As much as I love cloud-managed networking hardware such as Zyxel Nebula and Ubiquiti, it is kind of expensive, with an 8-port POE switch costing over £100.
Sometimes it is OK to go back to basics, and an unmanaged POE switch can save you quite a bit of money. With no management options at all, they are not the sort of thing you will want to use in a complex networking environment. However, for home use, powering up your POE security cameras, phone or access points, they can be a perfect solution.
I previously reviewed the TP-Link TL-SG1210P, which I thought was an excellent option due to its very competitive pricing. If you want to save a few more pounds, there are some while label switches on the market that are branded with lesser-known names.
YuanLey Features & Design
The YuanLey 8-port 120W unmanaged switch is about as cheap as it gets, the spec and design looks suspiciously identical to the MokerLink, both are priced the same, and it is almost certain that the physical hardware is identical.
At 120W this is an extraordinarily well-specced POE switch with each port capable of up to 30W. In comparison, the more expensive TP-Link I reviewed had just 63W total with a 30W per port allowance.
It is worth noting that YuanLey have quite a few options, and some of the most affordable ones use just 100Mbps ports. I wouldn’t personally recommend these unless you know the devices you are connecting will only ever need low data throughput, a SIP VOIP phone system would probably be suitable for these.
Like many affordable 8-port switches, this is fanless so ideal for home and small office environments.
I have this on a shelf, but it comes with rack ears that can be used for wall mounting and racks. It uses a standard kettle lead with the PSU built into the switch itself. This does make the switch a little chunky but I prefer it to an external adaptor.
Performance
I placed this in my converted garage/gym, so it is not central to my network, but I have not experienced any negative issues with performance. During testing, transfer speeds consistently remained at 1Gbps, and there have been no noticeable drops in speeds during daily use.
While the switch is fanless, on at least one occasion, I did notice some electrical buzzing. I am very sensitive to this type of noise, so it is probably not an issue in the majority of scenarios, but I regularly have to switch out electronics in my TV room if it makes any kind of buzz.
Beyond that minor issue, the switch has worked flawlessly for me, I have not been able to test the full 120W claims, but so far it comfortably powers up 3 POE cameras and a Zyxel NWA1123-ACV2 access point. So max usage is under 50W.
Price and Competition
Apart from the MokerLink, which I think is the same hardware, I am unable to find anything close to this spec for this price.
- YuanLey 8 Port Gigabit 120W PoE Switch – £59.99
- MokerLink 8 Port Gigabit 120W PoE Switch – £59.99
- Netgear GS110TP 46W Smart – £89.25
- TP-Link T1500G-10PS 53W POE with 2x SFP Smart Switch £87.49
- TP-Link TL-SG1210P 63W 8 port POE + 2 SFP unmanaged switch – £74.48
Overall
The YuanLey works as advertised, it is an 8-port gigabit POE switch, with it being unmanaged there is not much to say about the features.
Some cheap switches have a bad habit of dropping down to 100Mbps, and so far I have not noticed this, though this is based in my garage/gym so probably wouldn’t notice intermittent problems.
Overall, with almost nothing competing at this price point I have nothing to complain about with the YuanLey, it works as a superb cheap POE switch, ideal for things like home CCTV installations. It is perhaps not something I would use as the main switch central to my network, but as a cheap POE solution it is perfect.