[SOLVED] Powerline adapters seem to be running really slowly?

[zbrow008]

I bought a pair of second hand powerline adapter. Set them up last week and they havent been giving me any problems. I was getting 100 mbps and ping was stable in games. Today I got some major issues. They couldnt seem to establish a connection through the powerline as that light kept flashing on one of the plugs. On the PC it just kept stating unidentified network.

Theyve finally started working now but the download speed is very low with fluctuating and high ping.

Given that they are second hand they obviously could be faulty, but I dont really see what would suddenly cause them to act up.

 

[anotherdrew]

Like WiFi, PowerLine uses a common medium (in this case the copper electrical wires in your house) to transfer information. It does this by encoding the data in high frequency signals. Technically, there shouldn't be any other devices putting the same high frequency signals on the lines (they have nothing to do with transmitting power), but realistically it happens. When it does you have interference (like the baby monitor messing with WiFi). So, while you could have faulty units, there is also a chance that something got turned on or plugged in that putting high frequency noise on the lines and causing interference. Things that have been reported to cause problems: Some motors, plasma TVs, dimmable LED lights, and chargers for electronic devices (cell phone, tablet, etc).

If you have a recollection of something that got turned on or plugged in today, I would start with that. Otherwise it can be a bit of a hunt in haystack.

 

[Karadjgne]

Interference is a major drawback of power line adapters. I had a similar issue, lost just about any internet and cable connection simply due to feedback from my kids TV. The rf connector where the cable hooks to the TV had come loose and was grounding out the signal, which went all the way back through every cable in the house. Comcast was not happy.