Service Life?

[Radiator]

What kind of lifespan can I reasonably expect to get out of one of these n900 routers since they apparently run hot?

 

[thiggins]

Heat isn't necessarily the primary failure mechanism. Power supplies also tend to fail prematurely.

But there really isn't any fact-based way to answer your question without access to manufacturer failure information.

 

[RMerlin]

Those temperatures are fairly common these days for high end routers. My former WRT310N was actually running hotter, due to its more compact design.

 

[Radiator]

Ballpark guesstimate? 5yrs? More? Less?

Anyone had one in operation for an extended period of time?

 

[joegreat]

Ballpark guesstimate? 5yrs? More? Less?

Yep, something between one day and 5 years is realistic!

 

[RMerlin]

Ballpark guesstimate? 5yrs? More? Less?

Anyone had one in operation for an extended period of time?

Hard to tell since the router has only been on the market for a year

 

[ChrisR]

I never replaced my routers because they broke, but because of new technology

 

[Mark the Red]

Google did a HUGE study of hard drive failures in their farms over time. It turns out there was very little correlation between operating temperature and fail rate. (corrected for obvious outliers such as drives catching fire due to faulty bearings, etc.)

The biggest indicator of fail rate was actually time of failing. That if the hard drive was going to fail, it failed real fast (first months). Once it got past this "birthing" phase, a warmer drive lasted just as long as the cooler one.

Now I can't say in any scientific way that a HDD lifespan has the same variables as a Router (i.e., moving parts). But my anecdotal experience of electronics for over 20 years is very similar to Googles. If its defective, it defects really fast. As long as you have reasonable air circulation around your router (not buried under laundry pile), and it hasn't failed in the first three months, Moore's law will "kill" it before the heat does.

The only exception was a sound card I had that died after 5 years of use.

 

[Hothersale]

I'm on my third RT-N66U. The first died within minutes. The second died after three months. I chalk it up to bad luck, and I'm hopeful my new one will last a lot longer.

Generally, I've had very good luck with electronics. My WRT54GLS was still going strong after 8+ years of continuous service!

 

[RMerlin]

Life expectancy of electronic device can be wildly affected by the power supply. If you frequently experience power surges, then your electronic devices are more likely to experience an early failure.

Quality power bars (not the $9 kind - and note that many power bars with surge suppression have a limited life as well) or even a small UPS can go a long way toward protecting your gear.

 

[Radiator]

Thanks for the info, I ordered the new router and ups today.

 

[netmik3]

Yup i have horrible electricity in this house and had several devices or power supplies. I bought more ups and voltage regulators.
got tons of these http://amzn.com/B00009RA60