Power over Ethernet(PoE) Pinout Diagram, Color Code Explained

Power over Ethernet or PoE is a standard system that transmits or delivers electrical power along with data through the same cable. We know that there are different types of network cables available such as cat6, cat7, cat5, etc, and different types of ports also available such as RJ45. RJ45 has a total of eight pins and it connects with an ethernet cable that consists of eight separate wires. All these eight wires are not used for data transmission, so some of them can be used for electrical power transmission. As per the standard, the electrical current should interface with the data transmission and the cable should be safe.

The Power over Ethernet system works under the standardization of the (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)IEEE 802.3 committee. Generally, PoE delivers 47-57V DC power. This PoE system is used for both data and power transmission purposes in Internet Protocol(IP) cameras, Wireless access points(WAPs), Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP), etc.

According to the IEEE standard cat5 or better cable is required for the transmission of high power levels. But a cat3 cable also can be used if less power transmission is required. The PoE system was physically implemented under the specification of IEEE 802.3af-2003. Also, we know that there are two categories for the RJ45 color code - T568A and T568B.

IEEE 802.3af-2003 Standard PoE Pinout Diagram for T568A

The T568A has a total of eight pins and color combinations. Here, you can see the details,

Keep the copper strips towards your face and count the pin number or pin position from left to right.

1. White Green - TX+
2. Green - TX-
3. White Orange - RX+
4. Blue - DC+ (PoE)
5. White Blue - DC+ (PoE)
6. Orange - RX-
7. White Brown - DC-(PoE)
8. Brown - DC-(PoE)

IEEE 802.3af-2003 Standard PoE Pinout Diagram for T568B

The T568B also has a total of eight pins and sight different colors. Here, you can see the details,

Keep the copper strip side towards your face and count the pin positions or pin numbers from the left side to the right side.

1. White Orange - TX+
2. Orange - TX-
3. White Green - RX+
4. Blue - DC+ (PoE)
5. White Blue - DC+ (PoE)
6. Green - Rx-
7. White Brown - DC- (PoE)
8. Brown - DC- (PoE)

As you can see in the above pinout diagrams, the main difference between T568A and T568B Connector is that in T568A, the green pair is on pins 1 and 2, while the orange pair is on pins 3 and 6. In T568B, this is reversed, with the orange pair on pins 1 and 2, and the green pair on pins 3 and 6.

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