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prd34's avatar
prd34
Follower
Dec 09, 2017

Is the XAVB5201 500 Powerline Adapter compatible with the XAV5201 Powerline Adapter?

Is the XAVB5201 500 Powerline adapter compatible with the XAV5201 500 Powerline adapter? I have two XAV5201 Powerline adapters and went to Best Buy to purchase another one. They only had the 1000 and the 12000 Powerlines and I was told that they were not compatible. Hence, I looked online and one can no longer purchase the XAV5201. However, the XAVB5201's are available. Thanks! Regards!

1 Reply

  • michaelkenward's avatar
    michaelkenward
    Guru - Experienced User

    prd34 wrote:

    They only had the 1000 and the 12000 Powerlines and I was told that they were not compatible.

     


    That's wrong.

     

    Most recent Powerline devices follow the AV standard, which means that you can mix different makes and different generations. The only issue if that if you add "1000" plugs to a network with "500" plugs they will talk to each other at the speed of the slowest plugs on the network.

     

    When you do add plugs to an existing network, you should follow these instructions:

     

    Powerline Networking | Powerline Ethernet | NETGEAR

     

    Remember, you need only one "source" plug connected to the router.

     

    One other thing to consider, in theory you can mix brands but it isn't always easy to get set them up.