ZyXEL PLA401 200 Mbps Powerline HomePlug AV Wall-plug Adapter (Starter Kit--2 units)

by ZyXEL

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.5 x 4.2 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000ZD2OIS
• Item model number: PLA401KIT
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 28, 2007

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The ZyXEL HomePlug AV PLA-401 is an extended access solution that allows your house to be completely networked using your existing electrical power lines. Simply plug the AV PLA-401 into an existing electrical outlet, and it will transform your electrical power lines into a house-wide network infrastructure. It s the easiest way to extend the network connection from your broadband router. Powered by HomePlug AV Technology, the ZyXEL PLA-401 has a channel data rate up to 200 Mbps. The PLA-401 allows users to stream high-definition video from one side of the house to the other, as well as enable surfing the Internet, accessing e-mail, and transferring large files easily and safely at home. Home entertainment solutions such as Network Capable DVR systems or Set Top box can now be networked using existing electrical power lines within your home instead of using complicated wireless setups or messy wiring solutions. With 128-bit AES encryption, the PLA-401 provides the advanced data security technology for the powerline network you created at home. Now you can surf the Internet from any room in your house through the network over existing power lines without concerns over security holes and hackers to exploit. Requiring no new wires, no drivers, and compatible with all OS, the ZyXEL PLA-401 is the ideal solution for residential users who need LAN extension without laying new cables. Since there are no drivers required to connect to the unit, there are no OS compatibility issues whatsoever! Simply plug the ZyXEL PLA-401 into an electrical outlet and an Internet connection and you re ready to go on line!

How It Works

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Works as promised, but WARNING!, April 4, 2008

By 

L. Shofner "Videographer/Programmer" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ZyXEL PLA401 200 Mbps Powerline HomePlug AV Wall-plug Adapter (Starter Kit--2 units) (Personal Computers)

As all the other reviews say, this is very easy to set up and works great. No software to install, just plug it in and you are good.

It does not work from a power strip though.

Here's the WARNING. Because you can't run these via powerstrip, they are directly plugged into your wall and then your computer(s). I happen to have my network on a wireless router, so the "in" signal for the ZyXEL was coming from the router.

Well, there was a powersurge yesterday sometime and because there was no power strip/surge protector to stop it - the serge went through the Cat5 cable from the ZyXEL and DESTROYED my $200 router.

I'm looking into a Cat5 surge protector, but just wanted warn everyone that this can happen. If not in use, I recommend unplugging the cables from your computer(s) and router.

The system itself works great, but I had to take off the stars because it cost my family an extra $200 to replace the router.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars works like a charm, March 6, 2008

By 

H. Chang "crystal dream" (HACIENDA HGTS, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ZyXEL PLA401 200 Mbps Powerline HomePlug AV Wall-plug Adapter (Starter Kit--2 units) (Personal Computers)

I am surprise they make the networking box looks so nice. And most importantly, it works like a charm.

I plugged one adapter to the DSL router and one adapter to one of the rooms upstairs where I just cannot get wireless signal. The connection speed is really fast, I can access the shared file folder from computer downstairs like I was directly connect to it with network cable.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overheats quickly, September 5, 2008

By 

Jonathan Mcdonald "Jon" (Jacksonville, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ZyXEL PLA401 200 Mbps Powerline HomePlug AV Wall-plug Adapter (Starter Kit--2 units) (Personal Computers)

I've been using 2 PLA401s to extend by home network and cut down on the wifi traffic for about 6 weeks. For the first 4 weeks the units worked great, about 2 weeks ago one started intermittently failing. It's to the point that if I unplug one of the units I can plug it back in and it works for about 2 minutes before failing. It appears to be an issue with overheating. I've contacted customer support but gotten no response at this point. For now I've removed the case on the unit that was failing, this has allowed it to work for about a day now. The case only has a few slots on one side, it does not appear to have good airflow through the device.