**Original Review**
Below please find my thoughts on this product!
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Excellent product. I can game online, stream HD video, and browse the web without any lag and without an unsightly cord going from my downstairs router to my upstairs PC.
SETUP
Extremely easy. Just plug in one unit and connect the ethernet cable to the router. Hit the "pair" button. Then plug in the second unit and connect the ethernet wire to the PC (or whatever device). Hit the "pair" button and they are connected. You have 2 minutes to hit "pair" on both units.
OUTLETS
This DOES NOT block the second electrical outlet, and you can plug the unit in either facing downward or upward (as in the stock photo above).
DOWNLOAD AND UPLOAD SPEED
I ran lots of speedtests across multiple different electrical outlets.
I have a 60 mbps / 5 mbps internet connection.
Average speed: 50 mbps / 5 mbps
Lowest speed: 25 mbps / 5 mbps
Highest speed: 66 mbps / 6 mbps
Why the variability? I think EVERYTHING matters with these units. The electrical outlet you use, whether or not you use the other outlet, the ethernet cables you use, EVERYTHING! Even your network adapter settings can cause changes in your speed. So be very sure that you run multiple tests and check multiple outlets to find the best connection speed.
LATENCY
Just as good as a hardwired connection. My average latency is < 50 ms, and the lowest I have seen is around 13 ms (but again, it's the same as using a hard wired connection, which is pretty fantastic).
ONLINE GAMING
I play online games (StarCraft 2 mainly, yes I know it's an old game but I love it) and it has been incredible so far. NO lag, NO stutter, NO buffering. Just a flawless experience so far.
OVERALL INTERNET EXPERIENCE
Amazing. Web pages load instantly and videos do not buffer (at least on YouTube, I have not tried other video yet such as Netflix). I can click on a YouTube video and it starts playing instantly. I can then click anywhere in the timeline of that video, and it plays instantly. There are literally no delays.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, I'm extremely pleased with these units. My internet is silky smooth: I can play games, I can watch HD videos, I can browse the web, and it all works flawlessly. Setup was a breeze and truly plug-n-play.
The only reason I am deducting 1 star (and I may change this later) is that the raw download speed is not quite as fast as a hard wired ethernet connection. On average, I receive about 50 mbps download speed, but with a hard wired connection I can max out at 70 mbps. Granted, the units went up to 66 mbps once, but I do feel that a 1000 mbps network adapter should be able to reach speeds of 70 mbps. I am not sure why I only get 50 mbps instead of 65-70 mbps on average. My hypothesis is that these units are subject to electrical interference because if I plug the powerline adapter into an outlet away from my PC (in an isolated outlet) the speeds go up a bit. That's when I saw the 66 mbps result. But as soon as I plugged my PC into a nearby outlet, I'm back to 50 mbps average speed.
But in the grand scheme of things, it does not matter. These units are plenty fast for me. I just *wish* I could snag my full speed because it's an obsession with me. I may update to better ethernet cables and see if that changes anything (more shielding may help). But for now, I am very impressed with these units.
If you have any questions or comments, please let them below!
**UPDATE 6/25/17**
I have figured out a way to gain about 16 mbps download speed (on average).
I have two power outlets near my PC. I just had the power strip (containing all my PC electrical connections) and the adapter switch places. That's the only change I made.
Download speed before switch: 50 mbps average
Download speed after switch: 66 mbps average
Direct connection: 71 mbps (max speed / average)
So now I am getting about 93% of the speeds of a direct connection.
I even found that I can get a bit more speed if the TP link adapter is facing downward versus upward (I have it plugged into the top socket but facing downward).
Funny thing is that my download speeds can be horrendous if I put the TP link adapter in the bottom socket versus the top socket. Like, 3-4 mbps average horrendous, but that's if the power strip is also plugged into the bottom socket in a nearby outlet.
