Right... ..the thing is however that all this would make perfect sense with CPE#3 - STA/CL being indeed active, however after performing tests between CPE#1 - AP and CPE#2 - bridge (w/ AP enabled)...

R1D2 wrote I meant the HNP is most certainly the cause for the disruption of the link between CPE#1 and CPE#2 if you change something at CPE#3 as described in your first post. Sending data from CPE#3...

I'm familiar with the Hidden Node Problem, but I'm willing to go fwd as CPE#3 has no real challenging setup / requirements and it occasionally needs internet access. So in effect I'm just testing out...

My topology is actually CPE510#1-AP <----> CPE510#2-Bridge <----> CPE510#3-CL/STA. CPE#1 has no LoS to CPE#3, so in undertaking this mini-project with CPE#1 and #2 already active for quite some time...

Thorough as always, much appreciated :) R1D2 wrote Disabled MAXtream on main AP, set to fixed channel 100. Apply, save config, reboot. Enabled AP on bridge CPE. Apply, save config, reboot. Connected...

What I'm describing in the original first post of this topic is a TP-Link 'current' bridge mode on CPE#2 w/ AP enabled and a different SSID name which rebroadcasts from CPE#1 to the 'blind' CPE#3...