| From: Karen Lewellen via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2023 18:13:36 -0400 (EDT) | I hope I ask this question clearly, as it may be hard to picture. | My new landlord is including Internet in my rent, all the more motivation to | find a solution. | he has bell, fibe for home, which includes things like Internet, but is not | very aware of unique methods of using the Internet, like Ethernet connections. | for the past year I have quite easily used fibe connections with my main | machine, so I feel sure this may be more about distance than anything else. | There is no physical modem in my apartment. Instead, I have a set of two | adapter I got from the source a few years back. | they plug into the wall, have a single Ethernet jack, and when the other item | is connected to the modem via the same method, I can use the network, no | extra software involved. Now we know that the two adapters are: d-links powerline adapter starter kit.
From what I see, they kind of act like an ethernet cable. Here is D_link's page for the current model: https://ca.dlink.com/en/products/dhp-601av-powerline-av2-1000-gigabit-starte...
It has two footnotes: 1 Maximum throughput based on theoretical transmission PHY rate. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of traffic and network overhead, may lower actual data throughput rate. Interference from devices that emit electrical noise, such as vacuum cleaners and hair dryers, may adversely affect the performance of this product. 2 Power outlets and electrical wiring must all be part of the same electrical system. Certain electrical conditions in your home, such as wiring condition and configuration, may affect the performance of this product. Additional D-Link PowerLine AV series products are required to add new devices to the network. A minimum of two D-Link PowerLine AV series products are required to create a network. Connecting this product to a power strip with a surge protector may adversely affect the performance of this product. For best results, plug the adapter directly into a wall outlet. | The problem we are having though is that for unexplained reasons I loose | internet access, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for several hours at a time. That's odd. But a lot of network problems are odd. Sometimes hard to diagnose. Could someone be putting noise on the home wiring? For example, footnote 1 mentions vacuum cleaners and hair dryers. But who uses those for an hour at a stretch? Could you be using a power bar at either end? Footnote 2 calls that out as an issue. Note: when you use this powerline kit, all your devices appear on the same LAN as your landlord's devices. This provides no firewall between you. | My first thought was that perhaps the service upstairs thinks i am a threat, | but again my new landlord has no idea how to check for this. Probably not. But I cannot be certain. | To be forthright the Internet shakiness is becoming a major factor for me | personally, I still have no land line, doing a great deal of work with | resources on line, like reach my office email. Makes sense. | Leading me to the question. | given adapter like the one I am using now existed, think 2017 or 2018, I am | guessing comparative ones exist that allow the Ethernet connection to tap into | a wireless network. | By which I mean, there will be no need for the adapter to be physically | connected to the service modem, the adapter can draw upon the wireless | resources, while still providing say a single Ethernet jack. I don't understand exactly what you are saying. Generally speaking, a wired connection is usually better (more reliable, faster) than a wireless one. Generally speaking, most devices now speak WiFi and fewer have wired ethernet connections. Your landlord could give you the WiFi password for his internet connection. - does it reliably reach the part of your apartment that matter? - this would not reduce the security of the current setup BUT I'm guessing that both you and he might like to impose some separation between your devices. - do all the devices that you wish to hook up to the internet have WiFi connections? If the answer to each of these is "yes", then you could probably do without the powerline adapters. | Anyone know of such an adapter? There are things called "wireless access points". I'd have to understand your situation better to make a recommendation. - do you care about protecting your devices from your landlord's devices and vice versa? - does WiFi from you landlord's modem/router reliably cover all of your rooms? Any of your rooms? - what the heck is the source of your outages. | amazon Canada would be wonderful as I have a gift card balance just now. Amazon has lots and lots of stuff. Not always the cheapest source. | If confusing, ask questions that make it easier to follow, my main computer | uses Ethernet only, I have no wireless resources whatsoever. That partially answers one question: that your main computer doesn't have a WiFi adapter. They are fairly easy to add, if you want to. Here's a quite fast one that I heard recommended (I am not recommending it because I haven't done the research needed): <https://www.amazon.ca/TP-Link-AC1300-High-Wi-Fi-Adapter/dp/B08D72GSMS/> This requires a USB 3 port on your computer. Do you have any other devices that you wish to connect to the ethernet? If so, what ports do they have.