Tp Link Av200 Powerline Adapter Manual

Tom's Guide Verdict

If pushing information into every nook and cranny of your house counts for everything, TP-Link'due south TL-PA9020P delivers with exceptional range that leaves other powerline extenders in the grit. While it falls brusque of the best when information technology comes to throughput and energy employ, it adds an outlet for the i it uses, has a pair of Ethernet ports and includes a powerful utility for monitoring and configuring the devices. In other words, its extended range can aid connect big homes.

Pros

+
Excellent range
+
Air-conditioning passthrough outlet
+
Two Ethernet ports
+
Monitoring utility

Cons

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LEDs on side
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High energy use

TP-Link TL-PA9020P Powerline Extender: Specs

Max Throughput: 42.ix Mbps
Functioning at 100 feet: 27.6 Mbps
Max Range: 1,075 feet
Size: 5.2 x ii.eight 10 i.nine inches
Three/2 Prong Plug: 3
Ethernet Gigabit Ports: 2
Estimated Power Nib: $23 per year

With the ability to push information into the far corners of large homes, the TP-Link TL-PA9020P powerline extender may not be the fastest kit around, but information technology tin fill all but the largest homes with data while providing a replacement outlet and pair of Ethernet ports. On the downside, it uses more electricity than the others and its LEDs are hard to run across.

Even so, if yous alive in a large, poorly connected business firm, the $xc TP-Link TL-PAS9020P tin put even the farthest rooms online. That alone makes it i of the best powerline extenders yous can buy. (Still dislocated? Bank check out our commodity Wi-Fi extenders vs powerline adapters: Everything you need to know to learn more than.)

TP-Link TL-PA9020P Powerline Extender: Design and features

One of the largest powerline devices bachelor, TP-Link'southward TL-PA9020P measures a beefy five.2 10 ii.eight x i.9 inches, is roughly the size of a chalkboard eraser and humongous compared to the diminutive D-Link DHP-601AV. Its white plastic example has shotgun cooling holes on 3 sides and, unlike D-Link's DHP-601AV, the TL-PA9020P has a three-prong grounded Ac plug but has a pass-through AC outlet and then y'all won't lose an outlet.

TP-Link TL-PA9020P Powerline Extender review — (Image credit: TP-Link)

The TL-PA9020P's pair of gigabit Ethernet ports mean information technology tin can supply information to both a computer and a Tv or other device without needing a wired network switch. The LEDs bear witness power, powerline connection and Ethernet activeness, but they are awkwardly placed on the instance'south side and difficult to come across.

Underneath, the TL-PA9020P's Pair button doubles every bit a security cardinal to kickoff the system's AES 128-chip data encryption. Based on the HomePlug AV2 spec and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, the TL-PA9020P can service several data-hungry users. Rated past TP-Link to exist able to deliver 2Gbps of information, the company recommends using no more than 8 powerline devices on a network.

TP-Link TL-PA9020P Powerline Extender: Performance

Like the Netgear PLP2000, the TL-PA9020P uses Broadcom's BCM60500 chipset. It had excellent range, with the ability to remain connected with ane,075 feet of cablevision between the sender and receiver. That about doubles the 575-feet range of the D-Link DHP-601AV. In other words, it's platonic for big homes.

On the other hand, it delivered peak throughput of merely 42.9 Mbps out of my abode's 200 Mbps broadband link, ane of the slowest results we saw. At 100 anxiety, for example, it could but muster 27.6 Mbps while the Netgear PLP2000'southward 81.ix Mbps was nearly three times as loftier.

Nonetheless, it connected a previously offline garage with 36.3Mbps, making it the long-distance winner. It allowed me to sentinel videos, olfactory organ around the Web and play games.

While it got warm during use, the TL-PA9020P never got over 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It'south a power hog, though, with the devices each using upwards of 19-watts when the information was flowing fast and furious and 1.two-watts at idle. If it'southward used for 12 hours a day, every day, it'due south annual power use should be around $23 – one of the almost expensive powerline devices to use.

TP-Link TL-PA9020P Powerline Extender: Setup and software

While the other devices were transmitting data in a few seconds, it took the TL-PA9020P upwards of three minutes to kickoff moving information. This is a ane-time delay during the initial setup of the 2 units.

In add-on to Quality of Service software that allows for prioritizing Web surfing, gaming, video or Voice over IP (VOIP) selections, the TL-PA9020P comes with a useful utility. Information technology not just shows the current connections with an optimistic appraisal of the throughput but y'all can remotely ready its encryption, rename each device and even turn off its LED lights.

The organisation's two-year warranty includes full support, different Netgear's onerous ninety-day support policy. The site has a detailed manual, lots of helpful tips and instructions, such as for adjusting its QOS software.

TP-Link TL-PA9020P Powerline Extender: Verdict

The TP-Link TL-PA9020P is the powerline extender to get for those who live life large in a big unconnected house. It may be bigger than the D-Link DHP-601AV and slower than the Netgear PLP2000, but merely the TP-Link TL-PA 9020P has the range to make full a huge home with powerline information. At $xc, it is not the cheapest powerline set you can go, and will likely add to your ability bill, only information technology pays huge dividends when information technology comes to connecting faraway parts of your house.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in technology reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York Urban center area and has covered topics from nuclear power plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The former editor-in-chief of Mobile Computing and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Laurels.