NETGEAR XAV5001-100NAR Powerline AV 500 Adapter Up to 500Mbps

Pros: Purchased this to add another access point to the network in a room with notoriously bad WiFi reception. Wasn't concerned about this being a refurbished product because these are sold normally in pairs and estimated that these were the 'good ones' from pairs with a failed unit. I have no problems whatsoever with the unit I received, getting about 90MB in a room far from the modem. Still way faster than my internet speed, so no complaints.

Cons: Packaging left a bit to be desired - unit was rattling around loose inside the box. Luckily no damage occurred. Unit was about 50% larger than the other adapter I already have despite being the same model, so I assume it's an older version.

Other Thoughts: These powerline adapters are a surprisingly good way to extend your network and while distance does degrade the speed of the signal, They're still much faster than typical broadband internet. A very cool technology!

Pros: Easy to install. Easy to setup. Can you say plug and play? It's that easy.

Cons: If there is one, I haven't found it yet.

Other Thoughts: I had another unit setup in my house already. So for this one, I plugged it in the wall, connected the ethernet cable, and boom I was on the network. I didn't have to do anything else. That was it!

Some say you should use MoCa vs Powerline. I have ready where people have difficulties with the powerline. As long as you are pluggin straight into the wall and not a strip I don't think you will have a problem. Rated 500mbps which is double that of MoCa and I stream HD over this without an issue. I have watched Netflix on my TV going through my Tivo box (who say as well not to use it), I stream HD TV to another PC via my Ceton InfiniTV setup without an issue now. Could not be easier to configure and setup, plug one into your router, and then add a unit whereever that needs to tie into the network.

Pros: I currently have 3 of these adapters (with 2 more on the way), and they are perfect for my needs. Since my house does not have ethernet connections throughout (and I have neither the time nor resources to set up that kind of system), I have resorted to using these adapters to:

1) Set up wireless AP's for blanket coverage throughout the home.
2) Have clients hardwired to the powerline adapter through the access point.

These adapters are much more reliable than wifi, and they allow me to set up AP's in areas where it would be optimal for coverage.

They do run quite warm, though my oldest two adapters seem to have no ill-effect from constant usage (for over a year).

Cons: These adapters are very distance-dependent, and can vary highly in performance depending on the type of plug and location. While these adapters are stable (and more reliable than wifi), their connection over the powerline adds a degree of latency that may or may not be of concern. In addition, as these adapters are reccomended to be plugged directly into a plug (as opposed to a power strip), you do lose access/flexibility.

Other Thoughts: Don't be worried about the refurbished nature of this product. My package was in a nondescript brown box (as opposed to the typical retail box), but the adapter was spotless/perfect condition.

Pros: well either buy this one adapter or you could buy the actiontec powerline adapter for 49.99 at best buy and you receive two powerline adapters and same speed performance, o and wait its not refurbished either, but yeah usually refurbished means it has been broken or failed once before for a previous owner.

Cons: ^^

Other Thoughts: Product is made by actiontec, PWR511K01 is the model number.

Pros: I bought 2 of these (this product is 1 adapter so if you need 2 you need to buy 2 as this is NOT a kit which is a mistake I made) and hooked them up to setup a repeater bridge/AP using 2 DD-WRT routers, one Cisco and one Netgear. I wanted these to maintain my gigabit network which was and still is completely gigabit (none of that here XD) and they work very, VERY well. Very happy!

Cons: None to date

Other Thoughts: I have never been skittish about buying refurbed products as I work retail and know most of the stuff RTV (returned to vendor) is working just has been opened and can't be resold as new. The stuff sent back that is dead is typically stripped and just remade. So I bought these and they immediately synced to each other and just work really well! Would buy again and may very well!

Pros: As easy as physically possible. Plug router/modem into one of these, plug your computer/internet accessing device into the other in a different room. Plug both into wall. DONE!

Cons: None that I can think of? I haven't tried any other types of Powerline products before.

Other Thoughts: These units were purchased to provide internet to a sales terminal in a restaurant. Being a commercial building, I wasn't sure how much interference existed or would affect the functioning of these units. I have used them for 1 day, so I can't comment on the durability, nor the actual data transferring speed of the units, but I can say that they work perfectly so far, and couldn't have been easier to set up. Very satisfied, will follow up with more in the future.