TP-Link adapter is ridiculously slow on desktop

[HomeGrownHeroz]

Hi there,

Using TP-Link adapters (model no. TL-PA251 Ver: 1.2) I seem to be getting incredibly slow speeds. My broadband service provider (BT) said we should be getting 30-40 Mb and a minimum of about 27 Mb. According to the router settings I'm getting a downstream of 34151 kbps which I believe is about right? Correct me if I'm wrong.

My speed tests however have been all over the place. Using the TP-Link on my desktop running windows 10 I'm getting anywhere between 4 Mb to 22 Mb. On average it hangs at around 13 Mb.

Using speed test on my phone and laptop, also running windows 10 I get a steady 25 Mb each time. This is still lower than what the minimum is said to be but at least its better and consistent.

So this tells me it's an issue with the TP-Link adapters. Would anyone agree? What can I do to boost my wired connection using the adapters?

Thanks,

Sam

 

[kryptalivian]

This is an adapter that runs through your existing power outlets correct?

 

[HomeGrownHeroz]

This is an adapter that runs through your existing power outlets correct?

Yes that's right. One plugged into the mains near the router and the other in another room. Both using the Ethernet cable's

 

[kryptalivian]

This is an adapter that runs through your existing power outlets correct?

Yes that's right. One plugged into the mains near the router and the other in another room. Both using the Ethernet cable's

Most likely caused by a degrade in the signal that is going through multiple medium's(from Ethernet to Power Grid and back to Ethernet). Almost sounds like Wireless would do you better.

I've found a few other websites with users just like you, that were experiencing the same issues. It looks like its just not your Brand/Model having this issue.

 

[HomeGrownHeroz]

This is an adapter that runs through your existing power outlets correct?

Yes that's right. One plugged into the mains near the router and the other in another room. Both using the Ethernet cable's

Most likely caused by a degrade in the signal that is going through multiple medium's(from Ethernet to Power Grid and back to Ethernet). Almost sounds like Wireless would do you better.

I've found a few other websites with users just like you, that were experiencing the same issues. It looks like its just not your Brand/Model having this issue.

Thing is though I have an old belkin usb dongle (wireless g network adapter) and I only get like 4 Mb. Even thought it can receive up to 54 Mbps.

Whats the problem there then?

 

[HomeGrownHeroz]

Can no one offer any additional help with this? 🙁

 

[bill001g]

You are using the lowest speed model of the powerline devices. None get anywhere near the speeds they advertise even on perfect house wires. The actual speed you get is greatly dependent on a large number of things related to the path the wire takes in your house.

This is true for the wireless adapters also, they claim 450m and are very lucky to get 100m. Old g adapters are likely to get maybe 11m so your 4m is a little slow but that too depends on your house and the walls.

It really depends why you "need" it to run at maximum speed. If you are doing file downloads in general you will get better average throughput on wireless. Now this is average which means it likely has spikes of data loss which does not have much impact on downloads.

Games and video though do have massive issues with loss spikes or random delays in traffic wireless causes. In these cases powerline runs much better because it is much more consistent. BUT games/video do not need high bandwidth so this comes back to if you really "need" it to run that fast.

There are 2 general classes of powerline devices better than yours. They are sold as 500m and 600m or 1g. The 600m and 1g use the same technology and of course none of them come even close to these magic numbers but they will likely give you more speed than you are getting. There unfortunately is no way to tell what the actual number is because it depends on your house too much.