TP-LINK 300Mbps AV500 WiFi Powerline Extender Starter Kit Review

Others/Networking Gear by stefan @ 2013-12-19

The TL-WPA4220KIT comes pretty cheap and also provides wireless connectivity for maximizing the wireless range of the current network. Despite the fact that we get an advertised speed of 500Mbps, the LAN ports are capped at 100Mbps. We must also take in account that the speed may vary depending on the quality of the wiring and other factors.

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Packaging, A Closer Look

In this review we will take a look on a product which allows data transmission via the existing electrical circuitry; this kind of technology has been out for quite a while now from various manufacturers and the transfer speed seems to be influenced by the quality of the wiring, but also by the use of power strips in which case the quality would drop a lot. The TL-WPA4220KIT is shipped in quite a small enclosure, which shows the main product highlights on the frontal side of the packaging:

 

 

 

On one of the box sides we can check out the box contents, in multiple languages:

 

 

 

The installation steps are also described on the box:

 

 

 

On the opposite side we will get to see the list of technical specifications:

 

 

 

The back side of the box comes with a short product description, a comparison table between different devices, but also an example network solution:

 

 

 

After the removal of the external packaging layer, we will end up with a plain white box:

 

 

 

The kit TP-LINK has sent us is composed from two separate components, one being the TL-PA4010 and the other TL-WPA4220:

 

 

 

The bottom layer contains the rest of the bundle:

 

 

 

We get two Quick Installation Guides, one for each component, two LAN cables, a Declaration of Conformity leaflet, but also some more product descriptions:

 

 

 

One of the guides describes the functionality and LED behavior of the AV500 Nano Powerline Adapter:

 

 

 

The manufacturer instructs us to insert the adapter directly into the power socket in order to avoid signal attenuation when connected to a power strip with surge protector:

 

 

 

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