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I recently bought a new PC which I use for gaming (mostly online games like TF2). In order to play the games without lag, the sales assistant suggested I use an Ethernet connection rather than wireless. Since my computer is upstairs while my router is downstairs, I bought TP-Link powerline adapters that go through the house mains. I can't remember the model name but this is what they look like:

enter image description here

However, at seemingly random times with no clear pattern, I will be disconnected from the Internet. The icon in the bottom left of my screen that shows my Internet connection will have a yellow warning triangle next to it, and I will be disconnected from any server I am on. Upon turning off the TP-Link adapters at the wall and turning them on again, the problem fixes itself and I am once again able to connect to the internet with no problem. How do I fix this issue?

I have Windows 7 Home Premium.

UPDATE: I have discovered that turning the connector off at the socket and then turning it back on again fixes the problem. It still occurs randomly however, forcing me to crawl under my desk every time it disconnects.

Gaff
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imulsion
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  • How big is your house? Do you have a refrigerator and other large equipment running in your house while you game? How about A/C? Do your lights flicker at all? – Cellivar Aug 09 '14 at 19:55
  • @MrDoomBringer Not that big. It's a detached house with 4 bedrooms. We do have a fridge but our lights never flicker – imulsion Aug 09 '14 at 20:05
  • How old is the house? How far away from each other are the endpoints? Do you know the amperage rating of the line to your house? When was the electrical panel last serviced? – Cellivar Aug 09 '14 at 20:21
  • @MrDoomBringer Not particularly old. twenty years or so. One of the endpoints is in my bedroom and the other one is in the dowstairs living room, which is about 10-15 metres in a straight line from one to the other. I don't know the last two questions, sorry – imulsion Aug 09 '14 at 21:03
  • How often are you being disconnected? Do you have any old CRT TVs (the deep ones, not flatscreens)? You said just a fridge, do you have *any* other large equipment plugged in *anywhere*? Any special electronics? Is anyone in your family an electrical engineer? Do the disconnects correspond with anything like this equipment turning on? Someone else running any kind of electric load? – Cellivar Aug 09 '14 at 21:27
  • @MrDoomBringer I'm being disconnected at random, for no apparent reason. The most powerful piece of equipment in my house is my PC, but my dad also has two large circular saws in the garage. The disconnections don't correspond to him using them however – imulsion Aug 09 '14 at 21:55
  • Interesting. The best idea I have is the electrical connections in your house are generating transient interference that temporarily interrupts your connection. The other thing you can try is getting a very long Ethernet cable and bypassing your adapters to see if it goes away. – Cellivar Aug 09 '14 at 22:17
  • @MrDoomBringer I should emphasize that my PC can still connect to the network, it just says it's an unidentified public network and that the network isn't connected to the internet. My laptop can still connect wirelessly without a problem, even when my PC says the network can't connect to the internet – imulsion Aug 10 '14 at 08:22
  • @imulsion Those messages are often misleading. Take a note of router's address when conection works (*Network and Sharing Center* -> *Change adapter settings* -> double click connection -> *IPv4 Default Gateway*, it will be something like 192.168.xxx.xxx or so, in general four dot-separated numbers). Then when connection fails press Win+R, type `cmd`, click OK, type `ping [router's IP]` (eg. `ping 192.168.1.1`) and press Enter. Let us know if it responds. – gronostaj Aug 27 '14 at 15:36
  • I have exactly the same problem for 2 years now with the TL-PA2010PKIT. I have both powerlines connected on the sockets and they are on the same floor. They randomly disconnect exactly the way you described. I also tried to upgrade the firmware with no success. I would like to contact you in some way but I can't comment or p.m. you in any way to see if you found a solution. – Tasos Jan 18 '15 at 17:35
  • @imulsion what model do you have? – B T Jun 20 '15 at 19:37
  • @dr01 disabling the [roaming sensitivity](https://superuser.com/questions/819832/what-is-roaming-sensitivity) doesn't help? – GAD3R Oct 22 '17 at 13:11

7 Answers7

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It seems to be an issue reported several times. But TP-Link do nothing to fix it.

http://forum.tp-link.com/showthread.php?78658-Powerline-disconnecting-issues

http://forum.tp-link.com/showthread.php?75408-WPA4220TKIT-More-Connectivity-Issues

http://forum.tp-link.com/showthread.php?1689-TL-PA411-needs-constant-rebooting

...

My advise, don't buy tp-link powerline.

