NETGEAR Powerline 1000 Mbps WiFi, 802.11ac, 1 Gigabit Port - Essentials Edition (PLW1010-100NAS)

Long post including setup information for NETGEAR genie PLW1010 (for those of you network gurus, please don’t laugh at me). Hopefully this will help save some hair-pulling. Biggest thing to keep in mind is it WILL work, so don’t let your stomach get into knots. I originally performed the connection exactly as written in the book. It worked flawlessly. But when I tried to set up my phone, and then security, the wheels fell off the wagon, so to speak. If I were to do it again, I would do as follows: SET UP SECURITY FIRST. You WANT a secured wi-fi router… these things blast a wide wi-fi signal outside of your home, and you do NOT want a perv sitting out there downloading kiddie-porn off your unsecured ISP/IP address. There is a long history of owners being prosecuted for having an unsecured wi-fi router that let this occur! I set up my security second, and that’s where it got more complicated for me. 1. Plug in both the base unit and the wi-fi unit where they will live. a. Follow the booklet’s instructions for finding a good outlet, etc. b. At this point, if you follow the booklet’s instructions, you will be up and connected with your laptop, but you will not be secure. c. You will then have to go through some of the hair-pulling I did. 2. Secure the base-unit part of this duo: a. Connect an Ethernet cable (2 come with this package) to a laptop/desktop and to the base portion of this (it connects to your ISP’s router using an Ethernet cable also). At this point, you will have 2 Ethernet cables connected: 1 to ISP modem, and 1 to your computer. b. Using a browser, type in “mywifiext.net” > admin > password c. Click on Maintenance > Set Password and use “password” as the old. d. Change to the new password using letters, numbers, a special character or 2 and capture that somewhere (screenshots are good for this) e. Be sure to click Apply button to save your changes NOTE: In order to do the next part, the router software will require you to log back in with your NEW password. 3. Secure the wi-fi unit of this duo: a. Click Setup > Wireless Settings b. Change the SSID if you want (the name of the network you will see when you are looking for one to connect to) c. Change the password(s) of the wireless networks. d. I recommend leaving the other settings in here as they are, and click Apply button to save your changes. i. You will get a new screen showing your new settings. ii. Copy that into an email to yourself if you wish for future reference (screenshot of this is best practice). 4. Connect to your new wireless router a. Follow the instructions for connecting that are in your accompanying booklet i. Push WPS on wi-fi device you just plugged in, and WPS on your own device. ii. This will apply the new password you just created in the Wireless Settings page b. If you have to add the network manually: i. Choose to add a wireless network in Control Panel, or your handheld device’s connections settings ii. Pick the network SSID you just renamed (or left as it was) iii. Type in the password your just created in the Wireless Settings panel iv. Enjoy your excellent signal! MY ACTUAL EXPERIENCE AND WHY I WROTE THE ABOVE 1. INITIAL SETUP: The auto-setup is 100% easy and accurate. I connected quickly and easily. I was lucky enough to have wired my own 105-y-o house when I replaced plumbing. I ran circuits that serviced 1 or 2 outlets per room, with several rooms on a single circuit. (This used to be best practice, not sure now though.) Because of that, the outlet in the room where my ISP’s modem connects to the exterior cable (a bedroom downstairs) is on a circuit that runs to my (upstairs) office as one of the many rooms it passes through. (I added 13 new circuits, in case you wonder about this.) I plugged in the base unit, then I went to my office, plugged in the wi-fi piece, and I got the green light I wanted (perfect connection). I went over to my laptop, found the WPS Push button (software), pushed the WPS button on the wi-fi router (blue lights blinks in this mode), and I had an instant connection. 2. SECURITY SETUP mixed with ANDROID SETUP: The phone setup led to a security setup, and was more difficult due to my own lack of knowledge. a. I’ll state what is probably obvious to the network gurus, but not to a simple user like myself, and took a while to figure out: The WPS PUSH button searches for the WI-FI SETUP PASSWORD (internal to itself), and passes that to the device you are connecting. It is not some scrambled code that is unique to that moment’s push of the button. So whatever password the wi-fi router is set to (or you set it to)… that is what gets passed. Thus my recommendation to do the security piece first… the rest falls into place. b. This is where it got a bit more complicated for me. Once my laptop was connected, I tried to connect my Android phone. It would not connect at all, and I could not find the WPS Push on it. Darn. And I had 2 networks to choose from. No luck on either. I didn’t know what password to use. c. Since I had a wi-fi connection to the router, I went into the router setup from my wi-fi connected laptop (mywifiext.net). I changed the router password (from default of “admin” and “password” and tried my phone again. No luck. This turns out to be the actual MODEM’S password… that unit that is the “base” of the two that come in this box… downstairs next to my ISP’s modem. So of course it didn’t work on my phone. d. Then I discovered that I had another screen I could go to in my router setup: Setup > Wireless Settings. In there, I found both of the wireless networks newly available. One is “5G” and the other is not (5G has a faster speed). So I changed both passwords there. At this point I could connect my phone manually by typing in the password that I had just set. e. But then I lost connectivity on my laptop. Hmm…. Thinking it through, the WPS Push apparently picks up whatever that wi-fi router password is. Not some unique-to-the-moment code. OK. Opened my laptop’s network setup (click the little bars on the lower RH corner of the taskbar and choose “Open Network and Sharing Center”), navigated to my “manage wireless networks” and change the password in there for the earlier auto-connected wireless. I added the second, slower one as well. I then went back to my connection panel (the little bars in the lower RH corner of the taskbar), entered the password manually, and I was good to go. I tested my speed when I was done (over the Wi-Fi). It was 12mbps down, and 2.5mbps up. That's actually faster than my ISP provides on my plan, so I think I did OK with this purchase.

