So which Powerline Adapter do you need to buy then to make sure it is compatible with your plug sockets? We have already covered which adapter to buy based on your connectivity and bandwidth needs within the house, but we also need to make the Powerline Adapter fit into your plug socket.
Purchasing the correct Powerline Adapter or Wi-Fi Booster is especially important, as they all need to be plugged in a wall socket to work, and so you will need to buy an adapter with the correct plug for the country you are based in.
Powerline adapters are generally sold in each country with a plug that’s suitable for that country and all other countries who use that socket type. In other words, several different model types are issued for each adapter to account for different plug sockets, and they can also work via a converter plug.
Put simply, our geo-optimised link system will take care of that for you. We have a customised and detailed link system for each product we promote on this site so that wherever in the world you are visiting us from, we make sure you are redirected to a storefront (or choice of storefronts) which sells a version of the product which is compatible with the plug socket(s) in your country.
Different Plug Sockets of the World by Region
So how are plug sockets grouped around the world? The picture is quite mixed and complex overall. For some parts of the world it is fairly simple, with only one type of plug being used. Other parts of the world have a complex mix of different plugs so let’s take a look at a map detailing different plug types by regions globally.
As you can see from the map, plug sockets types are sometimes grouped by regions globally, with North, Central and parts of South America all using the same adapter plug, and the vast majority of EU countries using the same plug with a few exceptions. The UK has its own plug sockets, which are also found in Cyprus and some other countries; the three pronged standard triangle formation Type G plug.
The vast majority of EU countries use the interchangeable C, E and F type two pin plug that plugs in horizontally. There are two exceptions to this; Italy and Switzerland. Italy uses the ‘L Type’ three pronged plug that plugs in vertically, whereas Switzerland uses a similar but slightly different ‘J Type’ three pronged plug where the pins are arranged in an arc rather than a straight line.
The Main Types of Plug Sockets Used Globally
For most of the Scandinavian countries that do not have their own Amazon site, then it is fine to buy from the German Amazon site or wherever is closest as the adapters and voltage are the same for all these EU countries. The UK and US Amazon sites also sometimes (though not always) stock the version of an adapter with the EU plug.
Again there is one exception though – Denmark, which has its own ‘Type K’ three pronged plug that is also bizarrely used in Thailand. Australia and New Zealand have their own ‘Type I’ three pronged plug that can be sourced from the Australian Amazon site.
The rest of the world is, unfortunately, a bit more complex regarding plug sockets, with South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle and Far East all using a mixture of different plug sockets, sometimes different ones within the same country. The two pronged C, E and F type plug is to be fair, quite widely used not just in EU countries, but in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, China, India, Russia, and parts of Africa and Asia.
And in addition to the countries we cover, Brazil and Mexico also have their own Amazon sites where you can source the correct adapter from. Any country outside of that and you may have to search retailers within your country to make sure you get the correct adapter for the plug socket you are using, or else there may be cross compatibility with adapters from another country if you use the same plug socket as them.
Powerline Adapters With Different Plug Sockets (Examples)
Here is an example of some TP Link Powerline Adapter models just with different plug sockets for different countries in the world.
Gigabit adapter (US Plug)
TP Link Powerline with Passthrough (UK Plug:
TP Link Nano model (EU Plug)
Which Countries Also Use These Three Main Plugs?
American Plug – A or B Type. Also used in:
- Canada
- Mexico
- Japan
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Costa Rica
- Panama
- Most Caribbean Islands
- Bolivia – also uses C plug
- Peru – also uses C plug
- Saudi Arabia – also uses C and G plugs
Europlug C Plug – compatible in:
- All EU mainland countries except Switzerland and Denmark
- Brazil – also uses type N plug
- Chile
- Paraguay
- Bolivia – also uses American plug
- Peru – also uses American plug
- Uruguay – also uses Australian plug
- China – also uses Australian plug
- Russia
- India
- All Eastern European Countries
- Saudi Arabia – also uses A and G plugs
- UAE – also uses G plug
- Most countries in north and west Africa
UK Plug – type G – also used in:
- Ireland
- Cyprus
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Malta
- Hong Kong
- Qatar
- Bahrain
- Grenada
- Oman
- Gibraltar
- Saudi Arabia – also uses A and C plugs
- UAE – also uses C plug
So there is a large portion of the world where at least one of the three main plug types will be compatible. There is also the Australian type I three pronged plug that is less common but also used in several other countries – New Zealand, China, parts of Uruguay and Argentina.
Unfortunately the Australian Amazon site does not tend to deliver outside of Australia so even if these countries can source the correct product there it may be difficult to get it delivered. You may have have get your adapter from a different retailer in your own country in these cases.
Summary – Most of The World Is Covered
Between the three main plug types (American plug A/B, UK plug G, Europlug C) we have a good portion of the world covered for Powerline Adapter compatibility.
If you visit our site from any country that uses at least one of these three plugs then our customised link system should redirect you to an Amazon store (or choice of Amazon stores) where you can buy a Powerline Adapter or Wi-Fi Booster that has a plug and/or Passthrough that is compatible with the plug sockets in your country.
For countries that use several different plug sockets you may have to try each of the choice pages we provide before you find the product that will work in your own home, but we are confident you will get the right product in the end! We also have Australia covered, linking Australian visitors to the correct ‘I Plug’ version of each product on their own site.
For visitors from the rest of the world not specified above, we will usually route you to the product on a default site, mostly the Amazon US or UK site. From here you can, if you choose, purchase one of these products and also get a suitable plug converter socket that will make the Powerline Adapter fit into the sockets in your own country. Try this site for an excellent resource that will help you do that.
Alternatively you may have to source the product from a specialist manufacturer in your own country which has the correct plug sockets. Unfortunately, TP Link does not manufacture Powerline Adapters with more obscure plug sockets like the Brazilian N type plug or the D and M type plugs found in parts of Africa.
In addition, if there are some Amazon stores where a particular product is out of stock or not available, our link system should redirect to the closest matching product in terms of features and functionality so you can get something that is as close as possible to what you were looking for.
It can also happen sometimes that on some stores a superior product with more features and better functionality is actually cheaper than an less advanced model. In these cases we have tried as much as possible to link you to the superior product so you get the best value for money possible. Check out our wired and wireless products pages for more information. We hope this site can help you find the connectivity solutions you need!