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April 28, 2025
Question

FortiAP 431F - PoE Requirements out-of-box

  • April 28, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 1721 views

Hi All,

 

I'm having trouble getting new FAP431F AP's online. I suspect a PoE problem but can't find clear information in the documentation to verify. Hoping the community may be able to help clarify PoE requirements.

I'm connecting the 431F's to a Cisco 2960 PoE switch (802.3af only). The switch detects the AP, grants 15.4 watts of power, port immediately flaps (up/down) 4 times, then the cycle repeats (logs below).

%ILPOWER-7-DETECT: Interface Fa0/20: Power Device detected: IEEE PD
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%ILPOWER-5-POWER_GRANTED: Interface Fa0/20: Power granted
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%ILPOWER-7-DETECT: Interface Fa0/20: Power Device detected: IEEE PD
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%ILPOWER-5-POWER_GRANTED: Interface Fa0/20: Power granted
%LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to up
%LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface FastEthernet0/20, changed state to down
%ILPOWER-7-DETECT: Interface Fa0/20: Power Device detected: IEEE PD

FAP431F Documentation shows the following regarding PoE:

  • PoE Mode 802.3at PoE default
    1 port powered by 802.3at or 2 ports powered by 802.3af -
    Full System functionality + USB support
    1 port is connected to 802.3af - No USB support, Operate
    in 2x2 mode with reduced power R1/R2 17dBm(Tx power)

 

So, my questions are:

  1. With the factory config, does the FAP431F sense a single 802.3af PoE connection and automatically turn off USB support, switch to 2x2 mode, and reduce R1/R2 Tx power to 17dBm? If not, how does the AP stay "online" long enough to manually change these settings to accommodate a single 802.3 PoE connection?

  2. If two ports on the brand new 431F (factory config) are connected and powered by 802.3af simultaneously, does the AP bridge the interfaces and cause a layer2 loop? Does each interface attempt to get an IP address independently or is there some configuration needed to make dual 802.3af connections work as intended? 
  3. Is it just not possible to bring up a brand new (factory config) FAP431F using a single 802.3af connection?

 

Any information is much appreciated.

 

 

2 replies

Stephen_G
Staff & Editor
Staff & Editor
May 2, 2025

Hello,

 

Thank you for using the Community Forum. I will seek to get you an answer or help. We will reply to this thread with an update as soon as possible.

 

If anyone viewing this topic has any knowledge on this, I encourage you to reply.

 

Thanks,

Stephen_G - Fortinet Community Team
Stephen_G
Staff & Editor
Staff & Editor
May 6, 2025

Hello,

 

We are still looking for an answer to your question.

 

We will come back to you ASAP.

Once more, if anyone has any advice, please feel free to share it.

 

Thanks,

Stephen_G - Fortinet Community Team
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