Trying to Fix a Suspiciously Cheap Enterprise-Grade Network Switch
A hobbyist purchased a heavily discounted Juniper EX4100-F-12P enterprise network switch, hoping to repair it for a profit. Upon disassembly, the device revealed severe internal damage, including shorted voltage rails, water ingress, and corroded components. The repair attempt ultimately failed, leaving the unit as unrepairable e-waste.
- ▪The buyer acquired a four-digit price Juniper switch for less than 10% of its original value in untested condition.
- ▪Initial testing revealed that the voltage rails on the 48VDC input were shorted.
- ▪Physical inspection showed significant water damage, rust, and black skid marks near the power input.
- ▪Several components had exploded, ripping apart layers of the PCB and destroying internal traces.
- ▪The lack of available schematics and official repair options rendered the switch beyond repair.
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| Original publisher | Hackaday |
| Canonical URL | https://hackaday.com/2026/09/11/trying-to-fix-a-suspiciously-cheap-enterprise-grade-network-switch/ |
| Publication time | Fri, 11 Sep 2026 23:00:39 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-11T23:03:35.451Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-11T23:03:35.451Z |
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| Cluster | Qh7EIcdqJwT9 · 1 stories |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Trying To Fix A Suspiciously Cheap Enterprise-Grade Network Switch No comments by: Maya Posch September 11, 2026 Title: Copy Short Link: Copy When you see a listing for an Ethernet switch whose specification list is in effect ‘yes’, with a four-digit price tag when new, and with the seller asking for less than 10% of said $3,000 asking price in an ‘untested’ condition, the only rational thing to do is of course to mash that ‘buy’ button. This is what [This Does Not Compute] did, and created a video about to show what a great investment decision this was. Naturally this Juniper EX4100-F-12P switch came without power supply brick for its 48VDC input.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Hackaday.
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