The HomePlug MPT is very solidly constructed out of a matte white plastic that should look suitably understated next to your average white plug socket. To accommodate the sockets for the pass-through plug, all the network circuitry has had to be shifted up and consequently the HomePlug MPT is really rather tall. Indeed at mm tall, it extends some 50mm above your average wall mounted plug socket.
However, while this is undeniably large and in some situations the HomePlug MPT will simply not fit, the design has obviously had some real thought put into it so that for most people it is incredibly easy to use.
Also, because all the extra height has been confined to the top of the device with no extra length underneath, it will fit in even the lowest of wall mounted sockets. The positioning of the Ethernet port underneath the plug is also worthy of praise as it ensures the cable points towards the ground where it is less likely to be damaged by wayward feet or vacuum cleaners — and it looks neater too. For most computing uses, though, it will more than suffice.
You just connect one end of the Ethernet cable to your router and the other to a HomePlug then plug the HomePlug in to the mains socket.
Next, go to all the computers you want to connect and similarly plug the Ethernet cable into your computer and the HomePlug then plug it into the mains socket. If you later want to add an additional HomePlug to your network all you need to do is press the Simple Connect button on one of the existing HomePlugs then press the button on the new HomePlug.
The reason you need to jump through all these hoops is because the network is encrypted with bit AES encryption so the devices need to be synchronised with each other before they will cooperate. Using this software you can completely reconfigure the network without prior knowledge of the existing network password.
The only threat this encryption would seem to stop is if someone were trying to tap into the mains network by some sophisticated means other than just buying a plug and plugging it in and the likelyhood of this is very slim.
Essentially, these will prioritise rapid delivery of small packets to ensure a responsive system, overall bandwidth to ensure the bit rate needed to transmit video is maintained, and isochronous delivery of packets to maintain a steady stream of decipherable audio, respectively. The new HomePlug AV devices are rated at Mbps, which is faster than all but the latest wireless standards.
Pesky Homeplugs!! This new one did initially connect to the current network, using the push button system, but would drop-off the network at various points; and would only randomly connect back after unplugging for some time. Eventually I think I have narrowed the problem down to the new plug being on a later firmware than the plugs on the current network.
After much googling, I stumbled across ' Zibri's blog ' that was very useful to understand the homeplug firmware versions and how to modify them. Most of these Homeplug devices contain the same hardware inside Intellon chipset , but are sold by different companies with their own branding and fancy looking cases eg Solwise, Devolo, Netgear, etc.
I downloaded the Device Manager utility which seems to be a fuller version of the software that comes with the Solwise plugs on disc and checked the firmware versions of the homeplugs.
Here's what I see:. The newer firmware appears to give the unit, amongst other things? So my options are either to downgrade the new one to the 3. I have contacted solwise support to get their recommendation as I would rather upgrade with the 'official' firmware , but am still waiting to hear.
No computer is needed. To ensure maximum security, the button on each Home Plug AV device in the network must be pushed within 2 minutes of the first one being pushed. More units can be added later, though - details are in the manual. You do not need to reset the whole Home Plug AV network. Remember, you will need at least two HomePlug devices to form a HomePlug connection.
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