Problems with Powerline adaptors

sacherlover

Hi All,

I have a Lenovo desktop, about 1.5 years old. It was not wifi enabled, so I bought a Netgear Powerline kit.

The router is in the lounge, my desktop and partner's laptop are in the room next to the lounge. Worked fine for about 14 months. Now I regularly have a 'no internet' message, when my partner's laptop still has internet in the same room.

It does not appear to be the router. Equally, both of the Powerline plugs show all three LEDs as green when this happens.

Would anyone be able to suggest what problem solving steps to take and in which order, to be able to resolve this?

Thanking you all in advance for any help you can provide on this issue.

Regards,

Jackie

tavernman

Press the reset button on the adapter
Swap a cable from one that works
Check the laptop works with the othe adapter

onomatopoeia99

First, have you tried turning both of the powerline adapters off and back on again?

You said the laptop has internet access, is this connected via wifi or the powerline adapters?

My suspicion based on having used them at work is that one is failing and you'll need a new set. I think the shortest lifespan we had on a pair was three weeks. Far better to install proper cat5e cable if the arrangement is to be permanent.

Moneymaker

Guessing is pointless. Temporarily connect your laptop to the router with an Ethernet cable. If it works flawlessly for a reasonable length of time, that's fairly conclusive proof that the Powerline system is faulty.

WobblyDog

In my limited experience with them, they're great while they work, but sometimes they just stop working for no obvious reason, and buying replacements doesn't help. They are sending their signals down the power lines, so could be affected by appliances in your house, or perhaps even appliances in your neighbours houses.

sacherlover

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestions:

Tavernman:
I have tried re-setting and also using a brand new ethernet cable - no difference.

I will get my partner to try the adapters on his laptop

Onomatopoeia99:
The adapters don't have an on off switch. I have unplugged them both overnight - no difference.

Partner's laptop is using wifi direct from router.

Yes, the arrangement is permanent. Connecting directly will mean drilling a hole through a thick, brick wall...

Moneymaker:
I've asked a friend to lend me a 10m cable to run from router to PC via the doorways to test.

Many Thanks,

Jackie

jamesd

You can buy tiny USB WiFi Adapters for £10. If you have a local Maplin just get one from there, give it a try and return it using their excellent no hassle/reason return policy if it doesn't work for you.

Then there's the option of using a WiFi range extender with ethernet port as your WiFi connection and continuing to use an ethernet cable.

You might find that you can route flat ethernet cable without drilling holes. It'll go under carpet or around and under doors without hassle.

Moneymaker

Do a search for "Bear Extender". That's what I use.

motorguy

sacherlover wrote: »

Hi,

Thanks for your suggestions:

Tavernman:
I have tried re-setting and also using a brand new ethernet cable - no difference.

I will get my partner to try the adapters on his laptop

Onomatopoeia99:
The adapters don't have an on off switch. I have unplugged them both overnight - no difference.

Partner's laptop is using wifi direct from router.

Yes, the arrangement is permanent. Connecting directly will mean drilling a hole through a thick, brick wall...

Moneymaker:
I've asked a friend to lend me a 10m cable to run from router to PC via the doorways to test.

Many Thanks,

Jackie

Would be interesting to see if your partners laptop works if its hard wired to the adapter with a cable.

motorguy

WobblyDog wrote: »

In my limited experience with them, they're great while they work, but sometimes they just stop working for no obvious reason, and buying replacements doesn't help. They are sending their signals down the power lines, so could be affected by appliances in your house, or perhaps even appliances in your neighbours houses.

If they suddenly stop working after working perfectly and a replacement doesnt cure it, then something has changed on your electricity circuit.

For me, this was a spurious charger for a laptop stopped the homeplugs working.

Money_Saver

I had a pair of Netgear powerline adapters, the same thing happened after a number of months in use. I took them to another area of the house and they worked fine. This made me think there was some wiring issues where they were used initially. Took them back to the original site, wouldn't work. Left them unplugged for days. They worked.

As someone else said, install cat5e cable, if it's for a permanent setup.

This is what I did, and no problems whatsoever!