RB4011 Metal temperature is really hot

Mikrotikate · Wed Mar 27, 2019 5:35 pm

Hello all,

I recently bough a new RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD-IN and before i had the chance to configure it, the metal became extremely hot ( just at the point of burning your hands ) and we still haven't reached this summer..
I understand this is to dissipate the heat but i would like to ask two questions as i am considering returning it:

1. Is it possible ( currently or in a near future ) to lower the CPU frequency with RouterOS or make some other configuration to prevent it from heating this much.
2. is everyone having the same experience?

Thanks!

Etz · Wed Mar 27, 2019 6:37 pm

Interesting, mine is not gtting hot at all, despite being fitted into very tight place with no ventilation and serving 500/500 connection, switching local network (over cpu, switch chips are crap on this), vpn, etc...

Under Health, it reports ~45C as temp and it is not definitely "hot" to touch...but this is non-wireless model, maybe radios are generating lot of heat?

OT: I really love form factor of this model, there is no way, I could have fit 8 port switch + ISP "generic consumer" router into that space.

pcunite · Wed Mar 27, 2019 11:40 pm

I have the non-wifi model. System/Health reports 40C. Another model I manage shows the same.

Mikrotikate · Wed Mar 27, 2019 11:55 pm

Thank you for your input. It would also be really nice to have other RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD-IN users reply. I don't see how the radio card alone can generate this much heat.

I am really considering returning it...
I have 2 hAP ac which I really enjoy, and they really excel in many ways and are always at ambient temperature..

Thu Mar 28, 2019 1:06 pm

That is completely normal and is to be expected. The RB4011 is designed to act as a heatsink.

Mikrotikate · Thu Mar 28, 2019 9:29 pm

Thanks normis,

Could you comment also on my first question?
That is, if I don't want it to heat this much how can I reduce the CPU frequency or other, by software means, in order to reduce heat even if that means lower performance?
Will this be possible/available for the RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD-IN?

Many thanks.

Fri Mar 29, 2019 9:31 am

The device has a very high performance CPU and no active cooling, the enclosure is made to act as a heatsink. It is designed to be hot.
Without active cooling fans, you can't make it cooler. Even just running idle at low CPU frequency it will be hot.

deanMKD1 · Fri Mar 29, 2019 1:03 pm

Almost al ARM based routers have a little higher temperature then normal as we can see on MISPBE devices. Even my hAP Ac2 have higher temperature then other devices i haved before. But i think its normal, and dont have downsides.

sebastia · Fri Mar 29, 2019 2:21 pm

possibly shorter lifespan?

mada3k · Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:15 pm

I'm sure it's designed to be placed laying down, so the air can pass through the fins.

Sat Mar 30, 2019 5:18 pm

Hello all,

I recently bough a new RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD-IN and before i had the chance to configure it, the metal became extremely hot ( just at the point of burning your hands ) and we still haven't reached this summer..
I understand this is to dissipate the heat but i would like to ask two questions as i am considering returning it:

1. Is it possible ( currently or in a near future ) to lower the CPU frequency with RouterOS or make some other configuration to prevent it from heating this much.
2. is everyone having the same experience?

Thanks!

1. You are complaining but not sharing temp reported on system health menu, please share to have an objective view of the situation
2. RB4011 is not a tiny device like hAP AC2, this device have twice as much cpu clock and uses Heaviest Out of Order CPU so expect more power consumption then HEAT
3. Passive cooled devices are designed to work a little hotter that is normal but is important to provide proper air flow
4. Maybe this device is not right for your needs, dont expect the device to be changed just for you
5. Datasheet its very clear, Power consumption around 23 watt, passive cooled device, this device will not work cool as a 5-10 watt tiny device, very clear on specs, dont expect this device to work well on a confined situation
6. Product photos make obvious the cooling fins at the back, and venting holes downside, its very clear you have to ensure proper free airflow for this device
7. If you cant live with this situation Put and external fan and its done you will have better temperatures

netos · Sun Apr 07, 2019 11:10 pm

You can reduce the frequency by going to system-> routerboard-> settings-> cpu frequencu. When installed at 800 MHz and the 2.4Ghz WiFi is turned off, the temperature should stop at 37 C. This is idle. But I do not know how it will affect performance.

