The primary adapter only contains one ethernet port which is used to connect with the router, so you can’t plug an additional device into this particular adapter. The powerline adapters that I personally use, the TP-Link AV600 Powerline Wi-Fi Kit, comes with two adapters. Some powerline adapters will need their own ethernet cable as this is the only way in which you are able to connect a wired device to the powerline network, but more commonly found these days are powerline adapters that can be used with an ethernet connection in addition to providing a Wi-Fi network. Given that you don’t see this wiring, it does give the impression that the communication between the powerline adapters is wireless, but this is technically not the case.Īlthough an ethernet cable is absolutely needed to connect the primary adapter with the router and establish a powerline network in the first place, a second ethernet cable is not necessarily always needed for the second adapter. Once the primary adapter is connected to the router, the second one can be placed pretty much anywhere as the powerline signal gets transferred from the primary to the secondary by making use of the electrical wiring already found within the walls. Most people won’t want a long ethernet cable trailing around their home so will want to place the primary adapter as close to the router as possible to minimize the length of cable that is needed. The reason for this is that the primary adapter must be connected to the router using a physical ethernet cable. The primary adapter will need to be positioned close to the router, whereas you have much more freedom in regards to the position of the secondary adapter.

Powerline ethernet network kit