Is there a need to plug a Powerline Networking plug directly into the wall socket?

Question

I read that I will have to plug my Powerline Networking plug directly into the wall socket, but it appears it works fine when I plug it into one of those extension cords

I wonder whats the rational behind the need to plug directly into the wall socket? Does it work lousier when I plug into an extension? Isn't the wall sockets something like an extension?

Answer 1

There are two reasons why you should plug direct into the wall:

1: The more devices you have plugged in between you and the wall, the more chance you have of interference in the signal.

2: Some extension sockets contain filters and surge protectors. These interfere with the signal.

Yes, it will work fine in a non-surge protected extension, but you may not get quite such a clean signal, and hence not quite as much speed, as if it were plugged direct into the wall.

Answer 2

Longer wire = more noise. Unshielded wire = more noise. Running through power conditioning or a transformer = ruinous noise. It's not obvious from the outside of a power strip what circuits it has inside. A power strip may be simple and cause little problems. An uninterruptible power supply would probably ruin the data signal.

Answer 3

My power extender TPlink AV500 works perfectly well via an extension cord with no obvious drop in speed that I have noticed.