TP-Link’s latest kit provides an effective and affordable way to boost your Wi-Fi network
If you want to increase the speed of your Wi-Fi, upgrading your router is a good move, particularly if you’ve got an older model, because the latest Wi-Fi technologies are faster and reach further into your house. However, simply plonking a new router in the same spot as your old one can only do so much – if your problems are caused by Wi-Fi-blocking obstacles such as walls, your newly boosted network is still going to struggle.
Units and ports
Walls don’t affect HomePlug networks because they use the electrical cabling inside those same walls to send data from one power socket to another.
Most HomePlugs come with Ethernet ports built in, so you can use cables to connect compatible devices. This kit from TP-Link has a primary plug with a pass-through socket and two Ethernet ports; and a second Wi-Fi plug, designed to create a Wi-Fi hotspot in another room in your house. The Wi-Fi plug doesn’t have a passthrough socket but it has three Ethernet ports, so you can connect a range of devices to it, even those that don’t use Wi-Fi.
This kit uses the HomePlug AV standard and, at £69.99 for the pair of plugs from Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk), they’re phenomenally good value for money. If you want the cutting edge of HomePlug technology, you can buy HomePlug AV2 models that promise theoretical maximum speeds that are twice as fast as these, such as Devolo’s dLAN 1200+. However, the faster kit costs well over twice as much (£159.95 from Amazon).
Plug in and set up
Installing the devices is simple. Just plug in the primary plug, connect it to your router, then plug in the Wi-Fi plug close by, while you set it up. The first HomePlug automatically picks up your internet connection via Ethernet; you then connect the Wi-Fi model by pressing the Pair button on both plugs. We found this took a couple of goes.
The Wi-Fi plug creates its own Wi-Fi networks (one each on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies), which you can connect to if you want to use it as a separate network. However, before you move the plug to a far-flung corner of the house, you can set it up with the same network details as your existing Wi-Fi network, so you don’t have to switch networks on your devices when moving around the house. TP-Link has made this a simple process using WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), so you can press the WPS button on your router and the device, and the settings will be copied across. If you don’t have WPS, you can connect to the plug’s settings via its web interface or configure it using a mobile app, available on Android or iOS devices.
The Wi-Fi unit is fairly bulky, because it has to house all the Wi-Fi and HomePlug technology. When we used it, the unit covered our power socket’s switches, making them difficult to switch off without first unplugging the whole device. However, as long as it isn’t sat next to an equally large plug for another device, it shouldn’t be too obstructive. The primary plug is remarkably small, despite being a pass-through device.
Speed and reliability
To test the kit, we transferred files from an external SSD attached to our Linksys WRT1900ACS router to compare speeds using the router in its standard Wi-Fi state and when connected to the TP-Link network. We used the SSD attached to a USB 3.0 port of the router to ensure that the only bottlenecks in the system would be created by the network, not by any other hardware standing in the way.
We plugged in the primary HomePlug next to the router and connected it using the supplied Ethernet cable. We then took the Wi-Fi HomePlug up a floor and across the house, to our worst Wi-Fi blackspot. This location tends to get patchy 5GHz coverage and slow 2.4GHz speeds. It’s exactly the kind of situation that the TP-Link kit is intended to improve.
At the limits of its 5GHz network reach, the Linksys network still managed to copy files and was reasonably speedy, but the coverage was unreliable. We measured it working at 16.5Mbps when transferring a large video file, though it dropped to a choppy 8.2Mbps when transferring a folder of photos.
Switching to the 5GHz network on the TP-Link HomePlug, both photos and videos transferred relatively smoothly, at 32.7Mbps and 32.5Mbps respectively. It’s a significant increase over the router’s capability on this network and at this distance.
Both the router and the HomePlug kit also operate on the 2.4GHz frequency. This Wi-Fi network tends to be slower than 5GHz Wi-Fi at close range but has better reach, so it should provide a more reliable service at a distance. In our tests, we got much better performance when sending the individual photo files through the router, which managed 30.9Mbps. The larger video file didn’t arrive as quickly, though, and was slower than on the 5GHz network, transferring at a speed of just 13.6Mbps.
As before, the TP-Link kit provided a more reliable service across both networks. It transferred the photos at 26Mbps and the video file at 24.6Mbps. So, on our network, the router was faster when transferring photos, but the HomePlug seemed to offer a more even, reliable service across the board.
VERDICT
If your house is large and your walls are thick, even the best routers can struggle to get a Wi-Fi signal to its furthest reaches.
Finding a solution for tackling individual Wi-Fi blackspots doesn’t have to be expensive. This new, mid-range HomePlug kit from TP-Link can provide a significant boost to any Wi-Fi network, whether you’re using the puny router provided by your ISP or a faster, more modern device that’s struggling to span a long distance or negotiate a set of obstacles.
You’ll get even better results from a faster-rated HomePlug kit but this will cost more than double what you pay for the TP-Link AV500 kit, which is capably equipped to give your Wi-Fi a palapable boost.
SPECIFICATIONS
■ Homeplug AV 500Mbps networking
■ 802.11b/g/n compatible Wi-Fi on 2.4GHz frequency
■ 802.11a/n/ac compatible Wi-Fi on 5GHz frequency
■ WEP, WPA/WPA-2, WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK Wi-Fi encryption
■ 128-bit AES encryption
■ 300m range over electrical circuit
■ 131 x 72 x 47mm (Wi-Fi unit), 95 x 58 x 42mm (non-Wi-Fi unit)