what happened to this piece of **bleep**

When you add new powerline devices to an existing powerline network, you have to introduce the new plugs to the old ones. You don't say if you have done this. I have seen a steady stream of reports here of problems caused by not doing that.

Here is Netgear's advice on how to go about it:

Adding a powerline adapter to an existing powerline network

I found it easier to set up the new plugs nearby the existing router (host) plug, and then moving them to where I wanted them. They will remember which plugs they are supposed to talk to.