A new devolo homeplug review

devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac

February 2014 

Although the Wifi in my office was registering nearly at full strength, I’d been finding that it was regularly cutting out, or drastically dropping in download speed. My router is two rooms and three walls away.  The solution is to use what are known as Homeplugs; I’ve written about these before, click here, but devolo, one of the bigger brands, has just sent me their latest model to try.  

This is connected to the routerThe devolo dLan 1200+ Wifi ac is a step forward because it is capable of speeds up to 1200Mbps making it the ideal gadget for a those with ‘superfast’ internet connections.

It is a pretty simple device to use. You plug one end into the wall and connect it by wire to your router, and plug the other unit into a wall socket in the room in which you want to boost the signal. You turn them both on, sync them up and... that is about it.

The installation process was very simple, although there are a couple of important omissions from the instructions manual. First of all, nowhere was it actually written that you can plug the router’s power plug into the dLan 1200+ adapter (in fact it works better if you do). Secondly, it isn’t specified that both ends of this device need to be plugged straight into the wall, as opposed to a multi-plug adaptor for instance.

Fortunately previous experience guided me here, but these are exactly the kind of things that might cause a first time user to come unstuck, spending hours trying and retrying the same 16 digit wifi code, baffled as to its ineffectiveness.

Those two omissions aside, I found the process hassle free. The router end of the device was plugged into the wall, connected to the router via an Ethernet cable and had the router’s power pack plugged into it. The other end was plugged into the wall in my office and, at the touch of a button synced wirelessly (and seamlessly) with it’s brother. All that remained was to press the (slightly hidden) data encryption button on the side of the device at the router end and to connect my computer to my new, faster, more stable wifi broadband. Very satisfying.

Before installing the Devolo my internet speed in my office was:

Download Speed 7.23Mb/s
Upload Speed 1.05Mb/s           

After installing it:

Download Speed 10.45 Mb/s
Upload Speed 1.64 Mb/s 

That's over 40% improvement, but it’s main benefit, however, is that it has made my connection significantly more stable, eliminating entirely the random cutting in and out of internet that I was previously so frustrated by.

It is also a Wifi Clone feature – which essentially allows you to use it as a signal booster for your Wifi. This feature boasts safe data transfer to your router and, happily, no need for a new password. This requires a slightly longer (but equally simple) set up process, though not by much.

It's not cheap - about £160 on Amazon - but in this business you do tend to get what you pay for.

With a three year warranty, this is a good product that gives excellent results. After all, in three years’ time I’d like to think that home internet connectivity will have progressed to the point that this will be obsolete anyway!

Links:

devolo's own site: click here

A datasheet for the technically minded: click here

My previous article on homeplugs: click here