For those of you who have your “Zwift rig” setup far away from your Internet modem like I do (modem is upstairs, rig is downstairs), you’re pretty much stuck with having to run Zwift over your WiFi network. This isn’t ideal since Zwift, especially when run at a high resolution, is bandwidth intensive. To get the maximum bandwidth for running Zwift, your computer should be “hard-wired” directly into your modem or network for the fastest data transfers. However, there’s another fast solution…
Apparently you can now use your home’s electrical wiring to extend your network and obtained transfer speeds much higher than your WiFi network currently can, using a device like this one:
TP-LINK AV2000 Powerline Adapter Kit
I haven’t purchased one of these adapters yet, but most of the reviews are very positive.
Do any of you Zwifters use a similar powerline adapter? I’m considering upgrading my “Zwift rig” this winter to include a higher resolution TV, so I’m thinking it may be worth getting a powerline adapter so I don’t have to deal with WiFi issues while exercising in my basement. In addition to running Zwift, I often listen to podcasts or Pandora, so getting as much bandwidth as possible would be helpful.
I’ve been running these types of powerline adapters at home for quite some time (specifically these: Devolo dLAN 500 AV). I too have my setup a long way from my modem, and found I was losing connection on WiFi. I used the WiFi extender function in the adapter, but because my laptop is a little old, was still only on slower bands. I found I was getting a connection loss a lot more frequently than I realised, even close to the adapter’s WiFi. This impacted Zwift losing the network.
I recently decided to hard wire my laptop to the powerline adapter. The connection is now a lot more stable. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it is that much quicker. Bandwidth can vary drastically, which I can monitor using the dashboard software for the adapters. Yes, it’s quicker than WiFi (especially considering the limitation of the laptop’s adapter), but not gigibit fast, even though they are supposed to be up to 500Mbps for this specific adapter. I am getting between 80Mbps and 200Mbps, depending on what else is being used in the house that might be creating noise on the electric cables.
I live in a new build house, so the wiring is tip top up to date and new. I believe these adapter are limited by the age of the wiring in the house and various other factors, such as whether they are plugged into a multi adapter. This also implies that if your house has multiple circuits, you won’t get the best throughput as you would be going via the mains circuit breakers as a “router”. Try keep them on the same mains ring for the best throughput.
All in all, I do get a better, faster and more stable connection with the powerline adapters than over WiFi, but whether I would be able to run high res TV over this is questionable