Devolo dLAN 200 AV USB extender review

As well as send network data, Devolo’s latest HomePlug AV kit lets you communicate with USB devices over your home’s wiring. This kit comes with a normal HomePlug AV adaptor, with a single Ethernet port but no pass-through power socket, plus the new USB-equipped unit. The latter is also available separately on its own for £57 (part code 01562). If your house is on the larger side, you may need an extra powerline adapter or two to get full coverage.

Setting up the HomePlug AV network was simple. A large, fold-out guide comes in the box, and displays the steps to set up the network in easy-to-understand graphics. Security is as simple as pushing a button on one unit then the other to make the connection. A CD in the box contains the Devolo Cockpit software, which shows all connected HomePlug devices and lets you name them or assign specific IP addresses.

Once you’ve installed a driver under Windows, you can use the Cockpit software to manage USB devices. Any drives plugged into the USB extender will show up in Windows as new drive letters. If you unplug a drive it sometimes doesn’t register in the Cockpit software, so you have to set it as disconnected manually or it won’t show up when you plug it in again.

To attach a printer, it’s best to install its driver first then plug it into the USB extender, after which it will appear as a printer in Windows. We printed a 40MB file through the extender and also with the printer connected directly to our laptop, and didn’t notice any difference in printing times.

The USB Extender doesn’t let you share USB devices. You have to associate an attached printer or drive with a certain computer. If you access the Extender from another PC, instead of an option to connect or disconnect a USB device, you’ll get the option to “take over” the USB port – disassociating it from your other computer so you can use it to your own ends. We also tried plugging in a USB hub, to see whether we could access multiple drives over the network; the extender recognised our hub but warned us that devices attached to it might not work, which they didn’t.

As a way of extending access to a printer, the dLAN 200 AV USB Extender is a limited success. It works, but only with one PC or laptop at a time. You can also only access USB drives from one associated PC at a time, and transfer speeds are slow; we measured a top speed of only 2.4Mbit/s when transferring large files from an attached drive to our computer.

If you want to share USB device on your network you’re better off buying the Belkin Home Base. This gives you four USB ports, supports USB hubs and up to 15 connected devices, and costs around £50.