Devolo dLAN 1200+ Powerline Review

1200Mbps and WiFi? Now that's just showing off.

by Greg Hook
MSRP: £159.99

What is the Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi?

Power line adapters are seemingly the perfect answer to most home networking problems. Offering simple and cheap solutions for getting that much needed network access to those dark and distant areas of the home where network ready devices have previously gone to die. For as little as £25 you can now get a pair of 500Mbps adapters that will give any location with a electrical outlet network access. Something previously thought impossible without having cables everywhere.

The Devolo dLAN 1200+ Starter Kit we previously reviewed was supposed to have speeds of 1200Mbps speeds and although that wasn't the case it still performed very well. However with a price tag of £119.99 it is way above the likes of the standard TP-LINK and Netgear £25 Adapters, but if you want the best then you usually have to pay for it. Going even higher than £120 we have Devolo's latest product for review, their dLAN 1200+ WiFi Starter kit at a mouth-watering £159.99.

Comfortably one of the highest priced Powerline adapters we have reviewed to date, but with good reason. Whilst being very similar to the 1200+ kit reviewed previously with AC pass through, we have the addition of Wireless (802.11ac) connectivity on the second adapter, plus an additional Gigabit Ethernet port. Whilst we expect the speeds to be very similar to the non WiFi version, we have high hopes on the wireless side of things.

What about the design and connections?

Like it's non-WiFi sibling, the Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi Starter Kit includes two Powerline adapters, a pictorial installation guide and two Ethernet cables. The main adapter is identical in design and size to that found in the non-WiFi kit offering a single Gigabit Ethernet port whereas the second, WiFi enabled adapter, is much larger but does offer two Gigabit Ethernet ports. Devolo have no plans to introduce three Gigabit ports as we saw on the dLAN 650 kit, so two is the best we will see for a while. Despite the increased size of the WiFi enabled adapter, it will still comfortably fit in a double wall socket without obscuring the other socket.

Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi

The adapters again have that familiar white hard plastic shell with a slightly rounded edges and more modern look than the previous class adapters. No air vents found on the main adapter, but the WiFi enabled adapter has vents to all sides, much needed as it does get fairly warm. As with previous Devolo adapters, the Gigabit Ethernet ports are again on the top of each adapter which if aesthetics are key could be rather annoying and unsightly.

Both adapters have the very useful AC pass through feature which, whilst it makes the adapters more expensive, does stop you sacrificing a power socket and is generally more convenient for day to day use. One minor issue we have with the WiFi powerline adapter is the pass through socket is very firm meaning you often pull the whole adapter out of the socket when trying to remove a plug.

The LED indicator lights are basic but cover all bases and can even be turned off if needs be as they are fairly bright. On the main adapter a steady white light indicates a connection, quick flash for pairing and irregular flash for power saving mode. It will also flash red if there is no dLAN connection and flash slightly slower in red if the dLAN connection is not optimal. The theme follows on the WiFi adapter with just one additional LED light which stays illuminated once the WiFi is setup and enabled.

How easy Is it to setup?

The setup is again the easy and simple process that we find with the majority of our Powerline Adapter reviews. Slightly longer than standard Powerline adapters due to the additional WiFi setup, but even so the installation barely takes a couple of minutes. You simply plug both adapters in, press the encryption button and once the LED lights stop flashing you then commence with the WiFi setup which has very easy to follow instructions. Powerline adapters really are one of the easiest pieces of technology to install that you could ever wish for.

The Devolo adapters are fully Homeplug compliant so adding additional adapters to the existing Powerline network won't cause any issues. You can also mix and match different manufacturers. We have tested TP-LINK, Netgear and Devolo Powerline Adapters together on the same network and all paired and connected without issue.

Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi

How do we test?

Powerline adapters are open to huge variances in performance due to many factors such as your house wiring, other equipment plugged in and distances between adapters. Our testing process has been designed to create repeatable tests in the same location to compare different adapters against each other.

The testing is carried out in a standard four bed detached house. The router is a BT HomeHub5 (located on the ground floor), connected via Gigabit Ethernet to both a PC and the non WiFi dLAN 1200+ adapter at one end, then with a laptop via Gigabit Ethernet to the WiFi enabled 1200+ adapter at the other end.

We use a program called LANSpeedTest by Totusoft which is a simple but powerful tool for measuring Local Area Network (LAN) speeds. It does this by building a file in memory, then transfers it both ways (without effects of windows file caching) while keeping track of the time, and then does the calculations for you. This gives us the results of transferring files from our main PC to the Laptop via the Powerline Adapters.

We test in four different locations of the home (the distances are straight line estimated, not wiring lengths).

1. 2mtrs between adapters, ground floor, same ring main.
2. 9mtrs between adapters, ground floor, same ring main.
3. 5mtrs between adapters, 1st floor, same ring main.
4. 15mtrs from the main adapter in the garage, not the same ring main, a single spur from the main consumer unit.

