Netgear XAVB5201 500Mbps Powerline Adaptor Review

The plugs are very compact units, no bigger than a mains transformer. on the underside of each plug we find a 10/100 Ethernet port for connecting whatever the desired remote device is; be it a switch, media centre access point, etc. Between the two plugs and through the home wiring in the walls, the XAVB5201 has a link speed of up to 500Mbps.

On the front we find three LEDs, the bottom LED shows the link status, the top LED shows the power status in green, whilst the middle LED shows either red, orange or green to indicate the link speed and quality (i.e. poor connection shows as red and good connection in green).

To the side of the plug there is a simple security button which allows two or more plugs to work together under the same 128-bit encrypted connection. Any additional plugs that are to be installed, need to be connected in a similar way to ensure they are on the same network.