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Powerline adapters

FRITZ! FRITZ!Powerline 1260 set, a wireless unit and a wired one vs TP-Link TL-PA7017P KIT, gigabit-socket pair with the outlet given back

Wireless at the far end, or the socket you plugged the adapter into?

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Two mains-wiring kits with opposite ideas of what the far end is for. The FRITZ!Powerline 1260 set pairs a wireless unit with a wired one, publishes three rates each attached to a different link, and carries three gigabit sockets across the pair. The TP-Link TL-PA7017P KIT is two wired adapters, names HomePlug AV2, gives the wall socket back through a 16 A pass-through outlet, and states outright that a half or a third of its headline is what is usually obtained.

FRITZ!Powerline 1260 WLAN set with a wireless powerline adapter and a wired adapter

FRITZ! FRITZ!Powerline 1260 set, a wireless unit and a wired one

Wins 3 of 8

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≈ 165 €

TP-Link TL-PA7017P powerline adapter with a pass-through mains socket and a gigabit Ethernet port

TP-Link TL-PA7017P KIT, gigabit-socket pair with the outlet given back

Wins 3 of 8

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≈ 50 €

Line by line

Compared on FRITZ!Powerline 1260 set, a wireless unit and a wired one TL-PA7017P KIT, gigabit-socket pair with the outlet given back
Powerline standard Not published — neither HomePlug nor G.hn nor any other specification name appears, on a set that names its wireless generation twice HomePlug AV2, named as the specification the rate is derived from, with compatibility stated for all HomePlug AV and AV2 adapters
Stated peak rate Published three ways, each attached to a different link — up to 1.2 Gbit/s with Wi-Fi 5 in the title, up to 1200 Mbit/s over the mains wiring, and 866 plus 400 Mbit/s for the access point; none is combined with another 1000 Mbit/s, with the page stating in as many words that it is a theoretical channel data rate derived from HomePlug AV2, and that a half or a third of it is what is usually obtained
Pass-through socket Not published — no integrated outlet, no current rating and nothing about giving the wall socket back Yes — an integrated socket rated up to 16 A, usable as an ordinary outlet, with an integrated noise filter named as reducing interference on the powerline link
Ethernet port count Three across the set — two on the 1220 unit, one on the 1260 One per unit, so two across the kit
Port speed Gigabit; no BASE-T designation and no figure in Mbit/s for the sockets themselves Gigabit; no BASE-T designation and no figure in Mbit/s for the socket itself
Kit composition One 1260 adapter with wireless, one 1220 adapter, two network leads and an installation guide Two identical adapters, two RJ45 leads and a quick installation guide
Wi-Fi at the far end Yes — an access point given as 866 Mbit/s on Wi-Fi AC plus 400 Mbit/s on Wi-Fi N, with WPS and WPA2 named, and mesh with a FRITZ!Box None — stated in square brackets in the second bullet: this model has no wireless. It is the only one of the five kits here to rule it out in writing
Stated maximum number of paired units Not published — mesh with a FRITZ!Box is named and no figure for how many adapters may be joined appears Not published — compatibility with all HomePlug AV and AV2 adapters is named and no figure for how many may be joined appears

A tick means one listing published something the other did not, or published a better figure. It does not mean the product is better, and the column is not a score out of anything: a maker who says less loses lines here without losing a comparison. The two verdicts below are where the page is settled.

Which one, for whom

Buy the FRITZ! FRITZ!Powerline 1260 set, a wireless unit and a wired one

The 1260 set is the one that puts a wireless network where the cable ends — an access point at 866 plus 400 Mbit/s, with WPS and WPA2, meshing with a FRITZ!Box. Three gigabit sockets across two units is the highest count in this family. What its page never names is the powerline specification itself, which is the one thing that decides whether it will talk to an adapter you already own.

Buy the TP-Link TL-PA7017P KIT, gigabit-socket pair with the outlet given back

The TL-PA7017P KIT is wired only, and it is the more honest kit on two counts. It names HomePlug AV2, so compatibility can be checked, and it tells you on its own page that the 1000 Mbit/s in its title is theoretical and that a half or a third is the usual result. The 16 A pass-through outlet gives the wall socket back, which on a hallway plug matters more than a number. Its own bullet rules out wireless in writing.

The questions that come up before an order

Why does the TP-Link page halve its own headline?

Because 1000 Mbit/s is the theoretical channel data rate of the HomePlug AV2 specification, not a rate over house wiring. The listing says so itself and puts a half or a third forward as the usual outcome. Mains-wiring throughput depends on the circuit, the distance and what else is plugged in; a page that says so is telling you something true.

Which figure on the FRITZ! set is the powerline one?

Up to 1200 Mbit/s, given for the extension over the mains wiring. The 866 plus 400 Mbit/s belongs to the wireless access point on the 1260 unit, and the 1.2 Gbit/s in the title sits beside Wi-Fi 5. Three rates, three different links, and none of them added to another — which is how the maker places them and how they are recorded here.

The full reviews

Every price named in a summary was read on the date that review carries. What a shop asks today is shown beside the product, and it moves.