netos · Mon Apr 08, 2019 4:22 pm

Today I looked at the temperature on rb4011iGS + rm in idle 34 C. And on rb1100ahx4 the temperature is 40 c with zero loading. The rb1100ahx4 case is barely warm. there the radiator does not touch the hull, but in a dream it seems it should still be hot. Who checked them at 100% loading cpu? What are your temperatures?

np3a17868 · Sat Apr 20, 2019 8:17 am

Mine runs hot (IMHO too hot) to the touch as well. System heath reports around 45C during the day. Even without the 5GHz radio which I normally disable.
This 4011 replaced a 2011 few weeks ago. Temperature was never a concern on the 2011.

Noted per design the chassis will become hot. However, I think the designed chassis temperature is too high,.

craigmitchell · Sat Apr 20, 2019 11:12 pm

Hi team, I was tasked to evaluate the RB4011 before investing in more units.

This unit feels warm to the touch, even at zero load/shutdown.

Our unit is running RouterOS/firmware 6.43.14

1) we performed a System > Reset Configuration
2) no clients connected with LAN or WLAN
3) the unit was tested sitting in an open space on a table top with at least 2m clearing in all directions
4) the ambient air temperature was 23.5°C

Test #1 - with the unit powered on, we measured the external temperature at different points on the metal casing at 5 minute intervals after boot:

Time after boot / case temp
5 mins / 28.4 °C
10 mins / 33.0 °C
15 mins / 35.3 °C
20 mins / 37.0 °C
25 mins / 37.8 °C
30 mins / 38.6 °C
35 mins / 39.0 °C
40 mins / 40.2 °C
45 mins / 40.2 °C
50 mins / 40.4 °C
55 mins / 40.8 °C
60 mins / 40.8 °C

Test #2 - logon to the unit (winbox) and shutdown the unit. Our expectations were that the temperature would drop to ambient room temperature as the unit was now powered down (but still connected to PSU):

Time after shutdown / case temp
1 hour / 43.0 °C
2 hours / 43.5 °C
3 hours / 44.5 °C
4 hours / 45.0 °C
10 hours / 45.0 °C

I would be very interested to hear if the above observations are expected?

cdemers · Sun Apr 21, 2019 4:02 am

If the power is connected the cpu is still running, even when you issue a shutdown in routeros. It just does a unix halt all processes and sits there in an idle loop, there is no way for it to power down if it's like all the other routers i have seen.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk

Nemesiz · Sat Jun 22, 2019 7:49 pm

My RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD is hot like potato. Is it 47C normal?

R1CH · Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:50 pm

Yes, Mikrotik devices have a history of running quite hot. So far I've seen no reports of actual problems caused by this, the CPUs are rated for very high temperatures. If your router is actually crashing or exhibiting other strange behavior as a result of the temperature then it's a problem.

honzam · Tue Jun 25, 2019 6:47 pm

Our rb4011 now reports 52C and works...

Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:41 am

Hi team, I was tasked to evaluate the RB4011 before investing in more units.

This unit feels warm to the touch, even at zero load/shutdown.

Our unit is running RouterOS/firmware 6.43.14

1) we performed a System > Reset Configuration
2) no clients connected with LAN or WLAN
3) the unit was tested sitting in an open space on a table top with at least 2m clearing in all directions
4) the ambient air temperature was 23.5°C

Test #1 - with the unit powered on, we measured the external temperature at different points on the metal casing at 5 minute intervals after boot:

Time after boot / case temp
5 mins / 28.4 °C
10 mins / 33.0 °C
15 mins / 35.3 °C
20 mins / 37.0 °C
25 mins / 37.8 °C
30 mins / 38.6 °C
35 mins / 39.0 °C
40 mins / 40.2 °C
45 mins / 40.2 °C
50 mins / 40.4 °C
55 mins / 40.8 °C
60 mins / 40.8 °C

Test #2 - logon to the unit (winbox) and shutdown the unit. Our expectations were that the temperature would drop to ambient room temperature as the unit was now powered down (but still connected to PSU):

