I was using an old Belkin and then Trendnet router at home to connect two laptops in a 1400 sq ft 2-story condo with abysmal results. The routers had poor signal strength despite my condo being fairly small (consider it's 2 stories so it's not like all 1400 sq ft are spread out, they're stacked on top of each other) and they would constantly need rebooting.
Finally I decided you get what you pay for, so I purchased a top of the line dual band Netgear router. Love it. I get full strength in every square inch of my condo now and with bandwidth to spare. Then I added a PS3 to my network as well as a bluray player. But despite having strong signal and bandwidth to spare, I just wasn't getting consistent enough access via the router/WiFi to do HD streaming video. Surfing the web and even playing PS3 online was fine, but streaming HD content seemed to be the threshold for some reason.
There was no point in buying a repeater or some other solution to improve WiFi because I know the signal is strong throughout. I didn't want to install CAT5 throughout the house either. So I did some research and based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews of this powerline adapter, I decided to give it a try.
When I got it, I read the instructions because I'm anal, but there is no configuration needed, it's the most literal definition of plug and play. Immediately I got all 3 green lights. I changed the setting on my PS3 to wired connection, reset, and voila, it was done.
I have no idea what kind of wiring I have in my condo. I know the place is between 10-20 years old, so it's not brand new and it's not pre-war either. I also don't know anything about how the circuits are laid out in my condo, but since I only have one circuit breaker panel I suppose all my wiring is on a single circuit. So those are two things to keep in mind for this review: somewhat recent wiring and probably all on a single circuit.
That said, this does what it says it does. Whereas before I had less than ideal speeds over WiFi for streaming, and more importantly, an inconsistent connection, it made streaming video an exercise in frustration. With these Netgears plugged in, GONE are my frustrations. First, they keep a steady connection, no more intermittent mood swings. And second, they do bump up my throughput some over WiFi. So a steady signal combined with higher throughput equals lag free, worry free, problem free, stress free, frustration free HD video streaming from Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.
My only additional other caveat is that if you are expecting to get a similar experience as if you were plugging your system directly into your router or modem, well, you might be disappointed. Using speedtest.net I did a series of benchmarks my desktop (plugged directly into my router via CAT5), my PS3 plugged into the powerline adapter, and my laptop using WiFi. Going in reverse order, my laptop scored between 1-12 Mbps, on my PS3 I'm getting between 8-20 Mbps, and on my desktop I'm getting 30-40 Mbps. So there is a real discrepancy between the different access types. There is no comparison to plugging something directly into your modem/router. But powerline adapters are probably the next best thing. They basically give me between 33-50% of the full speed of my direct connection and they offer a 50-100% improvement over WiFi speeds. At least, that has been my experience so far.
Netgear makes solid products. I am happy with my router and my powerline adapters. I would definitely buy them again and recommend them to anyone. And if you try them and for some reason don't like them, Amazon has probably the best and easiest return policies of anywhere. So buy with confidence, try with confidence, and return with confidence if you end up not liking them. But I bet you will. The high customer ratings are proof positive that these things do what they say they will.
A final word to those who are considering or need more than 2 adapters. The single adapter on Amazon is about $60. This pack, marketed as a starter kit, has 2 adapters for under $100. If you are considering or need more adapters, just buy another one of these kits. Each adapter in the kit is a standalone adapter, so you're getting a much better deal!
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| Customer Rating | (133) | (1237) | (5477) | (291) | (32) |
| Price | $45.59 | $53.99 | $49.99 | $85.99 | $54.90 |
| Sold By | J.C. Distribution | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Prestige IT Goods | Bayside Resale |
| Item Dimensions | 1.57 x 2.64 x 3.39 inches | 3.74 x 2.28 x 2.62 inches | 2.6 x 2 x 1.1 inches | 2.17 x 1.34 x 2.64 inches | 1.57 x 2.64 x 3.39 inches |
| Item Weight | 4.59 ounces | 1.15 lbs | 0.85 lbs | 3.52 ounces | 0.16 ounces |
