IPv6 is bugged in Archer BE230
Hello,
I am experiencing unstable IPv6 behavior on my TP-Link BE230 router when using PPPoE with my ISP (BSNL FTTH in India). IPv6 prefix delegation works, but WAN IPv6 addressing seems to be broken.
ISP BNG Details:
KTD BSNL, Nokia CPE BNG
IPv6 works in all the routers (Asus, Netgear, bridged to PC, Digisol ONT) but not in TP Link routers and TP Link ONTs and ONUs, TP / TOPA IPv6 system is bugged.
Problem Description
When setting WAN IPv6 address mode to Auto / SLAAC / DHCPv6:
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The router initially receives a global IPv6 address and a prefix from ISP.
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After ~4–5 seconds it disappears from the WAN interface and is replaced by only a link-local (fe80::) address.
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Then the global IPv6 appears again, disappears again → this cycle continues indefinitely.
Additionally, when using SLAAC mode, the router sometimes causes the IPv4 PPPoE session to disconnect completely and IPv4 does not recover until I manually reconnect or reboot. This should not happen in dual-stack mode.
My ISP uses stateless DHCP in WAN Global address announcements along with RAs and uses DHCPv6 flags for DNS servers.
Check the ICMPv6 captured packets.
NOTE: The IPv6 bug is present on all TP Link devices, I tried, the BE230, XC220G3v V2 XPON ONU, W8961N ADSL Router, C6 router all of them.
NOTE: I tried IPv6 in ASUS TUF AX4200, TUF BE6500, Netgear Nighthawk, and even in bridge mode to PPPoE dial up from PC and IPv6 working is fine. It is TP Link Firmware issue for sure, 100%.
Current Workaround
The only way I have found to get stable IPv6 on the BE230 is:
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WAN side: Set “Get IPv6 Address” = Non-address and enable Prefix Delegation.
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LAN side: Select SLAAC + RDNSS, and configure manual DNS servers.
This setup works, but it is not standard. In this mode, the router itself never gets a global IPv6 address — only the LAN clients do (via delegated prefix).
On other routers (e.g. Digisol DG-BG6821AC, MikroTik, ASUS, OpenWrt), the router can correctly hold a WAN global IPv6 address + link-local while still delegating prefixes to the LAN, and IPv4 remains stable.
Expected Behavior
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The BE230 WAN should retain both its link-local and global IPv6 addresses without constant removal/re-addition.
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SLAAC / DHCPv6 / Auto modes should not break the IPv4 PPPoE session.
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Prefix Delegation should work in addition to the router holding a global IPv6, not only when WAN is set to “Non-address.”
Request
Could TP-Link please:
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Confirm if this is a firmware bug in BE230 IPv6 implementation.
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Provide a fix or roadmap for proper IPv6 WAN handling (stable IA_NA + IA_PD assignment).
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Suggest any advanced settings if there is a hidden option that avoids this bug.
This is an important issue because many ISPs (including mine) expect the CPE/router to handle same session dual-stack PPPoE with IPv6 WAN + PD, and current BE230 firmware seems to break that.
Other known issue from TOPA: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/749180
@Joseph-TP
Hi Sir. Thanks for replying.
So, here is my Network flow:
[ PON ] ---- [ XPON ONT ] ---- [ BE230 ] )))((( [ RE605X in MESH, Mobiles, Smart Plugs etc ]
|| ||
[ VoIP IMS SIP ] [ PCs, Laptops, XVR ]
@Joseph-TP
I am an end home user but tech savvy.
I have had used multiple TP-Link devices since the time of ADSL. I was very happy with those, but recently I am observing TP / TOPA in my words now is not maintaining what it actually was. This is not my first issue with IPv6. I already showed that IPv6 is bugged in whole TP Link system itself. Check the XC220 G3v V2 ONU IPv6 itself, I posted here- https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/749180
Same way, I have used Netgear, an they still maintain some quality unlike TP Link. I think currently ASUS maintains the top quality based on their ASUSWRT and support from ASUS Merlin. If TP Link fixes the bugs and make their repo open source it will be better option to rate TP link over netgear in India, once again. Hope you understand what I meant, but currently ASUS >>>> GliNET | Netgear > TP Link thats how I would rank in India based on software and proprietary.
Hi@Archisman ,
Of course, thank you very much for sharing.
I will also synchronize your detailed information with the engineer, which will be helpful for your subsequent cooperation.