Is powerline networking any good?

Wifi is really poor here despite changing channels and moving the router around (auto channel selection was useless), I think the wifi bands are just too congested coupled with it being an old house with solid walls. I'm talking not even being able to stream video through rooms without it buffering, Ethernet is fine and getting close to the router also works fine.

Are those powerline kits any good? Being old the house has just one single ring circuit for the outlets with upstairs and downstairs being on the same ring, is that good or bad for powerline networking? I don't need super fast gigabit speeds from it, but I would like to be able to watch a film without buffering.

Laying ethernet around the house is not an option unfortunately.

Thanks.

I used to use Powerline to connect my ADSL router to my home network to avoid having an ethernet cable trailing down the hall.
I have also used it to connect a very noisy rack mount that I had banished to a spare room.
You will not get anything like the quoted speed.
I suggest you buy the fastest you can afford from a vendor who will allow you to return it if it does not work well enough.

Experiences with these adapters varies widely. I've seen successful uses. I do think it's a case of try it and see.

I've also seen cases where the results can suddenly change without any obvious reason.

If you really cannot install cabling, then it is probably worth a try. Maybe try one set and install it in the area with the worst signal at the moment. See how it goes.

If you choose a model which can have multiple adapters in the same group - same SSID - then if it's successful you could add in more.

Are you able to try a different router? In my experience there is a huge difference in wi-fi performance between router models, even those using the same standards.

Until recently I was using 5 TP-Link powerline adapters, mostly older models, with no issues at all (still 3 in use). I did try a pair of higher speed TP-Link models a few years ago but had to return them as they kept disconnecting, probably buggy firmware. Powerline performance is very much dependent on the quality of your mains wiring.

Have you looked into Mesh wi-fi?

In reply to a post by MrSpeedyGonzales:

Laying ethernet around the house is not an option unfortunately.

Unless you are renting laying ethernet cables is always an option. There are costs and disruption but it's is always possible and everything can be "hidden" in walls, under floors and in ceilings.

If you want good WiFi then a bunch of access points with wired backhaul strategically located around the house is by far and away the best solution.

Everything else is a bodge till the day you do install ethernet cables

I've used powerline adapters in a previous property I used to rent.

At the time I was renting a room in a shared property where the router was based near the front door and my room was on the second floor.
I had no options of laying down cables so used the powerline adapter to link to a Netgear wifi router I bought, as the powerline I have has no wifi capabilities.
I disabled the DHCP in the Netgear router so it was relying on the broadband router to manage the IPs and avoiding double-NAT.

It worked fine for several months until a new person moved to one of the rooms and suddenly I started to lose connection for several hours of the day.
A few days troubleshooting I've discovered that the laptop power adapter of the new tenant was causing enough interference on the power line enough to disrupt the connection. I don't know the specifics, only that when he disconnected the said power brick it worked fine.

My luck was this tenant was sympathetic and also willing to buy a new laptop so the problem went away.

Therefore, as others have already said, powerline adapter depends on a case by case. It is down to how reliable your power cables are and if there isn't anything messing with the setup.
I would also suggest for you to buy one from a good vendor that accepts returns and try it out.

If it does not work I think a mesh wireless network solution could be an alternative. You can distribute the modules around the house but it be a bit costly.

Edited by srkain (Wed 20-Jan-21 12:27:16)

My own experience with these has been good for what I need.

FTTC connection, used to sync at 80/20 but has now been on 74/20 for over a year.

Anyhow, on download tests on a PC connected to one of these powerline adaptors, I see downloads at around the 60Mbps mark and uploads at around 14Mbps. As a comparison, a PC connected via ethernet directly to the router or a mobile phone via WiFi both show around 66 MBps down and 17MBps up (not both at the same time of course).

Edit: sorry, I had intended to reply to the original post, but somehow managed to reply to one of the replies. In any case, my reply just contains my own experience with powerline adaptors.

Edited by teshy (Wed 20-Jan-21 13:19:29)

MrSpeedyGonzales

Yes they can be good. I have had some BT ones for years in a 3 story Stone built house.

One by the router on the bottom floor, other in the top floor office. Works great with the same speeds top and bottom when connected by Ethernet. We only get 45-50Mb at best so we don't stress the homeplugs.

If you have FTTP or Virgin above 220Mb they are unlikely to give the speed but below this they work fine.

We use zoom in the office ( ethernet to Homeplugs) all the time, with a 2nd zoom session running off the wifi from the plugs, while running Zoom downstairs while someone else is streaming stuff as well. ( There may be a couple of Mobiles on the wifi as well but only browsing on them.)

All works nicely for us although I am always surprised the Upload of 13-18Mb copes with it all.

Where you can't lay cable, powerline adapters can often be much better than trying to use wi-fi to extend a network. You won't get gigabit speeds but I have used powerline adapters in three locations as part of a permanent solution.

I've been slightly disappointed with the stability of the latest Devolo Magic 2 adapters which do lock up and need a restart periodically. I've had very good results with TP-Link TL-PA9020P adapters and frequently see speeds around 300Mbps with these.

Having everything on the same ring main will help your performance. One thing I strongly recommend is that you don't use the default settings on the adapters. Set an encryption password on them so that neighbours who use powerline adapters can't see your network. There have been a number reports of that happening on this forum. Also make sure the firmware is up to date.

Good luck.

Edited by caffn8me (Wed 20-Jan-21 14:45:47)

Issue I had is mine dont perform well if plugged into an extension lead. They are tuned to the flat grey pvc cable. I also found it did not like being in the adjacent socket to my router. Read the small print in the instructions before purchasing.

In reply to a post by MrSpeedyGonzales:

Laying ethernet around the house is not an option unfortunately.

Just to echo what others said, if you aren't renting then lay ethernet. Yes it might be a pain, yes you might have to run the cable externally on the walls if there is no easy run between sections, yes it requires various tools etc but its worth it in the long run; it really should be part of every house now.

As to powerlines they are a spot gap, if they work (all depends on your wiring / electrical ring set-up) they can do the job till you get a better solution but they fluctuate and really best avoided. Other option is Mesh, but that depends on your property phyiscalities if that's viable, but its still nowhere as good as laying cable.

I've had great results with powerline, noting that the newer kits are definitely better and faster than the older ones. You will only be able to push just shy of 200Mbs through these though.

Another alternative is moca if you have coaxial cable in the walls. You can run full gigabit over these. I have both and while moca took some time to make sure the wiring was correct, it was as simple as powerline to plug in and get working, but with much much faster speeds. Moca is the only solution that can literally replace ethernet cables in most use cases.

Definitely something to buy and try as others have mentioned. Luckily it doesn't take much time to find out if they are going to work, but as others have mentioned the oddball change in the power circuit can change the performance. Noisy or badly made electronics (like the laptop power adapter in the above post that was almost certainly some fake or off-brand) can ruin powerline's bandwidth.