Time after shutdown / case temp
1 hour / 43.0 °C
2 hours / 43.5 °C
3 hours / 44.5 °C
4 hours / 45.0 °C
10 hours / 45.0 °C

I would be very interested to hear if the above observations are expected?

i think that people must hire better qualified personnel to do that kind of evaluations than you

Wed Jun 26, 2019 12:51 am

people please update your knowledge on modern IT

Current state of art hardware heats a lot more than rb4011, in most modern devices temperature climbs so high that devices are throtling lowering performance to keep temperature under control

there is many CPU working at temperatures as high as 90°C or more and this is considered "normal"

this device consumes 23watt that energy needs to go some where in form of heat

Never rains at everyone taste

Mikrotik makes and designs a solid, powerful, silent and passive cooled device

absent of mobile parts thus less prone to failure because of fan damage

Then

many people complaining about feels hotter

No way to make happy everyone

mkx · Wed Jun 26, 2019 9:27 am

... passive cooled device

This.

A passive cooled device can't cool without larger temperature difference (between device and ambient).

chrismfz · Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:54 pm

Hexpoe on attic without insulation or ventilated / cooled. 3rd summer in a row.
They will survive.

dakotabcn · Fri Jun 28, 2019 12:31 am

Hello
My RB4011 wifi version is VERY VERY hot, it is impossible to put your hand on, you burn!
I do not find this excessive temperature logical or normal, it is currently marking 51 degrees Celsius, this is not good, such a high temperature will end up damaging the hardware, and it is not a cheap device at all.
Mikrotik has tested this equipment in warm environments? currently in Barcelona (Spain) we are with a very strong heat wave, and I fear for the router, I have had several mikrotik routers (RB3011, RB951G, RB1100AGx4) and none gets so hot

Fri Jun 28, 2019 10:55 am

This is NOT TRUE. Please read the entire topic.

blue · Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:14 pm

Hello,

It's very warm in Serbia and my RB4011iGS+ blocked twice in 3 days. This time I put him in Librenms and last temp before crash was 66C. It was maybe higher, but 4011 didn't report it. I could ping device, but traffic stopped and only remote gsm reboot saved me from traveling to this remote location.

I will have to mount some kind of fan to it.

BR...

joegoldman · Tue Jul 02, 2019 3:06 am

you need to buy hardware for the installation, not just for the specs. If you are working in hot environments with no natural airflow / air-con then you will need active cooling, so buy a model with active cooling (RB1100AHx4 would be my suggestion). There is more to product selection then just specs, ports and functionality.

blue · Tue Jul 02, 2019 9:41 am

you need to buy hardware for the installation, not just for the specs. If you are working in hot environments with no natural airflow / air-con then you will need active cooling, so buy a model with active cooling (RB1100AHx4 would be my suggestion). There is more to product selection then just specs, ports and functionality.

You are completely right! I didn't think about that potential issue

Tue Jul 02, 2019 10:05 am

I don't think the crash was due to temperature. The device can easily work at higher temperatures. make a supout.rif file and contact support, it could be another reason

Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:00 pm

you will need active cooling, so buy a model with active cooling (RB1100AHx4 would be my suggestion).

Be careful choosing device, both RB1100AHx4 models have passive cooling!

joegoldman · Tue Jul 02, 2019 2:27 pm

you will need active cooling, so buy a model with active cooling (RB1100AHx4 would be my suggestion).
Be careful choosing device, both RB1100AHx4 models have passive cooling!

Hrmm i swear I remember fan holes on the back of 1100 case - maybe im thinking older model? My bad.

nmt1900 · Tue Jul 02, 2019 3:24 pm

RB1100AHx2 was last one with fans.

blue · Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:45 pm

I don't think the crash was due to temperature. The device can easily work at higher temperatures. make a supout.rif file and contact support, it could be another reason

OK. I will do that. Thanks...

