Dear TP-Link range extender users,

We are excited to inform you about a significant enhancement made to our range extenders in recent weeks. We are pleased to introduce a new feature that empowers you to personalize the password and encryption type for your extended network. This customization option enables you to further strengthen the security and tailor the network settings according to your preferences.
 

Having a different password for the extender compared to the router offers several benefits:

Enhanced Security

Using a different password for the extender adds an extra layer of security to your network. It prevents unauthorized access to your network by ensuring that anyone wishing to connect to the extended network needs to enter a separate password.
 

Access Control

With a unique password for the extender, you have more control over who can access your network. You can provide the router password to trusted users while maintaining a separate password for the extender, allowing you to manage and restrict access as needed.

Flexibility

Different passwords for the router and the extender provide flexibility in granting access rights. You can grant access to guests or temporary users without giving them access to your primary network by sharing the extender's password.
 

The Supported list:

More models are still in the plan. Please regularly check the official firmware release note for updates!

How to set up a different password on the range extender?

Here we take RE815XE for example:
1. Log into the web UI per How to log into the web management page of the range extender.
2. Go to Settings>Wireless>Extended Network.
3. Change the SSID, password, and security mode if necessary. Then Click "Save".

With more exciting updates to share with you, We've also implemented the following features alongside the same firmware versions:

Host Wireless Password Detection Alerts

If the configuration is unsuccessful due to an incorrect password, a clear notification will be presented to indicate the issue.

Web Interface Display Optimization

• Add Wireless Negotiation Rates.

You could view wireless negotiation rates from the extender to the host router, and from Wireless Clients to the extender directly on the web management page. It helps check whether the extender and mobile clients are positioned in optimal places and troubleshoot the network speed issues.

• Add Physical and Virtual MAC addresses on the clients.

Making it easier to configure the Access Control/MAC Filtering on the Host router.