Hi there, couldn't fit any more into topic title, but I also have questions about PS remote play and double adapters. I have a lot of questions really, sorry - but I will try to organize the topic as logically as possible.

Thank you VERY much in advance. I tried Reddit, but besides getting almost no answers, all I got was a lot of down votes. Some weird people there.

 

Ok here goes.

Currently I am running a Telstra Gen 2 modem with three Gen 3 boosters. I am on Aussie Broadband 1000/50 plan and I just moved to them from Telstra after 8 years.

I absolutely max my connection speed out over Wi-Fi quite regularly, hitting download speeds of up to 1.1 gb/s and uploads of about 44.

 

I understand powerline will never be as fast, but bear with me, as I have some specific use case scenarios.

 

I have an Xbox Series X, a Sony PS5, and an MSI GT77 gaming laptop. The specs of the latter are win 11 pro 23H2/64GB DDR5 Ram/13980HX processor/Nvidia 4090m GPU/2x2TB Gen 4 Samsung SSD/Intel 1690i Wi-Fi 6E adapter.

 

The laptop and Xbox happily automatically connect to the strongest Wi-Fi signal, i.e. a Gen 3 booster, but the PS5 always connects to the main modem at the other end of the house rather than the booster just 3 feet away from it. I can't find a way to force it to connect to the booster. Therefore, my upload and download speeds are poor, as upload is only around 10mbps at most with how far away the console is to the main router. And this is killing my remote play streaming performance entirely.

 

This house was built on solid slab in 2015, and unfortunately the builder did not deem it important to add any networking capability. Not a single Ethernet port, and even for NBN to find a way to connect the NBN connection box was a nightmare for them. A sparky did manage to add one Ethernetport to the master bedroom upstairs, which is not my room and I normally don't have access to it. He was unable to add them to the game room or my bedroom (both also upstairs) and said it would involve work that would make the house look like a disaster zone, a LOT of money and mess and something I am not willing to entertain.

 

Even with a great Wi-Fi setup, at the best of times, upload and download latency is varying all over the place between 10 to 80ms.

So, Aussie Broadband recommended the AV2000 TP Link powerline adapter.

 

1)  The first TP Link unit HAS to go into the power socket where the router is, for obvious reasons, which is in the downstairs cupboard, and the power point is too low and it is impossible to plug in the AV2000. Well, I can plug it in and it is flush with the ground, so it is impossible to connect any kind of ethernet cable to it. Can't be done.

 

The TP Link also is so wide it takes up the socket to the right when plugged in. 

 

I had no choice but to use a double adapter. I used one of those angled sort of diamond shaped ones and I put the TP Link AV2000 in the top plug. The double adapter is NOT surge protected as I know these interfere.

That means I had to also add a power board to now plug in the Router, GrandStream HT812 voip box, Landline Phone base and NBN connection box.

Again I bought a basic non surge protected power board and plugged that into the second port of the double adapter, rather than into the through port of the TP Link. Remember, I have no choice here, because of the way NBN connected everything in this small space in the cupboard.. I can't be running wires all across the entrance hall of the house into a cupboard.

 

2) The thing is, I get a stable 250 download and 49 upload on the laptop upstairs when using the Powerline adapter, even plugged into this double adapter as it is.

And the latency is rock solid. It's 17ms download and upload, ping was 6ms, but the real time download and upload latency doesn't fluctuate. AT ALL. And it absolutely maxed out my upload speed, which is important for remote play. I therefore presume the wiring in the house is up to standard.

 

3) The one and only answer I did get on Reddit told me that that kind of performance is Powerline gold and I will never get better and to not go mucking around with it. I'd rather hear from someone here - Do you think my connection is compromised due to the double adapter, and that I'd get better performance plugged straight into the wall?

See, I can't physically test this, because the plug simply won't fit! So I am asking if TP Link still recommends me having a direct wall plugin, and if so I will get the electrician to come and add another power point a foot higher up over the current one, so I can plug it straight in. He can't come till January 2024 though. Doing this will then leave the original power point for all the other NBN goodies.

If the Reddit guy is right and by doing that I might actually make things worse, well, OK! I will listen! Thoughts?

 

4)TP Link, that is a huge design flaw not offering a single top or side mounted Ethernet port and I think you should fix this in future products. Options never hurt anyone and here is a perfect example why. I am even considering returning it and getting the smaller D-Link 1000 model, which will fit just right, but then I worry I will lose speed vs the AV2000.

 

5) I believe that online gaming with such stable latency and remote streaming will be far better off with a wired Ethernet connection into the powerline adapter, rather than over Wi-Fi. When it comes time to actually download a large game, I can simply switch over to Wi-Fi, and then go back to the powerline Ethernet when I am remote streaming or playing online.

But there's only 2 adapters in the kit. So:

 

6) Do I have to buy another 2 just to add one more adapter so I can also have a wired connection for the laptop? Let me explain... If I put  a powerline destination adapter in the games room where the PS5 is, and then I connect with my laptop over WI-Fi to the Telstra router/booster setup, it will be a different network and won't work optimally. By connecting both the laptop and PS5 to the same powerline network, it would optimize my chances of even better performance. But that would mean running a cable across upstairs again from the games room to my bedroom, so my solution is to add another powerline adapter to my bedroom where the laptop is, so I can easily plug the laptop into Ethernet that way.

 

7) Can I mix and match powerline adapter models?

 

8) This is one of the most important questions to me. Is a powerline AV600 or say AV1300, for example, going to give me the same speeds using the exact same wall outlets as the AV2000 gives me? I ask this because since the AV2000 is not even close to saturating my NBN connection's speed capabilities as it is, shouldn't the lower models perform exactly the same and give me the same 250 mb/s? Or is it relative, and you lose performance with each lower tier product? Just that you have smaller adapters that would fit the mains plug, but I am not interested in even trying them if they won't give me the same speed.

 

9) Why not make something in your flasghip 2000 mbps product with both Wi-Fi and ethernet? That way one could connect, for example, the PS5 via a wired connection and connect the laptop over the powerline Wi-Fi and they'd be on the same network! no need for more cables and adding a third powerline adapter.

 

That's basically it, that covers everything I am really dying to know the answers to!

 

Thanks again, so much. I really hope I can get some help on this by the end of the weekend as on Monday morning I'd be shipping the AV2000 back to Ebay and trying to find a smaller alternative.

 

PS.... I just thought as I was about to press post.. I'll see if I have a really long Ethernet cable somewhere, and maybe it will be worth trying the powerline adapter plugged directly into the wall in a different socket downstairs (as the others have enough clearance, it's just the one near the router that is placed too low, go figure), and send the cable across the hallway to the modem inside the cupboard to at least see if a direct wall connection will give me better speeds and latency than plugged into a double adapter. This thing with the double adapter obviously is really concerning me as i am worried I am leaving performance on the table. Just for testing purposes, not a permanent solution as it would look ridiculous. I need the main powerline adapter neatly organized where the router is if I am going to continue using it.

 

PPS, I checked, I don't have a long Ethernet cable. So it really is completely impossible for me to test the AV2000 plugged directly into the socket at this stage. Sigh.