Would you recommend Ethernet Over Power (EOP)?

[AvidTechUser]

I live in Australia. My current ISP is iiNet and I have an ADSL2+ connection. I live about 3.5km from the exchange, and I receive download speeds of about 3-4Mbps and upload speeds of about 0.75Mbps. (Yes, I know these are terrible speeds. Unfortunately, we are a little behind the rest of the world when it comes to internet speed.)

The setup of my wireless network is a little strange. I have a modem router and two computers which both connect wirelessly off the router. The rooms with the computers do not have phone sockets, and neither room is close enough to run an ethernet cable, unless I get a very long one which will get in the way and look ugly.

I have been doing some research on EOP and it seems like a viable solution to my current wireless issues. I am just curious if those on this forum who do use EOP can give me some insight into their experiences.

Is it relatively stable, secure and fast?

What is the most I should spend on a power-line adaptor without needlessly wasting money?

I have heard that if you have an older house, you might run into some issues, which puts me off.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[P4-630]

I have heard that if you have an older house, you might run into some issues, which puts me off.

I tried power-line adapters in my 2008 apartment, speeds were slower than I was expecting, I sold them and using wired internet now from my router to my PC and now getting the full up/download speed what I'm paying for.

Ok I didn't buy the top of the line power-line adapters , (TP-Link) but I sold them again a wile ago.

 

[robal]

Hi AvidTechUser,

I've used HomePlug AV and AV2 devices for a very similar purpose.
My experience is that HomePlug is very stable and gives consistent transfer rates. It's plug and forget (which usually cannot be said about wifi links)

The performance degrades very quickly as you add more units to the network.
It's superb for connecting two or three disjoint ethernet networks.

You're right about "old house" thing. The more complicated and patchy the electrical wiring is, the less performance you'll get.
Grab a pair of units from a respectable store that will take them back if you're not satisfied with performance.
Not sure about prices in Oz, but in UK you'll get a pair of AV2 units (1200Mbps advertised max) made by Trendnet (never had issues) for £70.
You can get a considerably cheaper ones, if you get older "AV" standard ones (500Mbps advertised max).

Cheers,

 

[erixx]

In my quite new flat it works perfectly but slower than ethernet. I have a combo both wireless extensor plus powerline LAN and extra Lan ports: dLAN 500AV Wireless+.

 

[P4-630]

In my quite new flat it works perfectly but slower than ethernet

Got the same experience...

 

[hat]

Well, Powerline is better than wifi... but running your own Ethernet is always the best solution.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

EoP vs WiFi depends on how the electrical is set up in your house. Your mileage will vary greatly.


Running an Ethernet cable directly will result in the best outcome.

If you know the outlets you are going to plug the EoP in are on the same circuit, EoP will likely work great.

There's a lot of options in terms of WiFi. There's antennas/receivers that will work over 20 miles with line of sight on 2.4 GHz. What router do you have?

So my understanding is you have your router in one room and you have two desktops in another room far away and these two desktops have WiFi cards in them? The link between these desktops and the router is unreliable? In this situation, I would buy another router and set it up as an access point that connects to the WiFi of the router. You then plug the two computers directly into this wireless router. Routers usually have pretty decent wireless antennas and if both routers support 802.11ac, the likelihood of dropping signal is pretty much zero.

 

[P4-630]

That depends on how the electrical is set up in your house. Your mileage will vary greatly.

Yeah even with newer buildings, my apartment is from 2008.
Or maybe I would have had better results with a more expensive set?

 

[wurschti]

I live in Australia. My current ISP is iiNet and I have an ADSL2+ connection. I live about 3.5km from the exchange, and I receive download speeds of about 3-4Mbps and upload speeds of about 0.75Mbps. (Yes, I know these are terrible speeds. Unfortunately, we are a little behind the rest of the world when it comes to internet speed.)

The setup of my wireless network is a little strange. I have a modem router and two computers which both connect wirelessly off the router. The rooms with the computers do not have phone sockets, and neither room is close enough to run an ethernet cable, unless I get a very long one which will get in the way and look ugly.

I have been doing some research on EOP and it seems like a viable solution to my current wireless issues. I am just curious if those on this forum who do use EOP can give me some insight into their experiences.

