How successful have you found powerline ethernet to be?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › How successful have you found powerline ethernet to be?

ssamjh

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Topic # 189496 1-Jan-2016 18:29

I will need some way of getting fibre from one end of the house to the other and powerline seems like the best option.

I am looking at getting these bad boys off TradeMe.

How well does it work, will I be able to achieve 100/20?

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Reply # 1459937 1-Jan-2016 18:43

I have netcomm np507. The transfer rate is ~400mbps

Jase2985

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Reply # 1459938 1-Jan-2016 18:47

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depends on many things, quality of wiring, distance etc

you might get 400mbps you might get 100, you wont know until you try it.

Kiwifruta

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Reply # 1459945 1-Jan-2016 19:06

I bought these (http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NETTPL0410&name=TP-Link-TL-PA4010PKIT-AV500-Powerline-Adapter-with) in 2014 when the ADSL modem/router was downstairs and my wifi connnected computer was upstairs. Made a huge difference.

I guess it all depends how good the wifi is, if your wifi coverage is good you may not need the powerline adapters. But as a poster said above regarding powerline adapters, each situation is different (due to house wiring) and you will only know by trying them.

Bear in mind that they need to be plugged directly in to the wall socket for optimal performance, plugging them in to a double adapter or multi-board will most likely create some signal interference and therefore speed loss. If you need the wall socket for also plugging in the PC/TV etc, then get powerline adapters with the AC passthrough like the ones I've linked above. Some also include a wifi signal.

BinaryLimited

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Reply # 1459946 1-Jan-2016 19:17

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Climb into the roof or under the house (if you can) and lay cat5 or cat6 ...sounds like a mission but Def worth it....especially if you will be getting fibre in the future.

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Dynamic

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Reply # 1460037 2-Jan-2016 06:56

These devices are not perfect but they definitely do a pretty reasonable job filling a need when it is not practical to cable to the location you want. Performance is not always predictable depending on kinks in the wiring and where the switchboard is, so you might just have to try it and see.

Have a closer look at cabling, particularly if there is a nearby closet in which the cable can be run up into the ceiling space. Ultimately this would be the most reliable solution.

If there is existing phone cabling to the desired location you could potentially use a spare pair of wires for a 'private VDSL' connection using 2 small pre-paired routers, but the cost is definitely more expensive. Here is one example that should reliably give you 100/60 speeds over up to 300m of cable (and slower speeds over 1km of cable): http://www.snappernet.co.nz/product/vds-0200-kit

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Rikkitic

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Reply # 1460051 2-Jan-2016 08:35

I have heard different things about them. When I first got broadband I tried one (sorry, don't remember the brand) but couldn't get it to work at all. Even a test with both units plugged into the same power point didn't work so I sent it back for a refund and ran cat5e cable instead and that works perfectly. Why don't you just run a cable over your roof? From the photo it looks doable and it will be a much better solution.

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josephhinvest

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Reply # 1460053 2-Jan-2016 09:06

I wrote this in a previous thread

I bought a Netcomm NP508, a Powerline extender that has two Ethernet ports and also creates a wifi network. I'm actually really impressed with how well it works. I've not tried any optimising and it makes a connection of about 200Mbps. The connection is completely stable and the initial setup was essentially zero, plug in device, connect to router, plug in other device and a small config of the wifi and done.

I'm still v happy with the purchase.
Cheers,
Joseph

old3eyes

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Reply # 1460061 2-Jan-2016 09:07

Kiwifruta: I bought these (http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=NETTPL0410&name=TP-Link-TL-PA4010PKIT-AV500-Powerline-Adapter-with) in 2014 when the ADSL modem/router was downstairs and my wifi connnected computer was upstairs. Made a huge difference.

I guess it all depends how good the wifi is, if your wifi coverage is good you may not need the powerline adapters. But as a poster said above regarding powerline adapters, each situation is different (due to house wiring) and you will only know by trying them.

