eero router cable length.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

I’ve  just got full fibre from Fibrus installed and its working great ,only niggle is the power supply cables for eero 6+ routers are extremely short at around  5ft . The main router is currently sitting on the back of the sofa , i want it on top of a high wall unit ,which needs around another 1- 1.5 meteres in length of the powercable..

Is there any particuar reason why i cant just buy a female USB C to male cable extension (not sure what type as in 3.1 ,3.2 type C etc…) . The installer , said its not advisable as probably wont work but gave no reason why not. Anyone one knowledgable here that knows about these things.

I have looked on the internet and some places say it fine to just use an extension or even a different usb c charging plug/cable  others warning against it .

Thanks

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Only the engineers who did the work know for sure but one reason for keeping a connecting lead under 2m long is the specfic requirements of some interference standards. The allowable level of interference is lower on leads over 2m. This means you can have a electrically noiser unit if you keep the leads under 2m.

An extension lead should work, assuming it is of good quality.
The only possible issue is there will be some voltage drop, hard to say how important this is without knowing the detals.
Using an extension may however breach the warranty and / or product approvals.
Keep any extension as short as possible.

Robert

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

As Robert says, use good quality USB extension.  Wire gauge used varies enormously, for anything drawing significant current voltage drop along the cable can be a problem.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

Thanks , the fibre optic  cable comes into the propertythrough the wall and around 2 .5 metres into the room terminating with what they call an ONT box (this has its own power cable plugged into the wall) ,the first eero router (the only one im bothered about regarding cable length ) is connected by a short 1metre  ethernet cable to the ONT box  . The power supply cable is permanently fixed into the plug end (5v 3amp 15w).the other end is a type c usb that simply plugs into the eero . I could possibly get away with just a one metre extension , but what type of cable?? USB 3.1 type C  or 3.2 type C or gen 1 ,2 etc… There is alot of different spec cables.

Ive heard the wire cores need to be decent qiality and not thin as to avoid overheating.

But is something likethis suitable or worth trying?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/UGREEN-Extension-Extender-Compatible-Thunderbolt/dp/B08NTCD6VQ?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Probably OK. You can always return it…

[HowiParticipant @howi]

these units do consume a fair amount of power, hence the short power lead.

Better to extend the mains via extension cable and socket.

[CirclipParticipant @circlip]

When scanning plans on an A4 scanner, fond out instantly the 3m USB extension lead wouldn’t work. Have you thought about plug in Wi-Fi extender?

Regards   Ian.

Amazon link doesn’t seem to tell you how long the lead is?

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

The lead on the amazon link is 1 metre. Ive bought it to try if doesnt work i’ll have to use a mains extension .

It came  with another eero router to act as a wifi extender/ mesh system ,but i have the first main  router where i want it as i use ethernet cables for the desktop pc and smart tv. Only really use wifi occasionally on the phone.

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

Mains extension cable is the way to go.

[David JuppParticipant @davidjupp51506]

Would it be easier to use a longer Ethernet cable between the ONT and the Router?  So router can sit within range of the power cord.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

It wouldnt make a difference,(though i will need a longer one when i put the router where i want it,) its the short power cord thats stopping me putting it where i want it. I have lots of different length ethernet cables.

[mark smith 20]

On 16 December 2024 at 14:35 mark smith 20 Said:

[…] Is there any particuar reason why i cant just buy a female USB C to male cable extension (not sure what type as in 3.1 ,3.2 type C etc…) . The installer , said its not advisable as probably wont work but gave no reason why not. Anyone one knowledgable here that knows about these things.

I have looked on the internet and some places say it fine to just use an extension or even a different usb c charging plug/cable  others warning against it .

Now that the fundamental advice has been given and accepted, let’s go back to that ^^^ question.

Yes, there is a particular reason: Despite all the ‘USB C plugs’ being interchangeable, the cables can be very different in price, construction, and performance:  ‘Thunderbolt’ ports [3 and later]  for example, simply do not work properly with low-spec cables.

If the cable in question is only supplying power, then Robert’s advice is entirely sufficient … but when a port as sophisticated as Thunderbolt uses the same plug, there’s a multitude of things that can and do go wrong.

MichaelG.

.

Ref. __ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)#Thunderbolt_3

Edit: __ speaking only as a very satisfied customer: OWC cables from flexx memory are very good indeed [if you need the performance of Thunderbolt]
.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Well the advert for the cable the OP linked to says it’s 100W rated so should be good for 5A (at the max specification voltage of 20V). That is why I said it should be OK.

I doubt there is any high speed data tranfer between the wall-wart and the router. It’s probably fixed at 5V so woud not even need basic power setting communications.

USB 3.0 is terrible it causes lots of interference. Often enough to stop wirless devices on the computer it’s in to stop working.

Robert.

[Robert Atkinson 2]

On Robert Atkinson 2 Said:

Well the advert for the cable the OP linked to says it’s 100W rated so should be good for 5A (at the max specification voltage of 20V). That is why I said it should be OK.

I doubt there is any high speed data tranfer between the wall-wart and the router. It’s probably fixed at 5V […]

Indeed, Robert … that’s what I was trying to explain

MichaelG.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

well the 1 metre USB extension lead off amazon worked fine ,no loss of performance or other odd issues that i can detect. Got the 500 mb speed fibre and its currently running at 520 down 103 up over ethernet. Wireless is around 250 -300 mb down and around 80-90 up. £25.99 a month with Fibrus with price fixed over 2 year contract.So pleased and cant complain considering  i was getting 58 down and 20 up on fibre to cabinet with talk talk at same price..

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Thanks for the update.

Too often people reply to questions we and never know the outcome…

Robert.

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