Powerline adapter speeds and Shaw 25Mbps?
 

Not too long ago, I picked up a Powerline adapter setup to run my consoles connections without relying on WiFi. I picked up the following:

1 x Dlink Powerline AV500
1 x Dlink powerline Adapter 4 port switch

The Single port powerline plug is Plugged into my router, then to a wall outlet on my ground floor. The 4 port version is plugged into a wall outlet upstairs, and has 4 game consoles plugged into it.

Each plug has a LED to indicate transfer speeds. The downstairs unit (Modem-router-Dlink powerline adapter-wall socket) always shows green (80mps + transfer speeds). Using software provided by Dlink, I can see its ALWAYS at 200mbps transfer speeds.

The 4 port unit upstairs also has an LED (wall socket-Dlink powerline adapter-console). This one is usually green, sometimes orange, and once or twice it has been red for a minute or less. According to Dlink this means transfer speeds of 80+Mbps (Green), up to 80Mbps (orange), up to 50Mbps (Red). By using the same software, I can see that the system generally runs around 78-85 Mbps, with some jumps to 112 Mbps transfer speeds. I have not checked to see what it is at exactly when it dips to the red.

My question is this: I have a 25Mbps download and 2.5Mbps upload package with Shaw. As the Dlink transfer speeds never seem to be anywhere near this, does it even matter? Would having a 50mbps “transfer” speed through the house make any difference to something like streaming Netflix, streaming media from a PC to a console, or playing on line games when my highest download and upload speed is 25/2.5Mbps?

You should probably measure your speed with a utility. I have used LAN Speed Test (Lite)

Whether this is important is really a subjective matter. I have a wired Gigabit network and I would prefer to never go back 100Mb/s. The answer depends on what you do. Do you ever wait around for something to happen? I suspect that if you don't know the answer, then you won't notice the difference.

how long has it been since you bought the D-link stuff? are you able to return it?? D-Link stuff is garbage and usually plagued with issues. I tried their power line adapters and i had nothing but issues with them. Go to ncix and buy the TP-Link power line adapter. its much more reliable and actually has consistent speed unlike with the D-Link junk.

I was also using the same internet as you with my powerline adapter and never saw download speeds better than 2.5mbps. then again, i live in a bit of a bigger home (5000sqft) and the adapters were placed on a different level and different end of the house from each other. also dont forget that whatever outlet you have the powerline adapter plugged into cant be used for anything else as it will cause the unit to not work or just kill your internet speed.

As I’m measuring this with consoles, “waiting around for something to happen” can be pretty relative depending on PSN/live etc. On streaming from my PC to a console, it’s never gotten to the extreme of buffering etc. On PSN my Up/Down speeds are usually pretty close to what I’m seeing in speed tests with my direct hardwired computers. With Xbox live there is no good way to measure it, Ill check on the link you have though.

In my head, the lag that would be added for a (worst case) 50mbps transfer speed on a 25Mbps top speed to modem wouldn't be enough to notice anyway, but I’m wondering if I’m missing or not understanding something about the difference between transfer and download speed, and how it works together in a network.


I find that pretty much all mid/low tier networking gear including Dlink is hit or miss. I’m having no problems with my 655 Dlink router or these powerline adapters now, so Ill continue on with them.

I have run both Dlink units on outlets with power bars and TVs hooked up to the other socket, no real issues. As above with my testing, constantly seeing acceptable transfer speeds, and reading out on PSN tests as anywhere from 19-25 down and consistent 2.5 up. Not a great test, but way higher than what you were getting. That sounds to me like something else causing the problem in your setup, or faulty power adapters.

The only thing that I have found that really crashed speeds is charging a lap top from that same or connected outlet.
EDIT: doing some test today, having it plugged into the same outlet as the modem or the router seems to knock back the speed quite a bit as well. 30-40Mbps average.