HomePlug FAQ *Part 2*

vonner

From the look of things they might want re-pairing.  I believe you do this by pressing a button on one plug for a couple of seconds, then press the same button on the other one.  They will flash for a few seconds then start flashing in sync as they pair up.  Try that.

jinder

Thanks for the replies.

I have tried pairing them again, no luck it stays the same.

Was just on the phone to the D-link guys and they asked to me to put them closer together with no wire to see if they are paired and yep they are.

He told me the wiring could have "changed" inside the Homeplug and that might be effecting it.

Was told to update the firmware even though I have none for it anyway.

If that don't work, change the wiring in the socket outlet. Wow.

jinder

well they worked for an hour or so now gone off again.

Will put a hammer to them as I have to use the old USB WiFi dongle.

Might aswell buy a new set I think they are just dying.

Have seen these on Currys website (may aswell buy from there as I have a gift card to use)

Buy NETGEAR  XAVB1301-100UKS 200 Mbps Powerline Adapter Kit | Free Delivery | Currys

or

Buy TP-LINK  PA4010KIT 500 Mbps Powerline Adapter Kit | Free Delivery | Currys

or

Buy TP-LINK  TL-PA2030KIT Powerline Adapter Kit - Twin Pack | Free Delivery | Currys

With that last one, having 3 ports, does it mean on the router end I can have 1 cable and on the other end 3? I am thiking it will be 3 on each side.

Only using this to download and stream movies and normal browsing. I don't think anyone gets silly speeds of 200Mbps though. I get 18Mb which means downloads speeds (on torrents) of 1.5MB/s   which is fine for me.

MilhouseVH

Just noticed Solwise are due to carry a 600-AV product based on the AR7450 chipset (max throughput 320Mbps, up from 250Mbps on standard 500-AV) - wonder what that's like for compatibility?

jinder

Not sure about that one, don't know the ins and outs of Homeplugs. It would have to be in my budget of around £30-£35 though.

Mine however seem to have fixed themselves. Switched the one connecting to PC off overnight and it seems to have done the trick. Will switch it off whenever not in use from now on.

vonner

Nice one. I was going to suggest just taking them to another house or apartment to eliminate your own wiring, but now I seem to remember that unplugging mine and allowing them to "cool down" resolved similar problems in the past.

Re: the new 600AV plugs from Solwise. They state full compatibility with 500 & 200 on their web site, but I'd be cautious.  A couple of years ago I bought a pair of their 1GB plugs on the strength of compatiblity, but although they worked on their own, they practically locked up when shared with my existing 200's.  Luckily I managed to sell them to a friend who only wanted 2 plugs, and Solwise soon discontinued them...because of compatibility issues!

As a rule of thumb, multiply your broadband speed by 3.  So long as your Homeplugs are rated comfortably above that figure you shouldn't have a bottleneck.  My fibre speed is now about 56Mbps, which means anything rated above 168 should be fine. I currently use 200's, which will give me around the 60Mbps transfer mark.

Of course when I first got fibre a year ago the speed was 67Mbps, which meant my 200AV Homeplugs were actually throttling my bb speed slightly.  Sadly local up-take (I was an early adopter in my area) has seen my speed diminish so that my Homeplugs are now faster!

500AV plugs should be fine for up to 160Mbps bb speed.

MilhouseVH

The Gigle 1Gb devices really were a bad buy but suspect these 600AV devices will be a lot more compatible as they're using another Atheros chipset, same as the 500AV.

vonner

Well if nothing more, the 600's should see the price of the 500's drop enough for me to consider upgrading.  There's always a market for second-hand Homeplugs so never difficult to get rid of the old ones.

jinder

They worked for a while. But doing my head in again.

Think I might be my internet as WiFi on laptop has been playing up too. Couldn't even sign in to PSN.

Monitoring different channels on my internet to see if I can pick something up.

vonner

If the Home lights are going from green to orange then that indicates the plugs aren't talking to each-other, which is nothing to do with the internet.  Like the techie said, put them next to each-other and see how they behave.  If they show no signs of losing synch, move them apart until they do.  Could be your home wiring has developed a fault.  You're not using extension leads anywhere are you?