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How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!

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How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!

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How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-18 18:01:51
Region : UnitedKingdom

Model : TL-WPA281

Hardware Version : V1

Firmware Version : 1.2.4 Build 130530 Rel 39308n

ISP :

Hi. I've been suffering from random disconnects from ALL of my (4 in total) WPA4220 WiFi Powerline adapters.

This has been driving me mad for several weeks now. Tried every solution offered here including trying to disable power save. However, there is no indication that the powersave disable program offered in support will actually work with these adapters (says it is for 511 types). Can anyone confirm this?

How to keep them alive.......!! If I am watching a movie that is streaming from my NAS drive, every 30 minutes or so the movie will stop - giving me a "File not found" message. I then notice that the adapter has disconnected and the only way to get it back is to log off the WiFi connection and then reconnect. It then works for another 30-40 minutes until it disconnects AGAIN! This is very frustrating when watching a 3 hr movie!

I have tried everything to sort this out (I'm a network engineer and I "know" this is a problem with the adapters and not my setup). The ONLY way I have been able to keep the adapter alive is to connect another laptop to the same WiFi point and run a continuous PING to the router.

(Just go to a command prompt and then type "ping -t 192.168.0.1" (assuming this is the address of your gateway router).

I find if I do this then the adapter NEVER stops. It works continuously and properly all the time. It's not an ideal solution but it does prove beyond any doubt that if you continuously "prod" the adapter it stays up.

This is not a permanent solution, I know, but for those of you out there that are tearing your hair out with the disconnect problem it is a short term fix until TP Link get their act together and get this very annoying trait fixed.

I'm running Firmware: 1.2.4 Build 130530 Rel 39308n and Hardware: WPA4220 v1 08EF4015.

It's impossible to tell if the firmware offered in the support section is newer or older than this as the version numbers are completely different. Can anyone enlighten me as to which version is actually on offer in the support download section for the WPA4220? Maybe this problem has already been fixed?

If there are any TPLink bods on here right now.... Can you PLEASE investigate this and get it fixed? I would think that my symptoms and "cure" here points you in the right direction. Failing that, can you provide a specific utility for the WPA4220 that will disable the powersave feature permanently?

I don't think it's that though. Why would the device go into powersave mode when you are streaming with it? There is a LOAD of activity in and out of the adapter going on so why would the device put itself into powersave mode? If it does (and I have no way of testing this) then surely the problem is the detection for the powersave feature. Right now, it looks like it's on a timer! That can't be right.

Please help if you can! Can we have some new firmware here? I'm not the only person with this problem - but I do have a short term fix at least!

I've not yet tried running the ping on the same machine as the streaming but I think that's irrelevant at this point. The fact is that running the continuous ping keeps the adapter UP!

Comments would be useful. Come on TP Link! Loads of users have this issue. You can't deny this.
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#1
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33 Reply
Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-19 16:08:13
UPDATE: Found correct firmware (browser needed updating to see the correct versions).

Now updated adapters to firmware: 1.2.8 Build 140401 Rel. 49960n.

Same problem - disconnects. Ping solution still works to keep them alive!
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#2
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-20 17:44:13
hey there

interesting behavior! but to be honest, i dont expect any good about this product anymore.
look for the DHCP problem. its kinda the same behavior. the network connection stops working at all. very frustrating.

i am still waiting for an answer from TP-Link for a long time, but they somehow dont care ;(
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#3
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-21 17:10:31
It is the same type of issue but the disconnection is "causing" the DHCP problem. My adapters are set to static IP's. If you have them set to DHCP they take even longer to re-attach.
I have also found that removing security from the wifi connection also improves the disconnection issues. This, I think is because if the security is removed it reconnects quicker - which in turn reduces the tendency to drop the connection. In my place, I have very thick walls so security isn't an issue for me - but it does improve the situation further.

There is clearly something wrong with the refresh circuit that updates the powersave feature. I'm sure that the adapter goes into powersave mode on its own. I think it does it even though it is being used! TP Link NEED to investigate this. I'm putting up with it because I have no other solution to WiFi in my house but it would be great if TP Link actually read this and sort it. They will have many happy customers if they do! Actually, if this problem didn't exist it's a very good product. Right now, it isn't.

I'd be interested to see if anyone else verifies that the ping method solves their disconnection issues too. Note that in order to configure everything the way I have you do need three bits of TP Link Software:
Powerline utility
Powerline Scan
SwitchpowerSave Tool

The utilities seem to do the job - that's how I've managed to prove this issue. Using the easy connection methods (pressing the buttons to pair etc) is a bit hit and miss - and you can't add any additional config to them this way. With the software utilities you can do a lot - except get the powersave feature to stop turning the thing off!