Wed Jul 03, 2019 1:02 am

you will need active cooling, so buy a model with active cooling (RB1100AHx4 would be my suggestion).
Be careful choosing device, both RB1100AHx4 models have passive cooling!
Hrmm i swear I remember fan holes on the back of 1100 case - maybe im thinking older model? My bad.

case has fan holes but not fans, only 20 watt no need for active cooling but maybe you can adapt a fan

Docop · Sun Jul 07, 2019 3:21 pm

Hot.. quite interesting. No one told about real data, just 1 post and don't know with what device it was took. My ex cry about everything is cold and me i was cooking. My rb in system health is at 40dC, room temp at 28.5 quite hot. And with a termocouple K type, a 1/8 of it, i can get a case temp of 22. it's about 0.5 feet from the floor.
But at same time, if you do multiple vlan and pass all the traffic of multiple network and so, you tax the unit. The rb4011 is not intend for a big buiseness and they do have bigger crs series for that.

blue · Wed Jul 10, 2019 10:12 pm

Hello,

It's very warm in Serbia and my RB4011iGS+ blocked twice in 3 days. This time I put him in Librenms and last temp before crash was 66C. It was maybe higher, but 4011 didn't report it. I could ping device, but traffic stopped and only remote gsm reboot saved me from traveling to this remote location.

I will have to mount some kind of fan to it.

BR...

4011 blocked again, and weather is cold in Serbia. So blocking wasn't temperature related. I am changing it tomorrow for CCR1009-7G-1C-1S+
I sent supout again, and hopefully MTK will find what is wrong whit it.

BR,,,

Sharuru · Wed Jul 31, 2019 6:31 pm

RB4011 blocked again +1.

Have no idea why the problem happens.

Using RouterOS 6.45.2, suddenly lost all connection and after about 2~5 minutes it reboots itself automatically.

System log shows nothing.

cdemers · Fri Aug 02, 2019 8:57 pm

Maybe try another power supply and see if you still have problems.

I have seen weird problems with power supplies. Just recently had a weird issue with one of my back haul 24ghz radios, changed power supply and all good. Opened power supply and had bad caps.

Sent from my SM-A520W using Tapatalk

dakotabcn · Fri Aug 09, 2019 9:42 pm

RB4011 wireless version
today report 50º, I had to place a fan on top to lower its temperature to 37 degrees
This device has a very serious temperature problem, and I blame it on a design defect, it is not normal for it to be set at 50 degrees, I have a lot of devices at home 24 hours and none gets so hot, it will end up spoiling, and I doubt that Mikrotik covers the guarantee for heat ... or yes, because it is not normal !!!

wrkq · Sat Aug 10, 2019 5:53 am

Look. It's a very high-power CPU and gigabit ethernet RJ45 ports, both sources of significant heat.
They're packaged in a fan-less form with the whole case working as the heatsink. It's warm by design.
Don't panic. The data sheet says the acceptable operating range is -40C to +70C.

wja962 · Sat Aug 10, 2019 11:44 am

We have 4 of these in use at the moment. All are running with the cases hot to the touch. They're really hot. But they seem to be running fine. We have ours rack-mounted and this is definitely contributing to the we high temperatures.

The RJ45 SFP+ converter is genuinely hot enough to burn skin though. I think that's also normal!

Elans · Mon Aug 12, 2019 7:21 am

Please read previous comments, @normis already gave an explanation (Fri Mar 29):
"The device has a very high performance CPU and no active cooling, the enclosure is made to act as a heatsink. It is designed to be hot.
Without active cooling fans, you can't make it cooler. Even just running idle at low CPU frequency it will be hot."

Currently there have not been any changes regarding to its working temperature.
While devices are being used in tested ambient temperature range, there should not be any problems:
RB4011iGS+RM
Tested ambient temperature -40°C to 70°C

RB4011iGS+5HacQ2HnD-IN
Tested ambient temperature -40°C to 45°C

TimurA · Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:29 am

My RB4011 is in an upright position, which gives it more ventilation. It was a very hot summer in my region - +50 in the shade.
The temperature of the router did not rise above +44.

deemon · Mon Sep 02, 2019 6:05 pm

My RB4011 is in an upright position, which gives it more ventilation. It was a very hot summer in my region - +50 in the shade.
The temperature of the router did not rise above +44.

Really? Your RB4011 was cooler than the ambient temperature in the room? This can't be correct data.
What was your actual room temperature (with conditioner maybe?) where the RB4011 was standing?

