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TP-Link, D-Link, Devolo with HomePlug AV are all compatible

I just bought a new TP-Link starter kit to replace my last Devolo device (since I’m not a fan of Devolo anymore). Cheap when compared to other devices, especially as it has 2 ETHernet ports, which is what I was looking for.

The title on the box of the TP-Link starter kit, however, is a bit misleading : 300Mbps AV500 Wifi Powerline Extender Starter Kit.

My eyes just skimmed over the first words (300Mbps) and I immediately went looking for another device than this, because I was searching for a *500* Mbps AV device. Not a 300 Mbps.

I took me a few times to actually completely read the description on the device (after looking at more expensive devices). Turns out that it is actually a 500Mbps AV device, and the 300Mbps is for the WIFI part of it !!

TP-Link, you might want to change that… Customers might think like me that this is a 300Mbps device and go for another device.

The devices itself are small. The plastic does not feel perhaps as sturdily made as Devolo or D-Link, both of them seem like big blocks compared to the TP-Link device. However, that is not what you buy it for… So far, the TP-link devices certainly work, with almost zero setup.

Using WPS on the router I activated the Wifi-Cloning at the TP-Link device, a few blinks, done, and then it automatically repeated my wifi. Where the wi-fi reception in the kitchen was guaranteed to be close to non-existant, due to the router being behind multiple walls with different angles all the way at the other side of the house, suddenly reception of my network is now between 3 and 4 bars ! ETHernet ports work as well, as I can stream video from my NAS to my tv.

I can also confirm that TP-Link, D-Link and Devolo all happily talk to each other – as long as it states on the box that they are AV Homeplug compatible they should work fine together !

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20 replies on “TP-Link, D-Link, Devolo with HomePlug AV are all compatible”

So how’s your mileage with the TP-link units so far? And perhaps also interesting: what made you switch from D-link to TP-link?

I’m looking into units supplying wifi and was leaning towards the Devolo since it offers a pass-trough outlet (which is valuable for the house I’m looking into it for), but found your experiences and now I’m seriously reconsidering… 😉

The TP-links are working fine. It’s what devolo promises : you set them and then you forget about them. There are times my connection seems a bit slow for a few seconds, but then it picks up again, and in all honesty it could be anything : the router, the tp-links, the switch behind the tp-links, the other computers downloading something and taking up all the bandwidth… I just don’t bother. I’m happy with the way they work.

hi,

why did you switch from d-link to tp-link?
I am also willing to buy something to replace my devolo AV500 because of having more and more problems.

thanks for your blog posts 🙂

I’m actually using both a TP-link AND two D-links. They all support the same protocol, so they work fine together. The only thing missing is an opensource program to list them all.

One problem has surface with the TP-links : the wifi-part is not reliable, and it seems it doesn’t correctly renew the DHCP lease for it’s internet address. At least that is what I’ve read on other blogs.

I’ve gone back to using them without wifi, just as an additional connection for 2 wired ETH ports.

Yes, no problem. In the end I switched out all my devolo’s but I ran both tp-link and develo on the same ‘current’ so to speak. They are both ‘powerline’ compatible.
One thing you cannot do is use the DLAN cockpit to administer them remotely – but you do see a device appear in it.

Usually, it’s just plug and play if the two powerline devices are the same make and model. So if it’s a different brand, is there any configuration needed?

All my devices work fine together. No extra setup needed. I imagine that if you want to set up an encryption between devices that that will be a major problem as they probably have different ways of doing that. However, I haven’t tried that, so no definitive answer.

What would be nice to have is an opensource map program to remotely administer them, à la DLAN cockpit. I’ve searched but not found one.

Is there a firmware update on the TP-Link devices to correct the WiFi problem?

I was about to pull the trigger until I read your problem with the WiFi (a key issue I’m trying to resolve).

Help?!

Hi Jason,

I don’t know. As I’m not using the Wifi part at all I haven’t bothered looking for updates. The wired part works fine.

Hopefully there have been updates, or even new hardware, but I haven’t kept up with the latest releases from TP-Link.

If I update the box in the following weeks or months, I’ll be sure to update this blog with the results.

Oh well. That didn’t take long. I went to the TP-Link site and for my device (see pic above) I upgraded to the latest firmware version 1.2.8 – in the filename it states “final” so the latest update from jan 2014 is probably the also the final update… probably because there is new hardware already out and available.

Admin interface is up, I’ll check sometime this week if wifi is running better now…

Excellent – thank you very much! I’m anxious to see if the new firmware resolves your WiFi extended network.

Thanks for doing this for me!

The reason they headline the 300Mbps wi-fi figure is that the 500Mbps is a theoretical maximum of the technology but is not usable. The ethernet connector maxes out at 100Mbps (100BaseTx not gigabit) so wired connection is slower than wi-fi despite the 500 Mbps figure. The 500 figure may be of some benefit with several connectors on a congested home network but you aint getting more than 100Mbps on any one wired device.

I also didn’t understood his “complains” about 500mpbs when TP links specs lan ports as 100mbps , so you cant push more than 100 through the ports, so its even kinda pointless to advertise anything else.
Also wifi 300mbps is lame, cause it cannot never reach router with such speed.

Can I use a dlink homeplug with a tp link powerplug wireless? I can’t remember the model of my dlink power plug.but I remember it did say something 100mbs

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