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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

The wifi signal I get from my VIrgin "Superhub" covers most of the house ok. However, there is a definite drop-off in performance once you get to the back of the house. I've been thinking about trying out a powerline adapter to zjhujj things up a bit. (Powerline adapters use your household electric cabling to transmit signals).

From a quick browse, most of the expert and user reviews I can find online appear to be positive, but I was wondering if anyone local has any first hand experience. If so, how do they work for you? Given that I'm not really bothered about extending my signal into the garden and that I'm primarily interested in improving the signal to a specific point at the back of the house, are they a better option than wifi range extenders?

Tags for Forum Posts: computers, computing, wifi

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Brilliant! Inexpensive, simple to install and thoroughly effective. I have my main computer plugged into the Powerline wall socket and also a wi-fi extender (they cost a little more). Don't know why they haven't become standard practice as wi-fi can be very variable.; even sitting right by the Virgin Superhub, I still get a better and more consistent signal from the Powerline upstairs.

Powerline transmission can interfere with other wireless / radio services.

Hi Hugh

From my practical experience as an IT adviser I can say that wireless powerline devices works and so far I did not meet any case that something was really wrong. From the beginning of my support and installations for residential clients so far I go with a German manufacturer called DEVOLO and all clients so far so happy with this solution. So far I installed about 10 powerline devices with people in similar situation to yours and wireless powerline makes its job.

When you installed wireless powerline you create in your house environment second wireless network which will be visible by your computer as a separate a wireless access point working interdependently from your Virgin super-hub. The internet signal will come from super-hub by electric cable but this device will create a new wireless network. 

You can also run a cable from super-hub to the spare router and in this way extend your existing wireless network but conditions are running cables through the house and a spare router which can be changed into an access point. If you are OK with this two conditions I can do this little magic for you. 

A reasonable wireless powerline device costs about £80-90 and can give impressive transfer. This wireless powerline for the best performance need to be plugged directly into power-plugs. The option with an electric extension can significantly decrease the power of the internet signal. With the powerline plug you can walk around the house and you are completely free with choosing the best option for your network. 

Hope this can be helpful to you and maybe somebody else ...

I'm using a set with a virgin superhub to get better media transfer speed than wifi would allow. One plug is connected to one of the superhub's wired ports and the other to the network card of the media box in the bedroom. It works perfectly. I haven't tried a plug access point, the hard connection was ideal for us. We are using trendnet tpl-401e2k plugs as they were considerably cheaper than the other brands, and have been so pleased we have just ordered another pair.
Wireless powerline is an ideal solution in almost every house as the wireless routers from the internet providers are usually placed in very wrong places of house or flat. They usually put them at the front room or in the basement and after that the client struggles with the wireless connection. When the internet comes to the house we take it to our desktop location and when we buy a laptop or tablet our device has an issue to connect with good signal. Every flat is different so it must be adjusted and installed differently.

Worth mentioning (again) that we found plusnet (actually installed by BT) to be very flexible and accommodating during our recent installation over the summer. They allowed us to test the router signal from several different points in the house before deciding where to install, allowing us to walk round with laptop checking connection strength. 

Our experience with Virgin was less good (putting it mildly).

Hello Hugh,

I am with Virgin, and when suddenly I lost the power to Wifi in the back room I rang them up and they took me through steps to reset my Hub .. simple as .. (4 days ago).

I got the number to phone from my bill .. 

Hope this helps.

Thanks Catherine.

Have read though this as I'd love to get wifi coverage at the back of the house, and am none the wiser, unfortunately..

Why not get Marek round?

Hi Anette,

The thing is, sometimes the hub or modem reverts to a weak signal and the engineers at Virgin can walk you through the steps of what to do with your equipment over the phone. Mine had reverted to 4 or 5 steps below the range it should be set at, so I just highlighted the number they told me to set from the scroll down menu they took me to, and hey presto .. I can now receive it from the garden too!

Hope this helps

CM

Hi Anette
could you contact me and I could drop-in to investigate the situation in your house.
The consultation is free of charge and the time would start ticking if there would be any work to perform.
Please give me a call and we could move it forward closer to enlightenment.
My phone number 07904607745 or support@itboxcs.co.uk

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