Bottom line is this: These things work great but are EXTREMELY SENSITIVE. You have to be willing to tinker with your connections to get the best speeds. I recommend conducting numerous speed tests on several consistent servers to see what effect your changes have.
**UPDATE #2 - 6/25/17**
Well, my increase in speeds was short-lived. Turns out, when I was plugged into that particular electrical outlet, the speeds took a turn for the worst. I was suddenly at 3 mbps average.
On a whim, I decided to try plugging the TP Link adapter into a standalone outlet even further away from my computer. This outlet had nothing close to it on the left or right (1 outlet is vacant to each side of it). And low and behold, I started achieving perfect speeds of 71 mbps download and 6 mbps upload (which is my maximum speed when directly connected on my 60/5 internet connection).
I was very pleased, but skeptical. So I did repeated speedtests, and the speed has consistently been near 70 mbps every time over the course of the entire day. I kept doing lots of different tests and my connection is rock solid with top speeds now. So the stability has always been rock solid, but I am FINALLY getting the same speeds as a direct connection, CONSISTENTLY. Whew!
Turns out, in case anyone is interested, other outlets further away from my computer also gave me top speeds. I truly think the problem is electrical interference -- you have to find an unused outlet far away from any other electrical sources. Luckily, I have plenty of outlets in my computer room, and I had a spare 75' ethernet cable (Cat 6) that I just finished running along the wall.
This will be my last update, unless something changes. But for now I will stand by my 4-star review. This thing performs incredibly well, but the fact that it is so finicky and does not handle electrical interference very well is a clear deduction of 1 star. I bought this so that I could avoid running cables across the house, and it has prevented that from happening. But I still had to end up running a cable along a wall and around a door frame so that it would not be laying on the floor. It was an easy job, and the wife will be pleased that I did not have to run cables across the whole house, but it would have been nice to have simply plugged it into any electrical outlet and had it work perfectly.
Works well. I have a PS4 Pro and the wifi connection is terrible. Its sad that Sony is actually aware of this & their only advice is to get a hardline into it. My router is in a different room & it can't be moved. It wasn't even that far away. My Apple TV and phone had no problem connecting to it in the living room.
Anyways, I got this because I use Playstation Vue for television as well as the usual streaming services like Netflix and games. I would constantly get kicked off the network & it was becoming unbearable, like literally every hour it would go down or start running super slow. I did some searching on the internet and found that unfortunately I wasn't the only person with this problem on their PS4. I got this upon the positive reviews from other PS4 owners.
Set up was super simple. Took all of 30 seconds. The connection has been great so far. My internet speed is 60 down and with this when I tested the network on the PS4 it came in at 40, which is way more acceptable than the 15mb/s download I was getting prior with the PS4 wifi. Some of the reviews here on Amazon say after a few months they start to suck, so I guess we'll see. Thus far though it has been great and I haven't dropped my network connection nor has it slowed to a crawl either. I would definitely recommend these for people who are having the same issue I am and can't move their router.
Oh and side rant, the Playstation customer service guy suggested just running a LAN cable through the entire length of my house and painting it the same color as my floor to blend in...........thanks guy
We bought this to connect Xbox One S gaming system directly to our router. Before we purchased this gadget we were connecting our Xbox one wirelessly through home wifi. Games would drop all the time, always got error messages, "can't find wifi network" or "not signed in". Totally annoying and slow game speeds. Luckily I stumbled on this product and now Xbox appears "WIRED" to router, Eventhough it is connected in upstairs game room. We no longer get annoying messages, and game speeds are faster. Sometimes when other devices are connected to wifi, the speed of game will slow down/lag, but that's because streaming Netflix or videos on 2-3 other devices via wifi. Not, this devices fault. Highly recommended getting one for your gaming system since, they always work better Wired in directly.