Anyone else tried my methods here? Would like to get some more feedback.
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#4
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-22 02:43:27

gaztech46 wrote


Anyone else tried my methods here? Would like to get some more feedback.


See my analysis at http://forum.tp-link.com/showthread.php?78658-Powerline-disconnecting-issues&p=154700&viewfull=1#post154700

This is for a different TP-LINK powerline product (not wireless), but I think the same problems are plaguing most TP-LINK powerline stuff.
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#5
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-23 23:46:22
I agree. Most users are experiencing similar issues. However, it's because most of them are based on similar hardware.

It's interesting to note that these issues are not specifically TP-Link related as other powerline products on the same hardware platform suffer from similar issues. If TP-Link were to solve this then their product would immediately be better than the rest. It almost seems that they didn't design this and merely "bought in" technology that was ready to go and re-branded it. This may be why a fix isn't forthcoming.

I have also played with the QOS as per millirem's post but whatever I choose, they don't work for me. I still get intermittent dropouts when streaming movie content - in fact even on standard internet browsing occasionally.

One update to my previous post worth mentioning is that I have now tried running the continuous ping on the actual machine that is streaming. This also works and prevents the adapters dropping out!

Given that there is an actual routine that fixes the dropouts (albeit a hammer to crack a nut") I would think that it would be possible to fix this now. All you need to know is that IF running continuous ping keeps the adapter up and alive, what is unique to this action that stops the adapter dropping out?

Symptoms all point to a power save feature but maybe it's not that that is causing the issue. All I know is that these things drop offline on a regular basis. If TP-Link try and test these they will almost certainly show the problem.

So why can't they fix this? They have had several generations of product which have all had issues that are remarkably similar to this. TP-Link....Are you listening??
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#6
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-27 14:39:27
I have used the SwitchPowerSaveTool before, it really support all of TP Link's PLC device.
I use this tool disable my device's power save function, it's really useful.
However, it only work normally for three days, and drop again.
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#7
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-28 19:50:39

gaztech46 wrote


So why can't they fix this? They have had several generations of product which have all had issues that are remarkably similar to this. TP-Link....Are you listening??


I experience the same issue with TL-PA6010 and previously with PA411.

In my case I have 4 powerline units on the network. 1 connected to my router and the other 3 to PCs.

My main desktop PC is where I [i]notice[/i] the problem (because I will be browsing the internet and suddenly connection drops) but the cause of the problem is the homeplug unit connected to the router. This is the unit that falls asleep (or freezes/crashes/etc) and causes loss of internet connection. During the dropout period the 3 PCs can ping each other, but cannot ping the router.

Constantly pinging the router seems to keep the powerline unit attached to the router awake/alive so to speak.

As mentioned it is a bug that has plagued several generations of TP-Link homeplug units so I am not hopeful of a fix.
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-01-29 07:03:27

starf wrote

I experience the same issue with TL-PA6010 and previously with PA411.

In my case I have 4 powerline units on the network. 1 connected to my router and the other 3 to PCs.

My main desktop PC is where I [i]notice[/i] the problem (because I will be browsing the internet and suddenly connection drops) but the cause of the problem is the homeplug unit connected to the router. This is the unit that falls asleep (or freezes/crashes/etc) and causes loss of internet connection. During the dropout period the 3 PCs can ping each other, but cannot ping the router.




Have you turned off powersave on all 4 units, including the one at your router? The powersave toggle needs to be done individually on every unit.
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-02-01 10:49:02
I have a TL-WPA4220KIT. In my case, the WiFi stops allowing connections. I can reclone and it works again, but it loses it a day or so later. This sounds like a related problem, right? Do you think the disabling the powersave feature will work for this problem? If so, how do you toggle it off? Thanks.
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#10
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Re:How to keep WPA4220 adapters alive - They keep disconnecting!
2015-02-02 10:05:50

Slosh wrote

I have a TL-WPA4220KIT. In my case, the WiFi stops allowing connections. I can reclone and it works again, but it loses it a day or so later. This sounds like a related problem, right? Do you think the disabling the powersave feature will work for this problem? If so, how do you toggle it off? Thanks.


The link is here:
http://www.tp-link.com/en/support/download/?model=TL-PA511&version=V1#tbl_b

It works for all models, apparently.
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