TL-WA850RE changes devices MAC Address
TL-WA850RE changes devices MAC Address
Main router: Archer C7 v4
Wifi extender: TL-WA850RE(EU) v5
My home automation relies on the fact that devices mainteins a fixed mac address.
I just installed an TL-WA850RE and realized that it changes mac address of each connected device
From old docs i've read that WDS should solve this issue, but I can't find the option to enable WDS
Do TL-WA850RE support WDS?
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@meeDamian Hello,
Range extender will create virtual MAC addresses for the Clients behinds it, this is the design since range extender is released many years ago.
And here is an FAQ to explain the Proxy mode on range extender.
https://www.tp-link.com/support/faq/2019/
As you want a fixed IP address on that Wi-Fi client, Is there anyway you could set up static IP manually on that device?
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@Solla-topee thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, that "solution" doesn't work;(
as @ashraf_sabry_m wrote above:
"2021-01-11 06:39:14
The problem is that sometimes a device catches the signal of the extender, so it's the virtual MAC that's sent to the router, other times the same device catches the signal of the router directly, and it's the physical MAC address that's sent to the router. The DHCP function of the router creates two different IP's for the same device.
..."
I have the same problem with Archer C9 (as router) and AP500 in Repeater/Bridge mode (as extender in proxy mode).
Every time when device changes it's WiFi connection from extender to router or vise versa (with the same SSID) - the internet connection on that device is geting lost. It takes several minutes for such device to get the internet connection working again in my case.
Could you kindly help?
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@SerShe Hello,
Thank you for your feedback, but the problem you mentioned is not related to the device MAC address changing.
When clients roam from Router to RE, the roaming process will go through some authentication steps and that take few mins, which is normal.
If you have a Mesh system which supports 802.11r fast roaming , like tplink Deco system, the switch from AP to RE will be much faster and looks "seamlessly" .
Some customers need a static IP on a certain device, you could check if that device support manually setting up a static IP & gateway on device itself ( not assigned by router's DHCP)
For example, manually set up IP address on Windows or MAC : How to configure TCP/IP Properties of the Wireless Connection on my computer (Windows XP,Vista,7,8,10,Mac)?
https://www.tp-link.com/support/faq/41/
For other devices (printer/ mobile phone/cameras etc. ), you could contact device's support and double check if it supports manually set up IP& gateway.
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