Powerline ethernet adapters - tell me about them!

Steev

I've always been intrigued by powerline ethernet adapters, but I've never lived in a place where I needed them. This changes next month when I'll be renting a house where the internet's router is on the first floor, but the only place I'll be able to fit our PCs will be one of the bedrooms on the second floor. I really don't want to use the wifi for my PCs, so powerline ethernet seems like the logical option. I've browsed a few previous threads about them here, and it sounds like they've improved a lot since they first came around.

Anyone have any recommendations for a specific brand to use or stay away from? I'd probably be looking for one that has at least two ports for the upstairs room because my wife and I each have a PC. I might even use our old router to give a better wifi hotspot on the second floor because the signal didn't seem to reach the patio very well.

mts

I would also look at moca which uses coax rather than power. Seems like a better idea

Steev

mts wrote: »

I would also look at moca which uses coax rather than power. Seems like a better idea

Never heard of that! Sounds interesting. Keep in mind I won't be able to add any wiring or cabling to this place. I'm also only going to be there through next June, when we'll inevitably have to find a much smaller place to move into.

Malgaras

I've been using one of these for my stupidly wired apartment (seriously, who runs the internet in through the kitchen?) for the past 18 months or so. I can't speak to the actual max bandwidth as my local network is wireless, but I use it between my router and the internet drop and it has supported my 100/100 internet without bottle-necking it at the very least.

Out of curiosity, any reason you don't want to use wifi? This seems like a textbook case where using wireless would make sense. Only reason I use one is so I don't have to have a router sitting next to my kitchen sink, but it doesn't sound like you have that type of problem.

BlazeFire

Pardon me, but why not use wifi? A single floor should not be that big of a problem.

Steev

Wifi is certainly an option, but the speeds seemed a little low when I tested it with my iPad this weekend. I've noticed a similar speed dropoff here in our own apartment.

bowen

You can do much higher speeds over powerline is why most people don't do it. Lower latency too.

They're a good investment if you like wired connections.

TPLink makes some really solid ones.

Sir Landshark

I went with the TPLink ones because my house just destroys WiFi and I really didn't want to pay someone to run coax if I didn't have to.

They work like a charm. I have two xbox ones and a PC running on them, often two of the three at the same time as my wife likes to game with me and I've had no issues with either throughput or packet loss. Just like being wired in my experience.

wonderpug

I've been using a Netgear brand powerline adapter on my main PC for about 5 years now and it works so well it still seems like amazing black magic devilry.

Straygatsby

Before you pull the trigger on powerline, definitely check out a good AC+ router. I think you'll find it'll more than meet your needs. Personally, I think powerline is overrated and more of a badge of honor for DIY geeks than actually being a best choice in many cases.

But that's just like my opinion, man.

bowen

Some devices don't have wifi and have wired only.

You also get better service on smart TVs and your game consoles in general than via wifi.

It's not really a badge of honor, it takes like 3 seconds to do.

Steev

I'm definitely going to need a new router eventually (currently using an old Linksys WRT54GL in my apartment), but in this living situation I think we're just going to stick with using the owner's ISP-provided modem/router combo since he's keeping the service in his name. It sounded like powerline ethernet is a lot more reliable these days, so I figured this would be a good situation to try it out.

BlazeFire

SteevL wrote: »

I'm definitely going to need a new router eventually (currently using an old Linksys WRT54GL in my apartment), but in this living situation I think we're just going to stick with using the owner's ISP-provided modem/router combo since he's keeping the service in his name. It sounded like powerline ethernet is a lot more reliable these days, so I figured this would be a good situation to try it out.

The WRT54GL was released 12 years ago. I think you'll have a much better experience with a more modern device. My desktop routinely tests at ~150 Mbps to the internet on my 150 Mbps connection. I'd suggest waiting until you move in to try it out and see if you need something different.

SatanIsMyMotor

I use a couple of the TPlink ones for my home office and one of my TVs and they work fine. I have gigabit internet but I do lose some speed over the powerlines. That said, they're 100% acceptable for what I use them for.

