Powerline adaptors

[Hidden Hippo]

I've got my gaming PC in my bedroom and the wireless router in my dad's office downstairs. Unfortunately, the signal is dreadful - thick walls and a bad router (which he still tries to claim is good) mean at most I'll get an 18mbps intermittent connection.

Rather than replace my wireless adaptor (seems to have issues with Windows 7) and run USB extensions so I can put it on the landing, I was debating getting the powerline adaptors, or something similar and simply running ethernet cables. What are these like in terms of delivering the speeds they claim?

Thanks.

[Raf]

Hi,
It may depend...
I have used them (oldish ones - with up to 100Mbit advertised on the box) with mixed luck.
Generally they were working np, with good speed (approx 40-80Mbits). But, once I tried to use them for Samsung TV which has networking - and results were very poor - very slow. Streaming video to tv from pc was not watchable (stopping every few seconds). Saying that, it depends largely oon electrical infrastructure in the house as well (i.e. if on the same ring = better chance of working good, if on different ring (older houses or with extensions etc, ) chance is they will not work at all.
I would get a pair and try - if no luck it should be possible to return to the shop.
Long USB extension may also not work - USB isn't that great with long distances, not sure what's teh science behind it but some printers and other devices are not recognized properly on a few extensions...

[jimborae]

Just a get a cheap pair of 200av ones from Ebuyer. These ones are good : http://www.ebuyer.com/185148-zyxel-p...91-014-051019b . Currently have 6 Homeplugs around my house and they all work brilliantly however it does depend too a large extent as too how good your wiring is. Having said that they worked great at my flat and the wiring there is nearly 40 years old!

[Demonwar]

Prices have come down again it seems...mate was only telling me the other day that he got the ebuyer value 500mb ones for 50 quid.

[Macman]

I'm having this problem, I download an app on the iPad. In the room, at a snails pace. Go down stairs, pause the download and restart it it finishes the download off very quickly.

This also applies to surfing the web, utube etc.

I use 10mb/s Sky Broadband, able to source cheaper adapters?

[shteve]

I use those very same Ebuyer 200Mbps adaptors, with a wireless router on each end to give me good wireless upstairs and down. I get 3.8 - 4.6MB throughput over the powerline from my HTPC to NAS, and 9.5 - 10.5MB over ethernet from my main PC to NAS. So it's not as good as proper ethernet, but certainly a viable alternative to wireless (at least with the wiring in my house).

[Matthammer]

Been using the homeplugs for years and though as a product they were a bit hit and miss at the start (fairly common for any new technology) they seem to be thriving now. Have installed them on several client sites in the past where they were the most feasible option. Several clients run business from parts of their houses or just wanted them for their home use. Had a string of them who were struggling for wireless signal due to particular rugged or thick structural design and they worked a treat. Be aware of the wiring within the location i.e. are the 2 socket locations on the same ringmain etc.
I would not recommend the USB extensions as even getting the stronger repeater cables, you're likely to lose a fair bit with the multiple connections.
If you're going to adapt to wired, running good old RJ45 etc. will always be the stronger option.

[dream234]

Yeah, powerline adapters are definitely the way to go. Netgear make some that have a built in hub too - so you get 4 ethernet sockets in a homeplug, useful if you've got games consoles & a smart telly which all need network connections.

[DR]

Anyone tried Power Ethernet?

[shaithis]

Had a look at them recently.......but up to 200Mbps and £110 per room.....the numbers didn't work out AFAIC. For £110 per room I would rather run CAT6 and pay for a small decorating job (or do it myself!)

[g8ina]

A way cheaper option if you have a suitable path for the cable is to just install a long Cat5 cable. I did this from my router to my office and it's working fine, and the cable is really cheap even if you need 30 metres !

[Apex]

But some times you can not do that due to the homeowner etc

I understand the current issues with these powerline adapters and the noise they throw out onto the radio specturm - it's nasty but there is no other option; wireless is useless when you have a bunch of walls to go through (esp ones with foil backed insulation) and the only way to get a connection is to use the powerline / home plug adapters.

I have used two for the last 3+ years to get the xbox connected to the router upstairs and since we added a net connected tv / blu-ray player have now added a small switch that they all connect through - i even managed to take the homeplug and put it in the shed that is on a different ring/spur and get a soild connection, granted it won't be 100mb speeds but its dam more stable then wireless and less likely to get hijacked.

Because of the above this has now opned up a way to get network cover in the garden etc (can string a cheap wireless ap off the homeplug etc) so things like ip cams can be put in the garden

David are you on about power over ethernet (PoE 802.3af) if so then yes; been used at work for some remote reasons and i did have a play with a cheap set up a long time ago - it works but i didn't fancy some little critter chewing through the cable and casuing a issue for me so didn't go further with it.

[JamieH]

I have some old Netgear ones whe they were fairly new to the scene. Stability was excellent but due to gaming I am finicky about the increased latency.

[darknoiz]

I have a pair of 100mbps ones from ebuyer bought about a year ago for around £60 work fine for gaming and video streaming upto 720p, was their own brand.

[JamieH]

I have a pair of 100mbps ones from ebuyer bought about a year ago for around £60 work fine for gaming and video streaming upto 720p, was their own brand.

Yeah good point to note that the Netgear HDXB101 kit I had was brilliant for video streaming of 720p. Don't bother even trying 1080p though unless you are in the same room with it. If like mine you will find that it may be stable but far too slow for 1080p streaming.

[gersh]

The AV500 homeplug adapters kicking around are good (see smallnetbuilder for reviews) but are just one chipset manufacturers extension to the homeplug av standard (ie non-standard).
However end of this year / beginning of next the new G.hn and homeplug AV2 ones will be out which will faster still and be a lot more tolerant of dodgy mains wiring!!

Gersh