[SOLVED] Powerline extenders dangerous to broadband modem... is this real?

[jhsachs]

I'm currently using a pair of 300 Mbps powerline adapters for one computer in my house. I've purchased a pair of 2000 Mbps adapters which I hope will improve my bandwidth. They're supposed to be delivered on Saturday.

Today we had an Internet outage, and we had to contact Comcast to get service restored. At one point the agent asked what was attached to our modem, and I mentioned the powerline adapters. She said they were almost certainly causing the problem, and we should disconnect them immediately. When I pointed out that I had been using the powerline adapters for at least a year, and had used an older pair for some time before that, she allowed that they might not be at fault, but if not I was very lucky, because once a powerline adapter causes a service interruption, it takes a home visit by a technician to restore service.

The problem turned out to be something else, but I'm left with a scary warning about what may happen if I even try out my new toys. And a wife who won't consider letting me try them -- just in case.

What do you think about this? I'm sure there are people at Comcast who know more about broadband modems than I do, but I can't imagine what a powerline adapter could do to a modem that would require an on-site technician to fix.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah that service agent doesnt k ow what they are talking about. The adapters pose no danger and the only issues they have is in old building with poor electrical or apartment buildings with shared circuts.

 

[bill001g]

A powerline unit is actually a form of modem even though the better term would be bridge. It pretty much does what a cable modem does it converts from ethernet to another form data transfer. Powerline units run very similar to wifi but they use the copper wires for antenna rather than transmitting though the air. They do of course take electrical power from the wall to operate but if you could somehow hook them up to a battery you could turn the electrical power off and they would still function. It just in some ways has the power brick and the antenna connection in the same box.

All ethernet ports use magnetic isolation to prevent any connection to the power.

 

[SamirD]

That information from Comcast was utterly wrong. Powerlines in no way can affect the Comcast service in such a way that Comcast would need to come out to restore it.