JuanPi
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  • Damn. Well thanks TP-Link, I guess. Seems I have no option other than "deal with it". Thanks for the answer :) – imulsion Apr 15 '15 at 21:12
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    IIRC TP-Link and Netgear also had problems with the powersave function. There are tools online to disable that; that might just make the problem go away. – Stefan de Bruijn Dec 08 '15 at 13:55
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    Had the same problem with TP-Link, then I bought 2 expensive adapters from Fritz!, problem persisted. I contacted Fritz! but the support was a joke, they just sent me a FAQ link which literally said at the end "if the above measures didn't help, there's nothing we can do to help further". I'd recommend to stay away from both Fritz! and TP-Link. – bortran Sep 21 '16 at 08:19
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    @bortran I have Fritz! adapters too and having the same problem. Stay away from them indeed. – jobukkit Apr 01 '17 at 21:11
  • The same problem occurs with myStrom powerlines. It seems it's a common issue – dr_ Jun 02 '17 at 12:31
  • Same problem here, with same devices. According to a forum (3rd link), there is a 3 years warranty, and TP-Link should replace them. – Déjà vu Apr 02 '18 at 19:49
  • Same problem here with same devices – michalh Mar 29 '19 at 22:34
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If you have the specific bug where you can replug the adapter to fix the connection, you can stop the connection from dropping by sending data over it at regular intervals. One way to do this is to ping your default gateway (home router) at regular intervals.

You can add a Windows scheduled task for this:

  1. Go to Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler > Create Basic Task...
  2. Enter any Name and click Next >
  3. Select When I log on and click Next >
  4. Select Start a program and click Next >
  5. In Program/script: enter ping and in Add arguments (optional): enter -t <address> where <address> is the IP address of your default gateway
  6. Click Finish
  7. You can start the task immediately by going to Task Scheduler Library, right-click your created task, and click Run

For Ubuntu:

  1. Go to Startup Applications
  2. Click Add
  3. Enter any Name and in Command: enter ping <address> where <address> is the IP address of your default gateway
  4. Click Add
  5. Log out and then log back in to start the task
Jephir
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  • How much CPU/internet connection will this eat up? – imulsion Jun 14 '15 at 13:39
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    @imulsion `ping -t` sends a ping once per second. On my system there is no noticeable performance impact on CPU or network. – Jephir Jun 14 '15 at 14:14
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    +1 This should be the accepted answer as it gives a solution. You could also use PsPing: technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/psping.aspx – dr_ Jun 02 '17 at 12:32
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    This solved the issue for me. I don't have to replug the adapter anymore – Augusto Barreto Jun 08 '17 at 22:27
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    In my case it was "ping 192.168.0.1". Completely resolved the issue – HoboBen Oct 25 '17 at 20:41
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    If you run the tpPLC utility (http://www.tp-link.com/us/download/TL-PA4010-KIT_V2.html#Utility), you can turn off Power Saving Mode. I'm going to see if that stops mine from disconnecting. – Moshe Dec 27 '17 at 02:58
  • @Moshe Did it work? – Augusto Barreto Jan 24 '18 at 02:40
  • @AugustoBarreto It helped.. but it still seems to periodically disconnect. – Moshe Jan 24 '18 at 13:45
  • Very late to the show here, but this seems to have fixed my problem. I noticed in some games like Hearthstone this was more of an issue and figured it was down to less data being sent regularly. Thanks OP – Scott Feb 23 '19 at 00:47
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    I don't think keeping a computer up just to ping your router is a solution. It is more like a hack – Yo Nootz May 28 '20 at 22:22
  • @icenac it's called a keepalive. I suppose you could describe it as a hack but it's a widely used technique in networking for keeping connections open. That said, a less hacky solution may be to configure the device to not sleep although doing this would mean it was fully on even when the computer using it is off. – Leo May 05 '22 at 10:28
  • @Leo so in order to reduce the energy usage of a powerline adapter (likely under 1 Wh) the solution is to keep a computer on (likely over 100 Wh). That doesn't make that much sense to me. – Yo Nootz May 06 '22 at 22:43
  • @icenac You only need to stop the powerline sleeping while the computer is turned on. A keepalive doesn’t save energy, it stops the powerline from going into standby. This has nothing to do with saving energy, it’s about stopping the powerline disconnecting. – Leo May 07 '22 at 23:09
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A few things to try that weren't mentioned:

