From your description, you can connect your SSID upstairs , but no network connect, right?

Did the Powerline LED lighted up? Besides wifi clone, you need to pair them together . you can refer to http://www.tplink.com/en/article/?faqid=258 to pair.

The clone device works fine but I am unable to pair this with the other device - I have tried to follow all instructions including total reset starting from scratch several times but to no avail - I have tried doing this in the same room to observe LED lights - seems to go ok but how do I know if they have paired successfully - they both appear in the client software on my desktop I have ensured they all have the same network name SSID and WPAS settings but when I bring my laptop close to the second Powerline device my network link gets confused saying there is an unidentified network alongside my home network - so its clearly not paired/connected. So what I am doing incorrectly if this is supposed to be plug n play!??

Some simple step by step instructions will be fine and I do mean as basic as possible as the instructions sheets I have are not working - I tried the links you gave me but made no difference

Is it something so simple I am failing to do or is there something wrong with the powerline device?

Further advice appreciated
Ian

Maybe your problem is caused by different powerline circuit.
If the socket in your upstair bedroom is in a different powerline circuit with the one downstairs. They cannot communicate.

You can try it in the same floor to see whether it's the problem above

pair the units in a double socket or in same room ....then you know they are paired

I finally resolved the problem

1) At the beginning I had mistakenly connected the Ethernet cable from the clone device directly to the PC instead of via the router, because that is what I thought I needed to do to configure the powerline. I think because of this my network connection then saw both my router and an unidentified network with the same SSID and WPAS password and got confused so when the second device got paired up it associated this with the unidentified network and the internet connection was unavailable. Once I reconnected the Ethernet cable from the clone device to my router and configured it using the client software, then paired this with the second device and configured that successfully (but also see point 2 below) then the powerline network worked fine and connected with my smart tv subsequently no problem.

2) There was still a glitch in the pairing/configuration process of the second device which still caused me to pull a few hairs out and had also contributed to some of my earlier frustrations. Basically once I had cloned the first powerline device with the router and configured the network name, SSID and WPAS code it worked fine. I then paired this with the second powerline wireless N device - the pairing worked fine( this time I connected them to adjacent plug sockets and connected them directly by Ethernet cable, - the pairing light appeared very quickly). However when I configured the second device - SSID and WPAS were fine after reboot but when I set the Network name it disappeared from the client software. It took me ages to figure out that the consequence of changing the network name in the second device had an impact on the configuration of the network name in the first device!. i.e. it changed the network name from my home network name to unknown network. Once I had spotted this and reset the network name on the first device - both devices were visible again in the client software and are now working seamlessly as a single home network.

With hindsight there were some things as a complete novice I got wrong, but I might have figured that out sooner if the glitch I experienced in note 2 hadn't muddied the waters. Once I got that figured out and the pairing process(it's a lot easier if you pair/configure them initially in the same room/adjacent sockets/connect by ethernet cable etc.) it is a pretty straightforward process and I could do it now in 5 minutes flat. So my feedback to TP-LINK is:

- think about providing an absolute beginners guide either on your website or as part of the instructions which explains all the technical features and set up process in simple layman's language and includes several case studies which illustrate in very simple steps how a 50 year old numpty like me could set up and configure a powerline network. I read the instructions now and I understand them now but it took me about 12 hours of messing about and research/communication to this forum before it all made sense, I got the sequencing right, figured out there was an actual glitch and resolved the situation. Now it is up and running I am v pleased with the improved level of connectivity - if I've set a new benchmark in numptiness so be it but helping people who have no understanding of this stuff to get connected quickly without fuss seems to me can only enhance a v good product range and will help build TP-Links reputation as customer centric company(as well as a technically expert company). Those folk who are more clued in will happily disregard this stuff but for those of us more technically challenged it would be a welcome lifeline
- I found some of the threads in the forum v helpful in getting my head round this stuff so thank you to previous posters
- I also appreciated Detective Dee's comments and although not directly resolving my problem you can only work with the problem presented and initially I wasn't clear what my problem was!

Hope other visitors may find this of use

Ian

Have a good time with WPA281