Can I connect my Sony Bravia TV to my Wifi network?

Q  I wish to connect my Sony Bravia KDL 32W55 TV to my home Wifi network. I can't use Homeplug networking because I live in a twin apartment with separate ring main circuits, with the TV on one and the router on the other.

Would a Linksys Wireless Adapter AE1000 be the appropriate adapter to use in the TV?
Brian Rutter

A  It seems the Sony KDL 32W55 TV can be used only with Sony’s own USB Wifi adapter – the Sony UWABR100 (£69 from Sony). This kind of limitation is commonplace with network-ready TVs because, unlike PCs, there is no way to install the necessary driver to use a Wifi adapter from an alternative manufacturer.

However, because the TV has a wired networking port built in, there are other options. The first is to create a wireless bridge. Although some routers have built-in support for bridging, it’s possible to buy a dedicated Wifi bridge for the same purpose.

A device such as the TP-Link TL-WA730RE (£23 from Amazon) connects to a Wifi network in the usual way, but also has a built-in Ethernet port for making wired connections – so your Sony TV could be connected to this and be none the wiser.

Alternatively, it may still be possible to use Homeplug adapters to extend the network using the mains wiring in your house, despite it having two separate ring main circuits.

For the benefit of other readers, one such adapter plugs into a mains socket near the router and connects to it via an Ethernet cable, while the other plugs into a mains socket near the TV and provides another Ethernet socket.

We spoke to Homeplug specialist Solwise and it assured us that Homeplug networking should work across any number of ring circuits, as long as they are all connected to the same fuse box.