Expert's Rating
Our Verdict
The Netgear Powerline 1000 is rather limited by its no-frills features: one Ethernet port per adapter and lack of wireless. We think paying extra for the PLP1200 is worth it as it boasts a pass-through socket compared to the less flexible PL1000. While found lacking in features, it will still make a huge difference to your home network and PC/entertainment download speeds. The price is reasonable, but you can get cheaper (but not quite as fast) with a 500Mbps Powerline.
Powerline technology is a super-easy way to create a fast home network that beats the pants off connecting your Internet devices (smart TV, Sky Q, Tivo, games console, Apple TV, etc) via WiFi. We test and review the Netgear Powerline 1000.
This Powerline starter kit comes with two adapters, one base unit to connect to your Internet router, and the other to go in the second room that houses your smart TV, Xbox etc.
Plug the base adapter into a wall power socket near your router and connect these two together with the supplied Ethernet cable. Plug the second adapter into a power socket near the TV, PlayStation or whatever, and then connect these together with another Ethernet cable.
That’s all you need to do, and you should achieve much faster wired performance than you will over flaky weak WiFi.
Powerline comes in various speeds, rated on the box as 500Mbps or 1,200Mbps. In reality, these are speeds you’ll never actually get as they are theoretical maximum speeds. The state of your home wiring and other environmental factors will slow these down by quite a factor. Rest assured though that the wired Powerline speeds will almost certainly be faster than your WiFi. If you’re happy with your WiFi download speeds all-around your home then you probably don’t need Powerline. You and I know that no one is truly satisfied by their WiFi performance at the furthest point of their home.
In our real-world home tests we usually see actual second-room performance of around 100Mbps from a 1,000Mbps-rated Powerline and 70-80 for a 500Mbps set up.
Some Powerline adapters have the added ability to create a new WiFi hotspot right there in the room that’s a distance from your usual wireless router. This can also significantly improve WiFi performance around the home. Sadly, the PL1000 and PLP1000 lack such a feature, but are useful for connecting to smart devices by Ethernet.
Netgear Powerline 1000 review: features
The Netgear Powerline 1000 is a fairly basic set of Powerline adapters.
Each adapter has just the one Ethernet port. We prefer at least two such ports on the second adapter as most of us have more than the one Internet-hungry device that needs connecting. In my house, I have the smart TV, Sky Q box and a Tado thermostat that are gasping for a wired connection.
You can add a cheap Ethernet Switch to add more Ethernet ports, or look to Powerline adapters with two or three Ethernet ports – see our roundup of our recommended Powerline adapters.
Both are Gigabit Ethernet ports, so there’s no speed-limiting you get with Powerlines that use the slower 10/100 Ethernet, which pegs back speeds at a maximum 100Mbps. With Gigabit Ethernet you’ll get whatever the Powerline can give and your home wiring allows.
The Netgear PLP1000 does boast pass-through sockets on each adapter. These pass-through sockets can be handy if you’re short of power sockets as they allow you to plug in other devices to the same socket as the Powerline adapter. Never plug a Powerline into a power extender block as you’ll sacrifice performance.
Netgear Powerline 1000 review: performance
As stated earlier don’t expect 1,000Mbps speeds from the Netgear 1000. But the same can be said for all Powerline adapters, no matter who the manufacturer is.
In our real-world tests (in a three-storey Victorian house) the Netgear Powerline 1000 performed well, although not as fast as the 1,200Mbps-rated or faster Powerlines we’ve tested.
In our same-room test, we got 186Mbps, which is great but not a real indicator of what you’ll get in the second room. We do this test to see what each Powerline can do with less limiting factors such as distance.
Once connected two floors down in the house the Netgear 1000 achieved 91Mbps – about half what it got when both adapters were in the same room.
You will almost certainly get different speeds as so much is determined by your house’s wiring and other devices taking power from wall sockets. But, as a comparison, we suggest that the Netgear 1000 is faster than most 500Mbps but a little slower than the best-performing 1,200Mbps Powerlines.
Netgear PowerLINE WiFi 1000 review: cost
This Powerline starter kit has an RRP of £49.99. You get two Ethernet cables in the box alongside the two adapters.
Specs
Netgear Powerline 1000: Specs
- 1,000Mbps Powerline
- 2 adapters, one Gigabit Ethernet port per adapter.
Author: Simon Jary, Contributing writer
Simon was Editor of Macworld from the dark days of 1995 to the triumphant return of Steve Jobs and the launch of the iPhone. His desk is a test bench for tech accessories, from USB-C and Thunderbolt docks to chargers, batteries, Powerline adaptors and Fitbits.