Information about the Power Adapters on NETGEAR products

Many NETGEAR products have a “power adapter” ( also known as a power supply, or an AC/DC adapter) with cords plugging into the wall and the product. The power adapter converts the AC power in the wall to the DC power used by the product.

Always use basic caution with any electrical product that plugs into the wall. Also, follow the instructions that come with the product in the manuals. It’s strongly recommended to use the power adapter which shipped with your product. Replacement NETGEAR power adapters are available from your vendor.

Each NETGEAR product's power adapter has the correct:

• Input power. This is 120 volts or 220 volts ( some adapters can handle both, check the label ).
  
• Output power. This is rated in volts DC, for example “12V”. (Unless the power adapter outputs volts AC.)
  
• Output power: This is rated in amps, for example “1A”.
  
• Plug polarity. There are two terminals in the jack which plugs into your product, postive and negative. The positive terminal “+” is the middle, inside one. The negative terminal “-“ is on the outside. The plug polarity is marked on the power adapter for your convenience. ( For NETGEAR products as of May, 2006 ).

What if I use the Wrong Power Adapter?

• Your product could be unsafe to operate.

• You could cause serious damage to the product.

• Your product could mysteriously reboot, drop connections, or have range and performance problems, etc.

• Using your product might violate the law.

Related Facts

When power is converted from the power in the to power suitable for your equipment, unavoidably some of that power is lost to heat. You may be able to feel heat on the power adapter. The normal operating temperature depends on the product.

Powerline products do not have an external power adapter.

Some products have Power over Ethernet, which allows the DC power from one network device to be transmitted by Ethernet cable to another device. This way, one of the devices avoids using a power adapter.

Some products come with a “switching power adapter”, which is smaller and lighter.

A few NETGEAR power adapters output volts AC, instead of volts DC.

N101635.asp July 6, 2006