Is it relatively stable, secure and fast?

What is the most I should spend on a power-line adaptor without needlessly wasting money?

I have heard that if you have an older house, you might run into some issues, which puts me off.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Tried it, not impressed. The speed and ping were horrible. You're better of getting an AC Router and receiver.

 

[alucasa]

I use them in my current home because wireless has been problematic at times.

No problems. I am currently using 4 adapters: 3 in 2nd floor and last one in basement. Fiber modem is on 2nd floor.

 

[eidairaman1]

I tried power-line adapters in my 2008 apartment, speeds were slower than I was expecting, I sold them and using wired internet now from my router to my PC and now getting the full up/download speed what I'm paying for.

Ok I didn't buy the top of the line power-line adapters , (TP-Link) but I sold them again a wile ago.

You were living in an apartment is why, they are only good in SDUs, not MDUs. Plug Links are good now. That DSLAM must be in the CO/Exchange and not RT based, ADSL can go up to 15000 feet, but its more akin to 1.5 Mbps at the best (no metallic/cable faults, load coils, or bridgetaps) due to attenuation.

 

[n-ster]

I had issues with latency spikes, different brands, different speeds etc, in aa condo built in 1986. In my new house, electricity redone completely, no such problems. In both cases it can happen I lose connection and I have to unplug and replug or disable enable my NIC, but only happens when I'm web browsing, never during games or downloads

 

[P4-630]

You were living in an apartment is why, they are only good in SDUs, not MDUs. Plug Links are good now. That DSLAM must be in the CO/Exchange and not RT based, ADSL can go up to 15000 feet, but its more akin to 1.5 Mbps at the best (no metallic/cable faults, load coils, or bridgetaps) due to attenuation.

My internet comes to my home by fiber and it's coax inside that connects to my router.
I have 150Mbps down, 15 up.

 

[alucasa]

I am using the cheapest set. It was like 50 CAD for a pair that was on sale.

I've been using them for about 4 years now. I haven't had a single connection drop. The house is only 5 years old though.

 

[eidairaman1]

I had issues with latency spikes, different brands, different speeds etc, in aa condo built in 1986. In my new house, electricity redone completely, no such problems. In both cases it can happen I lose connection and I have to unplug and replug or disable enable my NIC, but only happens when I'm web browsing, never during games or downloads

cat 5/6 or RG6 coax to the modem?

My internet comes to my home by fiber and it's coax inside that connects to my router.
I have 150Mbps down, 15 up.

sorry I was going back to the OP, should of made that clearer.

for You it sounds like you have a B or G PON,

 

[n-ster]

cat 5/6 or RG6 coax to the modem?

It was cable internet so coax to modem, but internet was super stable, wireless was great, no latency issues and full speed, I just didn't feel like putting a Wireless card in my desktop

 

[AvidTechUser]

EoP vs WiFi depends on how the electrical is set up in your house. Your mileage will vary greatly.


Running an Ethernet cable directly will result in the best outcome.

If you know the outlets you are going to plug the EoP in are on the same circuit, EoP will likely work great.

There's a lot of options in terms of WiFi. There's antennas/receivers that will work over 20 miles with line of sight on 2.4 GHz. What router do you have?

So my understanding is you have your router in one room and you have two desktops in another room far away and these two desktops have WiFi cards in them? The link between these desktops and the router is unreliable? In this situation, I would buy another router and set it up as an access point that connects to the WiFi of the router. You then plug the two computers directly into this wireless router. Routers usually have pretty decent wireless antennas and if both routers support 802.11ac, the likelihood of dropping signal is pretty much zero.

I am currently in a rather old house, so the EOP might not be the best option after all. I will be moving within the next few months though, so maybe at the new property the Wi-Fi performance will be better.

My set up is as follows: D-Link DSL-2880AL Modem Router (AC1200) in passage way near front of house. Two computers in separate rooms towards the back of the house each with USB network adaptors plugged in are the only devices (besides occasionally mobile phones) that connect to it.

I do have a spare D-Link DAP-1650 range extender, however I conveniently lost the power supply cable for it some time ago and don't have any additional ones. The device lists 12V 2A as the supply needed. Maybe my best bet is to get a power adaptor with the same v/a and make use of it?

