Aftermarket Brick for my Airport Extreme |
I have two Airport Extremes, but one was without its power adapter. It was lost in transport, and Apple-original Extreme AC adapters are very expensive. Instead of having a useless paperweight around, I
decided to buy an aftermarket adapter that meets all the specifications.
Modern USB power bricks are great, but only recently could they provide enough power for something like a high-end WiFi router. And sadly, there are many unscrupulous sellers that sell inexpensive "Extreme compatible" bricks for a premium. I decided that I wanted an affordable adapter.
The Specs of the Original
The A1202 Power Adapter Specs Label |
I was lucky enough to have an original Extreme power brick, the Apple A1202 adapter that came with my other Extreme. I read the specs, I tested it with my multimeter, and I measured the physical connector with my micrometer! This is what I found:
- 12 Volts DC
- 1.8 Amps (per label)
- Center pin is positive. Barrel ring is negative.
- Outside Diameter of barrel ring is 5.5 mm
- Diameter of center pin is roughly 2.5 mm
- Length of barrel ring including plastic tip is roughly 10 mm
(Just for reference, input is labelled as 100V - 240V AC, 50 - 60 Hz, 1.0 Amp)
Very happily, these specs are not weird at all. In fact, they're fairly common.
Extreme Power Unit Replacement
Given all that, I ended up buying this power brick that meets all of my Airport Extreme's specs. So far, this inexpensive wall wart works great. I just plugged it into my Extreme and it's been working great for the past couple months. Any questions? Let me know in the comments, or DM me!
Postscript
Clearly I love my label maker. It's a Brother. It's not perfect, but it makes some great labels.