Failed 2701HG-B power supply

The “wall-wort” AC adapter on my 2-wire 2701HG-B AT&T DSL modem/router died after roughly 2 years. This was protected by a decent UPS, and a whole-house surge protector, so I don’t think lightning was an issue. AT&T was no help, they insisted the only option was to purchase a complete new gateway for $100 and the closest place to buy it was 30 miles away at Best-Buy. From what I’m reading, this is a very common problem and has been for several years. Although tech support wouldn’t suggest this, I found that AT&T does list a replacement on their web site through the dslreports forum on similar problems encountered with the 1701 model.

2Wire Power Supply for Models 1701HG, 2700HG, and 2701HG

Posters on the forum suggested that PSP power supplies are rated at 5V 2A and have exactly the same coax plug as the 2-wire unit. I found a gaming power adapter at Radio Shack for $14.99, which is working fine thus far. I’m not convinced it is good for continuous duty, so I’m ordering a heavier duty 5V supply from All Electronics (PS-537) as a backup (I can splice connectors), and have requested a replacement from 2-wire.

The replacement was shipped Monday 10/5/09 via FedEx.

The newer 2-wire modems do seem to have a re-designed “wall-wort” AC adapter. Maybe they finally recognized this reliability problem. However, the replacement they mail out is the old design – good for 2 years only.