Bear in mind that they need to be plugged directly in to the wall socket for optimal performance, plugging them in to a double adapter or multi-board will most likely create some signal interference and therefore speed loss. If you need the wall socket for also plugging in the PC/TV etc, then get powerline adapters with the AC passthrough like the ones I've linked above. Some also include a wifi signal.

These look good.. I think the tapon versions are the way to go if you can't run cable..

Regards,

Old3eyes

sultanoswing

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Reply # 1460861 4-Jan-2016 00:15

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I found them OK in my older two story house. I had a TP link AV500 kit. Easy to set up and worked about as well as could be expected given the technology involved and physics.

That said, it struggled to cope with HD video transfers across the LAN, so I eventually ponied up and got Cat 6 laid instead.

ssamjh

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Reply # 1460879 4-Jan-2016 01:29

sultanoswing: I found them OK in my older two story house. I had a TP link AV500 kit. Easy to set up and worked about as well as could be expected given the technology involved and physics.

That said, it struggled to cope with HD video transfers across the LAN, so I eventually ponied up and got Cat 6 laid instead.

Do you think it was reaching 100Mb/s or not even that?

IcI

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Reply # 1460881 4-Jan-2016 02:34

If you can, rather lay a dedicated Ethernet cable.

Like so many other things, you will only know once you try. If you can, borrow some for a week from somebody.

Going through the roof will minimise the amount of up/down/right/left turns you'll have to make which always extends the cable.

I have four older TP-Link devices in my house. The 2Degrees Fritz!Box picks them up as "Qualcomm Atheros HomePlug AV Device" with a speed class of 500 Mbit/s. The Fritz!Box shows their current speed as 44/60, 95/95 and 150/135 each

To configure these TP-Link devices I have to use a special "PowerLine Utility" msi.

All devices required a special pass phrase to identify them as part of the same network. Forget the pass phrase and you have to reset the device if you want to configure them in future. Very annoying when you want to add additional devices in the future and realise you have to reset all

Watch out for your electrical wiring. Read somewhere that they need to be on the same electrical section to detect each other. If your DB is segmented, this becomes a problem you find out after spending the money.

Watch out for your electrical wiring. These devices can't be too far apart, or they can't detect each other.

Avoid any type of double / multi adapter

These devices are generally bulky, i.e. larger than other electrical adapters. They cause a space problem even with dual sockets in the wall that are too close to each other.

They do make extending the LAN by two or three rooms a breeze. They are also non-disruptive.

If you are currently renting, these devices are an easy & temporary way to extend the network.
If you own, rather install a more permanent, durable, reliable & faster Ethernet cable.

matisyahu

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Reply # 1460883 4-Jan-2016 02:52

It is very much a hit or miss depending on how the wiring is done in your house. I had a situation where I thought that the outlets I had were sharing the same circuit but actually the circuit setup in my house is a complete mess unfortunately. Then there are a host of other variables that can impact on the reliability etc. BinaryLimited has one suggestion with the other maybe something like multiple access points such as a Unifi AP AC and an Edge Router X (or a USG with a switch which is what I've done).

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ssamjh

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Reply # 1460885 4-Jan-2016 02:56

May it be worth getting these then instead of spending lots of money and hoping for the best?

https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/1007019233

Hammerer

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Reply # 1460923 4-Jan-2016 10:21

ssamjh: May it be worth getting these then instead of spending lots of money and hoping for the best?

https://touch.trademe.co.nz/listing/view/1007019233

If you really want 100/20 then you are unlikely to get it with Powerline adapters that are only rated 100/100 which is what the claimed 200Mbps means.

If you only want to try out the Powerline technology in your home then it is a cheap option.

[Edited in an attempt to insert line breaks that were removed when I posted]

firefuze

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Reply # 1460929 4-Jan-2016 10:57

I shared my experience with my D-Link units in the below thread, as have some other members. Could be worth a read.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumId=66&topicId=189205

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