I have several RouterBoards with broken connectors. Electronics on board is ok, just connector is physically broken.
It seems in some RouterBoard series Mikrotik used some low quality plastic RJ45 connectors that break very easily. They are attached to the board only by soldered pins so any tension from ethernet cable easily breaks connector and looses connection. in some cases I managed to fix it by gluing connector back to the board using hot glue. But in some cases it did not work, and I have to replace connector.
Has anyone done that? It would help if I get recommendation what replacement connector to get and what is safe way to do replacement.
They are attached to the board only by soldered pins so any tension from ethernet cable easily breaks connector
Sorry but i can not confirm that… i have seen zero connectors broken because tension was applied to them…
If you hit the connector with a hammer i guess yes it will break…
I’m not sure what you mean by cheap plastic, but I’ve had an Ethernet connector come loose off a SXT device. This wasn’t due to how it was soldered on, rather me forcing a cable in at a cock-eyed angle with some force. The connector is now about 2mm off the board - device still works.
Thanks for your opinions. I am glad you did not have issues. Good for you. However I asked for opinions from people who do have similar experience as I.
If you want to see how cheap plastic ethernet connector looks like just compare RB433AH with RB433GL. GL version is cheap one. Snaps easily.
