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Puzzling Wi-Fi Powerline behaviour - help

thegoodguy

Casual Member
Hi,

I'm hoping one of the knowledgeable members here can help shed some light on a puzzling issue.

I'm with Three 5G and have the following arrangement.
local-network.webp


With my PC, I get an average speed of 300Mbps. It's cabled to the modem that's located in my loft.

With a WiFi connection to the modem (2nd floor to loft), I get approximately the same; 300Mbps.

With a WiFi connection to the a powerline adaptor (2nd floor to 2nd floor) that is cabled to the modem , I get 75Mbps.

Why is this? Logically the WiFi of the powerline adaptor should be connecting at around 300Mbps too, shouldn't it? It's connected to the modem the same way that my PC is.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi,

I'm hoping one of the knowledgeable members here can help shed some light on a puzzling issue.

I'm with Three 5G and have the following arrangement.
View attachment 9543

With my PC, I get an average speed of 300Mbps. It's cabled to the modem that's located in my loft.

With a WiFi connection to the modem (2nd floor to loft), I get approximately the same; 300Mbps.

With a WiFi connection to the a powerline adaptor (2nd floor to 2nd floor) that is cabled to the modem , I get 75Mbps.

Why is this? Logically the WiFi of the powerline adaptor should be connecting at around 300Mbps too, shouldn't it? It's connected to the modem the same way that my PC is.

Thanks in advance.

Powerline connections are not near as good as ethernet cable. Convenient maybe, not really fast. But if your powerline wifi adapter is connected to the modem via ethernet cable (red line) and connected to the phone via wifi (purple wavey) then its probably just inferior quality.
 
Thanks Mobyle. I was pretty sure my logic was sound. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an obvious config problem.

I need to correct a little info

(a) I just realised the powerline description should have read "Gigabit" not "Megabit"

(b) I just checked, it's not actually Gigabit. It's 500AV. So 1/2 Gigabit, right? The actual model is Devolo dLAN 500 AV Wireless+

If it is just a dodgy powerline unit, I'll have to get another one if I want better WiFi speed.

Cheers
 
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It's 500AV. So 1/2 Gigabit, right?
I'm almost sure that AV500 Is 500Mb half duplex. Meaning you essentially have a theoretical maximum of 250Mb upload and 250Mb download. Which in the real world you'll never see due to the various factors at play to degrade the performance along the way.

The model of the adapter you mention using also only has N300 WiFi. So an old 2.4GHz standard. 300Mb is again the theoretical maximum speed. Interference will quickly drag this speed right down.
 
My experience with Devolo is that the difference between the performance of the new Magic series, and versions like the 500s, is well worth the extra money.

If you are going to be stuck with this solution for years then lash out and buy top of the range.
 
In my experience Powerline is even more unreliable than Wifi. Combining the two is a recipe for double the problems. Try constant pinging across Powerline and see what happens when nearby high power appliances like a fridge, microwave, vacuum cleaner, iron, hair drier go on or off. My advice will be that you stop putting money on half-baked solutions. Wire all your required house points using Cat 6. Buy a wired Wifi mesh system and enjoy super strong super stable wifi for the next decade. You will not regret it.
 
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Thanks Mobyle. I was pretty sure my logic was sound. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an obvious config problem.

I need to correct a little info

(a) I just realised the powerline description should have read "Gigabit" not "Megabit"

(b) I just checked, it's not actually Gigabit. It's 500AV. So 1/2 Gigabit, right? The actual model is Devolo dLAN 500 AV Wireless+

If it is just a dodgy powerline unit, I'll have to get another one if I want better WiFi speed.

Cheers
Devolo Magic-2 WiFi 6 AP can definitely do 300 Mbps measured by iperf3.

I think I had the 500 AV Wireless (not plus) which dated from around 2014 so the dLAN technology is pretty old.

Wowz, forgot how old it was. 802.11n, WiFi 4. One diagnostic which could be done is to move the Devolo AP to the loft to see how much the powerline hop is impacting anything and run the WiFi test in the loft.

 
Last edited:
Powerline will dependant on layout of circuits and quality. I have a socket that simply does not perform like the rest and haver never determined why as its fine electrically.

If you have Ethernet to the first floor how about a decent switch and WIFI access points for the first floor area and under the floor to the ground floor ceiling?
(I have access points on PoE just above the plasterboard)

You could also have ceiling mounted APs in the loft. I've always found down is better than up for WIFI (to avoid the furnishings etc).
 
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Certainly cabling is a way better solution, and I also agree with ceiling APs.

The cost of the cable isn't the issue, it's the cost of the installation. I got an electrician in to chase oval conduits into the wall, just before we were going to have several rooms redecorated anyway. (I did the jack terminations myself )

If you're driving all this from a 5G modem then the highest location (the loft) is where you'd expect to get the best signal. Very much depends on the site though.
 
I need to connect seven or eight devices in the living room so would need to factor in a WiFi AP in addition to cost of cable installation.

A single Devolo device is typically very silly, at least two should be purchased but only one needs to be a WiFi AP. They should both be the same generation, either dLAN or Magic-{1,2}.
 
"The cost of the cable isn't the issue, it's the cost of the installation. I got an electrician in to chase oval conduits into the wall, just before we were going to have several rooms redecorated anyway. (I did the jack terminations myself )"

And his price was?
 
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It just occurred to me that no powerline link is in the data path at all if the red line is a direct Ethernet cable to the router and no Devolo device in the loft is omitted from the diagram.
 
Unless your ceiling plasterboard has some metal content I would wager that just using the WiFi direct off the 5G modem in the loft would likely be the best solution...
 
I'm almost sure that AV500 Is 500Mb half duplex. Meaning you essentially have a theoretical maximum of 250Mb upload and 250Mb download. Which in the real world you'll never see due to the various factors at play to degrade the performance along the way.

The model of the adapter you mention using also only has N300 WiFi. So an old 2.4GHz standard. 300Mb is again the theoretical maximum speed. Interference will quickly drag this speed right down.

Hi Koda,

Interference from what? It's wired directly to the modem. I can understand if the powerline adaptor speed downstairs was low. I know that there is loss through the house cabling and interference with appliances.
 
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