Powerline issues - 200Mbps broadband

gavmcg92

Hi guys,
I'm having an issue with these powerline devices. They're from TP Link and they are AV200 model.



Just upgraded to the Horizon top tier package with 200Mbps broadband. I also made sure, seen as I'm a lucky one to have an EPC3925 and in bridge, that the box was de consolidated. So I have the new horizon box and then separately have the EPC3925 that feeds my TPlink N600 Wireless Dual Band Router.

While the increase in speed was slow to kick in, it now has and I'm getting the full 200Mbps when connected directly to my router. However, I'm getting nowhere near that on the PC downstairs which uses the powerlines. I know theirs going to be some dropoff in speed over the powerlines but I'm only getting 30Mbps through it.

Before I changed over to the 200Mb package, I was on 60. With that I was able to get at least 50/55Mbps with the powerline adaptors. Why has that speed now gone down as opposed to staying at 50/55 or getting slightly more? They're rated at 200Mbps, so is there something I need to do or is the line just being overloaded?

In short: Previously I was on 60Mbps and getting 50/55 with the powerline adaptors. Now I'm on 200Mbps and only getting 30Mb with the powerline adaptors. Any ideas?

dazdrog

gavmcg92 wrote: »

Hi guys,
I'm having an issue with these powerline devices. They're from TP Link and they are AV200 model.



Just upgraded to the Horizon top tier package with 200Mbps broadband. I also made sure, seen as I'm a lucky one to have an EPC3925 and in bridge, that the box was de consolidated. So I have the new horizon box and then separately have the EPC3925 that feeds my TPlink N600 Wireless Dual Band Router.

While the increase in speed was slow to kick in, it now has and I'm getting the full 200Mbps when connected directly to my router. However, I'm getting nowhere near that on the PC downstairs which uses the powerlines. I know theirs going to be some dropoff in speed over the powerlines but I'm only getting 30Mbps through it.

Before I changed over to the 200Mb package, I was on 60. With that I was able to get at least 50/55Mbps with the powerline adaptors. Why has that speed now gone down as opposed to staying at 50/55 or getting slightly more? They're rated at 200Mbps, so is there something I need to do or is the line just being overloaded?

In short: Previously I was on 60Mbps and getting 50/55 with the powerline adaptors. Now I'm on 200Mbps and only getting 30Mb with the powerline adaptors. Any ideas?

they are rated at 200 megabits per second not 200 megabyte, 200 megabits = 24.41megabyte, so a speed of around 20+mb is very good for the powerline adapters.

powerline adapters are only as good as a house's wiring, and in the real world are crap for 90% users

fat-tony

@dazdrog, I think the OP is talking megabits, not megabytes, and is wondering why the performance has decreased.

MB = Megabyte

Mb = Megabit

gavmcg92

dazdrog wrote: »

they are rated at 200 megabits per second not 200 megabyte, 200 megabits = 24.41megabyte, so a speed of around 20+mb is very good for the powerline adapters.

Re read my post. I said megabits. Mb is megabit, MB is megabyte. I'm getting 30 megabits from them with 200megabits being supplied to the house from UPC. Before the increase in speed I was on 60megabits and getting 50/55megabits per second over the powerline.

I know the difference between a megabit and megabyte.

dazdrog wrote: »

powerline adapters are only as good as a house's wiring, and in the real world are crap for 90% users

Again, they were delivering 50/55 Mbps when we were on 60. So I expect at least the same if not more on a 200Mbps package.

niallb

Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
I presume you didn't move the AV200's between the ~60Mb measurement and the ~30Mb,
so expecting the same or better with the new package is only reasonable.

It seems unlikely that they are causing the problem, but something you might confirm is whether or not the
test you quote as "directly connected" to the router is on the same port that you normally connect the AV200.
There's a small chance it's running QOS and dropping your speed based on the number of connections.

You state you were getting 200Mb on the direct cable connection, so I presume the light for 1000Mb (gigabit) ethernet speed was lit on the router. The AV200 ethernet port is only 100Mb, so the potential for speed increase is not as dramatic as it might otherwise be.
I have a few of them, and in general find them really good, but always interested in scenarios where they give rise to problems.

