Powerline adapters - backwards compatibility?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Powerline adapters - backwards compatibility?

mgbridges

42 posts

Geek

Topic # 227486 9-Jan-2018 11:22

Hi,

I have a pair of rather old (3+ years) TP-Link powerline adapters which are used to hook the controller in my Vector solar system into my (D-Link) router. I'm thinking of adding a powerline adapter to extend my network to my smart TV, as the WiFi signal isn't really handling streaming of 4K shows on Netflix.

My question is - can I just buy a single powerline adapter which will talk to the existing powerline "base unit"? Or do I need to buy a pair of new adapters?

Thanks,

Martin

Goosey

1624 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 173

Subscriber

Reply # 1932645 9-Jan-2018 11:27

2 people support this post

Someone else may chime in, but my understanding is that if they are both "HomePlug AV" compatible then it should be ok.

check the specs on both. I say they would be?

nakedmolerat

4456 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 843

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 1932667 9-Jan-2018 11:58

yes they should be. whereabout r u?

Lias

3367 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1841

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 1932669 9-Jan-2018 11:58

One person supports this post

Yes they should generally work, caveats are that it's generally best to buy the same brand, and match speed/model as best you can to minimize risk of it not working well. E.g if you have a TP-Link AV200 kit, buy another TP-Link AV200 unit rather than a Netgear AV500 unit.

Information wants to be free. The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.

mgbridges

42 posts

Geek

Reply # 1932670 9-Jan-2018 11:59

Thanks for the help folks.

hio77

'That VDSL Cat'
8711 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1887

Trusted

Spark

Subscriber

Reply # 1932747 9-Jan-2018 12:44

One person supports this post

Just remember if your using a real old model, likely you will be constrained to the speed that is capable of.

for 4K, this could be a consideration to make.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

mgbridges

42 posts

Geek

Reply # 1932749 9-Jan-2018 12:45

hio77:

Just remember if your using a real old model, likely you will be constrained to the speed that is capable of.

for 4K, this could be a consideration to make.

Yeah, I thought of that. However, it's bound to be better than the wifi throughput I'm getting at the moment.

SepticSceptic

1739 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 349

Trusted

Reply # 1937747 12-Jan-2018 16:23

One person supports this post

I have a mixed 1x TP-Link AV500 and 2x TP-Link AV1000 environment.

It was originally all AV500's, but I couldn't get sufficient bi-directional thruput for high-ish def video streaming (FTA HD in WTV format). OK one way, but when performing bi-directional transfers, would get quite stuttery at times.

Replaced a couple of the AV-500's with AV-1000's, and now getting 80MB/s thru put, and the AV-500 is around 30MB/s.

My initial concern was the AV-1000's would train down to the AV-500 speed, but this didnt appear to be the case.

My thoughts are no longer my own and is probably representative of our media-controlled government