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This is a very affordable and useful powerline networking adapter from TP-Link. It consists of two powerline ethernet devices – one that connects to a router, and another one that has two ethernet ports and a built in wireless access point.
When both are on the network the two port + wireless adapter will route all of its traffic through your home’s electrical wiring to the other device. It works quite well and is an easy way to extend a network without having to run ethernet cable.
I have found that these devices are rarely a replacement for ethernet. In many ways they’re better than wi-fi but I have never come close to getting the promised 500 megabit speed that this and other products tout. The reality for me is closer to 100 megabits and that is when the devices are connected to the same outlet.
In a real-world application the best I can pull down is about 30-40 megabits of sustained speed. That speed is more than adequate for web surfing but probably not as good for more demanding applications like Blu Ray media serving and other high bandwidth applications.
But on balance this is the best powerline kit I’ve reviewed. So if you’re in the market for one this is certainly one worth considering.
DISCLOSURE: TP-Link sent me this product to review.
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does this work for the Xbox 360?
hehe, love the Euro plugs being used in a US electrical socket on your diagram 🙂
Hi there can you tell me if these TP Link Powerline Adapters will they only work with Fibre Optic Broadband connections?
I thought there was security key. thanks.
The 500Mbps are for powerline-to-powerline… The LAN ports are 100Mbps and that’s the maximum you can get from this device. A good thing is that you can have several multiple connections all running close to 100Mbps.
hello there. i just saw your video. can i plug one side from my neighbers house and the other side plug in to my room. will that increase the signal?
I have this unit and was working great for two months NOW it keeps saying that there is no internet connection …Need help.
Thank to this video i bought the junk! it works great 1 day but when the IP lease expires it drops the wifi. this is a known problem that TP_link can’t solve. Don;t buy stay away!!!
if you set it up can i connect to the modem and can i connect to the powerline extender?
Ok I know I’m a little late but my router is downstairs and my ps4 is in my room. I can’t run ethernet up to it and I’m looking into buying this. I currently use wireless and believe it or not I get 2mbps on a great day download speed, and anywhere from 100-700 kbps upload speed. (Ik that’s TRASH). Do you think this will significantly increase my speed for gaming? I mean I can constant 2-3 bar on cod and in gta I lag out after 15 minutes in every session. I NEED HELP! Please and thank you.
So does this pretty much mean ur playing Ethernet while Having wifi? Or am I getting something wrong
I live in an old sandstone house. My laptop is in the basement at the back of the house and my router is upstairs. I could only get a very weak WiFi signal in the basement and powerline has been the answer. I am not technically minded but I had my TP Link adapters out of the box and working in a matter of minutes. It is recommended not plugging these adapters into a power strip so the (more expensive) pass through versions are especially useful as you can then plug your power strip into the adapter. No software or complicated configuration is required – it is literally plug and play and the adapters “find” one another quickly. If you want to create a fully secure network you can press the encryption buttons. I have personally not bothered as no one else has access to my house electricity. I now have a reliable broadband connection for my laptop thanks to powerline.
Great video, thanks for the help.
does it work if you put them on different floors? One is on the ground floor and the 2nd one on the 2nd floor for example?
I just bought the Av500 starter kit (TL-PA4010KIT), and it works great. Easy to step-up and use. My wifi signal was giving me 8-14 MB. Now, with the powerline, I’m getting ~50 MB, and no lag when playing games ~23 ping.
However, the adapter on the outlet does get pretty warm.. is this normal? Will it overheat?
Hello,
i bought this 2 weeks ago and now im net getting further,
i set it up like the Manual told me. But now i have TWO Networks
but i want only 1 can somebody please help me?
does this work if i plug the first piece into the router and the other piece into an outlet at another house?
How does it do for gaming?
Hey Lon,
2 years later, what product would you recommend for extending 5 GHz band?
Hey, cool vid.. I bought the 600 wifi one.. The phone can find the connection but the laptop can connect but no internet found? Any ideas please? The phone is at max internet speed now!! These plugs are magic!!
I have tried connecting it for 1 whole day and I yet could not figure it out. The problem is when I take it to another room far from the router.
I need help! I just got this today and finished the setup. Using ethernet from the powerline extender to my computer, i’m only getting 20mbps max. That is the same as my 2.4 ghz speed but I can get 80+ mbps on 5ghz on my other devices (ipad, iphone). How can I get the same speed as my 5ghz speed which I’m paying for on my pc?
OR…for about $15 you could run a cable directly from the source to your remote device.
Since this extender goes through the powerline, will the connection still be strong enough to play games, stream movies even though im a couple of rooms far away from the first device who’s connected to my router?
Please answer quick!
does my router also have to be from tp link for this to work?
so you get 900mbps speeds directly wired….. but with powerline that says you get upto 500mbps… you actually get <100mbps.... weird
my PC gets 25mbps down and 10mbps up. and with powerline i get the exact same thing. same thing with wifi too actually..
So yeah im a dog and i can run cat5 so i do that because powerline sucks
RV
Bought this yesterday, will return it today. In a small appartment (55m2) it does not provide a signal with a normal range. The signal is 50% lower within 7 meters in a straight line, in the next room (single stone wall, door open) the signal is a even 25% (that’s 4 meters from the extender)
Have you thought about actually demonstrating how to set up?
my security cameras DVR box requires an Ethernet cable connection to my router (located 50 feet away). Can I use the powerline adapters instead? thanks
Excellent review. Clear and to the point. Thank you. I was really excited to see Metroid II: Return of Samus on the shelf back there. Ahhhh…….memories.
Great video. A quick question…..what is your download speed from your router….? That would give me an idea of how much degradation there is in the system. Thanks
good work and i have speeeeeeedy speed
Would this be good for gaming?
is there a way I can plug in 2 at the same time?
will this work if I have ethernet to my ps4 and I’m playing online than have to powerline wifi on my phone.will both ethernet and wifi work from this at the same time
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http://www.tp-link.us/claim/
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TP link are offering refunds of this product…..Because it’s slow! My 100mb goes down to 8mb download speed through this product TP link AV500
can you use this on your ps4?
Nicely done. Helped me with my choice/purchase. Works well in Basement for Fire TV
Am I living in some kind of alternate universe? I ask because I’m ecstatic if I get over 10 mbps… and here’s yet another person saying that 30 Mbps is “meh”… and not enough for streaming video (which we are still able to do at our more modest speeds).
What will you guys recommend for video transfers/ and playing Smooth 4K video. I have the tp link 2000 and I can’t play smooth 4K video am getting 8up 15down and it’s still not playing a 4K 30f video smoothly I have a apple extreme in the living room and. iMac in the bedroom any ideas would help! Thanks
I pay for 100mbps with these i get around 80-90mbps
Does this create a separate hotspot for wifi?
My dilemma is that I am able to get a good Wi-Fi signal using my phone as a Hotspot. But I am not able to share the same network so that both computers/ tablets etc can talk to each other while I am using my hotspot. Would this device help me share the same network connection between my electronic devices?
Wie muß es Leuten damit man weiß das es registriert is mit den WLAN ? danke
mine disconnects multiple times a day. is that normal? does anyone have one of these that doesn’t cause consistent disruption?
Can I leave it in my ps4 everyday when its off and will it affect it or not