The TP-Link TL-PA4015PKIT block is a very representative adapter of the 2013 PLC market: equipped with a female electrical outlet, it operates at a theoretical speed of 500 Mbps but is automatically restricted to an entry-level chip limiting the network socket to 100 Mbps against 1 Gbps on the high-end models. Is it a bad product? No… quite the contrary! Lets see the details together.
Table of Contents
TP-Link TL-PA4015PKIT: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Female power socket.
- Decent bit rates for a “500 Mbps / 100 Mbps” model.
- Power consumption contained.
Cons
- 100 Mbps Ethernet jack.
- Electrical connection to the body only downwards.
A block that does not come out of the ordinary
The TL-PA4015P is neither big nor small for a block equipped with a female electrical outlet. A female socket that we appreciate since it allows the PLC adapter to be directly connected to a wall socket without condemning it: you can plug it over any other electrical device or power strip.
However, the adapter can only be plugged in one way, body down. We would have liked to find two ground sockets on the male plug, which would have made it possible to position the case in both directions, so as to make access to the single network socket more practical.
Speeds that forced with the physical limits of the device
As we mentioned above, the TP-Link 4015 uses an entry-level PLC chip, certainly compatible with the IEEE1901 standard at 500 Mbps but which limits speeds to 100 Mbps (Fast Ethernet port and not Gigabit as this is the case on higher-end models).
As a result, it is not surprising to see that the maximum speed recorded during our practical tests was 86 Mbps, or 10.8 MB/s. As for the minimum speed, it was 69.5 Mbps (8 .7 MB/s) in the configuration where the two test adapters were farthest apart.
On average, the TL-PA4015PKIT offered a speed of 75.9 Mbps (9.5 MB/s), which places it at the top of the basket, without however equaling the best which point to more or less 90 Mbps.
Very low power consumption
Power consumption is exemplary, with 2 watts recorded during data exchanges, 1.7 watts in case of inactivity and 0.5 watts during prolonged inactivity.
Versions, box contents
For once, only one version is available for sale, consisting of two CPL adapters.
The box contains two network cables as well as the usual quick installation guide and CD. The digital wafer contains a network monitoring utility to see the number of adapters present, to secure the network or to watch the synchronization speed of the different blocks.
CONCLUSION
An entry-level CPL adapter that does its job rather well since it offers correct speeds, is not very energy-consuming and has a female electrical outlet. You can find faster, but often for more money in this range.
TP-Link TL-PA4015PKIT: Specs
| Theoretical speed | 500 Mbps |
| Ports | 1x 100Mbps Ethernet |
| Standard | IEEE1901 + Home Plug AV |
| Security | 128-bit AES |
| Guarantee | 2 |
| Wireless | Nope |
| Network switch | Nope |
| Socket | Yes |
