Power adapters - which ones to use?

[FloFosterJenkins]

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Current Comtrend 9020 200 Mbps adapters don’t seem to adapt well to the newly-installed FTTP because the BT TV service box announces from time to time that I must connect to the internet. The signal light shows red most of the time. Is this because they are only 200 Mbps? BT’s mini adapters appear to have been discontinued.

Will those tp-link TL-7017P adapters (up to 1Gb) resolve this issue?

There’s also a tp-link PA8033PKIT AV1300 with the ethernet ports on the top of the device - a little more expensive but a more convenient location for us.

[Les-Gibson]

Personally I wouldn't use powerline adapters for TV, an ethernet cable is much better and it's worth the effort to make it possible. However if your mind is made up then you might find this link useful

Powerline Adapters and BT Mini Connectors user guides | BT Help

[chrisjp]

I spent quite a bit of money and time messing about with powerline adapters, and never had much success with them.
So I gave up and got 3 BT Wholehome mesh system discs. Apart from the disc that must be connected by ethernet cable to your Hub/Router, the other discs have a spare ethernet socket so can be connected to anything that needs an ethernet input. I have 3 items (Freeview box, Freesat box and TV) connected to one disc by ethernet cables using an ethernet switch and they all work perfectly.

[FloFosterJenkins]

Thank you for the replies, folks.
I’m on Full Fibre 900 Halo3+ and have installed the Complete WiFi disc that came with the upgrade in a studio down the garden (good signal). If I obtain another then can I connect that to the BT TV box in the house with ethernet cable and get a satisfactory signal?

[Midnight_Voice]

@FloFosterJenkins @chrisjp @Les-Gibson 

Yes, I think so.

Having ‘cunningly’ found my Spanish TP-Link nanorouter, and a plug adapter to connect it to a UK three-pin socket, and got my DTR-T2xxx working over an Ethernet cable into this tottering edifice, I read this thread a day or so ago, when the light bulb went on in my head as to why I was doing that when I was already running a Complete WiFi disc from the same multi-way plug strip?

So I unplugged the Ethernet cable from the nanorouter, plugged it into the disc, and the YouView box carried on, hardly missing a beat, on the new connection.

And the tottering edifice is back in the bits box, where it belongs 😛

[Anonymous]

@FloFosterJenkins The TP-Link AV1300 PLA’s you mention are well worth a try before you commit to a WiFi solution, especially as they are easy to send back.

The TP-Link devices features MIMO which makes connections much more robust and they are also built to newer and faster standards than the old Commtrend versions.

That said, if you really want to get the most from your new FTTP speeds on multiple devices then a high quality mesh WiFi system is a must, and if you are staying with EE TV, then the newer kit is all WiFi enabled and works well wirelessly.

[Les-Gibson]

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@FloFosterJenkinswrote:

Thank you for the replies, folks.
I’m on Full Fibre 900 Halo3+ and have installed the Complete WiFi disc that came with the upgrade in a studio down the garden (good signal). If I obtain another then can I connect that to the BT TV box in the house with ethernet cable and get a satisfactory signal?

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Certainly you can connect the TV box to the Complete Wi-Fi disc via an ethernet cable, but whether or not you would get a good signal between the disc and the hub is subject to many factors.

If I remember correctly, BT will supply you with a maximum of three Complete Wi-Fi discs (the black ones) at no extra charge so you have nothing to lose by requesting a second disc and trying it.

[FloFosterJenkins]

Thanks to all for such useful - and entertaining - replies. As Les-Gibson says, I can acquire a free 2nd disc from BT, so will try that first, although the mesh system does seem to be rock solid, and is tempting.