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**GreyGeek** · Oct 21, 2012, 02:15 PM

Here are some solutions that other found for similar problems:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3F107R...R3F107RXSIRUHW

http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Power...owViewpoints=0

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Very finicky to setup. Works fine afterwards., July 17, 2011
By
S. Sliva (Salt Lake City, UT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: TRENDnet 200 Mbps Powerline Ethernet AV Adapter Kit TPL-303E2K (White) (Personal Computers)
Net: These TrendNet TPL-303E work after you've gotten them configured. Getting there may be difficult, at least with Win XP. Here are my notes so you can try some additional troubleshooting without contacting tech support.

The first step in configuring the two units to work together is to connect directly to the router the local unit is connected to, and enter a password for the remote unit. At first, the remote unit was detected and I quickly entered the password. It was rejected. Again, and again, and again. I tried switching local and remote. I rebooted the router. I moved outlets. Nothing worked. Password rejected. And that's about as far as the included documentation will get you.

Finally, I realized that the unit had only a few seconds in which the power light wasn't blinking. So, I had the password entered in the software's dialog box, and plugged the remote unit in, and hit enter to try the password ASAP. Finally! Password accepted. Once the password is accepted, you can pretty easily move the unit to other outlets. To get a device working, just plug it into the remote unit and then plug the remote unit in. Reset by unplugging from the outlet and plugging it back in with the ethernet cable already attached.

Do not reset by holding down the sync button!

If you make the mistake of holding the sync button down for 15 seconds to cause a "reset," you may have just destroyed your network settings, and you have to reconfigure everything. This is perhaps even worse than discovering a physically possible way to enter the password on a computer within seconds of plugging in the remote unit.

In my experience, after the reset, neither unit could be recognized as the remote unit. What seemed to fix that was connecting each unit as the local, and using the privacy tab in the software to configure each to the local network. Perhaps the "factory default" network name is not the default software network name? I don't know. But finally, the remote unit was again recognized. At that point, I had to use the password-within-seconds trick to get the remote unit recognized again. And at that point, things worked. Sheesh.

At all points, a short press of the sync button seems to just be a placebo to make the user feel like they've tried something. Doesn't seem to do much.

Performance-wise, wifi-G seems to be giving me 10mpbs and these units are getting 20mbps, which may be what my ISP provides. I'm using them two rooms apart. So, it's at least better than wifi-G. Not sure it would be better than wifi-N, but I had a remote device with no native wifi capabilities, so I decided to give this a shot.Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the instructions, and it works great, August 6, 2011
By
Norman A. Garrett (Charleston, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: TRENDnet 200 Mbps Powerline Ethernet AV Adapter Kit TPL-303E2K (White) (Personal Computers)
I read some of the other reviews here and ran into the same problems when following the instructions: The passwords would never take. Once you start resetting and doing what the troubleshooting guide says, everything is messed up. After spending 2-3 hours trying to get them to communicate, here's what I did to start over:

1. I attached each unit to the router, in turn (I had three altogether), used the software to give the network a name (all the same name, or accept the default), and clicked on the "private" button in the privacy settings. Apparently, that just sets the one unit that is currently directly connected to the router. But since all units must use the same name, that works.

2. After doing that, just put the remote unit(s) where you want them and attach the device (computer, TV, or whatever). You should get three lights and it will work.

If you follow the instructions, write down the passwords for the units, etc., it just won't work. Whenever you try to enter the password, it will say that it's wrong. I spent 2 hours on this alone before reading some other reviews with good suggestions.

TIP: When you get these out of the box, ignore the instructions and the software. Attach one to an ethernet cable with the other end connected to your router or switch. Then just plug the other units in and attach the devices to them with the ethernet cables. If that doesn't work, load the software and do the above procedure.

