8 March 2016

REVIEW: Devolo dLan 550 WiFi Powerline Adapter

Fix that WiFi deadspot.

Trust us when we say that we have experience of many WiFi routers. No matter the incredible specs or the size of your antenna (ooo, matron!), even the most impressive of WiFi routers can still leave deadspots in your house. You know the place; that awkward spot in the littlest bedroom where you just can’t watch YouTube at all. A powerline adaptor could help, and we've found an awesome one.


The Devolo dLan 550 WiFi Powerline Adapter, like many other powerline adaptors, consists of two parts; and base plug that connects with a wire to your router and then plugs directly into a wall socket nearby, and then the output plug, also connected to an electricity socket, from which you get your precious internet. Therefore you house’s electrical cabling carries the net about your home, and you can use the output plug to scoop it up in whatever room you fancy. But there’s more…

The Devolo dLan 550 WiFi Powerline Adapter is, as the name suggest, WiFi enabled. That means that as well as being able to connect an Ethernet wire to the output (for the likes of desktop computers, smart TVs, and games consoles) it also projects a strong WiFi field. Hey presto, that WiFi deadspot has been killed.



This new kit is particularly desirable over Devolo’s previous model, the dLan 500, as they have managed to increase both the usable range (you can get high speed internet up to a distance of a whopping 400 metres! Whose house is that big?), and also the speed of the WiFi, taking it up from 150mbps to 300mbps. More than enough for all that YouTube you've been missing out on in the littlest bedroom, then. Meanwhile, wired devices will enjoy speeds of up to 500mbps.

Uniquely, the Devolo dLan 550 WiFi Powerline Adapter uses WiFi Move technology, which is something we've yet to experience on a device like this. Basically, as there are now two WiFi networks in your home, your mobile device will automatically connect to the strongest one, regardless of where in the house you are. Normally you’d need to physically select and connect to an additional network, so the ability to always be on the strongest of the two is brilliant.


For larger homes, or those with those weird thick walls and ghosts who eat WiFi (they must be real, right?), this is a must-have product. Devolo do offer a faster product, the dLan 1200 (reviewed here), but for value for money, size, and ease of set-up, the Devolo dLan 550 WiFi Powerline Adapter is spot-on.

£99.99


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