Review: tp-link tl

We are going to analyze one of the most complete solutions in terms of PLC's, the TP-Link TL-WPA4226KIT, a solid option for people who need to bring their internet connection and their wifi to the farthest areas of the house. It is a pair of AV500 plugs, both with 2 ethernet jacks, and one of them with 300mbps N 2 × 2 wifi.

Technical characteristics

HARDWARE FEATURES
Standards and protocols	HomePlug AV, IEEE802.3, IEEE802.3u, IEEE802.11b / g / n, IEEE1901
Interfaces	2 10 / 100Mbps Ethernet ports –TL-WPA4220 2 10 / 100Mbps Ethernet ports - TL-PA4020P
Plug Type	EU, UK
Buttons	Pair, Reset, Wi-Fi / Wi-Fi Clone
LED indicator	PWR, PLC, ETH, Wi-Fi / Wi-Fi Clone
Dimensions (WXDXH)	3.7 x 2.1 x 1.6 in. (94 x 54 x 40mm) 3.7 x 2.3 x 1.7 in. (95 x 58 x 42mm)
Power consumption	Maximum: 8.218W Standard Mode: 7.686W Standby mode: 4.63W
Scope	300 meters through the electrical circuit

SOFTWARE FEATURES
Modulation technology	OFDM (PLC)
Encryption	Powerline Security: 128-bit AES Wireless Security: WEP, WPA / WPA2, WPA-PSK / WPA2-PSK encryption

OTHERS
Certifications	CE, FCC, RoHS
Package content	1 TL-WPA4220 Powerline Adapter & 1 TL-PA4020P Powerline Adapter 2m Ethernet cable (RJ45) Resource CD Quick Installation Guide
System Requirements	Windows 8/7 / Vista / XP, Mac OS or Linux
Environmental factors	Operating temperature: 0 ℃ ~ 40 ℃ (32 ℉ ~ 104 ℉) Storage temperature: -40 ℃ ~ 70 ℃ (-40 ℉ ~ 158 ℉) Operating humidity: 10% ~ 90% non-condensing Storage humidity: 5% ~ 90% non-condensing

AV500 TP-Link TL-WPA4226KIT WiFi Powerline Extender Kit

Nothing surprises in the box, we see a photo of the devices and a first look at the specifications.

On the back we see the typical comparison with other models, an example of use, and some more information.

On the side we see the technical details, which we previously anticipated. According to the manufacturer, we have a range of up to 300m in the same phase. Of course it supports all types of security for our wireless network, from WEP to WPA2 (we highly recommend using the latter whenever possible). The ports are 10/100, which makes us sense a possible bottleneck, we will review it in performance tests.

Opening the box we find the important things first, while the accessories are at the bottom.

It is a really complete kit, in addition to the mandatory two ethernet cables, the quick installation guide and a disk with documentation are attached. The device does not need drivers of any kind, and the connection is completely transparent to the user. CAT5 cables, so we can use them in Gigabit Ethernet devices.

They are quite bulky plugs, although luckily with the first one we will keep the plug socket available.

One aspect that has caught our attention during the tests is that the Wifi PLC gets quite hot even in short periods of use, but it does not seem to affect stability at all, so we assume that they are normal working temperatures. In our most intense tests, we have seen up to 50ºC on the outside of the device. Unfortunately it is common in PLCs of this type.

As we anticipated, the installation is extremely simple, they are already paired as standard, so to start using them you just have to plug each one into a socket in our house, take an ethernet cable from the router to the first one, and the second one is already You can use it to take two other network outlets or using your wireless connection.

To configure the wifi to our liking, we can do it either from the URL indicated by TP-Link in its quick start guide, or by directly using the WPS button on the PLC and on our router to copy all the configuration in which it will do repeater. Unfortunately, although the latter is more comfortable, we do not recommend leaving the WPS function of our router activated for longer than is strictly necessary, since it has known vulnerabilities and can be a gateway for unwanted guests to our network, however good it may be. our password.

Test of performance

To measure the speed, we will use a real scenario, first with both PLCs connected in nearby rooms, this being the ideal use case, and then introducing the maximum possible distance between them and using sections of the installation regulated by different thermomagnetic devices.

Next, since it is a device that includes Wifi, we will test the combined performance of Wifi + PLC, to see what we can expect in real use. The wifi card used to do the tests is an intel AC-7260, in the case of the wired network the equipment is the same as the one we used in the review of the Asus RT-AC68U.

For comparison we will use some of the best PLCs of its time, a Devolo 200AVPlus kit, already discontinued, but which at the time was probably the best option, and also offers us better performance than many 500mbps PLCs from other manufacturers.

The graphics speaks for itself, the performance is really good, hovering around 100mbps in ideal conditions, leaving our Devolo far behind both in long and short distances. Wifi performance is clearly superior too, with the only exception in the upload test which doesn't seem like a convenient scenario for this particular kit. Equally, good performance and an obvious advantage.

However I have a strong impression that performance is limited by the use of Fast ethernet connectors (100mbps). It is not that it is a bad performance if what we want is to use these devices to take the internet to the other end of the house, but certainly something just to move files, and I have the feeling that these PLCs could give much higher data rates if they had included Gigabit Ethernet ports, and I don't think that the price of the device would have been excessively damaged.

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Other than that, the performance is very good, and they are a safe bet, and even more so coming from a company that has been in the PLC sector for a long time offering very complete solutions.

conclusion

We have before us a winning product in its segment, which fulfills its mission and is easy to configure. This TL-WPA4226KIT kit is really complete and flexible to cover the needs of any user with a large house or Wifi reception problems.

The stability is impeccable, and the ping is around 5ms in the most unfavorable conditions, so these PLCs are a very good option to play online in any case, and they will make the most of any connection up to around 50mbps. The 100mbps connections will also take advantage of them with enough solvency if the distance conditions are good and we are somewhat permissive with the losses when using Wifi.

However, the biggest downside comes when using it to transfer files on our network. A small snag that would have gone unnoticed by slower PLCs than these in this case slightly overshadows the bottom line: The use of Fast Ethernet ports (100mbps). In addition, since we have two network sockets in each device, the downside is double, since even between adjacent computers the maximum speed is limited, and we must add a Gigabit switch that, in case of having only two devices, would be unnecessary. We have 5-port switches for less than € 15, for example the TL-SG1005D model from the same TP-Link to connect nearby equipment, but also the bottleneck will be in the connection to the PLC that connects us to the rest of the network. If the theoretical values ​​are usually very optimistic, in this case, instead of 500mbps as we might think, our maximum is 100mbps.

For the rest, there is nothing to object to. The price is moderate, but it does not stop being cheaper than buying AC network equipment (which is usually a faster option than PLCs, although also much more expensive), even if we go to the lower ranges, it can be found at many Spanish shops over € 80.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ EASE OF INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION	- FAST ETHERNET PORTS (100MBPS) THAT PREVENT EVEN BETTER PERFORMANCE IN SHORT DISTANCES
+ VERY GOOD PERFORMANCE, BEYOND OUR EXPECTATIONS WITH MARGINS
+ IMPECCABLE STABILITY, SUITABLE FOR ONLINE GAMES

The professional review team awards him the gold medal

Short distance PLC performance

Long distance PLC performance

Wifi performance

Price

8.5 / 10

A really complete PLC kit, excellent option in its range