Fiddlex

Not really a fix but I had the same issue with the 200Mbps powerline adapters, they aren't that great at all and you wont get the full 200Mbps from them. I recently got the Netgear 500Mbps XAV5101 (from recommendation from smallnet builders forum) which are newer and my speeds doubled in speed I can get easily 100+Mbps with my RT-n66u Access point over Wifi with these power line adapters and I'm only on the 150Mbps plan with UPC.

I bought them from amazon and got them in two days. PC World sells them but I think amazon was cheaper. Like I said not really a fix for your currently adapters but might interest you.

niallb

Just noticed you said the AV200S were attaching a PC downstairs, so it's probably not what you were using to test the direct router connection upstairs - perhaps a laptop?
What speed do you get if you connect that same machine to the AV200 downstairs?
Does it drop all the way down to 30Mb too, or somewhere in the middle?

srsly78

Get the AV500 ones and you will get better throughput. Also isolate other devices from the power network, they don't like to share. Run diagnostic software to see real throughput.

gavmcg92

niallb wrote: »

Just noticed you said the AV200S were attaching a PC downstairs, so it's probably not what you were using to test the direct router connection upstairs - perhaps a laptop?
What speed do you get if you connect that same machine to the AV200 downstairs?
Does it drop all the way down to 30Mb too, or somewhere in the middle?

There has been some slight improvements. From time to time the down speed goes back up to what I was getting prior to the increase in speed from upc (i.e. 45 or so mbps). Not constant like it used to be though.

While I said the PC connected via powerline was "downstairs", that's just how we refer to our kitchen area which is down three steps from the sitting room (where the router is).

I was testing direct connection to my router via my laptop. When I go down to the kitchen and connect my laptop to the powerline I also get the same results as my PC.

These are the results I'm getting from the PC downstairs (connected via powerline)


and here is what the powerline utility is telling me.


QoS is set to gaming as I expect that will give me the best performance?


Looking at getting a pair of the AV500s with the gigabit ports soon.

Cuddlesworth

I'm surprised you even got that fast. 60 would be about the absolute best if you were not passing through a RCD. You might top 100 if you pick up a set of the 500's with the gig ports but you will not get the full 200Mbps.

The speeds that powerline claim are the theoretical switching speeds. They do not equate to real world speeds. Its also possible that the Horizon box has added a large amount of interference, I know a older set-top box in my current place has dropped my speed significantly.

gavmcg92

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I'm surprised you even got that fast. 60 would be about the absolute best if you were not passing through a RCD. You might top 100 if you pick up a set of the 500's with the gig ports but you will not get the full 200Mbps.

The speeds that powerline claim are the theoretical switching speeds. They do not equate to real world speeds. Its also possible that the Horizon box has added a large amount of interference, I know a older set-top box in my current place has dropped my speed significantly.

What does RCD mean?

Yeah, I'd be happy enough if I got around 100 with the 500s. Have no real intention on being able to get my full line speed.

Can I ask, why is the speed listed as 133 in the powerline utilities. Is that the maximum possible speed for that device?

Also, as the speed I'm getting now was the same as I was getting prior to upgrading to the Horizon box, I' assuming that it's causing little to no interference. As I'm using the EPC3925 as my modem, I have had the broadcasting from the horizon box switched off.

FSL

RCD is a residual current device. It is more sensitive than a fuse and is fitted to a consumer unit to provide protection.

niallb

The 500's are better units alright - it's more than just raw speed.
Every generation of these things has gotten better.

I don't know if you ever used the old 85Mb ones that were out before the 200Mb ones?
You would have been very lucky indeed to get anything near 10Mb out of them, and they were very susceptible to interference.
The 200s are also easier to use if you have some from different manufacturers. The older ones were very choosy.

I'd suggest you keep a logsheet beside the PC and note down what times you're getting the poor speeds.
Look for patterns over a couple of days. Things like the fridge being opened and needing to power up and people watching the television are the kind of things that could easily affect your speed! Any electric devices with motors are suspects.

smelly sock

Snap.

