Hi everyone!

I’m trying to set up a WDS bridge between two TP-Link routers:

• TP-Link BE6500 – currently working in Access Point mode (my main wifi source), connected to my main modem (which handles DHCP, port forwarding, static IPs, etc.)
• TP-Link Archer A7 – which I’d like to use in the garage as a WDS bridge/repeater. It still receives a decent Wi-Fi signal from the BE6500.

The BE6500 is broadcasting both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz signals. On the Archer A7, I enabled WDS bridging, used “Survey” to find and connect to the BE6500, entered the Wi-Fi password (WPA2-PSK/AES), disabled DHCP on the A7, and set its LAN IP to match the same subnet.

Problem:

After setting everything up, the Archer A7 UI says WDS is “running” on 2.4 GHz, and it does broadcast a Wi-Fi network. Devices can connect to it successfully, but there is no internet access through it. I’ve checked IP settings and ensured DHCP is disabled on the A7, but still no luck., I’d like to ask:

• Does the BE6500 support WDS, especially in Access Point mode?
• Is WDS even compatible between a BE6500 (Wi-Fi 6/7) and an older Archer A7 (Wi-Fi 5)?

Any real-world experience, advice, or confirmation would be greatly appreciated.
Would love to hear if someone has walked this path before.

Thanks in advance!