Powerline adapter kit is slow

darael

darael

darael

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I've installed a TP-Link TL-PA7017P powerline adapter kit for somebody and the speeds are awful.

One of the two adapters are installed at the front of the house, where the Virgin Media SuperHub 3.0 is. The other adapter is at the back of the house, connecting to a PC. On a 250Mb VM subscription, we're seeing ~4Mbps speeds in Speedtest, sometimes increasing to 30Mbps. Wi-fi speeds are far better in the same room, thanks to a wi-fi booster, seeing speeds nearly maxing out the connection.

As somebody new to these powerline adapters, I just want to know if they have a training period and if they will get better in time? Is there anything that can be done to get more sensible speeds? For example, changing brand/model of adapters?
 
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No, it’s probably bad house wiring. Just run a cable and be done with it. It’s literally two 8mm holes through the wall, one at each location, or a 12mm hole for 2 cables, tack them to the wall outside with cable clips and terminate in surface mount boxes readily available from Screwfix, Toolstation, Cable Monkey or Amazon. Yes, it’s your Sunday morning ruined to get it done but effort equals results.
 
Due to the layout of the house, practically every room downstairs would need to be drilled into before being able to hit the room upstairs. I should have said that's it's rented accommodation too, so they're going to have consult with the landlord before punching holes everywhere.
 
I installed some data points in a house I rented, though it was stud walls so quite easy. I never asked permission, I figured as long as you match the accessories to the existing design and do a neat job so it looks like it's always been that way, nobody is going to notice. Even if an inventory for some reason counted the number of sockets on the wall, nobody is going to expect a tenant to add outlets so they will just assume they missed them the first time around.
 
Caged said:
I installed some data points in a house I rented, though it was stud walls so quite easy. I never asked permission, I figured as long as you match the accessories to the existing design and do a neat job so it looks like it's always been that way, nobody is going to notice. Even if an inventory for some reason counted the number of sockets on the wall, nobody is going to expect a tenant to add outlets so they will just assume they missed them the first time around.
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I agree.

We sometimes do installs in rented properties. No landlord has ever said ‘no’. Some say it has to be done to a professional standard and you can leave it in place, others want it removed and made good at the end of the rental period.

And it almost never makes sense to drill internal walls. Drill out and go around the outside. If it’s terraced and you want to go to the back then you also have to drill the soffit and run through the attic, or you can do that old favourite of Sky installers and just throw the cable over the roof - shudder.
 
If you're really worried about the landlord complaining, mesh with dedicated backhaul is an alternative option. That would be my next choice if laying down proper cables is not an option. Plus most mesh kits will have ethernet ports on the slave units, so it'll go router -> main mesh point ))) slave point -> client device with ethernet.
 
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I had similar, just put it down to the wiring. I still use it, but for things that don't need throughput - just reliability. For example, the printer.

Everything else works far better with WiFi mesh.
 
Just posting an update really. I had more time to look at things today and we've decided that the best way forward is to return the powerline adapters and use the wifi. I've given the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks different names so 5GHz network can be identified and connected to, giving the speed needed for downloading and 2.4GHz network can be used for stable connections.

While it's not the perfect solution, it works and everybody seems to be happy. There is a wifi booster on the landing which gives nearby uses almost the full speed of the broadband and the PC also connects to this as it's not that far away, being nearly halfway along the landing.

Thanks once again to everybody for their input. I'm just trying to get the best practicality from an exhausted budget this month. :D
 
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With the increased availability of fast broadband, and better WiFi standards, ,power line adaptors aren't good enough these days. I have 500mb fibre and with power line on the same ring main as the the router, directly upstairs I was getting 40 Mbs and random dropouts , with a WiFi mesh I now 450mb upstairs plugged into the ethernet port of the WiFi and 170mbs WiFi elsewhere
 
Yes too many variables for powerline adapters these days with speeds increasing etc. Just buy a long 8mm drill bit and get on with it. If it's upstairs take in into the loft and distribute through ceiling using stick on Conduit, easy to remove if you don't own a place. Why people insist they can't route any wire is just utter rubbish.
 
I have a set of Netgear ones I got free years ago. In both my old house and new I could still usually find some combination of plugs that would get 200-350mbps. As said, usually has to be on the same circuit to be good. It's down to luck of where you need it and your house wiring.
 
The speed you get initially are pretty much what you'll always get, they are plug and play.

I guess the performance/bandwidth issues are probably related to the type of wiring, as others have suggested.

I would just take them back /return them if possible.

They worked well for me, but as was commented, they they are likely to be a limiting factor for anyone who has anything better than a Fibre To The Cabinet type of connection, due to a lack of bandwidth.

Still fine for people on lower bandwidth connections though, assuming no electrical wiring issues.
 
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Finners said:
Probably on different ring mains so the connection is actually going through circuit breakers and all sorts of connections. My house is split front to back on sockets not up and down like most houses.
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Yes - I have 2 house circuits with their own ELCBs and MCBs and the powerline adapters won't pass a signal from one to the other. Nuisance. Mel
 
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