Feral

mts wrote: »

I would also look at moca which uses coax rather than power. Seems like a better idea

I have always been skeptical of powerline because reasons, though I think those are based on the caveman times when powerline adapters weren't remotely as well-manufactured. I have friends who use powerline and it seems to work fine.

I'm a proponent of MoCA but anybody who goes the MoCA route should be aware of a manageable security issue: coax lines are often shared between houses or apartments, so when using MoCA there's a possibility that your local area network is extended to others peoples' homes without knowing it. This doesn't matter unless they're also using MoCA or if they have somebody who fancies themselves a hacker and loves to snoop around.

The most common MoCA adapters support encryption which eliminates that problem for all intents and purposes. Just make sure the encryption is turned on. If you get the common Actiontec ones, the very first thing you should do is email Actiontec support and request the most recent firmware to ensure the encryption being used is the latest available.

Feral

Also, to SteevL: yeah, that router is old. There have been multiple advances in the last several years that improve both speed and indoor coverage that a new router would take advantage of: 802.11n, 802.11ac, MIMO.

Also, 802.11ac has lower power consumption, so if you replaced that router with an AC router, you could even see longer battery life on your iPad.

I'd probably upgrade the router first, see how wireless strength looks on the iPad, then reconsider wifi on the desktop.

Edit: It's a shame because those WRT54GLs were workhorses. I have a bunch of them in my garage that I've used for all sorts of weird little projects. They're just not up to snuff for a primary wifi access point these days.

kime

I'll agree with others that Wifi honestly seems like the best and easiest route.

But if you do still go powerline, I use a TPLink Powerline adapter and it works really well for wired connections (my thread may have been one of the ones you looked at here ). The wireless network from the powerline adapter also works at good speeds, but occasionally for me it'll drop internet capability for a minute or so before returning. That's only the Powerline's wifi, though, wired has worked flawlessly after the first couple days.

Shadowfire

SteevL wrote: »

I'm definitely going to need a new router eventually (currently using an old Linksys WRT54GL in my apartment), but in this living situation I think we're just going to stick with using the owner's ISP-provided modem/router combo since he's keeping the service in his name. It sounded like powerline ethernet is a lot more reliable these days, so I figured this would be a good situation to try it out.

Every time I walk into a house with one of these, I shed a tear. They really are workhorses, but man... let them retire already.

Steev

Shadowfire wrote: »

SteevL wrote: »

I'm definitely going to need a new router eventually (currently using an old Linksys WRT54GL in my apartment), but in this living situation I think we're just going to stick with using the owner's ISP-provided modem/router combo since he's keeping the service in his name. It sounded like powerline ethernet is a lot more reliable these days, so I figured this would be a good situation to try it out.

Every time I walk into a house with one of these, I shed a tear. They really are workhorses, but man... let them retire already.

I set the one up at my parents' house to be their wireless access point about two years ago because the piece of shit AT&T modem/router combo thing that replaced it kept having the wifi go out. I don't think the wifi on the 54GL has gone out once since I did that. Gotta love that thing.

Also, this thread made me realize that I don't even have a wireless network adapter for my most recent PC.

shadowane

I tried to use Powerline adaptors at my house but they tripped breakers randomly so I had to give up on them.

Bolthorn

We recently moved and instead of trying to run Cat6 through the entire place I decided to give these a try: http://a.co/eDLow06
So far they have worked really well. I ran speed tests on all the PCs in the house and whether it was the one hooked directly to our router or the ones hooked up through the powerline adapters the results were all pretty even. Now, we don't have cable TV at all so coax line isn't split inside the house anywhere either. The outside line comes in and is then connected directly to the cable modem.

We also have two external networked TV turners, specifically these: http://a.co/bEt5NFf that we use to watch and record broadcast TV. The tuners are located in a closet on a switch. That switch is connected directly to our router. Everything that consumes the streams from these tuners are elsewhere and hooked up through the powerline adapters. We have noticed no loss in TV signal this way versus when we had everything on the same router in the old place. I know that may not be your usage, just trying to demonstrate that we saturate those adapters pretty well and so far everything works.

I've also seen it suggested to assign static IP addresses to any device attached to the powerline adapter. That is, if you don't already do so. I have not done that (yet?) and everything seems to be fine.

