Powerline adapters - backwards compatibility?

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mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#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

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#1932645 9-Jan-2018 11:27

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

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#1932667 9-Jan-2018 11:58

yes they should be. whereabout r u?

Lias

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#1932669 9-Jan-2018 11:58

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.

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mgbridges

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#1932670 9-Jan-2018 11:59

Thanks for the help folks.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#1932747 9-Jan-2018 12:44

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.

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mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#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

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#1937747 12-Jan-2018 16:23

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.