We live in a 100 year old house with plaster walls underneath wood paneling. Pity us. Wireless will not penetrate the walls no matter how many repeaters / antennae / amps / cats with tinfoil you place. My 14 year old daughter was throwing a stereotypical teenage girl conniption fit that her wireless kept dropping out, had a 1mbps downstream, and was generally poo. After some last ditch settings adjustments I ordered these, on the advice from a popular hardware forum.
While they were a little fiddly to initially pair, once I got them installed, it was magic. Digital unicorns flew out of my daughter's Tumblr feed at the speed of 30mbps, and she no longer things I'm a moron.
In other words, works awesome.
I can't believe this works as well as it does. My computer is upstairs in the attic, on the opposite side of the house. I was previously using wireless and an extender. At best, I was getting 7-12 mbps and the connection was extremely unstable.
Plugged these bad boys up though and wow, it's like night and day. I'm getting 17 mbps (our max speed...DSL, I know) and 100% stable connection. It truly is like my computer is right there at the modem.
Some tips: Avoid as many surge protectors, outlet extenders, etc. as you can, as that seems to add noise. One or two seem to be fine, based on other reviews. I have my two devices plugged directly into their own outlets.
Try to be on the same circuit before the breaker. I'm not; mine definitely runs through the breaker but it seems to be okay. The manufacturer doesn't recommend it though. I assume higher speeds would be more affected.
Do NOT panic if it seems to desync when you first plug it up. These devices come with an auto-power saving function and when it isn't synced with each other or your computer isn't running, they turn off. They will turn back on when you sync the devices or turn on your computer AFTER syncing them. You only need to sync them once.
Feature Product
- Powerline adapter provides up to 1000Mbps Ethernet over power. Ideal to be Ethernet extender who can easily go over the walls
- As network adapters supporting HomePlug AV2, easy to add multiple adapters and works under 110-240V
- Gigabit port, give you full speed of your internet. Plug & Play, no new wires and no configuration required
- Power saving automatically reduces power consumption by up to 85%. Data encryption by 128-bit AES to make the network safe and private
- System requirements is windows 2000, xp, 2003, vista, 7, 8, 8.1,10, mac and linux. Standards and protocols are homeplug av2, homeplug av, ieee 1901, ieee 802.3, ieee 802.3u and ieee 802.3ab. Range is 984.25 foot over electrical circuit
- Industry Leading Support: 2-year warranty and free 24/7 technical support. Amazon Dedicated Support Email: Support.Amazon@tp-link.com
Description
The AV1000 Powerline extends your Internet access to any room over existing electrical wiring. It's perfect for connecting smart TVs, streaming players & game consoles and ideal for 4K HD video streaming & lag-free gaming. It sets up in minutes with the push of a button,Plug and Play, Pair Button,New PLC Utility, Twin Pack. Interface Available: Gigabit Ethernet Port; Protocols Supported: HomePlug AV2 HomePlug AV IEEE 1901 , IEEE 802.3 IEEE 802.3u IEEE 802.3ab; System Requirement: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista Windows 7/8/8.1 Mac Linux
I've been a Network Engineer for over 10 years and ever since I've dealt with computers, cabling is one of the worst aspects of the job. I can't tell you how many times I've run/extended CAT3/CAT5/CAT5e/CAT6 cabling and ended up terminating both ends and testing them. Some situations are easier than others when you're allowed to run a cable across the floor or above ceiling tile... but in other situations like getting networking in a certain room in your house can be a total pain in the butt.
For the average home user, the only way to get networking from point A to your house to point B is either wired with cabling or use WiFi & bridging if the WiFi didn't extend far enough. When Powerline technology came out it added convenience of using existing power cabling but still was a little flaky and troublesome. But since then, Powerline has jumped leaps and bounds since and is much more reliable & faster.
When it came time to buy originally back in July 2012, I put a lot of research into looking into the latest powerline solution for my home. I wanted something with high performance and the current version of "high performance Powerline devices" allows 500Mbps transfer rate. Even still, I was having trouble selecting which manufacturer to go with (Belkin, Cisco, Netgear, etc). After my homework (and despite Netgear's horrible sales support), I ended up with the NETGEAR Powerline 500Mbps Nano Adapter - Starter Kit (XAVB5101).
