Power line network or a better solution?

Jase

Jase

Jase

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I'm moving house in the next month or so and I'm thinking about what I'm going to do with the internet.

The house I'm moving to is a few years old and has all the telephone connection/tv etc already in place in the walls. The problem is the telephone socket i.e. the fibre socket is in the living room but my computer/game room will be up stairs.

I will be on Fibre with Zen internet and presently use an Asus router.

I'm not sure if the wireless signal will be good enough to use upstairs and I'm generally not keen on gaming over wireless.

So my question is what is the best way to get internet access upstairs with good speed and low latency? I've been told the power line network adapters are good, if so what is the best ones to get.

If not what are the other options, wireless booster or just ask BT to put in another line in?
 
The best option would be a network cable.

As a second best option Powerline adapters can work well. How well varies a lot depending on the house, how it's wired, and what else is plugged in. There's no way to tell without trying them.
 
The house is being purchased, but I didn't really want a network cable running through the house.

The TV/Aerial socket and telephone socket are built into the wall... maybe there is is a channel with extra room for a network cable in there and then put it under the floorboards. Wont know that until I move in though.

would BT put another line in another room, I heard something like they only put it in the nearest point?

And what are the best powerline ones to get if I needed to try that?
 
If the house is bought then install networking in the house.

You can "effectively" move the master socket for use with a modem by following the advice here: http://www.telecomgreen.co.uk/move-...ut-actually-moving-advice-telephone-engineer/

Typically the "best" place for your modem (and in turn wireless) is going to be somewhere in the middle of the house.

I extended my master socket, using the guide I linked above, form the front door to under the stairs in the middle of the house. I then ran all the network cables in the house to this one location to be plugged into the router.

And yeah, no one is suggesting running network cables through the house, you run them in the walls - just like you'd ask BT to do if you wanted to physically move the master socket (which you can't do yourself: http://www.telecomgreen.co.uk/move-...socket-a-telephone-engineer-gives-his-advice/)

Getting BT to put in another line isn't a sensible option to resolve this.

Regarding the best powerline adapters then Wirecutter is always a good shout: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-powerline-networking-kit/

They recommend the "TL-PA9020P"

Oh, and keep in mind that powerline degrades over distance just like WiFi. If WiFi works well in the area you're trying to get to then you're not adding much by using PowerLine if you're router and WiFi support the latest protocols.

EDIT: Wirecutter sums up my thoughts exactly actually! "Powerline networking adapters all provide a network connection in places where it’s impractical to use Ethernet or Wi-Fi"
 
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I ran a cable upstairs in my house, you can barely see it and if you buy the cables and ends yourself they go through small gaps etc.
 
RoyMi6 said:
If the house is bought then install networking in the house.

You can "effectively" move the master socket for use with a modem by following the advice here: http://www.telecomgreen.co.uk/move-...ut-actually-moving-advice-telephone-engineer/

Typically the "best" place for your modem (and in turn wireless) is going to be somewhere in the middle of the house.

I extended my master socket, using the guide I linked above, form the front door to under the stairs in the middle of the house. I then ran all the network cables in the house to this one location to be plugged into the router.

And yeah, no one is suggesting running network cables through the house, you run them in the walls - just like you'd ask BT to do if you wanted to physically move the master socket (which you can't do yourself: http://www.telecomgreen.co.uk/move-...socket-a-telephone-engineer-gives-his-advice/)

Getting BT to put in another line isn't a sensible option to resolve this.

Regarding the best powerline adapters then Wirecutter is always a good shout: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-powerline-networking-kit/

They recommend the "TL-PA9020P"

Oh, and keep in mind that powerline degrades over distance just like WiFi. If WiFi works well in the area you're trying to get to then you're not adding much by using PowerLine if you're router and WiFi support the latest protocols.

EDIT: Wirecutter sums up my thoughts exactly actually! "Powerline networking adapters all provide a network connection in places where it’s impractical to use Ethernet or Wi-Fi"
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the advice there, I'll have a read tonight.

bremen1874 said:
And don't forget that cables can be run externally. For a single upstairs/downstairs cable it can be the simplest option.
Click to expand...

That's actually a good point, didn't think of that, lol.
 
Just had a proper look in the house, it actually has telephone sockets built into the wall in every room and none look what I would call a main socket.

Does that mean I can plug a router into any or do I need to find the main socket?
 
It should work from any socket. How well will depend on how it's wired, the type of cable used, etc.

There must be a master socket (or other BT demarcation point) somewhere. If it's fairly modern look outside as BT did go through a phase of installing external boxes.
 
bremen1874 said:
It should work from any socket. How well will depend on how it's wired, the type of cable used, etc.

There must be a master socket (or other BT demarcation point) somewhere. If it's fairly modern look outside as BT did go through a phase of installing external boxes.
Click to expand...

Every socket in the house looks the same and are pretty much flush with the wall, could it be that the master is in the attic or something?
 
It could be in the attic, but I'd only expect that if you have overhead lines.

If the line is buried it should be downstairs somewhere. Under the stairs? In an attached garage? Nailed to the wall outside (Google external master socket)?

You can often see the cable outside where it comes out of the ground before going into the house.

Unscrewing the sockets in the house may provide some clues as to what's connected to what, and the direction the cables are heading.
 
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bremen1874 said:
It could be in the attic, but I'd only expect that if you have overhead lines.

If the line is buried it should be downstairs somewhere. Under the stairs? In an attached garage? Nailed to the wall outside (Google external master socket)?

You can often see the cable outside where it comes out of the ground before going into the house.

Unscrewing the sockets in the house may provide some clues as to what's connected to what, and the direction the cables are heading.
Click to expand...

OK thanks for the tips, I'll have to do some digging around.
 
I get 35mb down over mine, 166mb with a cable.

As said, its highly dependant on the house and how it is wired. Powerline adapters only work well if they are all on the same wiring loop. Some houses are wired upstairs downstairs, some side and side, some are a bit of a hodge podge.
 
75%? Tested how? If you're just testing using internet speed tests then that won't show the difference.

Even the most optimistic claims for the best Powerline adapters are far lower than what Gigabit Ethernet can easily achieve.
 
Powerline should only really be used a a temporary solution until a proper one can be put in place. Cable it.
 
nutcase_1uk said:
Powerline should only really be used a a temporary solution until a proper one can be put in place. Cable it.
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This! OP owns house, I vote a 3 month ban, conforscatiin of his pc and a poo in the letterbox if he uses power lines.... In fact we want photographic evidence of at least 2 ethernet cable runs in the house
 
I have 3 Devolo Powerline adapters and they work great although nowhere near the speed of Gigabit Ethernet.

Mine connect across different wiring loops (original house and extension)

They are fine for gaming as my FPS playing kids use them and never complain of any problems.
 
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