Troubleshooting NETGEAR's Powerline Products Powerline products work better when plugged into the wall without power strips, extension cords, surge protectors, or interruptible power supplies. Passwords. Powerline products have both a network password, and a device password. A particular device's password, which is not changeable, is printed on the Powerline product label. Once you have collected all your Powerline device passwords, use the encryption dialog box, as described on pages 9 and 12 of the XE102 User's Guide, to change the network password. (Without password protection, it is possible, although unlikely, for someone very nearby to access your network.) If you changed the default network password, make sure that all the Powerline products use the same network password. If you've moved a Powerline unit, or disconnected the cables, your other network devices may need about 5 minutes to refresh their information about the Powerline's current status. If you have earlier Powerline products, switch to the encryption used by later products. (Early versions of XA601 and XE602 are known to have compatibility problems with newer models.) To test whether a house's electrical wiring is contributing to Powerline problems, plug units in the same room. Examples of potential problems are: Old fuse boxes. Old wiring that does not meet modern wiring building codes. Interference may be caused by a Major draw of Electrical power through the circuit, or the wiring may not be up to code, The following major appliances may cause Interference: Refrigerator Freezer or Microwave Air Conditioning system Power equipment or other house equipment that draws a large amount of power like: Hair Dryer Air Compressor The above devices use a large amount of power, combined with the Television, and other A/V Equipment that may be plugged in will contribute to this interference. An outlet tester will help you identify problems such as bad grounds, reversed wires or bad connections - all of which you should avoid, of course. In fact, if you do encounter any of these problems, you should bring in a certified electrician to make the needed repairs. Swap devices to isolate the problem to a particular Powerline unit. Reset the Powerline adapters to the default settings using the utility. Use all the same Powerline models for best connectivity. Also, software for one model may not work for another model. In particular, remote and advanced features may not work between Powerline manufacturers. Powerline is not directed at businesses, however it may work in a business environment, anyhow. See Assessing Powerline for Business Environments. In some cases noise can be limited by placing line conditioners or surge protectors between the source of the noise, and the Powerline units. (Not between the units.) Consult a professional electrician to evaluate your electricity's noise and to suggest remedies.

Orbital wrote:To test whether a house's electrical wiring is contributing to Powerline problems, plug units in the same room. Examples of potential problems are: Old fuse boxes. Old wiring that does not meet modern wiring building codes.Mmmmm - outlets in any given room may or may not be on the same circuit, and if they are on different circuits this would invalidate this particular test.I would suggest connecting the devices to the same outlet using a couple of extension cords or power strips - you need your basic multiple outlet extension cord here - no fancy surge suppressors with noise filters.By the way - this list completely neglects the effects of interference from appliances and also the fact that it is entirely possible for the noisy appliance to be in a neighbouring residence.

I updated it with *Major draw of Electrical power through the circuit* I didn't have a lot of time to edit this, and it was something I found at NETGEAR's Knowledge base: here I'm not an Electrician or anything, but I read somewhere that the XE102 can pass-though up to 4 phases.

"Reset the Powerline adapters to the default settings using the utility."This is a rather useless piece of advice: what "utility" and where is it hidden?can any one help?thanksom

omuise wrote:"Reset the Powerline adapters to the default settings using the utility."This is a rather useless piece of advice: what "utility" and where is it hidden?Look on the CD that came with your Powerline adapter, on there you will find a program that allows you to set the encryption - this is the "utility".Better than the CD though is to download the latest version from the Netgear website. BTW whatever Netgear Powerline product you are using if you are running Vista you need version v1.0.1.0 or later (you'll find that under XEPS103).

HDX101 - the product information states:This would lead me to believe that the circuits contained in every US house would not be a problem. From talking to Tech Support, this product will not work across ANY circuit breaker. True or not? Is Netgear just conveniently withholding this information?

Orbital

Aspirant

Dec 13, 2007

Troubleshooting NETGEAR's Powerline Products

Troubleshooting NETGEAR's Powerline Products

Powerline products work better when plugged into the wall without power strips, extension cords, surge protectors, or interruptible power supplies.
Passwords. Powerline products have both a network password, and a device password. A particular device's password, which is not changeable, is printed on the Powerline product label. Once you have collected all your Powerline device passwords, use the encryption dialog box, as described on pages 9 and 12 of the XE102 User's Guide, to change the network password. (Without password protection, it is possible, although unlikely, for someone very nearby to access your network.)
If you changed the default network password, make sure that all the Powerline products use the same network password.
If you've moved a Powerline unit, or disconnected the cables, your other network devices may need about 5 minutes to refresh their information about the Powerline's current status.
If you have earlier Powerline products, switch to the encryption used by later products. (Early versions of XA601 and XE602 are known to have compatibility problems with newer models.)
To test whether a house's electrical wiring is contributing to Powerline problems, plug units in the same room. Examples of potential problems are: Old fuse boxes. Old wiring that does not meet modern wiring building codes.
Interference may be caused by a Major draw of Electrical power through the circuit, or the wiring may not be up to code, The following major appliances may cause Interference: Refrigerator Freezer or Microwave Air Conditioning system Power equipment or other house equipment that draws a large amount of power like: Hair Dryer Air Compressor The above devices use a large amount of power, combined with the Television, and other A/V Equipment that may be plugged in will contribute to this interference.
An outlet tester will help you identify problems such as bad grounds, reversed wires or bad connections - all of which you should avoid, of course. In fact, if you do encounter any of these problems, you should bring in a certified electrician to make the needed repairs.
Swap devices to isolate the problem to a particular Powerline unit.
Reset the Powerline adapters to the default settings using the utility.
Use all the same Powerline models for best connectivity. Also, software for one model may not work for another model. In particular, remote and advanced features may not work between Powerline manufacturers.
Powerline is not directed at businesses, however it may work in a business environment, anyhow. See Assessing Powerline for Business Environments. In some cases noise can be limited by placing line conditioners or surge protectors between the source of the noise, and the Powerline units. (Not between the units.) Consult a professional electrician to evaluate your electricity's noise and to suggest remedies.

