Counterfeit Cisco gear

[bs_kwaj]

Well, last night I discovered that 2 of the WIC-1T's in my lab are counterfeit.

I discovered that after one of my serial connections started bouncing back and forth from Up to Down. I started swapping out cables and moving modules to different routers and the problem followed that one WIC-1T.

So, I shut everything down and started looking at the modules and checking the web, and sure enough, the first 2 that I bought were counterfeit. I shoulda known something was up when one of the thumb screws fell out of one of them a few months back. :rolleyes:

So, I went out to CablesandKits and order 2 more. I didn't buy those first 2 from C&K.

When I get a chance I'll try to post up a couple of photos.

[lammle]

That is unbeleivable! If someone is going to conterfeit it, they should make it work! I heard that gear was made in the same factory as the real gear...weird.
How can you tell? Do send pic!!
Thanks for this most interesting post...
Todd Lammle

[bs_kwaj]

Ok, I'll see if I can post up photos of my gear tonight. In the mean time, take a look at: http://www.andovercg.com/services/cisco-counterfeit-wic-1dsu-t1.shtml (http://www.andovercg.com/services/cisco-counterfeit-wic-1dsu-t1.shtml)

Scroll down to where it says:
"3. BAR CODE - SERIAL NUMBER: The next shots are close ups of the serial number tags on the WIC-1DSU-T1s."

The bar code stickers on my WIC-1Ts are like those on the fake 1DSU's in the photos. I'll have to post my photos when I get home to remember exactly which fake it's most like.

Also, looking down there at "5. Screws", I'll compare those to mine also.

[bs_kwaj]

Ok, got home for lunch and snapped a quick photo. Based on what I read in the link I posted, the bottom one is the fake, looking at the bar code label and the copper on the board just above it, compared to the top one, with silver instead of copper and the bar code label meeting the criteria for genuine. Again, based on the info in the andovercg link above.

Edit: Also notice in the first photo, the soldering by the connectors on the right. The top is the real deal. The bottom, where it looks like disconnected welds, is actually where the solderings come up to a sharp point and it just looks like a gap in the photo.

It was hard to get a good photo of the screws. They are very similar. More so than in the andover link photo, but the screw on the fake is shiny. The screw on the genuine is not shiny.

Ok, scratch that. I did get a good photo of the screw. The one on the left is the fake and you can see the difference.

(side note: 56K dial-up sucks!!)
.

[anurag007]

wOOOO ...nce post ...!!!!!!!!

[Big Evil]

This is not the first time i have read of this. Someone i know bought a fake Cisco L3 switch and router. All from China.

Face it if there is money to be made, someone will make it.

Sorry dude.

[bs_kwaj]

That is unbeleivable! If someone is going to conterfeit it, they should make it work! I heard that gear was made in the same factory as the real gear...weird.
How can you tell? Do send pic!!
Thanks for this most interesting post...
Todd Lammle
So, whadda ya think?

[lammle]

They look so close. If they are made in the same factory, which I heard that they are, why wouldn't they work I wonder??

[bs_kwaj]

Well, I guess, like anything else, they sometimes just wear out. I do have 2 of these that meet the 'counterfeit' criteria, which, again, is based on what I read on the web (and google is never wrong ;) ). This one just started going wonky, but the other one is still chugging along ok, for now.

It's interesting, that if they are made in the same factory, they would have different weld processes and different chip sets. Of course, maybe it's just because they were made years apart and the processes changed.

Dunno...