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Forum Discussion
eek-a-mouse
Aug 13, 2018Aspirant
Powerline 500 won't connect to network
Hi all, wonder if someone may be able to help where Virgin Media cannot.
I have a Powerline 500 (purchased thru Virgin Media) but it can't be seen on the Super hub 3.0 network.
Lights on ...
michaelkenward
Aug 14, 2018Guru - Experienced User
eek-a-mouse wrote:
.... apart from the house plug which doesn't light up.
The "house plug" is the "Pick A Plug" LED. This is a sign that there is no connection between the plugs over the mains network. Nothing will work until you fix that.
The best way to set up powerline plugs is with them near to each other. This will confirm that they are working.
When you know that is happening you can just move the plugs to where you want them. If the Pick A Plug LED does not light up, then there is a problem on the mains network, perhaps a separate mains loop that is isolated from the one where the "source plug" is connected.
The Ethernet LED will not come on unless you have a device connected to the LAN port.
Unless you want to test the wired LAN, as your aim is to get the wifi up and running, you can ignore the Ethernet LED for the time being.
The Netgear genie – the desktop Windows app – should show your Powerline device on the Ethernet network, if it is working. One nice feature of the latest genie (2.4.54) is that you can click the plug and get it to show you, and click, the IP address. This will take you to the control interface for the device where you can change the SSID and wifi passwords.
eek-a-mouse
Aug 16, 2018Aspirant
Thanks.
You're correct in that it's the Pick A Plug light that's not lighting up.
This is a new issue, all lights used to be on and displaying as expected.
Nevertheless, I currently have both plugs plugged into the mains in the same room.
I even swapped the socket the wired plug was connected (directly into the wall).
When the router rebooted, I tried to reconnect from scratch by pushing the security button on the side of the wireless adapter until the lights blinked, then hit the wps button on the router to try and get a connection. No luck.
The Pick A Plug lights no longer come on.
As you say, without that, I'll never be able to get any further.
I'm not an electrician, but those same mains sockets successfully power other devices, so i cant see how that's the prob. Altho, you did say something about a loop, but I don't know what that is or how to address it.
As I mentioned, this pick a plug issue is new. :/
WiFi works as expected, generally. It's just the extender that's playing hard to get.
Cheers
- michaelkenwardAug 17, 2018Guru - Experienced User
Sounds like the plugs are bust.
But I don't get this bit:
eek-a-mouse wrote:
WiFi works as expected, generally. It's just the extender that's playing hard to get.
Is that wifi from the XWN5001? If so, that suggests that they are connected.
Have you run the Powerline utility to check if it can see the powerline network? Or look for the ZyXel alternative, which is a lot better.
Powerline wifi may also show up in the Netgear desktop genie.
There is support for the XWN5001 somewhere at the end of this link:
>>>> XWN5001 | Product | Support | NETGEAR<<<<
- eek-a-mouseAug 17, 2018Aspirant
All the lights except both Pick A Plugs are on, so power getting in.
WiFi straight from the router if fine - I'm not dependent on extender for this. Extender is to do just that, extend the range.
Cheers
- michaelkenwardAug 17, 2018Guru - Experienced User
eek-a-mouse wrote:
All the lights except both Pick A Plugs are on, so power getting in.
Sounds like the plugs are bust.There is no mains link between them.