Customer Reviews

Actiontec MegaPlug 85 Mbps Ethernet Adapter Twin-Pack

5 star:		(170)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

This twin-pack works flawlessly when I have both units plugged into outlets that are on the same circuit. When I plug them into different outlets throughout the house, so that they have to "talk" across circuit breakers, their is still network connectivity, but my streaming video stutters during playback. I didn't actually measure the Mbps I was getting this way, so if it negotiated down to 10 Mbps across the circuit breakers, then this would work fine for internet surfing. However, for my streaming video, I need a lot more speed (like the advertised 85 Mbps). Again, once I plugged both units into outlets on the same circuit, my streaming video played back smoothly and flawlessly. I am quite happy with this product. [...]

I needed network availability at the other end of the house where it was too far for wireless and impractical to run ethernet cable. I tried a wireless range expander and had a bad experience with that. After reading the reviews of the Actiontec adapter, I decided to try it. I wish I had discovered the Actiontec first, because it's a no-brainer and it works great. It was literally nothing more than plugging in the devices and running a quick and simple software install/config on the PC I wanted to connect. It works as advertised, is essentially a wired connection to the network, and is a perfectly portable solution for any room in the house that has an electrical outlet. I wish all network products were this easy to use.

I have two WiFi routers, an Apple Airport Extreme for N-speed connections and an older WRT54G for G-speed connections, all located in my basement near my broadband modem. Unfortunately, the G connections aren't as robust and often disconnect due to obstacles in my house. I bought the MegaPlugs with the hope of extending the reach of the G connections.

I plugged one MegaPlug Adapter near my main router and plugged the other one upstairs, then moved my Linksys WRT54G upstairs (almost directly above the one in my basement) and connected it to the MegaPlug Adapter. The adapters recognized each other within seconds. I used Actiontec's utility to set the encryption password and confirm the connection. The WRT54G was now unobstructed and within 20 feet of my G-speed laptop. As expected, WiFi performance was much more stable.

Performance, however, was a different story. I tested performance by copying movie files. One example: with the MegaPlug, a 58MB music video file copy took 155 seconds compared to 26 seconds with the WRT54G alone and 2 seconds over a wired ethernet connection.

When I tried moving the MegaPlug elsewhere in my house, performance decreased. At some outlets, the two adapters could not communicate with each other. I even tried connecting my laptop's ethernet port directly to the MegaPlug, but performance did not improve.

Eventually, I decided that "85 Mbps Ethernet" was not achievable with my house's wiring and that I was better off with my existing WiFi setup.

A few other notes:

1. The ethernet cables that come with the adapters were too short (about 6 feet long) to be useful for me.
2. The Actiontec documentation is brief, since there really isn't a lot of configuration needed with these adapters. Where configuration is advised, however, the manual is just plain wrong. For example, page 17 of the manual references the adapter's "factory default IP address," although Actiontec support explained, "The ethernet adapters have no IP Address and no interface to log into."
3. The Actiontec utility used to set the encryption password omits useful information about adapter performance; you can get more information using Netgear's XE104 Software Utility since both Netgear and Actiontec use the same PowerPacket Utility supplied by Intellon, the maker of the HomePlug chipset used in each product.

In terms of cost compared with performance, in my experience ethernet over powerlines was a poor value compared to WiFi. I had high hopes for the MegaPlug adapters, but their cost vs. performance was abysmal compared to what I was already getting.

In conclusion, I decided to look into comparably-priced WiFi extender/repeater products. I returned the MegaPlugs.

I bought this product to connect a TiVo in a remote part of the house, where my wireless connection was poor. Out of the box it worked effortlessly and perfectly. If you need to get ethernet into a remote part of your house -- I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these in a heartbeat. Super easy, fast connection & works with no downtime. Seems too good to be true, but it is.

I bought this to connect my new Blu Ray Player to the router in the next room. Although only about 30 feet away, the data rate went from 3.9 MPS plugged in next to the router to 1.1 plugged in at the player. Not nearly good enough for streaming video. The thing just does not work if going across a circuit breaker.

Do yourself a favor before you buy it, plug in a lamp or something on the two outlets you want to use, go out and trip the circuit breaker you know controls one lamp; if both lamps go out, you can buy this product.

I spent around 2 hours trying to set this up, troubleshooting what could be causing the problem. Even with both connected to the same outlet, they both "linked", but I couldn't actually bridge any data across them.

