Using the PA511 Kit
Installing the management utility is simple – just make sure when you put in the CD that you select the correct piece of kit as TP-LINK have included drivers for their entire product range.
The management software is fairly basic – but it delivers everything you need. You can check on the status of the connection, set QoS, enable privacy, upgrade the firmware, and so on.
Upgrading the firmware is very simple as well.
Just download the correct firmware and use the powerline utility to perform the upgrade.
After the firmware upgrade I noticed a bump up in speed.
If you live in a flat, or in a shared house, you probably don’t want anyone else to be able to connect to and use your network. By default anyone with a powerline connector can plug in and use it, so that’s where the 128-bit AES encryption comes in.
Setting this up is very simple – there is a little button on the powerline plug, just press it and then you have two minutes to press the button on the corresponding plug or plugs to create the secure network. It worked first time for me and I was very happy.
Final Thoughts
For anyone who cannot use wireless in their home or office for any reason will find powerline adaptors to be a major blessing.
They are very easy to setup – just plug them into a wall socket and connect the Ethernet cables to them and away you go.
Creating a secure encrypted connected is very easy as well and just requires a push of a button.
For this review we had the starter kit, which includes two devices. You can also buy single devices if you want to increase the footprint of your network.
The kit is capable of delivering speeds up to 500Mbps. Unfortunately the best I could get out of it was around 120Mbps, however that was not the fault of the PA511. I tried some other powerline kit I had and I couldn’t get it around 40Mbps, so it really does depend on your electrical wiring situation where you want to use it. Also, make sure you plug them directly into a wall socket and not into a plug extender.
The retail price for the starter kit is around £95, but as always look around. Amazon are currently selling the kit for £51.
So if you need to extend your network, and you want simple, easy to set up, secure devices that offer very high speed, then look no further than the AV500 Gigabit Powerline Adaptor Starter Kit from TP-LINK. Good job guys!
