TP-LinkTL-PA717 KIT 1-Port Gigabit Powerline Starter Kit, Data Transfer Speed Up to 1000 Mbps, Ideal for HD/3D/4K Video Streaming and Online Gaming(for Wired Only), No Configuration Required

Unbelievably simple to set up and has made a world of difference to the speed and reliability of the Internet connection in the garden office.

I purchased both a TL-WPA4220KIT and TL-PA4010KIT as part of the same home WiFi solution. As such, I have given the same review for both purchases.We have a long thin Victorian house with a BT HomeHub-5 in the front lounge. We have a ‘copper’ connection to the BT exchange as fibre is not available in our area of London yet. That said, we usually get a reasonable 9-10Mbps connection. Our problem is that we cannot get usable WiFi coverage in the kitchen at the rear of the house.We initially tried to use WiFi signal extenders but these proved slow and unreliable. So, about 3 years ago I purchased an AV500 PowerLine solution from SAGEMCOM. This included a PowerLine WiFi extender in the kitchen. This proved to be adequate though we did need to reset all of the adapters about once a month when things ‘locked up’. Then, a month ago, the WiFi adapter in the kitchen handed in its cards and died.Thinking I would try for a higher-tech solution I purchased a WiFi Mesh solution on Amazon. However, this proved to be a complete disaster being slow and totally unreliable. I suspect this was due to the requirement for overlapping WiFi signals between the nodes.So, it was back to the drawing board and I returned to the tried and tested PowerLine solution. I chose these AV600 kits as I have always liked TP-Link products and found them dependable and reliable. As such, in total, we have 3 x TL-PA4010 mini PowerLine adapters and a TL-WPA4220 WiFi extender (in the kitchen). One of the mini adapters in located in the lounge and is connected with a LAN cable to the BT router. The other 2 adapters are in the bedroom. One is connected to a BT YouView box and the other to a Roberts Internet Radio (neither of which support WiFi). A secure network was made by connecting all 4 units in turn by use of the ‘pair’ buttons.All then burst into life and worked fine. The WiFi extender was using its factory SSID and password. I successfully tried changing this by logging onto its admin screens using a browser (you will need to know its IP address to do this – I picked it up from the BT Hub setup menus). Then, I used the ‘WPS’ method to clone the BT Hub SSID and password by, temporarily, moving the extender to the lounge and following the easy ‘quick setup’ guide. This worked a treat and everything has now worked without hiccup for over a month.I have had previous issues with cloned SSID’s - with mobile devices getting confused when connecting. However, thus far, we have not had any problems and devices switch between the BT router and TP-Link extender (as we move around the house) without issues. That was a pleasant surprise!I did get the tpPLC android app for my mobile and its quite informative. It has a poor rating in the Google Play Store but this is IMHO, unjustified. It has no whistles and bells or astounding graphics but it does a job simply and well. I can see the status of all adapters and the speed of communication between each one. I seem to be getting a respectable 380-450 Mbps between each device except when they are idling and the communication rate drops to, I presume, a default 11 Mbps. The app also allows you to rename the devices (which may be useful for any future trouble shooting) and it can used (apparently) for firmware upgrades. Alas, it cannot be used to restart devices (it only allows a factory reset). Nor, can it be used for changing the settings (SSID ID etc) on the extender – this can only be achieved by ‘browser’ access.So, we are pleased. This solution is (thus far) reliable and is reasonably priced. It is also easy to set up (though my prior experience in this area helped) and it’s a step up from our old SAGEMCOM PowerLine solution. Had BT supplied us with a higher speed ‘fibre’ internet connection, I would have gone for say, an AV1200 setup with dual band WiFi. As it is, this meets our needs. Also, if you have a shortage of mains outlets in your house, you may want to opt for more expensive ‘mains pass-through’ adapters.NOTE. I see there are a number of debates on Amazon regarding the reliability of PowerLine solutions.ie. Some people are extremely happy while others have persistent problems.This is not peculiar to TP-Link products.Based on my experience, I would suspect that performance is directly related to the state of the house mains wiring. Our house has recently been rewired which not only improves (and reduces the number of) connections, but potentially shortens cable runs too. As such, unfortunately, a PowerLine solution may not be ideal for everyone - particularly in some older houses with extensions and complications added over the years. You may need to 'suck it and see' to decide if it works for you.

Generally these are good but I'm on my second set of replacements as they just seem to stop working over time (3-4 yrs) and this has happened twice now. Really easy to swap out and pair so it is what it is.

It was easy to set up. Not that far from router so can't really say anything about the range. It never drops and does a steady 80mbps. (For context, a 25m long cable was used temporarily and it stayed at a steady 100mbps but the wire went all over the house) Didn't get a WiFi version so can't comment about that. No compatibility problems at all and as said earlier, easy to set up and it just works. Overall, there was a small drop in speed but it was a great solution to having a lack of connectivity and was easy to set up with no issues.

Works great. Quick and easy to set up and exactly what I needed to get faster data upstairs to my kit without running wiring everywhere.

Main router is giving out 600mbps download and upload. Plugged this thing next to it and the extender only gives 150mbps upload and download.Moved extender to where it needed to be. Barely scraping 100mbps download and upload but at least I'm within good WiFi range now.Does the job but is not worth the money if you truly care about high speeds. Would personally not recommend TP link to another customer.

Used between BT router & LG TV as TV as poor wi-fi connection. Easy to connect & works well.

The basic simplest 600Mbps TP-Link PA4010 Powerline kit works a treat; we didn’t need pass through sockets, nor extra WiFi, nor gigabit speeds, just enough bandwidth for a POE camera. Initially I plugged my quartet into adjacent sockets, let them synchronise with the pairing buttons, and then moved the distant ones to their new homes and it all just worked. So simple. Wonderful. Secure. And WiFi can be OFF.If one wishes to make the system more secure than the default, or to change the names or passwords on each unit, or to add more units into the power line, or to change the priority mapping, or to monitor QoS (Quality of Service) etc, then one can download a full pdf User Manual and a Management Utility that can run on the PC. This also allows one to upgrade the firmware etc in the devices when TP-Link produce updates.I wanted to connect an IP security camera on a garden shed to the network, but the wifi from the house was not good enough, too far away, and adding another Ethernet cable was going to be a nightmare. Hence this network extender to add to an existing pair.It matters that they are on the same ring main because the signal does not seem to pass at a high enough speed through the MCBs in the fuse box. So the initial units are using normal 13A sockets on the downstairs ring main and the last is on the spur in the shed, full speed, no problems even though the shed is about sixty feet of wire away.I've not noticed any interference on any other equipment, nor has anything else interfered with this net connection. It was supplied with some microscopic paper instructions, but these are not really necessary as the pairing by pressing the button simply just worked as expected. There are three LEDs on each unit; power, Powerline, Ethernet, and the steady on or off or blinking and colours are intuitive.Note that if a standard network switch is added to a distant Ethernet extender port then the power saving mode will not happen, because even if nothing is happening on the switch it will still be polled by the router and will keep the Powerline awake.