Anyone use Ethernet with power line adapter to increase Internet speed ?

Question

Anyone use Ethernet with power line adapter to increase Internet speed ?

I have been using Wi-Fi for decades on all my connections and I have never used Ethernet because of the requirement to extend the wiring throughout the three levels of my house. I recently came across articles on power line adapters and thought this maybe the ideal way to increasing the speed not only on my 5K iMac on the bedroom level but also on my Mac mini used as a media centre down in the basement where I now intend to introduce Kodi et al to my Apple TV to increase my

my enjoyment of Cable TV, which I am finding is becoming less and less enjoyable from an entertaining POV.

I would appreciate hearing from others who have successfully chosen this route and who can express their views on the matter before I take the plunge.

Thank you.

Posted on Mar 31, 2015 9:54 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Allan Eckert

Level 9

79,512 points

Mar 31, 2015 11:03 AM in response to Joe Pierpoint

Read http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1822037/wireless-powerline-adapter-ethern et.html

It appears it might not be a rosy as you think.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,385 points

Mar 31, 2015 11:03 AM in response to Joe Pierpoint

I'm not sure you'll see enough difference to go thru the effort. Here's my internet connection speed with 2.5 Ghz WiFi

And with Ethernet

With my provider there's essentially no difference.

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Answer 3

Mar 31, 2015 10:54 AM in response to Joe Pierpoint

Ethernet over power lines was introduced more as a convenience

than for high speed. It was intended to come into play when connecting

all manner of devices in a smart house (thermostat/heater controls,

lighting control, etc.) as a lower cost and lower complexity alternative

to wireless at the time. None of these are very demanding bandwidth

applications.

As the article Allan pointed out, performance will vary wildly for any

given home. Could get really technical as to explain why with unterminated stubs,

unknown transmission impedances, etc., but suffice it to say, your WiFi is probably

still your best bet for speed other than wired or fiber.

Since you didn't mention the model of your current router, you could look at upgrading your

wireless router so that it supports 802.11ac (your retina iMac has that capability) which has

a higher data rate.

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Answer 4

Mar 31, 2015 11:48 AM in response to Allan Eckert

My router is the Apple Airport Extreme which is 802.11ac. and the Bell modem (Sagemcom 2864) has been in use with Bell Fibe TV for the past 3 years. Bell replaced the Bell receivers in January when my contract expired and I threatened to opt out. They are Arris models and are really better, but they never replaced the Bell modem, which gives me a whole lot of trouble from time to time, but I intend to bring their 'technician' back to attempt to resolve that situation. Three years these days can result in improvements in electronic components that are surprising to say the least.

I'm really amazed to see the kind of speeds that 'Old Toad' reported, since my speed tests rarely exceed 17 Mbps Down and 7 Mbps UP, which explains why I am interested in seeking higher speeds. There is another local ISP that offers a choice of higher speeds, which Bell hasn't so far, so I may because of my predicament switch ISPs if there is no improvement available from Bell.

Thank you Allan Eckert, "Old Toad' and 'woodmeister' for your responses. I obviously need to find an ISP who can offer speeds double what I am having to endure now. One feature that is in Bell's favour is that the TV picture quality is actually superb, if only the Internet speed was on a par with that.

Regards

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Answer 5

Apr 1, 2015 1:52 AM in response to Joe Pierpoint

Something else to think about, When connecting to various sites

over the internet, the sites themselves can have limited bandwidth.

So, even if you have a 105Mbps internet, if the site only supplies

10Mbps, that is what you will get. Even if it is higher speed, your

access will be shared with however many other users are trying

to access the site.

Where the high speed internet connections really com into play

is if you have many family members accessing all at the same time

or have many simultaneous connections.

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Answer 6

Apr 1, 2015 5:42 AM in response to woodmeister50

This is exactly what my VPN provider told me, but I was always under the impression that Ethernet was faster than Wi-Fi. We obviously still have a long way to go to reach the ideal and since I have now found that my ISP now provides higher speed options maybe I should give that route at least a try, although I've been told by the same VPN provider that it is a ploy to gain additional revenue. Thanks for the additional information nonetheless.

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