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PoE issue with low power device (DOREMiDi MR-1 PoE) on Netgear M4250 switch
Hello,
I am experiencing an issue with PoE when using a Netgear M4250-9G1F-PoE+ switch together with a low power PoE device.
Setup:
- Switch: Netgear M4250-9G1F-PoE+
- Device: DOREMiDi MR-1 PoE (MIDI device)
- Power consumption of the device: approx. 1.5W
The problem is that the MR-1 PoE requires less power than the minimum PoE power delivered by the Netgear switch (minimum seems to be around 3W). Because the device draws so little power, the switch detects insufficient power consumption and automatically disables PoE on that port.
As a result, the device does not stay powered on when connected to the Netgear switch.
Interestingly, the same device works perfectly on a Cisco switch (Cisco LGS108P), where PoE remains enabled and stable.
My question:
Is there a way to configure the Netgear M4250 switch to support PoE devices with very low power consumption?
For example:
- A setting to force PoE on a port
- Adjusting PoE detection or minimum power thresholds
- Any recommended workaround or supported solution
I would appreciate any advice or guidance on how to resolve this issue.
Thank you in advance!
3 Replies
Because the device draws so little power, the switch detects insufficient power consumption and automatically disables PoE on that port.
Ist this an assumption or backed from insight information available in the logs?
A IEEE standards compliant does start to provide power based on the pulsing or on LLDP packet sent from the powered device (PD) to the power source device (PSE).
The PoE controller should not terminate the power delivery on my opinion. even if the effective consumption is below 2.5W in my understanding.
A device requesting class 0 or class 1 is supposed to be able driving a PD consuming 0.44W-12.95W, with at least 15.4W at the PSE to overcome cable losses.
Unclear to me where the 2.5W data is coming from - have found this in a data sheet or a user manual?
https://kb.netgear.com/12902/Power-over-Ethernet-PoE-standards-and-compatibility
Something to push to Netgear Support, or to the Netgear AV team with LaurentMa (at ISE 2026 as of editing)
Hello shumaku,
Thank you for your post and for taking the time to share your insights.
From a physical observation perspective, the behavior is very clear:
- The LEDs on the DOREMiDi MR-1 PoE pulse repeatedly
- The device appears to start up briefly
- After a short time, it powers down again
- This cycle repeats continuously
This strongly suggests that PoE power is being applied and then withdrawn by the switch.
Regarding power consumption:
The manufacturer of the DOREMiDi MR-1 PoE has confirmed the following:
“This issue may be due to the low power consumption of the MR-1 PoE. Some PoE switches continuously cycle between powering on and off because the powered devices consume low power.”
The MR-1 PoE has an approximate power draw of ~1.5W, which appears to be below the effective sustain threshold used by the Netgear PoE controller. While I fully agree that, per IEEE 802.3af specifications, a Class 0 or Class 1 PD should be supported within the defined power range, the real-world behavior on this switch indicates that PoE power is being removed after initial negotiation.
As mentioned earlier, the same device operates continuously and reliably on a Cisco LGS108P, which suggests a difference in PoE power sustain or detection behavior rather than standards compliance of the PD itself.
To further investigate this, I have now opened a support case with Netgear and have provided logs extracted directly from the switch to assist with the analysis.
Thanks again for your input — it is very much appreciated.
The manufacturer of the DOREMiDi MR-1 PoE has confirmed the following:
“This issue may be due to the low power consumption of the MR-1 PoE. Some PoE switches continuously cycle between powering on and off because the powered devices consume low power.”As this MR-1 is a very nice product: If you have contact to them, please let them know that you suggest a more complete PoE description, the "To power the product through the network port, please make sure your router/switch has PoE function" is extremely unclear, we suggest something like this instead:
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Power over Ethernet: PoE Standard (IEEE 802.3af), backwards compatible to PoE+ (IEEE 802.3at) and PoE++ (IEEE 802.3bt) PSE (Power Source Equipment). Notes: a) Contact the PSE (PoE router, switch, injector) manufacturer if you find the DOREMiDi MR-1 PoE in an unexpected power loop, caused by the low power consumption of just ~1.5W b) Proprietary passive (eg. 24V or 48V) non-IEEE compliant PoE systems are not supported.
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