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Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)

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Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-26 13:03:38 - last edited 2022-10-26 13:06:04
Model: TL-WPA4220  
Hardware Version: V4
Firmware Version: 4.0.4 Build 20220408 Rel.36351

Context:

-Two floors, each with a WPA4020 V4 (latest firmware, DHCP off, static IP, same SSID/PW),

- paired to a PA4010.

- PA4010 is connected to my ISP provided router (4 years old, works perfectly well)

- Testing connectivity using my laptop (wifi connection), desktop (wired ethernet to router), Android phone (wifi).

- Using tpPLC to view device connections.

 

The nightmare: If both WPA4020 are plugged in and active, network connectivity is LOST! About 5 minutes later, everything starts behaving. Let me give you an example:

 

On Floor A, I plug in WPA1 only. Give it a minute or two, everything settles and all connections work well. Now on the same floor, plug in WPA2. All good, tpPLC sees everything is connected.... for two minutes. Then: 

- PC loses internet (no wifi found)

- Phone goes into a connection loop, then stops with connection failed.

- tpPLC shows No device connected.

 

So I tried to swap the WPA's by starting with WPA2 and then plugging in WPA1. Same thing.

 

And now here is an interesting variation:

As above, using only WPA1 on Floor A, and getting everything settled and connections working. Fine.  Move to Floor B, and plug in WPA2 there. After a few minutes, laptop and phone lose connection. Now here is where it gets maddenning : If I return to Floor A and be in the proximity of the first WPA, connections get restored. And worse, if I go back to FloorB, connections get lost again but if I wait long enough (5 to 10 minutes), we're back in business... 

 

Yet none of this happens if I only use a single WPA!!! Its as though once a device (laptop, phone)  has connected to one WPA, getting in the range of the other WPA seems to make all connectivity get lost.

 

Anyone with any ideas? Things I should try (been at this for 3 days now)..

 

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7 Reply
Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-27 07:00:59 - last edited 2022-10-27 07:36:59

Hello   @zeid 

Thank you for reaching out to TP-Link community and shared the detailed description. 

1. May I know the model of router/AP ? (Please take a photo of the label if you did not find the model number)

Can I know the network topology, e.g. 

 

(Floor A ) ISP--Router --PA4010 _____WPA1  

(FloorB) PA4010 on the floor A _____WPA2  <Wireless> PC and phones

 

2. Are the PC and phone connected to WPA1 and have internet before plugging in the WPA2? 

Will WPA2 get internet itself after 5-10min automatically, please check if the House Led/ Powerline led on the WPA2 is ON or OFF  when there is no Internet connection? 

 

3.  Are the WPA4220 of (EU) or (UK) version , both are V4 using the latest firmware version? 

 

To better assist with your case, we created a support email and get your case escalated, please check your inbox for TKID221036647.

Thank you in advance . 

 

 

Share Your Pet Story, Win Free Tapo Care. Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation.
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Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-27 07:34:25

  @Solla-topee 

 

Hi Solla,

 

Here are my answers:

 

Router 
Arcadyan Technology Corp
Model VRV9519

 

Topology: (like you said...)
FloorA: ISP>Router>PA4010-->WPA1 (Wireless, Ch 6, same SSID/PW)
FloorB : PA4010 from FloorA-->WPA2 (Wireless, Ch 11, same SSID/PW)

 

>Are the PC and phone connected to WPA1 and have internet before plugging in the WPA2? 
Yes.

 

>Will WPA2 get internet itself after 5-10min automatically
Yes

 

>please check if the House Led/ Powerline led on the WPA2 is ON or OFF  when there is no Internet connection?
The House Led stays on all the time.

 

>Are the WPA4220 of (EU) or (UK) version ,
EU

 

>both are V4 using the latest firmware version? 
Yes... Firmware Version: 4.0.4 Build 20220408 Rel.36351

 

Please note:
- Using only one WPA (it doesn't matter which) everything works fine!
- The issue only occurs when the 2nd WPA is plugged.

 

Finally, (we're all human), maybe I made a mistake and flashed one WPA with the UK firmware instead of the EU firmware? Could that cause a problem? Is there a way I can check?

 

Many thanks for your help!

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Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-27 08:28:30

  @zeid 

Thank you very much for providing more case details. 

May I know did you recently updated the firmware for the WPA4220 ? How long have the two WPA1& WPA2  worked fine before on the Floor A&B? 

 

Share Your Pet Story, Win Free Tapo Care. Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation.
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#4
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Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-27 08:40:32

  @Solla-topee 

 

>May I know did you recently updated the firmware for the WPA4220 ?

Yes.. after seeing the issues with DHCP I did the firmware update on both,

 

>How long have the two WPA1& WPA2  worked fine before on the Floor A&B? 

I've had WPA1 for many months but was not using it. The WPA2 I got a few weeks ago.

 

They have never worked fine "together". They work fine if only one of them plugged in.

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Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-27 08:54:22 - last edited 2022-10-27 09:34:20

  @zeid 

Thank you, I escalated your case via support email TKID221036647, our engineer will look into your case further. 

 

When you plug in the WPA2, PC and phones that are on the Wi-Fi of WPA1 will switch to the Wi-Fi of WPA2, there will be a 1- 2 mins Wi-Fi interruption for  Wi-Fi roaming process,  Wi-Fi on network client will be interrupted for a short time period when device roam from Wifi to another WIfi ,this is considered as common.  

But if that takes 5-10mins, something can be wrong. 

 

When both WPA1 & WPA2 both exists: 

  • If you do not move phone or PC, just in the proximity of WPA2, do you have a stable connection on the WPA2 ?   
  • If you do not move phone or PC, just in the proximity of WPA2, do you have a stable connection on the WPA1? 

 

We are trying to rule out if the problem only occurs during wifi roaming process, or the problem is only with  the WPA2 located in the floor B.  You could reply TKID221036647 to get in touch with our engineer. Thank you for your time with troubleshooting~

 

 

Share Your Pet Story, Win Free Tapo Care. Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation.
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Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-27 13:02:04

  @Solla-topee 

 

>If you do not move phone or PC, just in the proximity of WPA2, do you have a stable connection on the WPA2 ?   

Yes.

 

>If you do not move phone or PC, just in the proximity of WPA2, do you have a stable connection on the WPA1? 

Yes

 

>We are trying to rule out if the problem only occurs during wifi roaming process

That is my impression. Before I got the AV600, I used to have a mix of access points devices. The roaming switch over was transparent.

 

>or the problem is only with  the WPA2 located in the floor B

No, because I did a test where I switched the WPAs (moved WPA2 to FloorA and vice versa). Same result.

 

Dumb question: Where do I go (web link) to interact with the Ticket/engineers?

 

Thank you.

 

 

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Re:Going mental: Losing connection between floors (each floor with its own extender)
2022-10-28 02:20:12

Hello   @zeid 

Appreciated for more details! Please check your email inbox for an email titled with TKID221036647 ( check the  trash box if you did not get it), you could reply on that support email directly to communicate with the engineers. 

 

Share Your Pet Story, Win Free Tapo Care. Smart Action 2.0 Explore and meet the next level home automation.
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