@MarcH 

The P7s essentially have three ways for a backhaul: wirless, wired, and powerline.

What the system will do is choose the fastest route it has at that time so if the powerline connection is weak, wireless is what will be used.

You can see the signal source by opening your Deco app, tap on the internet icon (globe), then tap on one of the remote Deco units. In the middle to the right you will see what means that Deco is using to receive a connection or what backhaul it is using.

With a powerline connection it really is a matter of trying differnet outlet plugs to see which is the better connection, and in doing so, look at the power adapter plug that goes into the outlet. There is a little LED light. If the LED light is green, then that means your speed is greater then 50 Mbps. If the LED is red, it means the connection is less then 50 Mbps.

@Tony Thanks for the reply.  

Here's what I'm seeing: 

Main Deco (top floor):  Plug LED Green / Download speed 209Mbps (basically what I get thru ISP)

Second Deco (main floor):  Plug LED Green / Signal Source Wireless (2/3 bars) / Download speed 69Mbps  (and is below 50Mbps regularly)

Third Deco (basement):  Plug LED Green / Signal Source Wireless (2/3 bars) / Download speed 47 Mbps  (and has been as low as 20Mbps w/o using Powerline backhaul)

I've moved the units around a bit and in NO situation has the powerline backhaul been used.  It's as if I have units that are missing that capability.  What else should I try? 

@Tony 

Just did another test - moved all Decos into the same breaker circuit, plugged into three different outlets in a large room.  

Main Deco:  204 Mbps download

Second Deco (15 ft away) / on same circuit / signal source Wireless / 166 Mbps download

Third Deco (29 ft away) / on same circuit / signal source Wireless / 134 Mbps download

I don't think powerline backhaul works on these units, under any conditions!

I did run a test with an ethernet patch cable and wired backhaul does work.  However, this is not an option for my home.  

What else should I try, before returning the product?

@lukaszstrz 

Yes, I am interested to see if we get support for this issue. But I agree, the decos behave as if we purchased the M5 unit.  

@MarcH Same issue here. The whole point why I bought the P7 was that my exisiting mesh system had issues due to walls/ceilings. Doesnt seem to go on powerline ever. 

@Tony 

Based on this thread there are at least four new P7 purchasers with the same negative experience - powerline backhaul not functioning as advertised (correction, not functioning at all).  

I know this product is relatively new to the US.  Is there ANYONE using the product in this country who can share a successful use case for powerline backhaul on the P7?

Here is the information I was able to gather so far.

Currently the Deco app will not indicate if a powerline function is established. In a future firmware release that feature will be added. I have already inquired if there happens to be a ETA when that would be. Please note that there is currently a national holiday happening in China so as soon as I get new information I will be sure to update this matter.

@Tony Thanks.

But please understand the issue is bigger than just the app informing the user if PowerLine is active. This would be a nice feature but it seems as if this little green LED is already  telling us it is active. So that would not be a problem unless the company/support team is wrong about what the green LED actually means.

The bigger issue is that according to this little green LED we should have a 50 Mbps backhaul (at a minimum), yet with a +200 Mbps internet connection to the Main Deco and full device link speed of +800 Mbps to a slave Deco the only internet speed the device is seeing in these cases is < 50 Mbps. For example mine are 15-20 Mbps speeds. It seems like a PowerLine issue even if the green LED says it’s all fine. The very slow speed is the issue you need to bring to their attention. Thanks.