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"[REVIEW] Homeplug adaptors"

Wireless connectivity was a lovely introduction into any home wasn’t it? Tear out and get rid of ugly cables, sit in the garden with your laptop and browse the internet, sort out the emails and chat on social websites. Actually I don’t own a laptop but I did get rid of the cables. Then I discovered that my online game started to suffer the dreaded lag. Seems my online game doesn’t like Wi-Fi and my download speed regularly dropped anywhere between 25 – 50%. I just could not resolve the issue so every time I wanted to game online out came a (very) long cable which other family members regularly tripped over and the puppy thought was a new toy.

So I invested in a Homeplug Adaptor starter kit (with trepidation as I’m still very much a techophobe). It’s a simple plug and play system that, at the push of a button, secures your network and turns your home power grid into a wired network. Plug one adaptor into a power socket near your modem and connect it to your modem, plug the other adaptor into a power socket near your computer, connect it to your computer and away you go. It is also very easy to expand to cover other devices. My trepidation arose because my connection actually runs via a ProCurve switch but turns out it made no difference.

I was so impressed I bought the company! Okay, that’s wistful thinking but I did buy a starter kit for another family member (different premises, same cable issues) and he ‘hardwired’ his computer back in via their Wi-Fi modem with the same result. So his online gaming issues are also resolved and the rest of his family can still use the Wi-Fi access. Silly people!

The homeplug adaptor is capable of connecting numerous devices over the network e.g. computers, laptops, modems, switches, gaming consoles. Actually anything that you’d connect to a network can be connected via this system.

Turns out that my computer can now go anywhere in the house that I’d like to put it. No longer am I tied to always having it in the corner where it has resided all its life. All I need to consider now is that its new home is near a power socket!

Anyone need a wireless router? I seem to have a few spare that I no longer need. However, if you answer yes, you really haven’t been listening to me have you?

If you have been listening, and you do have network connectivity issues, then I highly recommend this product.

JimTheDog wrote:
> Excellent - sounds just the job. Any recommendations on
> manufacturer and/or model before I splash the cash?
>
> JTD

Not really. I bought a Devolo for £80.00 but bought a cheaper option (360.00) for my nephew.

I experienced no loss of connection using wall or multi-sockets. It all depend on the wiring around your home, seeing as this is the route the connection will take.

I suppose a better result with a surge protector in some circumstances would make sense as surge protectors 'condition' the electricity supply to make it 'cleaner'. I doubt that you get the same results with a normal muti-way though. Most manufacturers still recommend not to plug them into surge protectors though.

Apparently the better the surge protector the worse the Homeplug performance. You also can't use a Homeplug with a UPS should you be inclined to do so as these block the signal. Another thing to watch out for is power bricks, like those the power your computer peripherals and router. These can introduce a lot of noise into the system, which affects the Homeplug if it's plugged in nearby.

Eccles wrote:
> JimTheDog wrote:
>
> Can they [homeplugs] be used on a mulit-way-adapter or do they
> have to go direct into the wall?
>
> As I understand it you can plug them into multi-way
> adapters/surge protectors but the data throughput will be
> affected by 1 - 2 Mbps, so it's always best to plug them directly
> into the wall socket.

Not always the case, in some cases I found that some of the wall sockets actually gave a slower speed than using another one with a Surge protector! I guess it depends on the wiring in the house and if anything on that same plug affects the signal.

JimTheDog wrote:

> Can they [homeplugs] be used on a mulit-way-adapter or do they
> have to go direct into the wall?

As I understand it you can plug them into multi-way adapters/surge protectors but the data throughput will be affected by 1 - 2 Mbps, so it's always best to plug them directly into the wall socket.

Excellent - sounds just the job. Any recommendations on manufacturer and/or model before I splash the cash?

JTD

They can be used on any socket. The one in my room, and downstairs are connected to multi-sockets.

Thinking about getting these for my home office in my garage which has weak wi-fi signal despite having N-Technology router.

Can they [homeplugs] be used on a mulit-way-adapter or do they have to go direct into the wall?

thanks

JTD

Yum yum, homeplugs. Fantastic idea, currently used all over my house :)

Nice review :D

pb wrote:
> The only reason I'm not using it is that I'd need to buy another
> plug with more Ethernet connections as I need to have it going to
> PC, Blu-ray and Freesat players

You should be able to use a simple (and cheap) unmanaged 5 or 8 port 'Network Switch' to get your extra connections.






[s]Hmmm...[/s]