What do you do if you have terrible Wi-Fi coverage and no option to run Ethernet cabling throughout the home? One solution that could be recommended is using a few powerline adapters. They're actually extremely smart by using existing electrical wiring to provide channels for electrical signals to be sent and received. In essence, you're hard-wiring your home without drilling any holes.

Unfortunately, the technology has limitations and isn't reliable enough to replace Ethernet, but it can prove useful should powerline adapters be the option of last resort.

What are powerline adapters?

And how do they work?

Powerline adapters let you use existing electrical circuits to transmit network packets. All that's required is anavailable socket near your router or a network switch. Connect the two together using an Ethernet cable, and you're good to go. The second adapter goes to where you require power, which could be for anything, such as a console, PC, or some other device.

The two adapters modulate data onto the existing AC network, effectively using household electrical wiring as makeshift Ethernet cables. As a concept, it's incredibly smart. Using existing wiring that goes to all rooms in the house as one giant network. They're also fairly inexpensive, depending on the brand, features, and performance. Despite all the engineering and marketing, they suffer from limitations.

Electrical wiring wasn't designed for data

Just because electrical wiring inside your home can carry data signals, it doesn't mean this is necessarily a good idea. Ethernet cabling is specifically designed for high-speed data using twisted pairs and shielding to minimize electromagnetic interference (EMI) and signal degradation. Powerline adapters work slightly differently by sending data over unshielded wiring designed for power.

Although you can often find powerline adapters with advertised speeds of 1,200 Mbps and above, real-world experiences will differ greatly. It's not uncommon to see speeds of around 40% below the marketed speeds, sometimes lower. Speeds will vary depending on outlet distance, circuit layout, and interference. Interestingly, using appliances like a microwave can introduce noise on the circuit.

Powerline adapters can't compete with Ethernet

There's no competition

Even though something like TP-Link's AV2000 TL-PA9020P promotes speeds up to 2,000 Mbps (or 2 Gbps), the reality is you won't be able to beat the bandwidth offered with Cat5e cabling, let alone Cat6a and Cat8, especially over shorter distances. Then there's latency and interference, which are kept to a minimum compared to powerline adapters and electrical circuits.

When playing an online game or running a video call, this increased latency alone could cause issues with stuttering and reduced performance. Think of it like using a seriously weak wireless network where you have barely any signal, and you're attempting to stream a 4K movie through Netflix. It's just not going to work well, and that's what powerline adapters could provide at best.

But what these handy devices offer is a way to connect devices to the network without having to deal with messy cabling around the home or a weak wireless signal, and if you're lucky enough, they could work well enough.

They're great until they're not

If your Wi-Fi router is wired into one circuit and the room where you wish to use an outlet to connect the TV is on another, the powerline adapters won't be able to communicate. This is due to how the house is wired up. Signals may still eventually reach the second adapter, but you'd encounter severely reduced speeds at best and no signal at worst. Then there's the fact you'll need to use the outlet itself.

Power strips will likely have surge protection, and both can reduce signal quality. It's also important to consider the distance between the two adapters since the further apart they are, the weaker the connection. Then there's wiring quality. With other properties, the circuits may not be up to scratch to allow the two adapters to maximize throughput across the channel.

But they may be the only option

I've painted powerline adapters in quite a negative light, but they can be the last resort for getting devices online. Should you live inside a home like mine that has thick, solid walls, wireless networking may be problematic, and that's where powerline adapters can really change the game. Many devices also have weak Wi-Fi, including your desktop PC with no attached antennas.

Even if you can't use Ethernet all the way, two powerline adapters may provide better connectivity than Wi-Fi. There's no need to drill any holes. No wiring has to be hidden or pulled behind walls. A powerline adapter-based network can be created within a minute or two, as all you need to do is plug them in and hook up two Ethernet cables for a device and the router.

As well as being easy and better than bad Wi-Fi, this is also a good option for those who may be renting, where hard-wiring the house is simply not an option. Being plug-and-play ensures you likely won't encounter any problems. So long as your router and device have a free Ethernet port, you're good to go, as powerline adapters should work just fine.

So, are powerline adapters worth it?

As always, it depends

They can prove useful if you are affected by weaker wireless and have no easy way to solve it. It's also a good choice if you don't want Ethernet cabling dangling down from light fixtures and running up stairs, since there's no easy way to hide them. If you're using devices on the same circuit and don't mind issues relating to latency and bandwidth, powerline adapters can be a worthwhile band-aid.

Regardless of why you'd use one or not, Ethernet is the best choice for networking. Wireless is usually second, though if this hierarchy is disrupted, powerline adapters can quickly become quite the solution for a home networking problem. If you plan to use them, plug them directly into power outlets. Keep them on the same circuits. Minimize interference from other devices, and always ensure they're running the latest firmware.

Yes, on paper, powerline adapters aren't as good as solid wireless connections and Ethernet cables, but they're useful in specific scenarios, allowing for some devices to get online that would otherwise be unable to do so. I have a few at the ready, should we hit problems with the wireless network, and have even used them when we just moved in and didn't have everything set up just yet.