the voltage negotiation in the PD spec.

While many phones support both QC and PD (many newer USB-C phones with PD with a Qualcomm chipset can still support QC2.0 / QC3.0 when plugged into a USB-A charger with QC support), there is no way to get 9V or 12V from a USB-A charger unless you can negotiate QC2.0 / QC3.0

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mhb

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#2485179 17-May-2020 13:49

sbiddle:
mhb: Thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely take a look.

For the record, I have tried powering up using the following with no luck i.e. always get the ‘Adapter error’:
* Raspberry Pi 4 USB-C cable mains adaptor
* Apple USB-C cable and USB-C adapter (A1693)
* Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter (A1540) and USB-C cable
* Apple 10W USB Power Adapter (A1357) using Belkin USB-A to USB-C cable
* Olala powerbank (S102-i) and Belkin USB-A to USB-C adapter
* Olala powerbank (S102-i) and a multi-thingy-octopus type USB-A to USB-C adapter

Have ordered another Amplifi Gigabit Router (with 3 year warranty!) and will try out the power unit that comes with it on the existing router first.

Just a few observations from your testing that might add some value.

It's worth noting the Amplifi needs 9V to power it - not 5V. That powerbank and Apple 10W charger you tried only output 5V so even with a USB-C cable it's still only going to output 5V, not the required 9V

USB-A chargers or powerbanks support 5V only unless they have QC2.0 or QC3.0 support (where they can then support 9V or 12V), but to use 9V or 12V the end device needs to support QC2.0 or QC3.0, which I'd highly doubt the Amplifi supports (it's typically only in Qualcomm phone chipsets)

USB-C chargers and powerbanks can output 5V, 9V and 12V and a USB-C PD capable charger or powerbank can then also output 15V, and 20V in various amperage steps right up to 100W using 20V @ 5A, and newer PD capable hardware can also support intermediate voltage steps as well.

Thank you! That is a really useful explanation of why those would not possibly work. I have also ordered the Tommox MU520C.