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Installation Guide

This symbol was placed in accordance with the European Union Directive 

2002/96 on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (the WEEE 

Directive). If disposed of within the European Union, this product should be 

treated and recycled in accordance with the laws of your jurisdiction 

implementing the WEEE Directive.

NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, and Connect with Innovation are trademarks and/or 

registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. 

Information is subject to change without notice.Other brand and product names are 

trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. ©2012 by NETGEAR, Inc. 

All rights reserved. 

May 2012

LED and Button Descriptions

Item

Description

Power 

LED

Solid green

. The electrical power is on.

Solid amber.

 The adapter is in power saving 

mode.

Blinking green

. The adapter is in the process of 

setting up security.

Off

. There is no electrical power.

Power-

line LED

Solid

. The adapter is connected to a Powerline 

network.

Off

. The adapter has not found any other 

compatible Powerline devices using the same 

encryption key.

The 

Pick A Plug

 feature lets you pick the electri-

cal outlet with the strongest link rate, indicated by 

the color displayed by the LED:

Green

: Link 

rate > 80 

Mbps (Best)

Amber

: Link rate 

> 50 and < 80 

Mbps (Better)

Red

: Link 

rate < 50 

Mbps(Good)

Powerline LED

Power LED

Ethernet LED

Reset

Security

Ethernet port

Factory

button

Powerline 500 (2-pack) 

XAVB5201

Troubleshooting Tips

Power LED is off

Make sure that power is supplied to the electrical 
outlet, and that the Powerline devices are not plugged 
into an extension cord, power strip, or surge protector.

Power LED is 
amber

Power saving mode occurs when the Ethernet LED is 
off. This can occur when:

• The Ethernet cable is unplugged. 
• The device connected through the Ethernet cable is 

turned off. 

• The adapter is idle for 10 minutes. 

It returns to normal mode within 2 seconds once the 
Ethernet link is up.

Powerline LED 
is off

• If you have set network security, make sure that all 

Power line devices are using the same encryption 
key; see the online 

User Manual 

for details.

• Press the 

Reset 

button on each device for 1 second 

to return the Powerline adapter to its factory default 
settings. 

Powerline LED 
is amber or red

Move the Powerline device to a closer location.

Ethernet LED is 
off

• Make sure that the Ethernet cables are working and 

securely plugged into the devices.

• Press the 

Reset 

button on each device for 1 second 

to return the Powerline adapter to its factory default 
settings. 

  Package Contents

Warning:

 Do not press the 

Security

 button on the Powerline 

adapter until installation is complete and the adapters are 
communicating with each other (indicated by the blinking 
Powerline LED). Pressing this button too soon can temporarily 
disable Powerline communication. If this should occur, use the 

Factory Reset

 button to return the Powerline adapter to its 

factory default settings.

Ethernet 

LED

Solid

. The Ethernet port is linked.

Off

. There is no Ethernet connection.

Security 

button

After you plug in your new AV adapter, press the 

Security

 button for 2 seconds, then press the 

security button on one of the other AV adapters in 

your existing network for 2 seconds. Both buttons 

must be pressed within 2 minutes. 

Note

: The 

Security

 button does not work in power 

saving mode (see “Power LED is amber” in the 

Troubleshooting Tips table).

Factory 

Reset

Press the

 Reset

 button for 1 second, then release 

it to return the Powerline adapter to its factory 

default settings.

Item

Description

Powerline 500
Nano Adapters

Ethernet cables

In some regions,
a Resource CD is
included with your
product.

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