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Full user review
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1 out of 1 people found this review helpful
4.0 stars
"Plug it in, and it just plain works"
Pros: For making a bridge, plug it in and it works with no config. Works well even in an old house with lots of random, rambling wiring and multiple electrical panels. Fast, rarely hiccups like 802.11
Cons: Bulky, needs to plug directly into wall. Documentation could be better. Defaults to encrypted, but with a fixed password.
Summary: We used them to connect our home office with 2 computers and a ReplayTV to the main house router for 9 months with no problems other than a lockup once, maybe twice. Pull the unit from the wall, plug it back in, poof, works again.
You plug them in an they just plain work with no configuration. Downside: while encrypted, the default password is fixed (otherwise you'd need to do something to set it after plugging in). If you want security, change it. Once changed, they are pretty secure (and only theoretically accessable from someone on the same transformer you are - usually 1-5 houses).
Documentation isn't bad for the basics; one thing that isn't covered at all is how you would use it in a more-than-two-units situation. It has a little config utility for changing the password, scanning for units, checking speed, etc.
It's fast. Added latency seems to be around 2-3ms at most. There are few if any hicups in performance like you get in 802.11 - washers, dryers, hair blowers, etc generally have little to no effect. You will get different throughputs in different pairs of outlets; some outlet pairs will only get 1 or 2Mbps. 802.11 needs around 3 access points to cover my house (~125 feet from one end to the other, built in stages, some reflective insulation, big stone fireplaces, etc).
In most of the outlet pairs I tried in my home, I got 3-12Mbps even from one end of an old, multiply added-onto house (with 3 electric panels totalling 460amps) to the other. As with 802.11, typical throughput speeds are around 1/2 the raw bitrate reported.
Very nice. Definitely better than the Gigafast units based on the same chipset from what I saw.
- 1 reply to this review
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I am confused by your post specifically where you talk about the need for encryption due to sharing of a power transformer btwn houses (1-5)? Can you clarify what you mean here?
"You plug them in an they just plain work with no configuration. Downside: while encrypted, the default password is fixed (otherwise you'd need to do something to set it after plugging in). If you want security, change it. Once changed, they are pretty secure (and only theoretically accessable from someone on the same transformer you are - usually 1-5 houses)."
You use the phrase "theoretically accessable from someone on the same transformer...". Is this really true? I can see how this would be possible for someone living in a condo, maybe a townhouse, but single family homes? Can you clarify and explain pls? Thanks!
