Electrician made changes, and powerline suddenly drops to near useless

[raider708]

Hey- thanks for any expert help ya'll can provide. I'm in a rental and recently discovered Powerline as option to cover the inadequacies of wireless through these old (1920ish or before) Chicago walls.

I grabbed the TP-Link WPA4220kit because I wanted a second wireless access point in my back-of-house office, plus the 2 cat-5 jacks were nice for my IP business phone. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I've got a 50mpbs down connection directly through the router, and the powerline retained 30-35mpbs down at my new access point. Loved it. Problem solved!

Until the electrician stopped in the other day to start "upgrading wiring." He did something with the plug in my office where I had the powerline receiver & AP plugged in and a few outlets in the nearby kitchen.

Suddenly my connection was ruined. I was down to 2mpbs down!

The plug still works fine for power. And the electrician assured me that he didn't touch the basement circuit breakers. The TP-Link units do indicate they can get a LAN connection, but connection is very slow and spotty and unusable. All other conditions remain the same (my router connection, which outlets I was using for both ends, etc)

Any help? Especially advice I could give the electrician?? He's never seen powerline plugs in his life (certainly doesn't understand networks), so while he knows power, he's mystified as to what could cause the change. He says he's just installing newer line!

Thanks!

 

[abailey]

It would be helpful to know what he did. If he changed the wiring and put you on the same circuit as the kitchen, you could be getting interference you were not before. Can you ask him what he did?

 

[urgru]

Hey- thanks for any expert help ya'll can provide. I'm in a rental and recently discovered Powerline as option to cover the inadequacies of wireless through these old (1920ish or before) Chicago walls.

I grabbed the TP-Link WPA4220kit because I wanted a second wireless access point in my back-of-house office, plus the 2 cat-5 jacks were nice for my IP business phone. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I've got a 50mpbs down connection directly through the router, and the powerline retained 30-35mpbs down at my new access point. Loved it. Problem solved!

Until the electrician stopped in the other day to start "upgrading wiring." He did something with the plug in my office where I had the powerline receiver & AP plugged in and a few outlets in the nearby kitchen.

Suddenly my connection was ruined. I was down to 2mpbs down!

The plug still works fine for power. And the electrician assured me that he didn't touch the basement circuit breakers. The TP-Link units do indicate they can get a LAN connection, but connection is very slow and spotty and unusable. All other conditions remain the same (my router connection, which outlets I was using for both ends, etc)

Any help? Especially advice I could give the electrician?? He's never seen powerline plugs in his life (certainly doesn't understand networks), so while he knows power, he's mystified as to what could cause the change. He says he's just installing newer line!

Thanks!

Did he install GFCI outlets? I ask because you mention work in the kitchen, and they're required by code in kitchens in bathrooms pretty much everywhere now. GFCI and powerline adapters do not play nicely together.

 

[raider708]

Good questions -
Yes, there are GCFI outlets in the kitchen (with the "test" button, right?), and one of them wasn't working well so he replaced it. But 1. these were there before, and 2. the TP-Link units weren't plugged in directly to any of them.

He says he has not changed circuits, just pull through new wiring and changed it.

 

[stevech]

It could be the infamous and debatable US cross-phase coupling issue.
US homes are two phase plus a neutral. If the MoCA signal source is on Phase A, and the destination is on phase B - according to the wiring in the breaker box - then there can be an issue of coupling from A to B.
This means having a low loss RF path from A to B. This is happenstance. A 220V appliance that is ON can couple with low loss. Some claim that a long 220V ROMEX cable from the breaker box to the appliance will couple by capacitance between the wires in the long cable (I'm a doubter on this). Some say that some appliances, of OFF, will still couple.
There are intentional phase couplers for RF. It goes in the breaker box.

Other causes you might have include new GFIs that attenuate, a new arrangement of plug strips with internal filters (you can just get a dumb non-surge-protector plug strip), and some TV/Stereo stuff that has filters inside that attenuates. It's a bit of a juggling game.

Another source is some kinds of light dimmers, some CFL lights, etc.

 

[thoma]

Good questions -
Yes, there are GCFI outlets in the kitchen (with the "test" button, right?), and one of them wasn't working well so he replaced it. But 1. these were there before, and 2. the TP-Link units weren't plugged in directly to any of them.

He says he has not changed circuits, just pull through new wiring and changed it.

GFCI receptacles are sometimes installed to feed all downstream outlets. If the GFCI is feeding the rest of the circuit, then a plug-in GFCI tester on a downstream receptacle will be able to trip the GFCI in the kitchen.

That having been said, the problem really could be anywhere. As with any other problem with electrical circuits, it is best to isolate where the problem actually is. Right now, we're just guessing.

Test with both HomePlugs plugged into the same receptacle. Then test with the HomePlugs on different receptacles in the same circuit, gradually increasing the distance one receptacle at a time. Then test with the HomePlugs on different circuits, but using the first receptacle on each circuit. Finally, increase the distance again until the HomePlugs wind up on the actual receptacles that you want to use.

At some point, you'll see a sharp drop-off in speed. That's where the problem is.

 

[sfx2000]

He might have flipped the wires for hot/ground/neutral... easy enough to do, and hard to catch after the fact.

Might consider investing in a outlet tester - I picked one up a few years back when I bought the current house, ended up replacing all of the outlets as they were pretty much worn out...

http://www.harborfreight.com/electrical-receptacle-tester-with-gfci-diagnosis-32907.html

You might also check your local HomeDepot, Menards, Dixieline, etc... if you don't want to order online.

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