Anyway, my RB4011 with Wifi is running at 24.3V and 45-46C with almost no load currently and reading all the comments in here I got the confirmation I needed, it's kind of expected to be this hot. (felt hot to touch; googled; landed here; not concerned anymore and just in case considering changing the router position to vertical or at least diagonal)

huntermic · Tue Sep 03, 2019 8:44 am

Temperatures for devices like this, using a higher power arm processor, are known to be hot, they are designed for this.
Lets compare it for instance with a raspberry pi 4 board, that can run as hot as 80 degrees celcius and that still is no problem at all.
One of the engeneers of the board even said the device can run for longe periods with temperatures around 90 degrees.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 0#p1507295
So please don't worry about 50 or even 60 degrees on the RB4011.

Cha0s · Tue Sep 03, 2019 2:36 pm

Yes, ~45 degrees seems to be the norm for this device.

graph.php.png

Here's a comparison between RB3011 and and RB4011 that replaced it around a month ago.

Wed Sep 04, 2019 1:33 am

Temperatures for devices like this, using a higher power arm processor, are known to be hot, they are designed for this.
Lets compare it for instance with a raspberry pi 4 board, that can run as hot as 80 degrees celcius and that still is no problem at all.
One of the engeneers of the board even said the device can run for longe periods with temperatures around 90 degrees.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/view ... 0#p1507295
So please don't worry about 50 or even 60 degrees on the RB4011.

100% agree

JOSESEG · Thu May 07, 2020 10:13 am

I had several problems with RB4011 that I never had with RB2011 in the same scenario. Router hung up several times. I had to manually restart it.
I have 5 RB4011 working in different locations. Last week three RB4011 crashed completely, no ethernet connection, no possible reset, no netinstall. Unable to recover the device.
I've already sent RMA to the manufacturer. It is worrying because this device by size and performance (CPU, no fans, size, gigabit ports) was ideal for the job I need to do.
The temperature was not the problem. It happend at night.

AshuGite · Thu Jun 04, 2020 5:32 am

The same router blocking issue has happened with us also multiple times all the connections to the router gets lost need to manually reboot the device to make it functional. this is a serious issue with rB4011iGS. this has never happened with Rb2011 or RB3011 which we have been using in production for years..

Hero · Sat Jun 20, 2020 4:51 pm

I choose this option for cooling down my device viewtopic.php?f=3&t=138613&p=799879&hil ... an#p801466

wja962 · Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:05 pm

I don’t think temperature is an issue. I have one deployed in a room full of industrial ovens. It’s showing 71C and it’s fine. And no, you can’t touch it because it’s so hot. But it’s been like that for about 6 months, so I think it’s fine. And even if it dies, it’s cheap enough to put another one in.

ivicask · Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:35 pm

If cooler is hot it doesnt mean device is overheating it just means cooler is doing its job and taking the heat away from CPU or internal components.Did you ever had passively cooled GPU ?Its heatsink runs so hot even at idle that u cant touch it, but device is cool and works fine.

kd2pm2 · Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:33 am

My 2011 is running @ 35C and my 4011 is running @ 37C. Both are wifi versions.

jschenard · Wed Nov 18, 2020 6:44 pm

RB4011 42 celcius overclocked at 1800Mhz and stays amost the same no matter what ( with some variance from 41 to 43 celcius )

the whole boy acts as a heatsink. I do not think it is running hot at all

brunex1986 · Wed Dec 08, 2021 8:02 pm

Hi Guys, I've a RB4011iGS (Wifi version) and IMHO the router is intended to be in a rack with ventialtion and Air conditioner so that's the ideal I think, in my country now is summer and without ventilation and air conditioner it was running like 45° Celcius, I've made a cooler base (at my own) with some stuff that I've, and I've managed to decrease around 15°C now is working around 30°C without Air Conditioner On, when I do that is working around 26°C so in my opinion, is not prepared to work without external cooling and I think that at the end, it will affect the life of the router.

Here's a picture of how it looks, just with a single cooler you can increase the performance and router life:

InkedIMG-5625_LI_ssss.jpg

Here's the temp with the cooler base and air conditioner on:

rb4011_cooler_base_temp.png

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