Despite the insane price point (currently $87.99 on Amazon - 12/13/2013; I bought these for $108 back in July 2012), the Netgear adapters worked wonderfully in my home. I was able to maintain faster throughput from device to device while on wired Ethernet while not saturating my WiFi network. However, over the course of a year and a half, the number of devices I had in my house grew considerably (especially over WiFi).
In the past year, I added a few cell phones, a laptop, a tablet, a Roku 3, a Western Digital TV Live, 2 Chromecasts, and a new Smart TV. Because of that, my WiFi started to become degraded because every single one of those new devices was connecting to my network over WiFi. When multiple devices would start streaming things like Netflix and I was doing transfers from my media server to a PC, Netflix would stutter and my WiFi throughput would literally crawl slower than a snail on a salt bed. That's when I realized I needed to invest in more Powerline Adapters for certain rooms to speed up transfers as well as help reduce the load of my WiFi network.
But you see, despite being pleased with my Netgear adapters, I didn't want to spend another $100. A friend of mine (who I told the Netgear adapters about) bought another brand of Powerline AV 500Mbit adapters from a company called TP-Link to save money. He said they worked pretty good. After finding out that they were $35 on Amazon, I immediately pulled the trigger. I mean after all, I had a word of mouth approval from a friend and you can't argue saving over $50 vs another set of my Netgear adapters... the result? Absolutely no difference in speeds.
Just like the Netgear adapters, these are essentially Plug & Play. There were literally no problems connecting these in my house. I went to the living room where I needed wired connectivity and plugged these up to the wall. The TP-Link adapter immediately recognized my existing Netgear Powerline adapters and the 2nd LED (Powerline LED indicator) immediately lit up. I plugged in my small 10/100 switch to it and then my Roku & TV up to it and the 3rd LED (Ethernet indicator) lit up and the devices could not only talk to other devices on my LAN, but they had Internet access as well. I personally noticed NO DIFFERENCE in throughput speeds both within the LAN and the Internet.
The *ONLY* difference between the TP-Link set and the Netgear is the that the TP-Link doesn't tell you the "current speed" of that adapter's Powerline network. The Netgear has multicolored LEDs that indicate the speed of your Powerline network. While this normally won't matter to a lot of people, it will tell you whether you are having degraded performance within your home's electrical wiring. It also aids in troubleshooting as well. But it's not a show stopper...
Personally, I would recommend this product over the Netgear adapters I have.
1. The price is a LOT cheaper.
2. TP-Link has a TWO YEAR WARRANTY vs the Netgear's ONE YEAR WARRANTY. If you're really concerned on whether you're buying "a crap product", rest assured that this works just as good as the bigger name brands and you have an extra year of product care!
Highly recommended.
Love these powerline adapters. What these do is allow you to create hardwired connection point any where in your home where there's an electrical outlet. Each package comes with two adapters, you plug one into your router or modem, then the other wherever else you want internet - super simple. You can add additional ones to your setup as well.
I came across these when I was having WiFi reliability issues and when I wanted to setup a desktop in a specific area of my home that was far away from the router/modem and it didn't have WiFi. This eliminates both those scenarios plus gives you the stability of hardwired internet. I now have my modem and router downstairs, plug an adapter into it and then 3-4 others throughout my home (loft, garage, backyard, and master bedroom). I then connect a gigabit switch up to them so I can hook multiple device up to it. Now everything is hardwired except truly mobile devices such as phones, tablets, etc. My only knock on these is that the other ones I had allowed me to connect up to four other devices to them directly so I didn't have to buy a switch for every spot in the house. Definitely not a deal killer though, more a nice to have.
These are a must have when setting up your home internet and provide the stability and fast speeds that often are tempormental when using WiFi.
