understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)

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understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)
understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)
2017-01-07 01:44:08
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ISP :

Hi,

I've set up the TL-WPA4230 kit and have been using it fine for a few months. I was blaming my slow speeds on my internet company but just noticed that it's actually the powerline setup. If I plug my laptop into the router directly I get 200Mbps on a speed test, but if I go to where my powerline is and plug it into that (ethernet connection with the same cable in both cases) I get 70-80Mbps only on a speed test.

I bought this package of Amazon and it was advertised as having up to 500Mbps connection speed, so I'm not very happy with that. I used the utility on the tp-link website to check the rate at which the two are paired, and it showed that the rate is 233 Mbps. When I went on support chat to ask about this I was told that the actual internet speed I would get is not the same as the 'connection speed' that they advertise and that the utility shows. The live support agent told me that the actual speed is usually 40% of the 'connection speed'. So when it shows that the two are paired at 233Mbps, I should only expect to get 40% of this in 'real life speed' which would put it at about 80Mbps.

Is this true? Can anyone shed some light on this for me? How come these units are being advertised as up to 500Mbps when the actual speed would only be a maximum of 40% of that?

Many thanks,
Nish
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Re:understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)
2017-01-09 18:22:52
Physical line speed can go up to 500 Mbit/s in perfect conditions. 233 Mbit/s in real life is reasonably good.

Now, as with any shared-media connection, payload throughput does not come near physical line speed. 40% is a pretty good estimate, so yes, if your 233 Mbit/s line gives you 80 Mbit/s actual data throughput, you're good.

Advertising ... well, it's advertising. Did your 450 Mbit/s WiFi router ever give you 450 Mbit/s data throughput?
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Re:understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)
2017-01-10 10:09:05
thanks for the reply Peter. I was having difficulty understanding the difference between payload throughput and physical line speed as the agent I was speaking to did not put it quite as clearly, but your explanation is helpful. So you seem to think that 233/500 and 80/233 are both reasonable for real life conditions. I guess I should just aim for units that have an advetised speed of ~5x what I'm looking for in real life then right? So for example the TL-WPA8640P KIT powerline, which has an advertised rate of 1200Mbps (using AV2) would serve me well since I can expect around 200-250Mbps of actual payload throughput right? (assuming the ratios carry over).

Just checking what you think before I get it since it's got a hefty £100 price tag (but there's no use paying for 200Mbps fibre if I only get 80 of that!)

Or I guess if I really want overkill I could go for the WPA8730 KIT that advertises 1750 Mbps..
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Re:understanding powerline speeds (getting 80Mbps with the TL-WPA4230PKIT)
2020-04-06 21:23:08

@nish81 hi I was just wondering if you brought the better power line and if it worked. I have the 500 mbps one in my garden log cabin and speeds are dreadful. My broadband speed at best is 50mbps because of where I live so losing so much speed is not good. I'm actually thinking about buying the 1200 one myself but trying to find out information first. Thsnks

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