I am giving it 3 stars because the software and instructions are worthless ... actually they are worse than worthless because they actually have you mess things up, get frustrated, and probably return the units to Amazon. The devices, once they are working, work great. I have a large house and one unit is at the far end and I'm still getting 56k there, with 85K on the closer unit. The speeds are consistent and work great for me, since I only have a 6mb Internet connection anyway. Streaming video works great too. 5 stars for the hardware, 1 for the software, and -15 for the instructions.Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars The adapters work without the software, July 16, 2011
By
Jim 1 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: TRENDnet 200 Mbps Powerline Ethernet AV Adapter Kit TPL-303E2K (White) (Personal Computers)
The good news is that the two Adapters in the TPL-303E2K kit are working well now. I only made them work an hour ago, so I don't know how long they will continue to work, but I get a strong Internet connection in a remote part of my home. I would rate the adapters at five stars for now.

The bad news is that the TrendNet software is a disaster. I wasted most of two days doing battle with that software when it refused to recognize that the adapters were plugged into the power outlets. I tried reading the instructions (both the included micro manual that you need a magnifying glass to read, and the similar but different pdf guides from the TrendNet website), reinstalling the software, experimenting with different configurations, using a paperclip to reset both adapters, etc. No matter what I did, the software refused to recognize that either adapter was present. As a last try before looking into returning the inoperative kit, I plugged both adapters into power, connected one to my router, connected the other to my laptop (Win XP x32), and ignored the software. Much to my surprise, the adapters communicated very well. I confirmed that the adapters do not need the software by connecting them with a different laptop that did not have the software installed, and the adapters worked well with that laptop too. I rate the unnecessary software at one star and the ineffective TrendNet instructions at two stars. During the hair pulling stage of trying to get the software to recognize an adapter, I tried to call TrendNet tech support, but their phone audio volume is so low that I could barely hear that a recording was making noises, so I submitted a Helpdesk request online. Unfortunately, there has not yet been any reply.

The software promises better protection against unauthorized adapters accessing the powerline network, so if you can make the software work, then you should use it. If the software will not recognize your adapters, however, try ignoring the software before you give up on the adapters.

**Bumpalot** · Oct 24, 2012, 05:32 PM

This info was no use at all. Would getting a KDE Network Manager help? If so, would I be able to download a complete package in WiXP, then transfer it to Linux (WHICH HAS NO INTERNET CONNECTION YET) & & install it?? Seems like it's my only hope. Suggestions welcome.

**woodsmoke** · Oct 24, 2012, 07:37 PM

some thoughts that came to mind which probably have absolutely nothing to do with your situation, but I post them for grins and giggles.
TWO THOUGHTS:
I)
a) I can't really seem to figure something out. Do you have a password on the router? I never did a password until I changed my living circumstances and I now use a password on the wireless router, and I had nothing but problems with Kubu getting the thing to work.
b) If you do have a password on the router, one can remove the password and then re-do it, so how about removing the password and trying to get on? If you do, indeed, get on then the problem is something in how the password is going to the router, or whatever. Get things running and then add the password back and you would then have to add the password in KDE.

II)
We often get hung up on using what we have. If you have not put data on the install, how about just replacing it with new?

You mention Ubu with KDE, did you install KDE over Ubu?

Have you been able to get on the net with plain Ubu or another distro? If you have not done that, could you try downloading another distro or another download of Ubu?

just some thoughts

woodsmoke

**Bumpalot** · Oct 25, 2012, 08:23 AM

Thanks for your thoughts - I appreciate your help.
I installed Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS on a sepate drive from WinXP & did not like the desktop, so installed KDE4 desktop over the top - set to run on startup of Ubuntu. This is far better. Before this I installed Kubuntu v12.10 & had no end of problems with both the install & then when I finally got it running I had no end of problems in using it -errors galore!!. So reformatted the drive.

Re Router password: The 2 Trendnet wall units each have their own passwords inscribed on the back of each. The install procedure is initially done on the 1st computer (WinXP). It is essential - nothing happens without it. On setup, it recognises the 1st unit, enter password, then recognises the 2nd unit, enter its password. The 2 wall unit names are then displayed in the setup window. So I am able to use the network on my 2nd computer using WinXP - no tweaking anything!, Trendnet is working OK automatically. In KDE desktop, am using Internet Manager (a Ubuntu version - have messed with this blindly, not sure exactly what to tweak. I shows I am connected, but lying obviously. Maybe if I was able to download a KDE Manager (a complete package) in WinXP - them copy to my KDE Desktop, it might work. Any suggestions on this?

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