After spending hours in my attic trying to route a new Ethernet cable to the other end of the house, I found out about these and had a set overnighted.
Unbelievably easy to use and setup. Outlets used were on separate breakers on different ends of the house. Plugged these in and they worked instantly. I didn't even have to pair them, but I went ahead just to be sure. I'm a very technologically inclined person and this was just pure sorcery. I ran a few bandwidth tests from my computer to the router I connected it to; I averaged 2ms ping times and 490MB/s read speeds MEANWHILE my wife was streaming 4k Netflix in the other room, so the router itself was most likely the bottleneck in my tests.
If you've got a wifi connection that just isn't cutting it, absolutely get one of these. I'm absolutely blown away at it's simplicity. It just works.
Cons: You have to be ok with having voodoo black magic handling your internet connection.
Powerline adapter technology has come a long way since I last tried a pair several years ago. These work really well. I'm using them to forward data from an IP camera mounted under the eve of the garage to a computer in the basement and then on to the router upstairs (I have three of these paired together) in my parents' house. The house is in a subdivision with lots and lots of wifi and the camera in garage doesn't doesn't do 5ghz, so I was having reception issues, which made me decide to give these a try. The garage is about 30 feet from the house and I get a good signal (green light) from the unit it's paired with, and the throughput is good without any hitches or intermittent latency.
The one thing you do need to know about though if you are connecting more than two units together, and the reason I didn't give it five stars because they don't explain this to you, is that it's important which unit you pair the third and subsequent units to. Let me explain what that means and how I discovered the potential issue. I originally put in the first two units between the router and the garage. I repaired them (hit the pair button on both) in order to change the default ID and encryption just in case the signal leaked past the electric meter and someone else nearby had this same brand and was also using the default ID. A week later I added the third unit in the basement. I paired that unit with the one in the garage out of convenience as the one near the router upstairs was in an outlet behind a piece of furniture that I didn't feel like moving again (the instructions say you only have to pair additional units with one existing unit, not all of them).
Everything worked fine until someone else pulled the unit in the garage out of the outlet to use it for something else and forgot to plug it back in. I I was at my house that evening trying to access the computer in the basement from the internet via a VPN and couldn't connect to it. When I went over to my parents the next day I found the unit in the garage unplugged, and when I plugged it back in the computer in the basement had internet access again. I tested this a couple of times to verify that the unit in the basement only had connectivity to the unit it was paired with, meaning that data going between the computer in the basement and the internet (via the unit plugged in to the router) had to travel through the unit in the garage first, because that's the unit it was originally paired with.
This means that in a configuration with more than two units you must give careful consideration to which unit you pair the third an subsequent units, as all data apparently must flow along the same path as the pairings, and that if any unit along that path that was part of a pairing is unplugged or fails, all units downstream of that unit lose connectivity. I decided that I wanted a spoke configuration (one central unit paired to every other unit) rather than a daisy chain configuration, and that I wanted the unit at the center of the spokes to be the one that connected to the router as that was the one least likely to be unplugged or knocked loose given that it was in an outlet behind a chest of drawers, and if that one failed I'd lose internet access to the entire configuration anyway, even if it wasn't the center of the spokes. Therefore I swapped the unit in the garage with the one near the router, and when I reran the test of unplugging the one now in the garage, the computer in the basement still had internet access.
TP-Link should do a better job of documenting how this pairing works and make sure people understand the pros and cons of pairing all units with a single unit versus pairing them in a daisy chain series. As things stand now, to the extent that people even think about this, they probably believe that if you disconnect one unit all the other units will still be able to communicate with each other, which isn't necessarily the case.
Really works just as advertised, as easy as plugging in and going. Set up a router as an access point in a spotty area and now I can get signal where I couldn't before.
I was dumb and didn't read directions - you must plug into outlet (not a power strip) or the signal will degrade. I saw about a 70% degradation when I used power strips on both ends.
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