While ienRon is in contention for our funniest switch company names on Amazon (i+Enron?), this switch is no joke. The ienRon HG0402XG is a 4-port 2.5GbE switch with two ports of SFP+ for 10GbE needs. It is both extremely low power and extremely cheap. We are publishing this on a day that, with coupons, the switch is under $48. That makes it one of the cheapest options out there.
If you just want to find the switch for purchase, here is an Amazon Affiliate link to the switch where we purchased the unit. Note pricing may change and often does on a daily basis.
ienRon HG0402XG Overview
We did a video on this class of 4+2 port switch in September 2023 that you can find here:
We have also added this switch to the Ultimate Cheap Fanless 2.5GbE Switch Buyer’s Guide where we have now listed 40+ models. Bookmark that page to get the latest. We will like all of these reviews from that page.
We are publishing this review in advance of the new 20+ switch review video that should go live next week. This switch will be included in that one.
ienRon HG0402XG Hardware Overview
On the front of the switch, one can see four 2.5GbE ports and two SFP+ ports and some bright red highlights. At least this is not a plain black box like some others. One item we will note is that the power on this unit is on the front. Some of our readers prefer it on the front, others on the rear. This is one of the front-optioned versions of this switch.
We get four 2.5GbE ports that can also run at 1GbE and 10/100 speeds. There are also two SFP+ ports for higher-speed devices like a NAS and a primary workstation or as an uplink to a SFP+ switch. Generally, with these switches, we prefer to use SFP+ optics since they can be very picky about DACs, as we saw in our Vimin VM-S250402 review.
Something that is a bit different here is that there is a port isolation/ VLAN switch. The impact of this switch.
The switch itself is much deeper than something like the Davuaz Da-K6402W that shares the same switch chip and port configuration.
Here is the other side of the switch. One will notice there are no options for rackmount ear mounting.
The rear is a featureless metal expanse, just like the top.
On the bottom, we get a label. We also get mounting holes so one can use two screws to mount the switch to a desk, wall, or elsewhere. We are not exactly sure what the “1 2 3 6 4 5 7 8” sequence is.
Inside the switch, we can see the heatsink oriented perpendicular to the port direction. There is not a ton of airflow because this is a fanless switch.
Here is the internal overview, which looks almost exactly like the Vimin version.
Just to give some sense of how close they are, we can see the Vimin we tested below which seems to be an older V1.0 version of the switch board but this ienRon is V1.1.
Of course, the exact revision used can change over time.
Next, let us get to performance and power consumption.
Oh great, another unmanaged switch review with the same chip set. Patrick, do you not have something more useful for Rohit to do? Almost feel sorry for him.
1 2 3 6 4 5 7 8 would be related to the ethernet pair colours, and their respective pins. For t568a:
Green pair – 1 & 2
Orange pair – 3 & 6
Blue pair – 4 & 5
Brown pair – 7 & 8
I was thinking what Joshua said about the “data” details.
I like the power on this form factor – could easily be powered off a USB source with a 12V step-up cable.
I like this one but with it had a PoE version. Right now it’s down to $44 on Amazon with a coupon on their pare.
I scored one of these for under $40 after a coupon plus a “buy 2 get x% off” promo in early Feb when buying this 4 + 2 along w/ the 8 + 1 port sibling. Other than the SFP+ port locking up a couple of times when running a Wiitek multi-gig capable 10G Base-T module at 2.5G when connected to my previous router, it ran fine. Once I switched that SFP+ connection to connect to a new 10G fiber router uplink, this IenRon switch has been rock-solid since then.
Would I prefer a managed switch? Maybe, but I couldn’t beat $92 + tax for the 4 + 2 and the 8 + 1 switches in the same order.
You previously reviewed an unmanaged switch which has a big brother that is managed and sells for under $100.
Frankly these switch reviews seem more like you are testing AI to produce content
Thank you Rohit for this review and all the others. I’ve seen it a few times on sale. Good to know it’s close to the Vimin just a newer rev.
Don’t listen to Joeri and those who don’t like these reviews. Having one site with consistency that’s reviewed over 40 now is very useful.
If anyone reading hasn’t gotten the point, the switch prices swing by 10-30% on an almost weekly basis. Knowing which ones are the same means you can just go to the guide page, fire up the 3-4 that you might want based on specs, and then see which is the cheapest on that day.
These reviews are just spam at this point.
Any articles that have actual content are just being drowned out by this noise.
You’re devaluing the website.
I like your weekly switch reviews. The upgrade of this one to V1.1 there’s so many changes if you look closer. I see at least three areas where they’ve changed components and what’s happening. That’s ultra valuable to me.
Let’s see inexpensive 8 port 10GbE using copper. A fiber uplink port or long-run port is OK but honestly who in the small biz market or home market actually needs that? 2.5 looks like milking the market. 10GbE silicon has been made for a decade already, we’re quite a few generations in.
Where’s the video? I want the roundup.
I’ll pass on the “enron” switch