Computers & Electronics

Powerline Ethernet adaptor

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  • Feb 20th, 2016 6:33 pm
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Deal Addict
May 3, 2006
2505 posts
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Milton

Powerline Ethernet adaptor

Anyone have experience with those Ethernet adaptors you can run by plugging into an outlet and running the Internet through your house wiring?

Looking at that as it's not feasible to run a separate Ethernet cable across a room.

Advice?
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36 replies
Deal Addict
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Aug 15, 2006
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Kingston
Yes they are great devices.... Just make sure to plug them directly into the outlet, no power bars or else they wont work
Deal Addict
Jul 28, 2014
1251 posts
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Toronto, ON
Ya, at times there might be something in your walls that might not work properly, as in very slow speeds, but you won't know until you try. I was using Dlink before, I think 600? That is the fastest one.
Deal Expert
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Oct 13, 2002
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If you can, borrow a pair from friends of yours to test them out first. When they work, they work really well. Much more stable than wireless IMO.
Deal Addict
Dec 19, 2013
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North Vancouver
Another thing about power lines. They have this high pitch sound that you may or may not hear. This is coming from the power supply of the adapters. See if you can get one that shuts down when it detects your PC is shut down, otherwise it may annoy you.
Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
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beerbaron105 wrote: Anyone have experience with those Ethernet adaptors you can run by plugging into an outlet and running the Internet through your house wiring?
Very unreliable - buy from a store with a good return policy. I do not recommend.
Deal Addict
Oct 12, 2006
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Alberta
coolspot wrote: Very unreliable - buy from a store with a good return policy. I do not recommend.
Not from my experience. I have one running 24/7 to my main computer. Zero issues.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 16, 2006
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Vancouver
TP-Link TL-PA6010KIT AV600 spec

I run 2 satellite units back to the 3rd unit at my main WiFi router. They have been VERY reliable. No high pitch sound. I have tablet power supplies that make a high pitch noise when the tablet is not connected so I assume I have the ability to hear these sounds.

Consistently between 200 and 230Mbps on one link and 110 to 130 on the other.
Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
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Chingyul wrote: Not from my experience. I have one running 24/7 to my main computer. Zero issues.
Powerline is sensitive to interference on the line - it may work for you or it may not. I had used it in three different places, and ultimately in the long run they failed (would hang or slow down after X days). If you Google "unstable" or "unreliable" Powerline adapters there are thousands of hits... it's a common issue.

Ideally it's best to wire point-to-point or use a more reliable technology like MoCA.
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2004
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East Gwillimbury
How old is your house? If it is relatively new, then you should be fine. Old houses have bad wiring

They also go as fast as 1200 now
Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
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Gee wrote: How old is your house? If it is relatively new, then you should be fine. Old houses have bad wiring

They also go as fast as 1200 now

I've used Powerline adapters in a 10,000 square foot house (built 1970s), failure. In a 3200 square foot house (built 2001) failure. Condo built in 2011+ (failure). Literally they can work today and fail tomorrow because some new appliance was plugged in.

Also, Powerline adapters maybe rated for 1gbps, but their real throughput is only ~250mbps.
Deal Expert
Aug 22, 2006
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Ethernet > Powerline > Wireless

Powerline suffers from the same "misleading advertisement" about speeds as wireless so even "gigabit" kits won't hit gigabit speeds.
If you can run Ethernet you should. even if you can't, you should try to.
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2004
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East Gwillimbury
death_hawk wrote: Ethernet > Powerline > Wireless.
This pretty much sums it up for me

I don't personally use powerline, I wired the entire house. But I have installed powerline at other locations where people are not willing to run wire and it works for the most part
Deal Expert
Oct 6, 2005
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death_hawk wrote: Ethernet > Powerline > Wireless
I would say Ethernet > MoCa > Wireless > Powerline ... at Wireless works and is generally reliable.
Deal Expert
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Jun 12, 2003
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Markham
Working perfectly fine in my 30+ year old house

I've got 4 of them throughout the house on all 3 floors.. Different generation of those devices too (2 200mbps adapters mixed with 2 500mbps adapters)

Been working flawlessly for years...
ShadowVlican
Deal Addict
Nov 16, 2008
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working perfectly fine here for months..
Deal Addict
May 3, 2006
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Milton
It's for a condo built in 2013. I might try it. Can buy one on Amazon and use their return policy if it doesn't work!
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Sr. Member
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Nov 28, 2011
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Markham
kcorscadden wrote: Yes they are great devices.... Just make sure to plug them directly into the outlet, no power bars or else they wont work
Not entirely true. I have one plugged into a huge Monster power-bar (12 outlets) and it works. Probably not as well as directly into the outlet, since there is probably more interference, but will do the job for most applications. I did a speed test and it performed really well in my case. YMMV
Deal Addict
Mar 29, 2015
1999 posts
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Wood Bridge
I have a 30 year old house, the power line adapters work just fine
Thanks

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