Is there a hidden DHCP Server in Powerline adapters?
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I've been having some problems with DHCP on my network. My router (TP-Link Archer VR600) is set to be the DHCP server. It should be the only DHCP server on the network.
However, from time to time clients get the wrong IP address and aren't able to access the internet. When this happens Windows is reporting the IP address one of my TP-Link WPA7510 devices as the DHCP server it is getting network configuration from. On the logs for that WPA7510, I can see "DHCP server started" and "DHCP server stopped" messages.
There is no interface to enable or disable a DHCP server on the PowerLine equipment, nor is it an advertised feature, so what is going on? I have enabled the PowerLine devices to get an IP address using DHCP. Is it possible that this is inadvertantly enabling a DHCP server on the PowerLine device?
This is the UK variant of the WPA8630P.
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@Solla-topee thanks for the pointer to this article explaining the Smart DHCP function. While I still feel the solution is problematic, I'm pleased to see TP-Link finally sharing some info with its customers.
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Can we have the model number of the main router that your powerline extender/adapter connected to? BTW, how many powerline devices in the network, and one this specific devices that using the specific IP address experienced the issue? How about other devices connected to the WPA4220's network, are they working fine?
Please do confirm if the main router is always working fine when there is no internet on that specific device.
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Can you please check the thread we posted, and let us know the actual issue? We will try to push the engineers to provide proper solution for it.
https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/265692
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Can we also have the model number of your main router that your powerline extender/adapter connected to? BTW, how many powerline devices in the network, what are the models, is it TL-WPA4220 KIT? Are all the devices connected to the extender network will disconnect from time to time?
Please do confirm if the main router is always working fine when there is no internet on the devices connected to the router, we hope to know more about the network as described in the below thread:
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@Solla-topee thanks for your response. The product I am using is the WPA4220 4.0.
The problem that I experience is as others have described. I have downloaded and updated the firmware with the Beta version and set the LAN Type to "Static IP". However, if there is any interruption affecting the main router (BT HomeHub 6) the TP immediately attempts to take control of the network. The TP then has to be rebooted once the main router has come back on line. It's infuriating.
As others have suggested, the fix from a user perspective would be a setting that allows the DHCP server to be disabled (completely).
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@Solla-topee I sent the product back to Amazon as soon as I found out about the embedded DHCP server. There were no other powerline devices on the network.
I'm not prepared to share details of my other hardware, sorry. I think we may be at cross-purposes here: you think that the "Smart DHCP" didn't work as you expect it to, and you are trying in good faith to work out why. But to me, "making the product run as intended" is not really relevant - there are no circumstances under which it's acceptable to me for DHCP to run on any device other than the one I've specifically configured to do so, and so I would not buy or use any Powerline device that implements its own DHCP server.
I just wish that TP-Link had been transparent about this feature, so that I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of buying and returning a device that didn't meet my requirements.
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pg_tips wrote
@Solla-topee so I would not buy or use any Powerline device that implements its own DHCP server.
I should have added here: "...unless the user can completely disable it."
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@Solla-topee The extender is the TL-WPA4220(UK) Ver:4.0 and I have tried to use one of them with the BT Smart Hub 2 router. I have also confirmed that the extender is correctly paired with the powerline adapter. Computers and smartphones on my local network can connect to the extender but cannot connect to the internet because they are listening to the DHCP server of the extender and not the DHCP server of the router. As I have mentioned before, I have no way of disabling this DHCP server, and this is flawed product design. I do not see a way of resolving this other than you releasing an updated version of the firmware that allows us to disable the DHCP server. Otherwise, you should exercise due customer care and refund us for this flawed product.
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