Myiagros

To throw a question on this, does anyone know if these work through multiple breakers?

Eventually I would like to get my barn networked and the power to it comes from the house through a sub-panel in the barn to the main panel inside. Would these pass the network through both? The other option if not would be to go with a Ubiquiti wireless relay.

bowen

Panel and sub-panel maybe.

You would be better off with a building to building bridge from ubiquiti for that though.

Steev

I appreciate all the suggestions so far. Lots of choices out there! I'll probably stick with powerline ethernet, but will also be sure to buy a modern router once we move again in late June 2018. Like many of you have said: we're long overdue.

The TP-Link adapters that Bolthorn mentioned seem the most useful to me too. 3 ports + power passthrough is great! I'll try to update the thread in mid-August once we've settled in.

Shadowfire

bowen wrote: »

Panel and sub-panel maybe.

You would be better off with a building to building bridge from ubiquiti for that though.

The sub-panel is almost always a killer with power line. It might work, but it's rare.

Steev

(kind of posted about this in the Steam thread, but figured I'd post about it here for closure)

So, thread update: got to our new place in California. Once we got our stuff, I set up my PC in one of the bedrooms upstairs and used TPLink powerline ethernet adapters to get wired internet upstairs. It worked perfectly with no issues! Got higher speed internet than I ever expected:



It wasn't nearly that fast over wifi when I tested it here last month, but when I tested it again yesterday the wifi was at about 75 mbps. We're only here through next June, but I will try to make the most of this speed.

One other issue, though: apparently the power outlets in this room and in our bedroom are not grounded properly. I noticed the "not grounded" light came on when I plugged in a surge protector a few days ago, so I went around and tested the outlets in both rooms and the light came on every time. So, that sucks!

Shogun

Literally did not know powerline ethernet was even a thing before this thread.

Bolthorn

Glad you are having success with them. I was quite skeptical at first and just figured I might be flushing $120 down the drain since we needed for total. Happy to report that we haven't noticed any issues with our setup, except the night that internet service dropped completely. But that was the teleco companies fault, not the adapters. We could still watch normal TV since the internal network was all still up.

So far, I think the only negative thing I can think of is that you can't plug these things into uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). I mean, it's not a big negative because hey, the power is out, it's time to power down those PCs anyhow.

Steev

Yeah, I had one problem not long after I posted about them yesterday, but turns out that was from us having a power outage. I thought that maybe the outlet had stopped working entirely and the only reason my PC was on was because of the UPS (plugged directly into the powerline adapter!), but then I ventured outside the room and saw the kitchen appliances' clocks blinking. It took a few minutes for the internet to recover, but that was probably the owner's modem/router taking a while to reboot.

Funnily enough, my own brother had apparently been using one of these for years and I didn't find out until yesterday when I posted about my success with them. He said that his stopped working after a few years, which is unfortunate.

Radiation

Has anyone used a source to 2 different ones? I have a setup that I need ethernet drops in 2 different parts of the house that are away from the router.

Bolthorn

Wait, like, so you need internet from the router and then two different adapters elsewhere? Yeah man, I have a total of 4 at the moment and it works amazingly well.

So, basically, we have the cable modem>router>powerline adapter in one room. This feeds the network basically to the other ones in the house. Then we have three other powerline adapters spread throughout the house that we have various devices plugged into.

Is that what you were asking or am I misunderstanding what you're asking?

Radiation

Basically what I'm after. I thought they were point to point, do they network on their own? Did you have to buy a special kind?

bowen

TPLink ones do it, basically you sync one up as the "station" and the rest will link up that way. You want to get all the same brand though, and make sure they support that (most do).

Steev

Yup. I didn't even have to do anything to get mine to sync up. I plugged one into the wall outlet downstairs, then plugged an ethernet cable into it from the modem. Then I went upstairs and plugged the other one into an outlet there, followed by plugging it into my PC. And like that, I had a connection.

There is an option to create a secure powerline network, but I haven't bothered with that feature yet. Doesn't sound too hard to set up: just push the Pair button on one of them, then press the Pair button on the other.