 

[eidairaman1]

I am currently in a rather old house, so the EOP might not be the best option after all. I will be moving within the next few months though, so maybe at the new property the Wi-Fi performance will be better.

My set up is as follows: D-Link DSL-2880AL Modem Router (AC1200) in passage way near front of house. Two computers in separate rooms towards the back of the house each with USB network adaptors plugged in are the only devices (besides occasionally mobile phones) that connect to it.

I do have a spare D-Link DAP-1650 range extender, however I conveniently lost the power supply cable for it some time ago and don't have any additional ones. The device lists 12V 2A as the supply needed. Maybe my best bet is to get a power adaptor with the same v/a and make use of it?

house age doesnt matter, using plug links in MDUs tends to not work that well- you cant put them in a power strip either.

 

[newtekie1]

Is it relatively stable, secure and fast?

Stable, yes definitely. Even in houses with poor wiring, I've experienced stable connections. If that connection can be made, it is stable. Yes, it is secure, the connection between the two boxes is encrypted, usually with AES.

Fast? Well, that depends. As others have said, this can vary greatly. In my old house(which was built about 10 years ago) I had a 500Mbps kit that was easily faster than the Wireless AC connection, and faster than 100Mbps ethernet as well. But it wasn't as fast as 1000Mbps ethernet. And when I went up to a 1200Mbps kit, the actual speed didn't improve any. So I'd say don't waste your money with anything faster than 500Mbps. And it is true, the age of your house doesn't directly affect the speed. What is actually important is the quality of the wiring between the two EoP devices. Obviously having both on the same circuit is the best, but that isn't usually possible since most homes(at least newer homes in the US) have each room wired to its own circuit. So in that respect, it might actually be beneficial to have an older home. However, the wiring in older homes is often sub-par. Thinner wire, some even still stranded wiring which isn't that good for EoP, thinner insulation which lead to more crosstalk and interference. Now that I've moved to an older built home, my EoP kit only manages about 60Mbps due to the lower quality wiring in the house.

But if you goal is to just get the internet over to where you need it, and aren't sharing files between the computers on the local network, EoP will be fine given your internet speed even if you have crap wiring in your home. Then again, even Wireless G would be fast enough for your internet speeds...

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I do have a spare D-Link DAP-1650 range extender, however I conveniently lost the power supply cable for it some time ago and don't have any additional ones. The device lists 12V 2A as the supply needed. Maybe my best bet is to get a power adaptor with the same v/a and make use of it?

That'd probably be the cheapest/quickest solution. Probably can find a power supply for it cheap on Amazon. Would have to figure out the model of the power supply though to find a replacement.

Input: 100 to 240 V AC, 50 / 60 Hz
Output: 12 V DC, 2 A

It looks like a typical D-Link power supply externally but, just checked Amazon and all the hits are 5v.


Here's the official store (doesn't look like yours is on there, sadly):
https://parts.us.dlink.com/product-category/power-supplies/

eBay might be the only option unless you get lucky and find it. Here's what it looks like:

Courtesy: Newegg


Edit: I have a D-Link AG-2412-B power supply here from a dead DGL-4500 router. It is 12v, 2a. The contact is 3.62mm. Does that sound like it would work? It looks similar to the picture but I won't say it looks the same. That said, the angle is weird.

Ugh, he unconsciously hid the power supply label from the camera (~2 minutes in)! The shape looks the same but mine doesn't have a wavy pattern on the side nor the indent in the top corner.

I think if we knew the model number, we could easily find it.

 

[AvidTechUser]

That'd probably be the cheapest/quickest solution. Probably can find a power supply for it cheap on Amazon. Would have to figure out the model of the power supply though to find a replacement.

I called up the D-Link Australia support line and they told me I can get a replacement adaptor for about AU$37.00 (which includes postage costs).

I am still deciding whether I should get it or not.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Ouch! Did you happen to ask the model number of it when you were online? I doubt you'd be able to find it cheaper in Australia but...

Yeah, I can't ship you this one, shipping alone to AUS would make it well over $80 USD. And it might not even work on top of that.