I have a lousy Google OnHub and was getting regular dropped connections despite being no more than 12 feet above the router with a wood-beam floor in-between. I considered just buying a wifi extender, however, the prospect of repeating a weak/slow signal didn't seem logical to me, so I researched the Powerline AV2 options. I was concerned about the number of breakers that it might have to pass through, and it's a 40-year-old house (not too old, but not new either). IIRC, it should only be passing through one breaker with my house configuration. PROS: - The price is (relatively) a pretty good deal considering the hardware seems to be high-quality and it includes a wifi transmitter, not to mention: - Setup is extremely easy! I bought mine used from one of the Amazon sellers and it came with no box/docs (which are available on NetGear's web site, so I didn't care). I didn't even read the instructions - I just plugged them in a hit the connect button and it just started working! - High speed & reliable: Once I installed the PLW1010 (which took minutes) and changed my SSIDs, my connectivity issues disappeared! CONS: - It has its own SSID rather than cloning. Not a big deal. - If you want to add more *wifi* enabled receivers, NetGear doesn't sell them separately (lame). However, TP-Link has one (AV500) available as an adapter only and it also supports cloning. - I wish that it had a passthrough outlet. Yeah, the PLPW1000 does, but I didn't want to spend an extra $50 just for an extra outlet. The CONS, in my opinion, are minimal and do not affect my delight with this product! Highly recommended. #happiness I've only had it for a week, but I have not had ONE dropped connection since I installed it (versus MANY per day with the router-only). I will update if I encounter future issues and/or if my opinion changes.

I'd never used a powerline Ethernet adapter before and was skeptical as to whether this product would adequately address a WiFi deadspot in my townhouse. Installation is easy - plug the transmitting unit into an outlet near the router, with an Ethernet cable connecting it to an open port of the router. The second unit with WiFi capability goes into any other power outlet and after about a minute startup starts broadcasting its own WiFi SSID - the ID and password are printed on a label on the back. I had trouble getting the unit to replicate the settings of my existing WiFi setup using WPS, so I ended up doing it manually via a web browser, so that it now shares an SSID and password with my router. (The instructions that came with the unit are rather brief and somewhat difficult to follow.) The WiFi unit has lights to indicate power and status as well as the quality of the connection to the transmitting unit. I tried it in several outlets but never achieved anything more than a "medium" connection - indicated by an amber-ish light. Still, it worked just fine, and provided a stable WiFi connection where my router didn't reach well and the speed seemed perfectly adequate.

I've used this PowerLINE 1000 Mbps for over a year now. Dramatic improvement, with no hiccups or problems (I think I restarted it one time about 6 months ago). My broadband internet modem and Wi-Fi router are upstairs at the opposite side of the house from my downstairs living room and master bedroom. Signal in those downstairs rooms were weak (and that's where the majority of my Wi-Fi needs are!) Netflix over Wi-Fi was problematic, especially if my multiple devices were being used (phones, laptops). Tried a Wi-Fi "range extender" and that was garbage (returned that product after two days of frustration.) PowerLINE installed easily, and once up and running I ran a speed-test several times. My laptop was hitting the same speed as my wired PC! Dramatic increase in signal strength and bandwidth downstairs. Bottom line, my downstairs Wi-Fi is now as fast and strong as sitting right next to my AC Wi-Fi router upstairs. I also have an older laptop and tablet that can't use AC Wi-Fi standard (they both use the "N" standard) and they work flawlessly on PowerLINE as well. Bonus: the PowerLINE not only broadcasts Wi-Fi, but has a line-in for running direct line to a non-Wi-Fi device, if necessary. I use it for my Blue-Ray player to run Netflix, and have zero problems, even when a laptop and two smartphones are on Wi-Fi. Can't recommend this enough!

Purchased this item with high hopes. I have very bad WiFi towards the rear second story of my home (not a very large home); the router is on ground level front of house and my room is second story rear of house. The instructions are very simple and the installation process is a breeze. Plugged it into the outlet 5 feet away from the router and hooked up the provided Ethernet cable, then went upstairs to my room and plugged in the receiver to the outlet and then the other provided Ethernet into the back of my computer. Nothing. I tried connecting with my phone because it said WiFi was active and still got nothing. I said to myself, "maybe I'm doing something wrong" and searched the net for some guides, which I found to be helpful and saw I was doing everything correctly. I then said, maybe it's the distance? But how can that be? It's suppose to use your power cables routed throughout your home to guide the internet to the receiver. So I installed the receiver into an outlet in my kitchen, which is directly above the room with the router and it started working! Working terribly... So I then decided to put the receiver even CLOSER to the base and it worked just a little bit better. Notice the pictures. The instruction said the "HomeLink" light has three different colors, RED: "good" connection, GREEN: "better" connection and BLUE: "best" connection. not even 20 feet away and it stayed RED. Very, VERY unsatisfied with this product. If you're trying to extend your connection to a second story no more than 100 feet away- it's not worth it.

