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Forum Discussion
Would 200 Mbps Powerlines fail with 400 Mbps service?
When I started my 300 Mbps Xfinity Internet service last September, I connected my Mac via ethernet using relatively old Netgear 200 Mbps Powerline adapters I’d used for many years with another provi...
Put the 2x powerline devices on the same circuit (try the same room). Its rare for them to fail. Its usually interference that causes them to not connect. Maybe something went wrong or is going wrong while you were gone and is now injecting interference into the powerline system.
So try them in the same room and on the same power circuit to see if you can get them to connect.
If they do, its something in the home causing interference.
If they don't, try them 1 more time but in someone elses home.
- Thanks. I’ll try that.
Well, that was strange!
I tried the Powerlines in the same room, adjacent to the room where my desktop Mac is located, and they both got a solid green Powerline LED. That indicated my problem was the 120v wiring, and not the Powerline.
So I moved them to the room where the router is located. One in outlet #1 where it had been for years, and the other in a nearby outlet #2 in that room. But now they didn’t connect. I figured the problem might be with outlet #1, which I was using when the problem started. It was the standard 2-socket household unit, but I’d put a 6-outlet "tap" on it, because there’s some kind of vent fan for the water heater that must also plug in there.
I removed the "tap" and plugged the Powerline directly into that socket, and they connected. I thought, "there’s something wrong with the tap unit."
Next, I moved the other Powerline to my usual socket below my desktop Mac, and the Ethernet cable to the Mac. I went back to the router room and both Powerline LEDs were solid green. Yea! I just couldn’t use the tap unit.
Then, to activate the network, I plugged an Ethernet cable to the Powerline and proceeded to plug the other end into the back of the router. As soon as I did, the Powerline made a buzzing sound and a puff of smoke came out of it! Completely dead now.
It didn’t blow the 120v circuit, and the router seems fine. Really strange that connecting the Ethernet cable would short out something in the Powerline. I tried that cable with an old MacBook Pro plugged directly into the router, and it worked fine. I’d used that cable before with no problems, so I don’t think the cable blew out the Powerline.
Any idea what happened?
Thanks,
Russell
The dreaded "pffftttt" and smoke. Throw it. Something shorted inside. Whether it was related to the ethernet, something loose inside it, or something else, if it did that, don't use it. tough to know exactly what caused it but I'd check the outlets close.
The other one should be good if you do end up getting another set of powerline devices.
Yes, I tried the other Powerline in that same socket and it was just fine. I'll double check the socket as best I know how with a multimeter, but there's no indication of any problems with it. Other things plugged into it work just fine.
Thanks for your help,
Russell