I had two possible uses for a powerline network in my home, so I went ahead and made the purchase. Very glad I did.
I have the Google mesh WiFi network in my home, and it works pretty well, but I occasionally experience some lag when watching the television in the family room. Plan A was to use this Powerline Adapter for improved internet speed at the TV.
No joy. It is a long distance from the router to the TV, and as I had correctly anticipated, they are not on the same electrical circuit. The two adapters would not pair.
Plan B was to see if I could provide a faster internet connection for my wife's computer, which is two rooms away from the router. Our internet connection is better than 400 MB/s, but on WiFi her connection is down around 40 MB/s. I moved the adapter to her computer and hoped for the best.
Set up is crazy easy. The adapters come with two network cables. You connect one adapter to the router, and the second one to whatever you want to connect to the network; here, the distant computer. You press the "pair" button on one of the units, and then press the same button on the second unit. You have two minutes to get from one unit to the other, so it's not even a rush. Immediately, a light comes on to show the two adapters have successfully paired.
The speed of the connection to the internet jumped from 40 MB/s to 250 MB/s. There is obviously some loss, since the connection is slower than my computer, which is connected directly to the router, but I'll take an almost 6x increase in internet speed any day. Far, far easier than trying to run ethernet cables.
And it occurs to me that I might still have achieved a faster connection to the TV, since there is now one less device using the WiFi.
If you have a similar scenario in your home, do not hesitate to buy these adapters.
| Brand | TP-Link |
|---|---|
| Series | TL-PA9020P KIT |
| Item model number | TL-PA9020P KIT |
| Operating System | Linux, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000 |
| Item Weight | 1 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 2.8 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 2.8 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches |
| Computer Memory Type | DDR3L-1600 SDRAM |
| Manufacturer | TP-LINK USA |
| ASIN | B01H74VKZU |
| Country of Origin | Vietnam |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | June 27, 2016 |
