What is Access Point Mode?

What is Access Point Mode?

What is Access Point Mode?
What is Access Point Mode?
2024-08-28 22:55:42
Model: Deco X55  
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I just purchased a Deco X55 to enhance my Comcast home network.  I have the Comcast XB8 router, and want to keep it as my main router.  My understanding is that Acess Point mode “extends the wireless coverage of your existing network”.  To me that means that all the Deco units are "repeaters" and the Comcast router manages the network.

That is not happening.  When I set it up, I created a new network so it will not conflict with my existing network.  I expected that it will not use its new SSID, but rather use the one of the Comcast router.

 

I do have a mesh network from Comcast, that opeartes that way, and in another location, one from AT&T that opeartes that way.  I am not happy with the Comcast one because it has no ethernet backhaul, so I wanted to replace it with Deco.

 

TP-Link support tells me that Acees Point works differently - it creates and uses its own network, and cannot work with an existing network.  This is in contradiction to their own definition of Access Point.

 

Can anybody help me understand what is going on?

 

Thanks.

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Re:What is Access Point Mode?
2024-08-29 13:27:30

  @Adi_G 

 

Actually, repeaters and access points do not "extend" a wifi network: they create additional wifi networks.  A set of wifi networks with identical SSID and passwords can be perceived as a single wifi network.

 

Why is it not really a single wifi network?  Because devices, when roaming, have to "jump" from one access point to another access point.  That jump is often painful, because it does not occur soon enough, and because it can interrupt the traffic.

 

A mesh is, a set of collaborating access points, ideally making the roaming transparent, assisting the devices to switch access points at the best moment, and minimising the disruption of that switch.

 

A Deco mesh can only include Deco appliances, meshes do not collaborate across brands.

 

If you want the benefit of a single mesh, you should disable the wifi from your Comcast router.

And you should certainly avoid using the SSID of one mesh on another mesh or on another access point.

 

 

If you want to keep your Comcast box as your main router, you should configure the mode of operation of the Deco as "Access Point", which means that the Deco will not behave as a router, and will let the Comcast box assign IP addresses.

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Re:What is Access Point Mode?
2024-09-06 14:58:30
Pardon me jumping in on the thread. But I have a similar issue/question. I have a wifi router that was supplied by my cable company (HTC Digital) the router Mfg is Evolution Digital. The cable company disabled the WPS button, so I was unable to install my Tp-Link RE220 wifi extender using the WPS button. So I set it up via the android app and used the same SSID and password as my main wifi router. My hopes were that any device that initially connects to the main wifi router would stay connected as it roamed between the extender and the main wifi router. The TP extender default SSID when installed added "_Ext" to the end of my main wifi routers SSID, which would lead me having or anyone having to then log into a different network as we got too far away from the main wifi router and closer to the extender. So I figure I could eliminate that my giving the extender the same SSID/password as the main wifi router.
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Re:What is Access Point Mode?
2024-09-06 15:19:32

  @Blueshadow 

This is not related to Deco, right?

 

If the TP extender accepts using the same SSID/password to connect to its source and for the wifi network it broadcasts, you can certainly do that.

 

However, you might discover that some devices do not jump from one AP to another AP until they totally loose the wifi connection, even if both AP have the same SSID/password.

 

And, by having the same name, it might be difficult for the users to manually force connecting to a specific AP, or even simply determine to which AP they are connected.

 

In other words, do not expect a simple extender to provide the benefit of a mesh.

 

 

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