Review: Review: Devolo dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit

Overview

HomePlug networking products using devices such as those in the Devolo dLAN 650 Triple Plus Starter Kit (£120, about $200, AU$215) is an excellent solution to wireless network problems. If your home – or indeed small office – Wi-Fi doesn't reach every corner of the building, perhaps because of thick walls or blind spots, with a pair of HomePlug adaptors, you can extend an Ethernet connection into even the most difficult-to-reach places.

In a nutshell, a HomePlug is a box with an Ethernet port, which plugs into a mains socket. They're simple to use. You simply plug one of the two adaptor units contained in this starter kit into the wall near your router, and connecting it to the router itself using one of the supplied Ethernet cables.

You then plug the other adaptor unit into another wall socket and connect it to the device you wish to network, again using Ethernet. The device – an internet radio, perhaps, or a media streamer, or even your laptop – then connects to your router, and therefore the internet, using your household electrical wiring as an extension of the Ethernet cables. It really is that simple.

After setting up your initial two-plug HomePlug network, you can add adaptors to connect more Ethernet devices. Some units, such as Devolo's own Wi-Fi Anywhere range, also offer wireless access points, so you can connect Wi-Fi devices as well as Ethernet. And as long as they conform to the HomePlug AV standard, you can even mix different brands of adaptors.

There are plenty on offer. The Linksys Powerline HomePlug AV2 Kit PLEK500 is very cheap, but lacks some of the extra features offered by the Devolo dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit. Netgear's Powerline 500 Wi-Fi Access Point are compact and good value, but don't have a pass-through whereby you can plug a second electrical device into the HomePlug adaptor itself, so you don't lose a mains socket to the HomePlug. Devolo's own dLAN 500 Wi-Fi Network Kit doesn't offer pass-through sockets either, but you get three HomePlug adaptors, two of which create wireless access points for Wi-Fi connectivity.

Whichever brand you opt for, make sure they're no slower than 500Mbps. Older units, offering speeds of 200Mbps or slower, are best avoided. The new Devolo dLAN 650+ series, such as the Devolo dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit, offer a maximum transfer speed of up to 600Mbps. You can mix 600Mbps, 500Mbps and even 200Mbps adaptors on the same network, but connections between differing plugs will reach only the slower maximum speed.

Devolo's dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit contains two HomePlugs, both of which feature pass-through sockets. The smaller of the two has a single Ethernet port, while the large one has three ports. Just the thing if you need to network more than one Ethernet device in the same room.

The new plugs are also packed with new technologies that really improve performance. The first thing you notice as you take them from the box are that the air vents offered by the older 500Mbps adaptors are gone. As the new dLAN 650+ range use less energy than the older plugs, they don't get hot enough to require ventilation.

Where previous HomePlug adaptors used the plug's live and neutral pins to pass data to the electrical wiring, these new Devolo dLAN 650 Triple+ models also use the earth pin. A chip inside the adaptors calculates which of the three pins will give the best results, and automatically switches data transfer to that pin. We're told these are the first HomePlugs in the world to use all three pins in this way, a feature Devolo is calling 'Range+ Technology'.

For the record, the 650+ plugs are so called as the '600' reflects the maximum speed of 600Mbps, the '50' represents the fact that it uses third pin and the '+' demonstrates the Range+ Technology. Not the clearest of monikers.

Performance and benchmarks

The first thing you notice about Devolo's dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit HomePlugs is just how easy they are to set up and use. You simply plug them in, enter their security ID code in Devolo's Cockpit management software and they make the connection. It's that simple. When the initial computer-to-one-HomePlug network has been created in this way, further plugs can be added just by plugging them in and adding their ID in Cockpit.

It's easier to get at the new Devolo dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit HomePlugs' Ethernet ports too. Unlike the previous generation of Devolo HomePlugs, which located the ports on the foot of the device which hung downwards from the plug socket, the new models position the plug pins at the foot of the HomePlug and the Ethernet ports on top. This is far more convenient and accessible, especially when they're located behind furniture or in otherwise awkward-to-reach places.

That said, these HomePlugs are still very bulky, especially compared to Devolo's own mini HomePlugs. This is, of course, inevitable given that they have pass-through sockets for plugging in another electrical device, but it's still a consideration when it comes to placement. Thankfully, the new upwards-facing form factor means they can no longer be obstructed by large skirting boards, though.

According to Devolo, the new 650+ range of HomePlugs give an average speed increase of around 30%, but in poor conditions – maybe in a house where the wiring is very old, or with the plugs located on power strips – the improvement can be as high as 200 to 300%. We were certainly impressed by the performance boost we got in our tests, in an old, Victorian house with mediocre wiring.

We set up a HomePlug network using four Devolo 500Mbps plugs, recorded the speeds using Devolo's own Cockpit management software, then swapped them for new 650+ HomePlugs and compared the results. Between our computer and our router, in the next room, we got 316Mbps using the old plugs, but an amazing 584Mbps with the new ones, an increase of almost 85%.

From the computer to a HomePlug in the boiler cupboard at the back of the house, it went from 178Mbps to 270Mbps, an increase of just under 52%. From the computer to the spare bedroom upstairs, where we installed the HomePlugs on a power strip instead of a wall socket (this isn't recommended, but in our experience, you can usually get away with it), the increase was less marked. A speed of 127Mbps went up to 161Mbps, a still-respectable increase of almost 27%.

A kind word for the Cockpit application is also appropriate. It's incredibly easy to use, and makes it really simple to manage your HomePlug network. After downloading from Devolo's website, it monitors the status of your network, showing the transfer speeds between each of your HomePlugs. It also lets you protect your network with a single password, add new HomePlug adaptors and check for firmware upgrades.

You can also switch off individual plugs' data communication (much easier than unplugging, for a temporary disconnection), switch off their LED indicators should they prove intrusive and give each adaptor an individual name. If you have plugs that also provide wireless access points, you can manage this from Cockpit too.

Devolo's new dLAN 650+ HomePlugs, including the two in this dLAN 650 Triple+ Starter Kit, offer a significant performance increase over their 500-series predecessors, but there has been no price hike. Who could say fairer than that?

Verdict

HomePlug networking is an excellent solution to home network problems that cannot be solved with Wi-Fi. Large houses, thick walls and wireless interference can all limit the range of your Wi-Fi reach, but by using the household wiring as de facto Ethernet cables, a HomePlug network can give a stable connection all over the house without trailing wires all over the place.

We liked

The new 650+ series of HomePlugs boast an excellent new design. They run cooler than their predecessors, and are upwardly orientated so they don't get blocked by bulky skirting boards. But most importantly of all, they now use all three of the plugs' pins for data transfer, automatically switching between them should a different pin offer a better connection. The result? A significant increase in transfer speeds, especially if you're using them in sub-optimal conditions. There was no increase in cost either – this new pack costs the same as the launch price of the equivalent bundle in the older range.

We disliked

There really isn't much to dislike here. The plugs are a little bulky, but this is inevitable as they contain pass-through sockets. Smaller, non-pass-through models in the 650+ range will surely follow. There are cheaper HomePlugs around too, though this Devolo pack is competitively priced considering its quality, and certainly represents good value for money.

Final verdict

We've always appreciated the quality and ease of use of Devolo's HomePlugs, and this new 600Mbps series takes them to a new level. An excellent solution to your home networking problems.

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