  • Upgrade the firmware (US or UK).
  • Plug both powerline adapters directly into the wall outlet. Don't use them on a surge suppressor, UPS, etc.
  • Troubleshoot any sources of interference by unplugging as many devices in your home as possible (particularly those on the same circuit). If the problem goes away, start plugging them back in until you find the problematic device.
Jason
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  • Your firmware link gives me a Chrome DNS error, can you find a better link? Both powerline adapters are directly in wall sockets, as the packaging info tells me that extension cables tend to filter data. There's no interference issues that I can tell because when I was home alone earlier today with everything in my house switched off (other than the fridge, which is constantly on) I got the same problem. Thank you for the help however, I hope upgrading the firmware fixes it. The real problem is that I have no way of testing if it is fixed – imulsion Aug 27 '14 at 20:52
  • @imulsion The link is valid, but their website is having problems. I can't access tp-link.com right now, but isitup.org sees that it's okay. Try later. – Jason Aug 27 '14 at 21:31
  • OK, I revisited the website today and it was working. I downloaded both the new firmware and the powerline utility. Using the utility, I attempted to upgrade the firmware, but after a short while the upgrading process stops and a dialogue box pops up that simply says "upgrading failed". Any idea? – imulsion Aug 28 '14 at 09:36
  • @imulsion Did you identify what model and which hardware version of that model you have? – Jason Aug 28 '14 at 15:15
  • Yes, with help from @harrymc. (I did check the box as well). He was right, my model is the TL-PA211. I downloaded the V1 version of the firmware – imulsion Aug 28 '14 at 15:18
  • Troubleshooting is difficult because the disconnection behaviour is completely unpredictable. It might not disconnect again for days. – Henry Sep 20 '17 at 21:54
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Firstly, the official tools for troubleshooting homeplug connections suck . I wish I had it when I was troubleshooting my setup but homeplug monitor is a great tool for understanding your homeplug network. You get significantly better information than the 'standard' tools supplied with your units. The lights on the units should be green, and at worse amber, never red, but that's kinda useless.

Secondly, its useful to try to understand your overall electrical 'network'. In my case I found that I had worse connections whenever my washing machine was on, and that relocating the plug resulted in better connections. Passthrough units also act as filters, and are a good idea near anything electrically noisy (switch mode power supplies and large motors such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines, air conditioning and so on).

Since switching them on and off helps, I suspect the connection between the units is weak (and this is where homeplug monitor helps), and trying to move them between different suitable plugpoints should help.

Community
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Journeyman Geek
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1

I had similar problems, but another cause. I use the TP-link powerline adapter to connect two german routers (called FritzBox). Some FritzBox types (like 7170, and I guess, also other switches), have problems with Auto MDI-X which means he is not able to negotiate or keep up a speed and duplex mode. If you are able to set the speed/duplex mode of the switch port/network interface manually, try that first. On a FritzBox you can use a tool called cpmaccfg for that.

andre.woesten
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Going only by your image, I believe that the model of your TP-Link powerline adapters is TL-PA211.

Try to download from the linked page the latest V3 Firmware and Utility (or V1 by your model). I would also suggest downloading and reading the manuals for the right procedure to use for updating them both.

If the latest firmware and software do not work, use the warranty on the adapters, or return them to the shop as unsuitable to your environment.

harrymc
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    How do you know he has V3 hardware? You can't use V3 on a V1 TL-PA211. – Jason Aug 27 '14 at 16:06
  • @Jason: As he just bought it, I assumed he has the later version. But in any case, V1 can be downloaded from the same page-link. – harrymc Aug 27 '14 at 22:32
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    Not with TP-Link. Even a year or two after a new hardware version is posted on their website, my supplier will still receive fresh shipments of the previous version. – Jason Aug 27 '14 at 22:53
  • @Jason: As I said, V1 software can be downloaded from the same page-link. – harrymc Aug 28 '14 at 07:13
  • @imulsion: Which firmware have you downloaded? – harrymc Aug 28 '14 at 13:38
  • The V1 version. – imulsion Aug 29 '14 at 18:37
  • If you have received a resource CD with the adapters, install the Management Utility from it as explained in [the manual](http://uk.tp-link.com/resources/document/TL-PA211%28UK_V3_User_Guide.pdf) and start it up and it will do the firmware upgrade for you as explained in section 4.3 in the manual without needing to download anything. Otherwise, demand the resource CD from the shop. For more info about firmware installation see [this guide](http://www.tp-link.com/no/article/?faqid=405). – harrymc Aug 29 '14 at 19:32
  • My house is 2 years old and my 4 TP Link adaptors randomly disconnect throughout the day when in use, so it's nothing to do with new or old wiring. Turning them off and back on again at the socket fixes it but it is very annoying and clearly not fit for purpose. I would advise everyone not to buy these. This also happens when I am the only person in the h house and very little electrical equipment it switched on. – MikeyBunny Aug 20 '18 at 08:52
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I tried a pair of these some while ago because of poor wireless reception upstairs when router was downstairs.

The result was massive packet loss between laptop and router (old house wiring, signal crossing fuse box). Of course large packet loss can cause problems with the internet connection.

In my experience they only work well in a house with very new electrical wiring. If the house wiring is old or the device are on different circuits (so the signal passes through a fuse box) then you get the packet loss.

When I tried using them on the same electrical circuit there was no issue.

Try a ping -t to your router address and check for packet loss.

DavidPostill
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