Troubleshooting

53 Replies

ahermens
Aspirant
Apr 08, 2010
btw I am also going through the steps of elimination...one question to the esteemed experts...will setting up a password in anyway limit interference experienced by the powerline devices?

p.s. as with alpha1, my devices have been working fine previously for the last 6 months...thxs.
veritas01
Aspirant
Oct 18, 2010
I have a Netgear XAV2001 network with 4 units. One unit is connected to my router the others are in various rooms around the house and they are connected to desktop computers. I installed the Netgear Powerline Utility on each of the desktops. When I run the utility on each one I get a different MBPS reading for each device on each version of the Utility on the Device Settings tab. One computer shows everything red (under 50 mbps) another shows everything yellow...and another shows everything green. I like the last one but which one is the right one?

Also there seems to be a lot of fluctuation on the network. I got these units for more stability than a wireless network but instead it varies just as much. When I refresh the utility I almost always get a different reading from the previous readings. Sometimes very little. Sometimes significantly.

trodder

Aspirant

Oct 18, 2010

fordem wrote:
As a general rule - they do.

However - depending on the wiring in your home, and maybe those of your neighbours - yours might not.

Question - what do you mean by "on one node of the breaker"?

By the way - I saw your other post - have you had some sort on power quality survey done to know that noise is the cause of your problem or are you just jumping to that conclusion?

fordem wrote:
As a general rule - they do. However - depending on the wiring in your home, and maybe those of your neighbours - yours might not. Question - what do you mean by "on one node of the breaker"? By the way - I saw your other post - have you had some sort on power quality survey done to know that noise is the cause of your problem or are you just jumping to that conclusion?

what does that mean depending on the wiring in your home? It should be a simple they will or they won't. All homes should be wired the "same way" the will simply have different combination of rooms or whatever on each circuit.

dzjepp
Novice
Dec 01, 2010
Hello,

First I apologize if this has been asked before. I recently purchased the XAVB2001-100NAS bundle from Amazon (comes with 2 XAV2001 adapters). I plugged one upstairs (one story home) into the AT&T router that comes with Uverse. The other adapter I plugged in the basement to use with the Roku box, it's not plugged into a power strip. It worked flawlessly for about 2 days. Now one of the adapters (the one plugged into the Roku) goes into sleep mode. Even though the ethernet is plugged in and I am using it online.

I tried changing the adapters and still the same thing happened. One seems to turn off completely. I have read about the documented "sleep mode" that shuts the adapter down when there is no ethernet activity. But this should not be happening since I am trying to stream stuff on Roku, and it just shuts down.

Perhaps I have faulty adapters? Can I return them to netgear for a replacement?

Thank you for your help
gjdlemos
Aspirant
Jan 05, 2011
Is there a reason why the connection between the XAVN2001 extender and the XAV2001 adapter should suddenly fail after apparently normal operation?

And what should one do to restore the con:confused:nection? The ever helpful installation instructions just tell to "ensure" they're connected without telling you what to do if they're not.
w1r3d
Aspirant
Jan 06, 2011
Hi, I'm having troubles with one of my two XEPS 103. Mentioned this already six weeks ago in this thread: http://forum1.netgear.com/showpost.php?p=295134&postcount=1 but got no answer so far. Essentially, both worked fine until August. Then, one was pulled out from the basement socket it was in and put to rest for a couple of months. Wanting to put it back into operation it does not work any longer. Could it be that the long rest sortof reset the passwords or something like it?
pfisher
Aspirant
Jan 18, 2011
Does anyone have any experience using the XE104 ethernet switch? After I connect it to the router, the blue (homeplug) and green (lan) just blink together on/off. It never makes a connection.

What am I missing?
kheki
Aspirant
Jan 25, 2011
Sorry I am utterly lost in this forum. Please redirect me.

I am looking for a better way to operate my LENCO internet radio on WiFi. The old router was unreliable. Connection broke down frequently.

Today (25.01.2011) I got a new "Wireless-G 54 ADSL2 + Modemrouter DG834GB" installed by a professional service person from my computer store. But still the LENCO internet radio is buffering to often on WiFi.
fordem
Mentor
Jan 25, 2011
Can the Lenko connect via cable?
Does it work properly on cable?
Have you contacted Lenco tech support?
caribconsult
Aspirant
Jan 26, 2011
A little explanation of house wiring: Your service comes in as 220v via a ground and two 110 legs (or nodes, if you wish). Each of these legs goes to one of two common busses in your breaker box, and a single 110v breaker goes across one or the other of these busses. So any particular circuit in your house can be routed to either of these two legs. With me? OK, now for most newer houses, it doesn't matter which of the two legs your gear is on, the EOP devices should connect. IF THEY DON'T, it could be due to the power company's transformer outside your house, and you can't do anything about it, but what you can do is go to RadioShack and buy a .1mfd 400v capacitor and 'bridge' the two 110 legs with this capacitor. Be careful here, use some shrinkwrap insulation on the capacitor wiring, and turn the power off at the meter box before you do any of this. This will enable the EOP devices to communicate across the two legs.

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Troubleshooting NETGEAR's Powerline Products