Our tests are as follows:
1. 2 x 1GB files simultaneously transferred.
2. 2 x 100MB files simultaneously transferred.
3. 2 x 1GB files successively transferred.
4. 10 x 100MB files successively transferred.
5. 100 x 5MB files successively transferred.
6. 1000 x 10KB files successively transferred.
7. 1000 x 1MB files successively transferred.

The simultaneous test results shown are the maximum throughput speed, whilst the successive tests results are shown as an average speed.

Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi

How does the Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi perform?

Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi

From these results you can see the two top speeds are a peak throughput of 359.37Mbps and the highest average of 258.50Mbps, both from our location 1 test. Even testing in location 4 which is our garage that is not even on the same wiring circuit, we still received an excellent top speed of 179.43Mbps. More than fast enough to stream that YouTube video on how to repair that particular broken item and thereby restore your status as a man in the eyes of others!

It is important to be aware of how the speeds quoted will possibly translate to your actual real world use. The quoted speeds are always the best possible link rate in laboratory conditions and the link rate includes both up and down streams, so in the case here with the 'up to' 1200Mbps speeds, that immediately becomes 600Mbps as the very best you will receive. You then also need to be aware that some adapters (thankfully not the case here with Devolo) only include Fast Ethernet ports, rather than Gigabit ports which limits even further the top speeds you could receive to just 100Mbps.

Our last review of the Devolo 1200+ Kit found speeds very similar to those achieved in this review. Despite the 1200Mbps rating the best we could achieve was 359.37Mbps, nowhere near the maximum possible 600Mbps. Although a tad under 360Mbps is excellent anyway and will comfortably allow you to stream multiple HD videos and transfer files quickly across your network, but being aware of what speeds you are likely to achieve, which won't ever be the rating on the box is very useful.

As with all Devolo's current gen Powerline adapters, this kit features Devolo's Range+ technology. Range+ uses all three lines in the electrical circuit compared to other manufacturers which often only use two, that being the phase and neutral. The Devolo technology uses the earth wire as well, which Devolo claim will maximise the transmission capacity and give a longer range. Our excellent results in our far away garage test would suggest there is some merit to those claims. Overall our speeds received were excellent and during testing we suffered no issues or dropped connections.

Moving onto the WiFi side of things and we have 802.11 a,g,n WiFi with simultaneous 2.4 and 5Ghz bands but here the results weren't as impressive. Using location 3 as our test point, with the laptop (802.11ac enabled) a couple of metres away from the adapter, we achieved the following:

Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi

As you can see without the adapter the best wireless speeds we could achieve were only 10.34Mbps. With the Devolo WiFi Powerline adapter we increased that significantly to a high of 87.98Mbps. An excellent increase and one that will allow fast network access to a previously struggling locations but, if you are expecting wireless speeds in the hundreds of Mbps, then be prepared to be disappointed.

Any Additional Features?

Whilst no software is ever needed to use the Powerline adapters, Devolo do have a useful free piece of software called dLAN Cockpit. This gives a simple visual display of the Powerline network and the link rates (remember, link rate isn't the speed you will receive) that are currently being achieved. You can also change a few settings such as the security options, update the adapter's firmware and even change the adapter name and turn off the rather bright LED lights if you wish.

Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi

Conclusion

Pros

  • Easy to setup
  • AC pass through
  • Very fast tested speeds
  • Gigabit Ethernet ports
  • Range+ technology

Cons

  • Too expensive
  • You won't ever get 1200Mbps

Devolo dLAN 1200+ Powerline Review

Is it worth buying?

Possibly. We found the usual good Devolo build quality with an installation and setup that is child's play and some superb features for the money such as AC pass through, Gigabit Ethernet ports and speeds approaching 360Mbps. We have long been a proponent of Powerline adapters and would normally advocate their purchase and use for most homes, but here the rather high price point of £159.99 starts to make it a lot more expensive than alternative solutions such as buying additional WiFi routers for example.

What are the alternatives?

Depends why you want the Powerline adapter but for online gaming, to watch YouTube or even stream in HD to a tablet or PC, there are much cheaper solutions such as a TP-LINK's £74 WPA4220 triple adapter WiFi set. Basic Powerline Adapters are even cheaper at just £25 for TP-LINK's 500Mbps PA411KIT. But none of these have all the features of Devolo's 1200+ adapters. If you are looking for the very latest Powerline adapter with the fastest speeds and all the features you could possibly need such as AC pass through, WiFi and Gigabit Ethernet ports, then you can't go wrong with the Devolo dLAN 1200+ WiFi ac Kit. However at £159.99 is perhaps too much.

Scores

Build Quality

.
9

Connectivity

.
.
8

Ease of Use

.
9

Connection Speed

.
9

Value for Money

.
.
.
7

Verdict

.
.
8
8
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

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