AiMesh node and MAC address of connecting devices

[Natey2]

Would an AiMesh node (RP-AC55) retain the original MAC addresses of the connecting devices?
(I bought a TP-Link Range Extender (1/3 the price) and it changes the MAC addresses of connecting devices, leading the Asus RT-AC88U router to think they are new devices and assigns them new IP addresses and not the static ones bound to the device MAC address)

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[Natey2]

I just tested, and the AiMesh node (RP-AC55) does not alter the MAC addresses of the connecting devices.

I guess the question now is:
Do all Range Extenders alter the MAC address of connecting devices, or is TP-Link RE220 the only one doing that?

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[ColinTaylor]

I know some of the Netgear repeaters do this. This is actually a good thing, it gets around an inherent problem with repeaters IIRC.

https://kb.netgear.com/24806/How-ca...-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-to-setup-an-Access-List
https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/927/

For it to not alter the MAC addresses (either to a virtual one or that of the repeater itself) it would have to operate as a transparent bridge. So that means either WDS (with its security issues) or a proprietary system (like AiMesh).