I am on the horizon 200mbps package and only get this if I am hard wired into the box. On Wifi most I'll get is 50 meg.

Cuddlesworth

gavmcg92 wrote: »

Can I ask, why is the speed listed as 133 in the powerline utilities. Is that the maximum possible speed for that device?

While i use powerline myself, I'm not well versed on the standard. I'm going to assume that the 133 is simply the speed chosen to connect at by both devices after external factors are taken into account during a initial handshake.

Should we have a sticky which says, here is how you can use speeds past 50mbps?

Stone

Hi all,

Just happened to stumble over this post - and being an ex-PowerLine user myself I wanted to give you the "real story" about what speeds to expect.
There is a site - Smallnetbuilder.com - that caters for all things home networking and they are generally considered the de facto resource here. Please read their PowerLine FAQ http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/lanwan-basics/31585-smallnetbuilders-powerline-faq ...

You'll see that from an AV200 set you'll get ~40Mbps, so getting 50-60Mbps is pretty OK. An AV500 set will also not give you the full benefit of UPCs 200Mbit Fibre Power - I had to discard this myself and had a fixed line installed from my upstairs office to downstairs where the modem is - it actually only cost me €70 by a professional electrician, so not much to be saved buying those plugs ....
If anyone chooses to do this go for CAT6 cabling - I know it is considered "overkill" by most (and they will recommend CAT5e), but who knows if we get equipment that requires more than 1Gbit/s connections :-)

Just my 2 cents worth,
Stone

gavmcg92

Stone wrote: »

- I had to discard this myself and had a fixed line installed from my upstairs office to downstairs where the modem is - it actually only cost me €70 by a professional electrician, so not much to be saved buying those plugs

Thanks for your input. Will check out that site.

If only my house didn't have solid walls! Really not in the mood to dig out channels, laying cable and filling them back in Would love to cable the house, but it's just too much work. Maybe the next time we're redecorating!

srsly78

Easy to run ethernet cable through the attic. Just run enough to connect wifi hotspots providing coverage in all areas. Wifi N at 5Ghz will give you 70mpbs which should be loads.

gavmcg92

srsly78 wrote: »

Easy to run ethernet cable through the attic. Just run enough to connect wifi hotspots providing coverage in all areas. Wifi N at 5Ghz will give you 70mpbs which should be loads.

House is 4 floors :P Those Victorian builders sure knew how to build houses back in the day!

My plan one day is to run cable from the sitting room, where the cable comes in off the street, down to the kitchen which is at the back of the house, where I'll set up a second access point to cover that area and the garden. But like I said, that's a long way off.

5GHz doesn't go more than a room in my house. Walls are quite thick. Can only connect to the 5GHz broadcast when I'm in the same room as my router.

srsly78

Yeah 5Ghz doesn't have as good range as the lower one. It's very good tho when you have multiple hotspots setup.

gavmcg92

srsly78 wrote: »

Yeah 5Ghz doesn't have as good range as the lower one. It's very good tho when you have multiple hotspots setup.

For a job like that, what sort of hardware would you use? Do those hotspots come cheap?

srsly78

You can buy powerline network adapters with built-in wifi.

Try the devolo 500 av plus. Make sure to get the newest one with gigabit lan ports.

gavmcg92

From lunchtime today.



Have done nothing to it. Just seems to be performing a lot better now.

srsly78

Probably because other stuff on the power circuit is not interfering, ie turned off.

gavmcg92

srsly78 wrote: »

Probably because other stuff on the power circuit is not interfering, ie turned off.

That's probably it. Good few people not at home this week so demand is definitely low.

Cuddlesworth

gavmcg92 wrote: »

That's probably it. Good few people not at home this week so demand is definitely low.

Powerline interference would be internal to your house.

Contention on the UPC box itself, I'd be surprised. Their network seems to be rock solid. I've lived in some of the most dense areas in Dublin and have never had a issue getting my full speed.