Linksys PLE200 PowerLine AV Ethernet Adapter
See it at Amazon.com for $78.15Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First (4 out of 5)Great Hardware but Obsolete Firmware
See also the Linksys PLK200 Powerline AV Ethernet Adapter Kit, which is more economical.
This product is based on a "HomePlug-AV" chipset than runs a specialized type of sofware known as "firmware". Linksys does not design, manufacture, or maintain this chipset or its firmware. An unaffiliated company does that, and Linksys is just one of dozens of that company's customers.
I've purchased about 20 (twenty) PLE200s over the past year--from Amazon and other sellers--and all of them have shipped with firmware version 1.4.5 installed. The primary purpose of my 'review' here is to caution you that hardware running firmware version 1.4.5 cannot communicate with hardware running newer firmware versions. I hope this caution reaches people who have already purchased the PLE200 as well as those who are contemplating doing it.
Version 2.0 implemented a change that was required to achieve compliance with the HomePlug-AV standard. That change unfortunately rendered 1.4.5 unable to intercommunicate with versions thereafter. Fortunately, no subsequent firmware change will have such a devastating side-effect.
"HomePlug-AV" products currently coming off various manufacturers' production lines are likely shipping with 2.0 or later firmware installed. Be advised that if you wish to build unified network consisting of PLE200s and these other products, you'll have to upgrade the firmware in your PLE200s; otherwise, the PLE200s and the other products won't even "see" each other. Not only that, but they'll probably also step on each other's transmissions because of inability to coordinate their usage of the powerline medium.
The PLE200 ostensibly is compliant with the HomePlug-AV standard, but it actually is NOT compliant with the HomePlug-AV standard until its firmware is upgraded from version 1.4.5 to version 2.0 or newer. As of this writing, 3.0.5 is the newest version.
Linksys ought to provide a binary image of the firmware for download on their web site, but I don't see it. The Windows GUI application that Linksys ships on CD with the PLE200--it has a mechanism for programming a new firmware image into a PLE200, but I've never used it and am not certain it is able to perform the 1.4.5-to-later upgrade even if it were given the appropriate binary image.
Being an engineer who is doing development work in the HomePlug-AV space, I have the means to do the upgrade, but it requires my using some software that is not available to the general public. To the general public who already own PLE200's, I would suggest pestering either Linksys or the chipset manufacturer about the firmware. To everyone else--maybe you can find a HomePlug-AV adapter under a different brand name that comes with firmware version 2.0 or later pre-installed.
(5 out of 5)They're not junk
Not sure what may have caused Mark's problem, but I own 2 of these units already and they work perfectly for me. In fact, I'm thinking of purchasing 2 more. If you're considering other powerline adapters similar to these, make sure you pay attention to the data rates. Some of the other popular powerline adapters don't provide the data rate that these units have - up to 100Mbps.
There's no configuration required at all. Just plug one in to an outlet close to your router and another one in to an outlet anywhere you need another network connection, connect the Ethernet cables, and you're in business. I definitely recommend them.
This listing is for the PLE200, which is a single unit. This is what you might need if you are expanding your existing powerline network. If you're just starting out with powerline adapters, you'll need at least 2 adapters. So you might consider the PLK200, which is a kit containing 2 units.
(4 out of 5)They're great, however ...
These adapters work great, but the Linksys setup could save many hours of frustration and tech calls to your ISP and to Linksys if they gave more information to those who need one adapter hooked up to their modem/router. [The instructions gave no specific steps for this.]
#1..The first adapter must be configured on a PC that's attached to the modem/router you plan to use with it. [This may sound obvious, but my home network only had Macs directly hooked to the router, and the PC I was connecting was previously wireless downstairs at the very far end of the house. You can't configure the first adapter attached to the PC alone, then hook it back to router, like I tried to do.] Now you can configure it's twin where you want. However ...
#2..It makes a difference which outlet in your house you plug the second adapter into. My adapter was originally plugged into the farthest plug away from the modem/router, and the internet connection was very poor. Simply moving it to another outlet helped a lot.
(5 out of 5)Easy Set-up
For someone who is technologically challenged, the set-up was extremely simple. The whole process took less than 10 minutes. I purchased it in order to get Direct TV on demand and it works perfectly. Great product.
(1 out of 5)JUNK!
DO NOT BUY! These things constantly lose signal, never got them working for any amount of time reliably. Finally abandoned them and went to hard wired network. Need to get my money back!