Wi-Fi and/or power-line adaptor recommendations

[sjmorgan]

I have my desktop PC in a different room to the router and running Cat 5 cable isn't feasible at the moment. I initially bought a TP-Link ‎TL-WN823N USB dongle, but it was awful and would regularly malfunction. I replaced it with a pair of TP-Link AV600 power-line adaptors which aren't much better and so I'll regularly lose my connection to the router.

I'm starting to see a pattern emerging about TP-Link products, so I was wondering if anybody could recommend me either a PCIe Wi-Fi card or power-line adapters that aren't rubbish? I'm currently using Windows 10, but am thinking about switching to Linux at some point, so Linux support would be a plus.

Thanks.

 

[Pheasant]

Try Devolo’s…but powerline Ethernet can be iffy at the best of times.

 

[kommando828]

Tried powerline, figures looked good but real usage showed them as being pants, so back to Amazon they went. I have 2 ft thick stone walls and use Cat 5 feeding bridged wifi routers in every room no matter how difficult it is.

 

[Meatball]

Like most tech Powerline over promises (each generation). Can deliver 50% of promise but can also be terrible. I have three sockets in my lounge but only two are usable the third suffers errors and low speed despite me checking ring main for issues. Bizarre.

As Kommado828 advises cable always better but Powerline remains a simple option. Borrowing a set to test is advisable or using a supplier without returns issues.

 

[sbaggs]

Another vote here for Devolo (I have Magic 2 devices) and they do what we need; but, as others have said, it's pot luck whether they will work for you and take the advertised speeds with a pinch of salt. You stand a better chance of success if the devices are on the same mains ring, expect poorer performance if you are working across different rings. There is one set of sockets here where they don't work well at all, but otherwise I generally get between a quarter and a half of the advertised maximum speed.

 

[HR2Res]

Another thumbs up, from me, for Devolo Magic 2 if you can't cable. I have a house with thick walls and a few RSJs and no realistic prospect of ethernet cabling the house.

I have an incoming download speed of ~1.8 to 2 Mbps at Bright Box 1 (or occasionally Belkin N1) router. Two desktop PCs in (upstairs) office directly connected to router, and then three mobile phones, a desktop PC, a Dell laptop, and an iPad connected either via wifi or cable to an adapter elsewhere around house. I have the PLC base unit in office near router, and the two adapter units are placed one either end of the house (one upstairs and one downstairs). The Magic dashboard indicates (as I look) pretty typical 1097 Mbps (slightly further from the PLC device but on same floor level) and 815 Mbps WiFi speeds. I've toyed with the idea of a third adapter but don't think the likely gain warrants the financial outlay. I connect TV with a short repurposed ethernet cable to adapter (too stingy to buy a new one for the purpose!) if headline speed (and hence wifi speed) drops too much. Can't recall the speed now when connected via ethernet cable to one of the adapters, but seem to remember it was pretty close to the measly value I get at the router.

Occasionally lose powerline connection to adapters (rather vague error message to my mind when it first happens to you), especially when resetting router or changing DNS setting, but easy to reset (hold down reset for 10 sec on PLC and then usually press the little house icon on one of the adapters within a couple of minutes) and away again. I spent years not getting a powerline system but wish I had done so earlier now... But hey, the kids could do without Instagram and the like to my mind!

 

[Tony Gamble]

Upgraded to Devolo Magic with wifi 6 mesh at the weekend

Really happy. Stable and fast.

In a 1900 build large flat with impenetrable walls.

 

[CarlO1460]

Google wifi x3 setup. Works a dream around our house, 350meg Virgin broadband in modem mode. Furthest reach gets about 150meg, not a massive difference away but plentiful for work.

 

[Hitesh]

I have my desktop PC in a different room to the router and running Cat 5 cable isn't feasible at the moment. I initially bought a TP-Link ‎TL-WN823N USB dongle, but it was awful and would regularly malfunction. I replaced it with a pair of TP-Link AV600 power-line adaptors which aren't much better and so I'll regularly lose my connection to the router.

I'm starting to see a pattern emerging about TP-Link products, so I was wondering if anybody could recommend me either a PCIe Wi-Fi card or power-line adapters that aren't rubbish? I'm currently using Windows 10, but am thinking about switching to Linux at some point, so Linux support would be a plus.

Thanks.

aren't powerline adapters susceptible to types of fuse box you have and way its been wired up?

 

[Meatball]

Performance is better the shorter the distance and furthest from consumer unit. Yes some RCDs can cause issues and some Powerline units are better than others.

You can powerline between ring mains but it means the route is back to the consumer unit and then out again. In addition there are earth leakage protection circuits units can cause issues and interference from other high current feeds. All electrical cables create electromagnetic energy fields and the consumer unit is a concentration of them.

 

[clivejo]

Powerline Ethernet Adaptors are very hit and miss. They both create and are affected by radio frequency noise. You may notice noise in speakers while on standby. My dad was a radio ham and absolutely hated them!

They can also be affected (speed and connection stability) by things like wireless door bells, cordless telephones and even microwave on the same mains circuit, totally dropping the connection! I would look into proper wired Ethernet, it really is easy to get kits to terminate the ends and pull the cable yourself, even into cupboards or spaces out of sight to hide a wireless access point.