James Farrel is spot on (https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHNCGM7SSQMDWYKHUDNSTNYWQUNA/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_gw_tr?ie=UTF8). The printed installation instructions are adequate, but unhelpfully brief on more advanced configuration options. Fortunately James filled the gap for us (Thank you!). This device is brilliantly easy to set up in its default configuration. Within just a few minutes, we had strong wifi signal extended to what were previously dead spots in the far end of our two story home. With only a bit more effort, using the mywifiext.net admin web page, we then switched it to clone our existing "main" wifi configuration, and deliver that strong signal on our original wifi SSID. Briefly: 1) Plug the base unit into a wall outlet next to your internet router, and connect the two via supplied Ethernet cable. Then plug the wifi unit into an outlet elsewhere. 2) Continue as per the supplied instructions until you can connect through the device wifi to the internet 3) THEN, on your internet router, press and hold the WPS button until you see an indication that it has switched into pairing mode (device specific, usually a blinking light) 4) Press and hold the WPS button on the Netgear wifi unit - for a full 10 seconds, then release and wait for solid lights on the Netgear device. 5) Please be patient while the pairing process completes. For us, this process took at least one minute. When it completes, you should see the default Netgear##_EXT SSID disappear from your wifi network list, replaced by youroriginalSSID_EXT. The new SSIDs are "cloned" from your main existing wifi, including the passwords. 6) Finally, use the Netgear admin web page to rename the SSIDs (both 2G and 5G) as desired. You can make these exactly match your main wifi SSIDs, so as you move around the house with your mobile devices, they switch automatically to pick up the available signal. It is not really required to make the names match. If you leave them different, you may on occasion need to manually select an SSID with a better signal as you move from room to room. It's really up to you to decide which is best, for the way that you use wifi.

The PowerLINE Wi-FI 1000 Essentials Edition was easy to setup and get working. Netgear makes the web based settings very easy to use and to configure for your needs. The Pick-a-plug feature is good help for determining if the device will work or not where you need it. Once the device is setup, It allows for you to easily plug the device in around your house and determine if the location is good. Unfortunately, the Pick-a-plug light can be misleading. The manual says if you see a green light, then you are getting >80 Mbps speeds from the PowerLine connector to the Wi-Fi Extender. I have found this to not be the case. I have a newly constructed home with modern wiring and have found the light to be more of a pass/fail indicator. It either shows green or red, never orange. And even though it is green, I see a drastic drop in speeds. It is fine if you have a location that cannot get any connection, this will at least give you some, but the speeds are going to be much slower than what you see if you were connected by either Wi-Fi or Ethernet directly to your main router. In my case that meant an internet connection of 80 Mbps connected through either Wi-Fi or Ethernet on my main router, would drop to <10 Mbps connected to the PowerLine Wi-Fi extender either by Wi-Fi or Ethernet. I was hoping that this would be similar to running a CAT5 cable to the other end of my house, but instead gives only a slow connection. It still allows me to have a connection where otherwise I would not be able to, but just not as fast as I was hoping. If I had the choice to do over again, I wouldn't have gone with this product and would have tried a different solution.

I am pretty tech savvy, so I tried signal boosting with a couple netgears' running DDWRT. However, this didn't suite my needs as the attenuation of wireless signals is exponential. I have an older home with relatively optimal wiring drops, so this really came through. Definitely great for creating a mesh that will cover those grey areas. What you need to know: - It is CAPABLE of the Mbits rated. - Signal quality is decent, but throughput drops significantly. - It is able to stream 4k, but not with many devices competing for bandwidth. - Works great with Google Stadia as long as it is hardwired to the Chromecast. Pros: - Easy to setup. - Simply works. - Can work with power strips, but surge protectors degrade throughput and can cause packet loss. - Trial and error while choosing a socket with decent throughput, but the LED indicator helps a lot. Cons: - Web interface is hosted by netgear, I am not a fan of this. - Some packet loss is seen intermittently, I am not sure if this happens when high loads are placed on the power lines or not yet, but its my theory. - Many devices streaming at the same time (like with any WAP) degrades quality. Final Notes: I like it so much I bought another to put upstairs and completely removed my Cisco WAP. These two devices provide wifi to my entire home (including smart devices) Without issue and the transition between access points is seamless. My setup may be much different from yours though. Server rack -> Firewall -> Cisco Equipment (Layer 3 switch) -> Powerline adapter -> Wall Plug -> Powerline Module -> Devices Of 200Mbits I maybe get 30Mbits bandwidth, which is not great, but enough to satisfy most wireless needs. Wired directly to the Powerline module, I get a bit more with a bit more stable connection Which is why my Chromecast ultra uses this single line.