With more of us working from home and using streaming entertainment services, having a fast home network is now as essential as a kettle or gas central heating. The quickest way of improving your home network speeds is adding Powerline adapters to the rooms that need the speed. Fear not, they are super easy to install.
What Are Powerline Adaptors?
Powerline is a simple-to-install digital home technology that can provide faster speeds than Wi-Fi for connecting devices to your network, regardless of whether or not they're in the same room as your router.
It uses your home's mains power wires to create a network connection that - in many cases - is faster than Wi-Fi. It isn't limited to gadgets that have an Ethernet port: some powerline kits can create powerful new Wi-Fi hotspots to give you a wireless signal in rooms or areas your router can't reach.
It's simple, easy to set up, and inexpensive given that it will greatly improve your home network for streaming HD TV, gaming and other data-hungry devices and services.
The best Powerline adapters are a better bet than Wi-Fi extenders or repeaters that merely push a weak signal further around a house.
An interesting alternative is Mesh Wi-Fi, but Powerline is the fastest and can come with extra Wi-Fi hotspots built-in. Devolo's Magic WiFi range (see below) marries Powerline and Mesh technologies.
Here's how easy it is to install powerline adaptors. Plug one adapter into a power socket near your router and attach it to the router with an ethernet cable.
Then go to the room where you want to hook up a device to the network, plug the second adapter into a nearby power socket, and connect another ethernet cable from that to the device you want to get online.
That's it. It really is plug and play.
What if I need Wi-Fi?
As we've said, some Powerline adapters also have built-in Wi-Fi and create a new wireless network in that second room. This means you can get a strong, fast signal for your laptop, smartphone, tablet or another Wi-Fi gadget.
If you just want great Wi-Fi coverage across your entire home and not just a new hotspot in one weak room, then consider "Mesh"; read our roundup of the best Mesh Wi-Fi network kits. But Powerline with Wi-Fi is a simple solution that works very well - especially for smaller homes.
What Other Features Should I Look For?
You should also consider adapters that have an integrated "pass-through" power socket and therefore don't take up a valuable wall socket.
The cheapest Powerline adapters are usually rated at 500Mbps (although these are pretty rare these days), and the fastest can go as high as 2,000Mbps. You can still find them on Amazon, and you might spot a bargain but there are also great deals on the faster adapters.
You won't actually achieve these speeds as they're theoretical maximums, but they are an easy way to gauge which models are fastest.
Also look out for adapters that use the latest Gigabit Ethernet ports, if the adapters are rated at over 500Mbps this is a must, and most higher-rated Powerlines do include this fastest Ethernet standard. You nearly always get two Ethernet cables in a starter kit.
Some of the adapters we review here were tested a few of years ago, but the basic technology hasn't changed much and these are gadgets that you don't need to upgrade very often, making them even better value for money. The tech doesn't move quickly like smartphones.
1. TP-Link AV1000 Gigabit Powerline
- One-port kit (TL-PA7010KIT), $49.98; one-port with passthrough socket (TL-PA7010PKIT), $55.99; two ports and passthrough (TL-PA7020PKIT), $59.50; one port with Wi-Fi hotspot (TL-WPA7510KIT), $99.99
- Best value, fast Powerline
The TP-Link AV1000 series of Powerline adapters is a well-made and fast set of data shifters at great prices. In some speed tests we actually found it faster than the supposedly more able TP-Link AV1200 adapters, so it punches above its weight. While in TP-Link's midrange, it offers great value at close-to-top speeds.
It’s available in four versions: the basic one-port TL-WPA7010 KIT, one-port TL-PA7010P KIT with pass-through power socket, TL-PA7020P KIT with pass-through socket and two Gigabit Ethernet ports, and the TL-WPA7510 KIT that can create a new, fast Wi-Fi hotspot in your home.
If you need it, the Wi-Fi model is well worth the extra cost, as are the models with pass-through sockets.
2. Devolo Magic 2 Wi-Fi
- From £99.99 | Model tested £269.99
- Best for speed, features and Mesh Wi-Fi capability
Devolo’s Magic Powerline & Mesh Wi-Fi system offers the best of both worlds in terms of home networking. Using the latest G.hn network standard, it has the potential to blow away other Powerline adapters, and with advanced Mesh capabilities (Fast Roaming, Band Steering, Config Sync, and Airtime Fairness) it should excel in larger homes that require more than one extra Wi-Fi hotspot.
Speeds are fast, but you're paying for Powerline and Mesh so this is best suited to homes that require more than one extra Wi-Fi hotspot. If you're after a fast Mesh system this one really delivers.
Smaller homes (where you don't need an extra Wi-Fi hotspot or just the one) might get much the same performance from cheaper non-Mesh Powerline-only systems, or the non-Wi-Fi Magic versions, such as the Magic 2 LAN.
3. TP-LINK AV1200/ AV1300 Gigabit Powerline Adapter
- US$96.99
- Best Powerline for multiple ports
If your house suffers from weak Wi-Fi consider the WPA8630P that includes functionality to add a new Wi-Fi hotspot in your house. If your Wi-Fi signal is acceptable you can live without a new hotspot, and the TL-PA8030P especially represents great Powerline value.
4. Devolo 1200+ Powerline Adapter
- $119.99
- Best value Powerline with 2 ports, pass-through and Wi-Fi
5. TP-Link AV2000 2-Port Gigabit Passthrough Powerline
- $119.99
6. Netgear PowerLINE WiFi 1000
- $99.99
The price is reasonable for a Powerline with extra WiFi, but you can get cheaper Powerline. If you don’t need more than one Ethernet port per adapter but do want to improve your house Wi-Fi speeds the Netgear PowerLINE WiFi 1000 is certainly worth considering.
7. Trendnet Powerline 1200 AV2 Adapter Kit (TPL-420E2K, TPL-421E2K)
- From $59.99
It is available in two models: the entry-level TPL-420E2K, and the slightly larger TPL-421E2K, which features the handy pass-through sockets on each adapter.
8. Asus PL-AC56 AV2 1200 Wi-Fi Powerline Extender
- £159.99
This second adapter is also pretty large and therefore is less discreet than most adapters we’ve tested. At £156 the PL-AC56 is expensive (about the same as the Devolo 1200+ Wi-Fi but more than the TP-Link WPA8630P), but does boast all the bells and whistles (three Gigabit Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi, and a pass-through socket on the base adapter) of the latest 1200-rated Powerline starter kits, and so suits the top-end networking market well.
9. Netgear Powerline 1200 (PL1200 and PLP1200)
- From $79.99
Sadly both are rather limited by their no-frills features, though: one Ethernet port per adapter and lack of wireless mean these are relatively basic but will still make a huge difference to your home network and PC/entertainment download speeds.
10. TrendNet Powerline 500AV2 Adapter Kit
- $59.99
This inexpensive kit is great value if you don't need the absolute fastest speeds possible, and the Wireless Access Point option adds fast Wi-Fi if you need more than simple wired network ports. Although you can buy 1,000Mbps and faster adapters, they won't double the speed of this 500Mbps set.
More than one port per adapter would have been nice, and the adaptors lack pass-through sockets, but at this price they're a great option for those on a limited budget.
It's quite an old product so prices may vary. If you can find it cheap, it's great. If not, look at our other recommended Powerline adapters.
View the original article here
Thank you so much for such an informative piece of information :)
ReplyDeleteIf anyone interested similar one's have a look here
Besttoolsbrand
Thanks
Thaks for the comment,Please share your friends
ReplyDelete