Customer Reviews

Netgear XE102 Powerline Ethernet Adapter

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been a huge fan of wireless for a few years now. The flexibility of going anywhere with my laptop and still being connected was great. However, I have been performing a lot of remote work which requires heavy duty two-way processing of X-window and Java traffic. I stared to notice severe bottlenecks in the throughput. I tried expanding my wireless network by getting better antennas and enhancers with no luck. I tried to have a WEBEX demonstration and the results were not good.

I then started looking at the cost of having someone wire my entire house. The expense of this was staggering. Finally, I stumbled onto what I now consider the best option that you can have for a true HOME network. The XE102 Powerline Ethernet Adapter from Netgear is my answer. It turns any electrical outlet in your home into a access point into your network and grants you access to the Internet through your cable modem, dsl or dial up.

This device is ten times faster than wireless in my observations. It requires a minimum of two devices (one plugged into a wall outlet by your internet access point and one anyplace in you house where you want to connect). I was so pleased with the speed of this that I even tried the WEBEX demonstration again, IT WORKED GREAT.

here's what you want to know:

i connected a netgear cable/dsl router into the XE102, and then
connected 4 more XE102 adapters across my house to share the
internet connection on laptops i have.

my house is about 40 years old. the electrical wiring has never
been changed (or repaired).

all the devices connected at 10mbps, short of the 14mpbs
promised, but still very good considering.

in a sustained transfer of a 533MB file from my server to my
laptops, each laptop pulled it in anywhere from 500K-550K/sec,
or 5 to 5.5mbps. it would take roughly 15 minutes per machine
to receive the whole file.

internet transfers showed no signs of a slow connection. i
played 'savage' (an online first person shooting game) with no
lag. i downloaded the demo from download.com at about 195k/sec,
which is nothing to laugh at.

setup was easy for my comcast connection. it took more time to
get the router to talk to comcast's dhcp server than anything.

the XE102's are truly plug and play, but make sure you enable
encryption when you're done setting up.

i give the product 4/5 only because there is no doubt room for
an improvement in sustained transfer speeds, although, again, i
am more than happy with 5 - 5.5mbps , especially since most of
the files being transfered in my home are 3mb or so MP3s from
the server to my laptops, which would take approximately 3
seconds to move. not bad for 40 year old wiring!

if cabling cat5 is impractical, and wireless has too much
interference or too much open space, i'd definitely recommend
the XE102 for a reliable wire-based connection.

I got two of these adapters to extend my broadband internet connection to another room in the house. Wireless encryption was too much trouble to set up and I worried about security issues without it. Using the XE102's encryption software was easy and now I don't have to worry about people "sniffing" around my house for a wireless connection.

Since I don't have phone jacks in the room where I needed the network connection, I couldn't use a phone line network adapter. The XE102 is perfect because I have lots of AC outlets in every room. Not only that, I don't have to deal with reception dead spots like with a wireless system.

With my XE102s about as far apart as I can get them in my house (~50 ft) I get a 12 - 14Mbps connection speed. I'm very happy with this system.

Wow! I thought I was cutting-edge with my Wi-Fi home network, but these little silver gizmos are so George Jetson! Plug one into your wall, connect it to your router or directly to your DSL or Cable Modem and then take another Silver Gizmo (yes you need at least two of these babies) and plug it into any electrical outlet in your home and connect it to the ethernet port of a computer. Presto! Instant Network! Who needs Wi-Fi? Now I've got new super-charged POWERLINE with Frammistan!

I looked forward to excellent performance from these devices as an alternative to running additional cable in my home, based on the generally good reviews on this site. The devices seemed to work well, right out of the box, for distances of two rooms away. However, they would lose connection whenever the computer was turned off and then turned back on later. The only way to restore ethernet input to my computer was to unplug and plug in again the nearest XE102. This is not the unsatisfactory reliability my wife and I desire from our internet connection. Even when the two adaptors were plugged into AC receptacles in the same room (as a best-case test), they would not continue to provide ethernet input to my computer if it was turned off and then on again later. My attempt at telephone support from Netgear was fruitless ("call back later"). When I used their online service center, I initially received a general list of possible problems back, but nothing that addressed this specific problem. When I asked for more specific help, after five days I finally received a response which said the problem I reported was "a limitation of the devices." In other words, this was the best performance I could expect.

Great! Simple. Simpliest network-related device I have used. This product worked out of the box - no extra parts and no hassle. I plugged in one XE102 and then went downstairs and plugged in the other XE102. It worked without a hitch and provided network and high-speed internet access to my laptop ( via the connected Ethernet RJ45 cable).

Then I set the password to encrypt communications between the two XE102 units. No problems and no slowdown.

While they are not super fast they are faster than the high-speed cable modem used to provide intenet access and plenty good for home network use. The best part is the ability to pull a unit out of one electrical wall outlet, go to another room and plug it in, after which, your back on the network.

My earlier experiences with an attempt to use a wireless network (which took many days and involved several different wireless units) and the associated unpredictable or lost encryption settings left me cold and frustrated. By sharp contrast, this product was instant gratification. I really like this product and plan to buy another unit.

I was up and running in 5 minutes. No software to install.
I favor the powerline networking over wireless for the following reasons:
1) easier to setup. No settings to config.
2) more secure. No need to worry about broadcasting a signal over the air
3) faster than wireless. I would typically get weak signal and poor speeds, even though I was not located far from my Wireless A/P. The powerline adapter blows away my wireless setup any day.
Sure the novelty of being wireless is cool, but I prefer the speed, reliability and security that the powerline provides.
When I want to work from another room, or my patio outside, I take the powerline adapter with me and plug it into the nearest outlet.
Great product.

These things look like a great deal. You plug them in and off they go. The problem is when something goes wrong - there is no way to troubleshoot or resolve issues. Unplugging and plugging back in is your only option. Netgear support does not exist.

My area is prone to power spikes and very brief failures (less than a second) due to area construction, these events kill the network. Sometimes unplugging and plugging back in works, sometimes it does not and then you have no recourse but to leave them unplugged and hope someday they will decide to work again.

For me, these things are better than nothing but only marginally so ...

I bought this because I have a shed next to my garage that my WiFi doesn't quite reach. This was definatly the easiest solution to networking into my shop so I could have internet and play Mp3s off my network.

I plugged one into my router, and the other into my 150mhz laptop I used in the shed (a glorified Mp3 player at this rate, but still does that and surfs the net well!)

Turned on the laptop... I was on my network at a little over 8Mbps. Sweet!

Streamed Mp3s, tested the internet... super fast. Worked great. Perfect solution. Couldn't be happier...

The only downfall was that the encryption software (not that I need it) says W98 is required. But, it actuality it requires W98SE or higher. So, I couldn't install the software (I installed in on my XP laptop to test the speed with their tools).

Kinda sucks SE is required... but, I can live with it now that I have internet and can share MP3s in my shop!

Home networking technologies are advancing so quickly that it is not easy to even keep up with the innovations. These XE102 Wall-Plugged Ethernet Bridges are amazing - you just plug in one to your BB modem and another into your PC and you are done - no need for a long cable across your house. No chance of trippingover a cable to messing up your home decor. You do need 2 of these for it to work, though, so keep that in mind.

These work for a PS2 or XBox as well, and is better for online gaming than wireless is. Check them out - you won't regret it.