TP Link Powerline Adapter Query

firefox1956

ballyblack wrote: »

Are you using a microwave, kettle or similar?

No nothing like these in use.

firefox1956

Mmmmm......I think I might have to have a look at a cheap wifi adapter
& see if that fixes the problem.
It's not a major one but flippin annoying.
Even having a good old trawl around Dr Google does not bring up any definite fix.
Thanks for all the help.........

psychic_teabag

Linton wrote: »

In my experience losing connectivity is normal for powerline adaptors - I have tried 3 different manufacturers in 2 different houses and with 2 different routers with no discernible difference. They appear to be very sensitive to noise on the mains. That is why I have gone over to wifi - and the adaptors are cheaper.

I've had the opposite experience - powerline adapters much faster and more reliable than wifi. (And cheap, since I was lucky enough to find them in a charity shop.)

I regularly stream videos to TV in the kitchen, and while it was okay once it was running, seeking was very slow, and it lost signal when microwave was on. All works seamlessly with powerline adapters. (And that's even using them plugged into extensions, rather than directly into the wall socket.)

Note that I have a fair bit of data flowing between computers within the house, rather than each computer separately getting data from the internet. Perhaps that's a less common use case.

DoaM

I think powerline adaptors benefit from regular data flow to keep the connections awake.

onomatopoeia99

firefox1956 wrote: »

Mmmmm......I think I might have to have a look at a cheap wifi adapter
& see if that fixes the problem.
It's not a major one but flippin annoying.
Even having a good old trawl around Dr Google does not bring up any definite fix.
Thanks for all the help.........

The definite fix is to run cat5e or cat6 cable. For some reason, people seem unwilling to actually do the job properly and go for bodge solutions instead

DoaM

It's not always possible (without major disruption) to run physical cable between two points.

HogMan

Yep, and some of us have wives we need to keep happy

ukjoel

I have been using powerline adaptors for about 6 years.

Started with 200, then 500 and now 1200s.

I also have intermittent cutout problems and have to unplug and replug probably every 10 days which isnt an issue but a tad frustrating.

I found the cheapest way to increase speed and stability was to ramp up the cat cables coming from the powerline to the PC or TV.

I think it cost under £20 to replace all the cables (most were only 1 or 2 metres) with cat 6 (may have even been cat 7).

The change in speed was noticable (20% to 30% improvement on what I had been getting but the reliability also increased)

Went from replugging them every 3 days to now its 10 days to sometimes a couple of weeks.

My house hasnt got the latest wiring but spending £20 on top end cables may be better than spending £100 on a better poweline adaptor.


I am also hearing some really strong feedback for the google mesh and similar systems but at the moment they are too pricey for me as I dont need to change.

Another option may be to improve your router (the free supplied ones are pretty poor) I have a couple of friends who have gone that route and signal strength is incredible and they dont need powerlines any more.