BT Broadband Extender 600 Flex Kit

Many people have complained about the unreliability here. I tried out quite a few different powerline adapters, and so far these were the only ones that did not produce a deafening, or at least loud, high pitched sound. Therefore, I was forced to persist with these, and I found out how to get them to work best. Note that I am reviewing the AV2+ standard adapters (the Flex 1000 line). I did try out the AV standard adapters (Flex 600 line) but these always dropped out seconds after being paired. Here are the steps I followed to get the Flex 1000s to work.1. The Extender 1000 (not the flex) should be used as the "distributor". This piece of kit creates a significantly stronger signal than the Extender Flex 1000s.2. The distributor should be plugged into a socket where ideally nothing else, or only very light devices are plugged in (e.g. lamps). Certainly, they must be plugged into a socket where no motor-machines (e.g. desktop computers, fans) are also plugged in. These create magnetic fields which greatly disrupt the distribution of the signal. This is true for all powerline adapters, but especially so for the BT ones.3. This may necessitate taking an ethernet cable a bit of a distance from the router to the distributor powerline adapter. In terms of impact on signal strength, this is absolutely fine.4. Placing the distributor close to the router will lead to a great drop in performance. This is because the powerline system uses radio frequency signals, sent through the cabling of the house - wifi from the router, also being radio-frequency, will disrupt this.5. The receivers should be located far away from motors of any type, and ideally in a socket of their own. However, if the distributor is located in an ideal location, then the receiver will still give very good speeds. I have a receiver right next to a desktop computer that gives a very usable 17 Mbit vs a practical maximum of 36 Mbit. Furthermore, receivers located 1.5m away from desktop computers give 32-34 Mbit.6. If you do have a device close to the receiver, then your receiver should be the Extender Flex 1000, and the device should be plugged into it. There should be no other device plugged into the adjacent socket in a double-socket. More devices plugged into different but nearby plug-socket pattresses are fine. However, any motor device (e.g. desktop computer) must be plugged into the powerline adapter.7. These extenders (like most other extenders) will not function reliably if extenders from other companies are also being used. TP-link adapters, for example, will disrupt the connection, even if they are not paired, simply as a result of being plugged in.8. Once you have physically set up the network, it is recommended that you turn off all the plugs in your house, then turn off all the sockets at the fuse-box for 15 minutes. For some reason, these adapters seem to benefit from this.9. Only after this, must you go around from powerline to powerline, pairing between the distributor Extender 1000 and the receiver Extender 1000s/Extender Flex 1000s. Although I am not sure, I think adapters paired last achieve higher speeds, compared to if they were paired earlier.10. Each adapter you add will reduce your speeds elsewhere by about 500 Mbit/s.Following these steps has given me, so far, a fast and stable connection without the high-pitched whine of other adapters. The connection does drop out occasionally, but the adapters are resilient to this and come back on a few seconds later. In my experience, this is unavoidable with all powerline adapters. Having said all this, I have only recently set these up, so if they do not prove reliable I will update the review.Update: A power-cut will necessitate a repetition of this process.Major Update: Having plug sockets with usb-ports installed elsewhere in the home will strongly harm the speed and reliability of these when motor-machines like desktops are plugged into them (the Flexes). My speed has reached nearly maximum network speed after replacing these plug sockets with standard ones, and furthermore power-cuts no longer have any impact.Major Update#2: Reliability of these will be nearly flawless when connected to the same ring circuit in the house. The connection will persist through power cuts. If they are connected on different ring then the connection will be dropped in the event of a power cut.Major Update#3: I can no longer recommend the standard (non-Flex) version of these. They only have a plastic earth, and it seems therefore that they are not surge protected. This means that in some routers they will cause the internet to drop off when there is a power fluctuation, even when the router is connected to a surge protector. I have replaced the central distributor with a 1000 Flex and my internet has become flawlessly reliable - not a single dropout or event.

Great bit of kit does the job works across different ring mains , my TV is at least 30m away from router and I know can get connected to the net. Didn’t arrive with any instructions so had to go on BT website to figure it out. If it doesn’t work first time swap the switches around and reboot your tv to factory settings and then you are good to go and choose hard wired set upThe DIY Mush

Introduction:With a 200 year old house sporting some very chunky walls, We needed to extend our internet to the far corners of the house. I wanted to use ethernet (wired) connections where possible to take the strain off the wifi and also connect a WiFi Access Point rather than boost an already poor signal.How do they work?:Whilst no technophobe, I have never used Home Power Networking adaptors before but understand the concept - the data signals are transmitted through the electricity cables in the house. To use, simply plug an adaptor in near to your modem/router and connect via a network cable. Then plug another adaptor in the place where you need internet - as simple as that!Performance:The speed you get will depend on a number of factors - the quality of your wiring being one of them. These particular adaptors are rated at 1000mbps - gigabit - but this is internal file transfer speed and bears no relevance to the speed at which your internet will run.The Product:These BT adaptors are of the pass through variety - meaning that you can plug this into a socket and not lose use of the socket. There are two network ports in each adaptor which is helpful if you have more than one thing to plug in. A Sync button on the side allows additional adaptors to be added in to a home network.Thoughts:I'm really impressed with these - in fact, I ended up buying 4 (so yes - you can use more than just two in your house - they just need syncing together when adding them into an existing home power network.)In terms of internet speed, I'm getting download speeds of 140mbps from a 200mbps fibre connection - but as I said earlier, these speeds will be ENTIRELY dependant on your own home, wiring, sockets and internet service.To answer a commonly asked question, these do NOT have to be on the same circuit as one another. They will work in any socket in your house.What don't I like?We have one of these in the bedroom and they have three blue LED's on the front which is handy when you want to see what's going on but they are really annoying at night time and you can't turn them off. You can turn the socket off, but you'll lose connectivity. Be aware of this. We have a Netgear WiFi Range Extender running in Access Point mode plugged into this and it works an absolute treat.In all, a solid purchase. Highly recommended.Pro's+ Ability to extend your home network anywhere in the house without relying on WiFi reach+ Fast theoretical transfer speeds+ Two network ports+ Can use more than a single pair in one house+ Pass through socket+ Trusted Brand+ Adaptors don't need to be on the same circuit as each other+ Plug and Play - absolutely no set up required+ Included network cables+ At under £50 delivered for a pair, these are not the most expensive compared to others.+ More reliable than WiFiCon's- Bright LED's on the front can be distracting (-1 Star!)- Large size means they take up a fair amount of space compared to some rival adaptors. Not excessively large though.