Powerline or wifi: when do you choose internet over the mains?

How powerline works

A powerline set has at least two adapters. You plug the first into a socket near your router and connect it with a network cable. You plug the second into a socket in the room where you need internet. The network signal travels over the electrical wiring from one adapter to the other. There you connect a device by cable, or the adapter broadcasts wifi itself.

So you don't have to pull a cable through walls or floors. The downside: electrical wiring is not made for network traffic, so the speed depends on the wiring in your home and on what else is on the circuit.

When powerline, when wifi?

Choose wifi (a repeater or mesh system) when the distance is mostly open space with few thick walls or concrete floors in between. A mesh system then gives you one network throughout the house.

Choose powerline when the wifi signal doesn't get through walls or floors well, or when the spot is far from the router: an attic room, an office in the extension, a garage attached to the house. For a device that wants a wired connection, such as a TV, a games console or a desktop PC, an adapter with a network port is also a good fit.

If you can run a network cable, you don't depend on the wiring or on walls and floors. Which network cable do I need? shows which cable you need. What cabling does for a mesh system is in the guide Repeater, mesh or access point.

With or without wifi

There are two kinds of adapter:

• Network port only (LAN): the adapter has one or more network ports for a cable to your device. Examples are the TP-Link TL-PA7017P KIT, the devolo Magic 2 LAN triple Starter Kit with three ports and the FRITZ!Powerline 1220.
• With wifi: the remote adapter also broadcasts wifi, like the TP-Link TL-WPA7617 KIT, the devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 next Starter Kit and the FRITZ! 1240 AX WLAN Set. That brings wifi to a spot the router doesn't reach.

There are also mesh systems with powerline built in. The TP-Link Deco PX10 and the Deco P9 combine both: the units link to each other over the wiring and over wifi, and together form one wifi network.

Power strip or wall socket

All three makers say much the same: plug the adapter into a wall socket. TP-Link writes that power strips can filter high-frequency signals and so lower the speed. devolo writes that a switch or surge protection in a power strip can cost performance. devolo's advice is to use an adapter with its own socket and plug the power strip into that. AVM's manual says not to plug the adapter into an extension cord or power strip if at all possible, but straight into a wall socket.

That is why many adapters have a pass-through socket, shown by a P in the model name at TP-Link, such as the TL-PA7017P and the TL-PA4010P. Then you don't lose a socket.

Expanding and different circuits

A set starts with a starter kit of two adapters. Later you can add single adapters, often sold as an "extension", such as the devolo Magic 2 LAN triple extension or the FRITZ! 1220E extension. Choose an extension from the same series as your starter kit; adapters of different generations or brands don't always work together. Your set's manual says which adapters fit.

On circuits in the fuse box, devolo says its products also work across different circuits and phases without extra measures. Here too, the wiring decides the speed.

NL or BE: mind the plug

Many adapters come in a Dutch and a Belgian version, and the name says which, such as the devolo Magic 1 LAN extension BE next to the NL models. The Netherlands uses sockets with side earth contacts, Belgium sockets with an earth pin. Because the adapter goes straight into the wall, choose the version for your country. All sets are under powerline adapters.