topic Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Sun, 31 May 2020 13:30:56 GMT

I have an issue with my devolo dLAN AV500 wifi plug. My home network setup also includes two (2) standard AV500 plugs.

I use the devolo Cockpit software and all the devices are displayed correctly and all work satisfactorily over ethernet using a BT Smart Hub 6 broadband router on PlusNet fibre optic broadband.

I have gone through the wifi set-up process many times and had come to the conclusion the plug was faulty. To this end I purchased a new dLAN 500AV wifi starter kit but after fitting them the result is the same.

I have tested the wifi plug in different parts of my house but the effect is the same.

Using wifi analyser software the signal strength is very good but when carrying out an internet speed test the throughput is very low, i.e. at best of the order of a few Mbps maximum download.

i have refitted the PlusNet Hub One router but the result is the same.

Any help would be gratefully accepted.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Sun, 31 May 2020 13:53:37 GMT

I should add that the wifi on the BT Smart Hub 6 is excellent.

Dave

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Baldrick1 — Sun, 31 May 2020 17:40:27 GMT

@dave4jazz

Sorry if I'm asking the bleedin' obvious but when you move away from your router you are switching and selecting the Devolo SSID on your device?

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Sun, 31 May 2020 17:49:13 GMT

Thanks forthe reply.

Yes I am switching to the devolo wifi on my devices. No success with either phone or tablet.

Dave

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Champnet — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 09:42:43 GMT

Have you tried a different channel number ?

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 15:12:30 GMT

Yes I've tried various channels based on channels recommended by the WiFi Analyzer app.

Strange isn't it?

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Champnet — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 15:28:23 GMT

Ignore the analyzer for now, try channels 1, 6 and 11

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 15:44:38 GMT

Results:

Download/Upload Mbps

Channel 1: 1.75 / 8.27

Channel 6: 3.94 / 8.63

Channel 11: 1.83 / 7.92

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Champnet — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:00:49 GMT

Upload speeds look good but the download speeds are way out.

what are the speeds like on the router ?

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:18:09 GMT

The BT Hub 6 router on wifi is Upload 11.0 / Download 9.68 on Channel 6 standing a couple of metres from it.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Champnet — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:28:42 GMT

Depending on the package you’ve gone for, I’d expect download speeds to be at least around 4x upload speeds.

Have you a device that can be plugged into the router using an Ethernet cable ?
If not you need Plusnet to test your line....

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:38:22 GMT

Just speed tested my Windows 10 PC, which is on Ethernet via powerlines, resulting in 30.20 Mbps download and 18.56 Mbps upload.

My son is currently working at home so that will be slowing the speeds.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Champnet — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:53:04 GMT

You need to eliminate the powerlines.

Try https://speedtest.btwholesale.com/ on your PC. Not sure how accurate It is over powerlines.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 16:57:38 GMT

I think we can say the speed into the property it not the problem.

Also, the router wifi is appears to be 3 - 4 times faster than the devolo powerline wifi so perhaps that is the issue.

I'm starting to think about a different approach. If I get another PlusNet Hub One I can restall the one I already have and set the new one up as a repeater. Maybe that will be more robust.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Champnet — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 17:09:00 GMT

Your choice but I’d wait to see if a more knowledgeable member of the forum can help.

Even with limited info a Plusnet line test would be helpful if only to eliminate external issues.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Baldrick1 — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 17:25:22 GMT

@dave4jazz wrote:

The BT Hub 6 router on wifi is Upload 11.0 / Download 9.68 on Channel 6 standing a couple of metres from it.

So it’s pretty poor using the Smarthub. A few things to try:

1. Separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, see. https://community.plus.net/t5/My-Router/2-4ghz-and-or-5ghz-best-practice/m-p/1351966#M840. Try each band.

2. Have you got any electronic devices such as a TV or cordless phone next to the router? If so separate them. I have known a cordless VoIP phone kill WiFi.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

wisty — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 18:17:19 GMT

@dave4jazz Not sure if you have answered this. If you connect a wired (ethernet) device to the WiFi plug - as I understand these devices they have an ethernet port as well as a WiFi access point - what sort of speeds do you get.

If that is low, then the problem is the speed of the powerline connection between the devolo devices. If that gives decent speeds then it's the WiFi access point.

An answer to that question will eliminate one of the two variables.

Have you tried turning off the other powerline temporarily so that you only have a single powerline link to the WiFi repeater. I would also try swapping the PL adapter connected to the router.

Hope this helps.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 19:33:05 GMT

1. 5GHz band is switched off in the router. All my devices use the 2.4GHZ band.

2. There was a landline base station near the router but I've moved it several feet away but it didn't have any effect on wifi speeds.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

dave4jazz — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 19:36:45 GMT

See the image of the devolo Cockpit at the start of this thread. The speed between the Conversatory (wifi) and Lounge (router) powerlines is very good.

Re: Devolo powerline wifi adaptor not working

Strat — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 20:51:30 GMT

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This topic has been moved from Fibre Broadband to Tech Help.