Are powerline adapters good

Drake5 · 30 Nov 2015 at 21:48

I had to move my router downstairs to the main socket as in the extension socket the connection kept dropping

Don't really want to run a long ethernet cable so my only other option is wifi or powerline - Are powerline adapters worth it over wifi and do they work just as good as normal

craig_t · 30 Nov 2015 at 22:41

Simple answer - Yes.
Best answer - You get what you pay for, like with anything in computers. You don't need to go all out, but don't just buy the cheapest ones out there.
HUKD is a good place to get an idea of them, as when people post deals there are a lot of comments on the quality of brand, model, etc.

TheVoice · 30 Nov 2015 at 22:44

It mostly depends on your electrical wiring and whatever other devices are plugged in as they're quite prone to interference. You may have excellent results with them, you might not. Go for decent ones like Devolo and you're less likely to have any issues.

Minstadave · 30 Nov 2015 at 22:52

I've had an excellent experience with my Dlink 500mbps ones. No drop outs at all. Get good speeds, upto 12MB/s between the closest PCs.

nutcase · 1 Dec 2015 at 08:12

Minstadave said:
I've had an excellent experience with my Dlink 500mbps ones. No drop outs at all. Get good speeds, upto 12MB/s between the closest PCs.

500Mb is 62MB - so I wouldn't call 12 good?! Should be getting about 50MB if you were getting something like what is advertised.

Powerline are for if you're in a pinch and REALLY can't run a cable.

bledd · 1 Dec 2015 at 08:33

Simple answer - No.

They increase ping
Lower transfer rate
Create chance of dropouts

Run a cat5e cable.

lude1962 · 1 Dec 2015 at 08:58

Minstadave said:
I've had an excellent experience with my Dlink 500mbps ones. No drop outs at all. Get good speeds, upto 12MB/s between the closest PCs.

then your pc nic is probably running at 100mbit if your only getting 12MB/s
but if its going through your router then that probably only supports 100mb

cyber69 · 1 Dec 2015 at 09:11

I had some tp-link av500's to stream hd video to my tv and they where patchy and I got stutter and drop outs occasionally which was frustrating when you are trying to watch a film.

upgraded to av1200's and problem resolved. No stutter and noticeably quicker than av500, so pay the extra and get the av1200's.

rtho782 · 1 Dec 2015 at 09:22

It depends very much on internal wiring.

We're at a disadvantage from the get-go in the UK as we use ring main circuits which are not ideal for data transmission as you have two signal paths. A Radial circuit is much better for powerline, ring mains are cheaper to install for the same electrical capacity and arguably safer for mains though.

Then, factors such as are you going from upstairs to downstairs, and so across separate circuits come in to play - as this means you go via the consumer unit, possibly through an RCD, which has a coil and magnet in it, and kills the speed even more.

If you use a surge protected extension, it will block the signal entirely, so try to avoid these.

Once you take all that in to account, if you're lucky, you'll get 50mbps out of 500mbps adaptors. There is a reason the "500mbit" adaptors only have 100m ethernet ports.

meandu229 · 1 Dec 2015 at 09:28

I run a few 200mbps ones (with 100mbps port) and get 80+mbps on very old wiring but have had 2 die on me to be replaced and have to reset them every few weeks as they will just drop off. Apart from that they are pretty good cant wait to get my Cat5e cabling done soon though.
I use TP-Link ones.

leigh_boy · 1 Dec 2015 at 10:00

use them in my house to get to the router to my office, to my loft where i have a server
i bought netgear 200mbps adapters and had no really issues, i have boot cycle them eveyr 2 months after letting them cool down.
but its all down to how good the house wiring is.

Minstadave · 1 Dec 2015 at 10:10

nutcase_1uk said:
500Mb is 62MB - so I wouldn't call 12 good?! Should be getting about 50MB if you were getting something like what is advertised.

Powerline are for if you're in a pinch and REALLY can't run a cable.

The advertised rate is nonsense, we all know that. However 12 MB/s is very good for powering adaptors and ample for my needs.

Minstadave · 1 Dec 2015 at 10:13

lude1962 said:
then your pc nic is probably running at 100mbit if your only getting 12MB/s
but if its going through your router then that probably only supports 100mb

Nope, gigabit networking throughout (PC, homeplugs and router). The limit is power line adaptors, they don't perform anything like their advertised speeds in the real world but they give me enough speed and reliability without having to run cables all over the house - I'm happy with them.

Evilpaul · 1 Dec 2015 at 10:37

The main thing people don't realise about the speed rating on powerline adapters is that they run in half-duplex. As such to work out the speed you will get you need to take the speed rating and halve it, take of another 20% for overhead and then your wiring will account for the rest of the speed difference.

bledd · 1 Dec 2015 at 10:40

I'm yet to see any powerline get over 15MB/s transfer speeds.

RockoSRI · 1 Dec 2015 at 10:52

No issues with my TP Powerline adaptors. My connection is slow anyway so doesn't really effect us. We just grabbed a few sets to extend our Wi-Fi signal due to living in an old house

matthab · 1 Dec 2015 at 13:43

Yes depending on what you use it for. Low latency apps hate power line.

For me I use them as to run Cat5e to the same place as the powerline would cost me an arm and a leg.

Just upgraded my old Netgear 200mbps powerline to TP-Link AV1200's which I hope will help with HD streams.

Avalon · 1 Dec 2015 at 14:02

After the cat chewed the cat5e I used a pair as a temporary run for a streaming box, it's been faultless. In practical terms it's not as good as cat5e and will add latency, but they are certainly acceptable for general use where a cable is impractical or not possible. My (ancient) BT Comtrend's finally gave up last year but they're the kind of thing i'll always keep on the shelf for emergency use.

bledd · 1 Dec 2015 at 19:37

Avalon said:
After the cat chewed the cat5e I used a pair as a temporary run for a streaming box, it's been faultless.

Replace it with dog5e

Minstadave · 1 Dec 2015 at 19:52

bledd. said:
I'm yet to see any powerline get over 15MB/s transfer speeds.

Here you go, hot off the press:

Single large file is even better:

Now admittedly this is across to my server in the other corner of the room, but even so that's pretty good for my needs.

It also shows that buying fast adaptors is daft if they don't have gigabit ports. I'd be getting half the speed I could get.