How good are Ethernet Powerline Adaptors?

[gg30340]

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@99scouser wrote:

"Switching to FF300 broadband means the new router will have to be located at the front of the house" 

If this is a fibre install I presume Openreach will be the installer and I believe they are "obliged" to run the fibre to the existing router location if you wish.  They have done so for myself and my neighbours who have requested this.

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They are not "obliged" to run the fibre to the existing router. Most of the installers will try and accommodate requests within reason but as I said, they are not obliged to do it. 

[bratman91]

Much depends on what you want to use Powerline Adapters for. IPads, iPhones and many other devices do not have ethernet ports so Powerline Adapters will be of limited utility. However, my experience with a couple of TVs is that Powerline Adapters give a more stable input than wi-fi although with a reduction in speed compared with the speed at the router

I also have a couple of Mesh discs and they give good wi-fi access to far points of the house but, again,  at some cost in speed.

Depending on your contract, a couple of discs might be an additional £5 per month and a couple of Powerline Adapters  might be a one-off £30 -40. Hardwiring by ethernet cable is a robust solution but is not always possible and could be unsightly. There is, in my view, no perfect solution. I would try Mesh discs first of all and, if they don’t work for you, they can be returned to BT/EE.

[gg30340]

@bratman91 

For information:-

You can purchase powerline adaptors which as well as having an Ethernet connection they are also a wireless access point which would allow wireless devices such as iPhones to use them.

[bratman91]

Yes, that is true but they acquire their data via the building or house electrical power supply and, if the wiring is not in good condition or is not on a single ring main, the signal  it receives may not be very good and it can broadcast only as good as it receives. 

[licquorice]

But that has nothing to do with your assertion that they can't be used with devices without an Ethernet port.

[Crimliar]

I've personally used a couple of the old TP-Link WPA-7510 PLAs in a 4 bedroom flat that had stupidly thick concrete walls and just a single ring-main.  It worked a charm!

[gg30340]

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@bratman91 wrote:

Yes, that is true but they acquire their data via the building or house electrical power supply and, if the wiring is not in good condition or is not on a single ring main, the signal  it receives may not be very good and it can broadcast only as good as it receives. 

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All powerline adaptors use the wiring of the property. They do not need to be on the same ring main, they need to be going through the same consumer unit. If the wiring is in a good condition the signal it receives can be very good so it can broadcast as good as it receives!

Forgot to add, you said " IPads, iPhones and many other devices do not have ethernet ports so Powerline Adapters will be of limited utility"  which infers they can not be used with Powerline adaptors which is obviously not the case.

[licquorice]

My phone is currently connected to a TP link 4220 (which is only 2.4Ghz) at 144Mbps

[99scouser]

According to TP link , PLAs maximum design  distance is 300 M.  I have personally installed a pair 75M apart on a farm with good results.

PLA's will pair up as long as they are on the same phase and the same mains transformer coil (the small, garage like building at the end of the estate that hums 24x7)

They don't need to be in the same ring or building to pair up.

Note, your neighbours could see your PLA just like they see your WiFi , so make sure you change the default settings.

[bratman91]

For Liquorice,

      The discussion was specifically about Ethernet Powerline Adapters and, unless they also include built-in wi-fi repeaters (in which case they are hybrids), I am at a loss to see how they can be used on their own with devices that do not have an ethernet port.