With the device is an install CD, which includes a configuration utility. This utility allows you to set encryption keys for the devices, and only works in Windows. Given that there was no indication that this was required, and that all my machines run Linux, I ignored the utility. However, when it came down to the last possibility, I borrowed my girlfriend's laptop (which has Windows), installed the utility, and set both devices to the same key. Worked. Immediately. So much for optional encryption - the encryption key seems to also be how the devices are paired.

Once I dealt with the encryption key, it works fine. I now have an access point on the other side of the house, and I have multiple PCs and a Wii on it without issue. There's at times around 20% packet loss, so I'd say that it's about as fast as ethernet, with the packet loss of a medium distance wireless network. I'd recommend the device -- with the caveat being that they need to know to use the configuration utility, and that they also have access to a Windows PC to set it up.

I used this to hook up my dish network HD DVR to my router. It works perfectly with no installation issues, just follow the instructions given on the dish network website.

We wanted to set up our 2nd new Macintosh computer in a room at the other end of the house. It would have been too far for a decent wireless signal, and besides we wanted Internet speeds faster than wireless.

I called the manufacturer before ordering to ask about Mac compatibility. He said the only reason you would need a Windows computer was if you wanted to change the security settings of the devices (recommended to do if using in an apartment building), otherwise they should work right out of the box... and they did!

I plugged one into the wall near our Internet service and ran ethernet cable from it to our DSL router. In the room with the 2nd Mac I plugged into the wall and ran the ethernet from the MegaPlug to our new Mac. Immediately we were online! No configuration is really necessary.

I only gave this 4 stars because the plastic MegaPlug devices feel rather cheaply made. When I took them out of the box, a little clear strip of plastic that is a lens for the LEDs simply fell off. It is just a stick on part with poor adhesive on the back of it.

Functionally I'd give this product 5 stars so far. They work as advertised.

I saw this on the tivo web site as I was looking to buy the tivo HD. I saw these past good reviews and yet I still almost went with the tivo wireless adapter. But I took the chance on these and am I glad I did. I had always wondered about how well a powerline adapter worked or if really at all. It was just so easy to setup. I wish everything else worked so well. I initially hooked up my sonos and played music continuously for hours without one hiccup what so ever. Then when cable card installation day came I hooked up the tivo and the downloads from the setup went very fast. I figure I should do as well with the movie downloads. Let's just say the Actiontec MegaPlug Ethernet adapters have made me a happy camper. I just had to write this (my first) review.

Is it as fast as it claims? Certainly not. Don't be fooled by reading that the device can go as fast as 85 Mbps. That's theoretical, not real-world. Is it really as simple as plugging into an outlet and then into your computer? Yes. At least for me that was the case.

Some background info: I live in a newer, 8 year old 2900 sqft house. My draft-n wireless router connected to FIOS is downstairs. Signal strength upstairs is okay. Basic web-surfing and e-mail is fine, but trying to stream movies (SD quality only) from my upstairs PC and PS3 is not possible, with frequent stutters and dropped frames.

I gave this device a try, thinking that if I get anywhere close to 30 Mbps I would be fine and should be able to stream videos from my downstairs media PCs to my PS3 and PC.

I installed the pair (well, plugged them into a wall) and they ran just as simply as advertised. My PC was soon surfing away much more quickly and reliably than with my wireless connection. Great so far. Connected my PS3 and then tried to play a video from my donwstairs media PC. The streaming was a little better, but still stuttering.

Ran some file transfer tests (100MB and 1.5GB files), which showed that I was actually only getting roughly 11 Mbps, at best, which was nowhere near 85 Mbps. This was still better than running the same file transfers via wireless, which took about 3 time as long, but still not good enough for video streaming.

I ended up returning these since they did not meet my needs. But for many others out there, who may only need to get a more reliable signal to surf the web and read e-mails from their weak signal spots, this device will do that for you. Very simple, very little effort, and only takes minutes before you are connected. But if you are like me, and need higher bandwidth for your devices but do not want to run Ethernet cabling, this is not for you.

End result: I ended up taking advantage of my existing coax cable, which does not have the same noise issues that result from power lines, and installing MOCA bridges. I am now getting around 70 Mbps throughput and no more problems with streaming video. MOCA is more expensive, not as simple, and does not work with satellite TV, but it is much better for me. You can buy second-hand MOCA devices for a fraction of what you see new [...]