Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.

Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.

Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
2024-07-09 04:17:16
Model: Archer BE800  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.0.11 Build 20240318 rel.63271(5553)

Hello! I just got a new Archer BE805 in, and I'm having a seemingly firmware-related issue. 

 

I'd like to use the router as an access point and slightly managed switch. 🤓

 

Unfortunately, if the router is in Access Point mode, I cannot see the Advanced - LAN setup page, and I cannot set up, say, link aggregation. 

 

I can access the page just fine in Router mode, and options I set in Router mode seem to stick if I switch back to AP mode. The link aggregation I set up for my NAS seems to work. 

 

TP-Link firmware folks, please update the firmware to expose all relevant options while in Access Point mode. 

 

(Also, please let me know if I'm misunderstanding something, and if those options *shouldn't* be there. To me, setting up link aggregation on, essentially, a switch, still makes sense, but I'm not a networking expert) 

 

Thanks, 

 

Alex 

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Re:Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
2024-07-09 14:25:43 - last edited 2024-07-09 23:32:46

  @Odeen 

 

While your observation for link aggregation is valid, there's a FAQ that explains the difference between router mode and AP mode - detials.

If you go through this document you'll see that some of the features in router mode still work when the device is switched to AP mode.

You could file a feature request for this functionality here, for more visibility so the TP-Link folks can consider this improvement.

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Re:Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
2024-07-09 22:48:16

  @terziyski 

Thank you for the pointer to the Feature Request section! 

 

I read through the router/access point document you linked to, and it makes sense. The feature table in there doesn't include port aggregation, though.

 

Since the BE805 has that feature in router mode, and since it's a feature in basic managed switches, it makes sense (to me) for the BE805 to retain port aggregation controls while it's acting like a 6-port switch with a WiFi AP. 😁

 

(Because of the way my house was designed, I need to run a wired, wall-mountable router downstairs, and a wireless AP upstairs. BE805 is the third router I've used as the AP, but it's the first one with multi-gig ports and port aggregation. Trying out these new capabilities, as well as WiFi 7 is pretty neat!) 

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Re:Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
2024-07-10 00:51:35

  @Odeen 

 

Like Terziyski stated you can submit a feature request to see if its possible to add this feature to the BE805's AP mode.  However, i am not sure how likely that would be.  This is because all of the features in the Advanced menu are considered routing or advanced routing features.  When in AP mode, as I am sure you know, the host router handles all of the routing.  That is why the menu, and its features are not available in AP mode.  

 

My understanding is that the LAN ports in AP mode are more or less an unmanaged switch and that is why aggregation feature is not available. However, to ensure my information is correct I did check with engineering and I am waiting for a response to see if Aggregation is tied to routing or if it is possible to be an AP mode feature as well.  As soon as I know i will provide an update.

 

Best Regards!

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Re:Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
2024-07-16 23:06:13

  @Carl My understanding is that port aggregation is a *switch* (OSI Level 2) feature, not a routing feature.  So, not all features in the Advanced menu are specific to *routing*. :)

 

Since, in AP mode, the router is still a 6-port switch / wireless AP, it makes sense to keep an advanced switching feature available in that mode.  It's not a *huge* deal, but it would be nice to give my old NAS with dual gigabit ports double the bandwidth.  

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Re:Archer BE805 - "Advanced > Network" page missing when router is in Access Point mode.
2024-07-24 15:50:15

  @Odeen 

 

While it is limited I do have some more infromation for you.  Engineering has said it is possible to add link aggregation to AP mode.  They will look into it and plan on adding it to a future update.  However, I do not have a time table to when.  Here in the US updates are added to the website generally on Mondays but OTA updates could be pushed as earlier.  I would just check back regularly for updates to see when it is added. 

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