@JTAJ,

Thanks for bringing it to our attention - we definitely want to try to minimize inconveniences and unexpected behaviors.

I will definitely feedback the information that our teams should work to find a way to make sure that either the images/names are not lost between updates, or to try and minimize cases where they do. This firmware update was likely a larger feature update - resulting in the behaviors that you saw.

As for the spaces in the client names, I am not sure if this is intended or not. This is not an uncommon requirement for client names since some devices have difficulty deciphering the spaces, and is technically a best practice, see: Special Characters in Wi-Fi name and Password - Basically, you want to choose names that you would feel comfortable using in something like a web address or file path - I often see users choose to use Dashes or Underscores in client device names for max compatibility and readability.

For the local login - I am not sure why you were prompted for the admin account - but you likely have one configured in your settings or created one and bound your account later. I would have been curious to know if you would have been prompted for a TP-Link ID if you were not connected to the router's Wi-Fi. It may be that your Tether App will prompt you for this login when attempting to control the router over your local network.

Out of curiosity, did any of the devices eventually recover their settings after reconnecting to the network a few times? Or were settings completely lost?

Hey @JTAJ,

Oftentimes, devices will not accurately communicate their device names when reconnecting. I have seen it take a few reconnects for devices to properly show their correct device name. I was curious if after the devices had disconnected and reconnected from the network, if any had been able to take on their older settings and reservations if you didn't make changes to the rule.

I will mention that we are about to see a bit of a revamp to the Tether App, so I am forwarding the requests in hopes that some of your requests can make it into the update.

  @JTAJ,

There is a behavior in the communication between range extenders and routers that causes something similar, however the MAC addresses between the Range Extender and Router should be different. 

With a wireless connection to the router, some REs will work as a proxy and actually replace part of the client's MAC address with a portion of the MAC address of the Range Extender. Compare the MAC address for the device to what is seen at each point(RE, router) - do the MAC addresses line up?

It may be that the Tether App is working to make the experience easier by automatically combining/correcting the entry in the app - while the router shows a more raw version of the client information. Lastly, I do not think that changing the name of the device changes how your device identifies while broadcasting its presence across the network, only how the Tether App relays the device, which may explain the behavior when looking at the RE's UI.