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I'm interested in people's experiences with these and I wanted to share some of my tricks. I've managed to go from "unusable" to "pretty darn good". So much so, that I don't know if it's worth tearing apart walls to install Ethernet cable like I want to.
First off - I'm using the TL-PA511 from TP-Link. I first used them in my old house - didn't work - chalked it up to "this house's power is noisy and that's that" Upon moving and trying again, I got awesome performance out of them - at first... Then as we unpacked, they went to completely unusable again. I figured out that certain things really mess with them. In my case it was two 120VAC to 12VDC power transformers - one on a digital picture frame, and another on a desk lamp. Plug the lamp or picture frame in - boom - busted connection. Unplug the frame and lamp - awesome speeds. Such a simple thing, and I wondered how many people's experiences were similarly ruined by a single device in their house. Additionally, I've noticed that just about everything degrades performance upon plugging it in - but it's usually only by a little bit. Thus, my tricks:
1) unplug everything in your house (seriously) and use that as a baseline
2) plug everything back in one device at a time (or one room at a time) and monitor your performance
3) remove things that mess with your performance (I'll bet there's only a couple of offenders)
4) Don't plug them into surge protectors (the manual clearly states this).
5) Despite the manual's warnings - power strips of the non surge protecting type and extension cords seem to have no effect on performance.
6) I've noticed no difference based on which leg of the power feed I'm on
7) There's software for monitoring their speed - the disk that came with the devices has old software that doesn't work. Download from their website and that works much better.
8) There's also firmware upgrades. I noticed a speed increase upon flashing all the firmware - the firmware helps them deal with noise better (according to patch notes)
9) I've noticed that by adding more powerline adapters to the network - performance increases. Not a ton - but it's for sure there, and repeatable. I do not understand why...
Things I can't figure out/don't know:
1) why some devices always under perform regardless of location (poor quality control?)
2) why some locations in the house under perform regardless of device used (crappy wiring?)
3) anyone ever used the ones that broadcast a wireless signal? I'm tempted to try one in my daughter's room to extend my weak wireless signal there. But those are a bit pricey...
4) why does the speed move around? Sometimes a particular node screams along, and then it'll slow down inexplicably. Again, it's easy to blame "noise" but I'm learning that there's usually a reason or a source that can be eliminated. DUnno maybe this one really is "noise"
You guys got any other tricks? Am I crazy for using these so much? I'm getting consistently around 120Mbps connections at most outlets, and seriously - no noticeable ping increases... (maybe 1 or 2 ms, that's it). It's getting harder and harder to justify knocking holes in the walls for Ethernet cabling...
First off - I'm using the TL-PA511 from TP-Link. I first used them in my old house - didn't work - chalked it up to "this house's power is noisy and that's that" Upon moving and trying again, I got awesome performance out of them - at first... Then as we unpacked, they went to completely unusable again. I figured out that certain things really mess with them. In my case it was two 120VAC to 12VDC power transformers - one on a digital picture frame, and another on a desk lamp. Plug the lamp or picture frame in - boom - busted connection. Unplug the frame and lamp - awesome speeds. Such a simple thing, and I wondered how many people's experiences were similarly ruined by a single device in their house. Additionally, I've noticed that just about everything degrades performance upon plugging it in - but it's usually only by a little bit. Thus, my tricks:
1) unplug everything in your house (seriously) and use that as a baseline
2) plug everything back in one device at a time (or one room at a time) and monitor your performance
3) remove things that mess with your performance (I'll bet there's only a couple of offenders)
4) Don't plug them into surge protectors (the manual clearly states this).
5) Despite the manual's warnings - power strips of the non surge protecting type and extension cords seem to have no effect on performance.
6) I've noticed no difference based on which leg of the power feed I'm on
7) There's software for monitoring their speed - the disk that came with the devices has old software that doesn't work. Download from their website and that works much better.
8) There's also firmware upgrades. I noticed a speed increase upon flashing all the firmware - the firmware helps them deal with noise better (according to patch notes)
9) I've noticed that by adding more powerline adapters to the network - performance increases. Not a ton - but it's for sure there, and repeatable. I do not understand why...
Things I can't figure out/don't know:
1) why some devices always under perform regardless of location (poor quality control?)
2) why some locations in the house under perform regardless of device used (crappy wiring?)
3) anyone ever used the ones that broadcast a wireless signal? I'm tempted to try one in my daughter's room to extend my weak wireless signal there. But those are a bit pricey...
4) why does the speed move around? Sometimes a particular node screams along, and then it'll slow down inexplicably. Again, it's easy to blame "noise" but I'm learning that there's usually a reason or a source that can be eliminated. DUnno maybe this one really is "noise"
You guys got any other tricks? Am I crazy for using these so much? I'm getting consistently around 120Mbps connections at most outlets, and seriously - no noticeable ping increases... (maybe 1 or 2 ms, that's it). It's getting harder and harder to justify knocking holes in the walls for Ethernet cabling...
