TP-Link RE450 Network Extenders not visible on client list?

[Viktor Jaep]

Hi All... I recently got some TP-Link RE450 network extenders, and successfully connected them to my AC3100 running 384.11. I have them setup in a way that the backhaul happens over the 5Ghz, and the 2.4Ghz is the broadcast network. I'm using a different SSID for each repeater so that they don't interfere with the SSID of the main router.

The problem is... These repeaters don't show up in the client list on the AC3100. It's like they don't exist. Initially they showed up... but now they're gone. They get a DHCP address from the router, and they're working just fine.

Is there something I can do to see these get displayed in the list, or at least figure out what their IPs are if they happen to change? As a workaround, I can log onto their networks, and hit them from http://tplinkrepeater.net, and find out their IP that way... You'd think they would show up in the client list if they're grabbing a DHCP IP, right?

 

[ColinTaylor]

You'd think they would show up in the client list if they're grabbing a DHCP IP, right?

You should be able to see them under System Log > DHCP leases.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

You should be able to see them under System Log > DHCP leases.

It took some trial and error to find them... they identified themselves as "*". I ended up just giving them static IPs, so I know where to look next time. I appreciate your help!

 

[Ronald Schwerer]

I also use a RE450 to extend my guest SSID. Sometimes it shows-up in the client list, sometimes it doesn't. It also has a fixed IP so I'll easily spot it. What annoys me is the clients connected to the RE450 don't show-up in the client list, even though their IP comes from the ASUS router's DHCP. I have another TP-Link extender (TL-WA855RE) which does show the clients in the list when they connect through it. So there must be something different in the TP-Link firmware.

Actually, I seem to remember this RE450 behavior didn't happen with older ASUS firmware - circa last summer.

 

[ColinTaylor]

What annoys me is the clients connected to the RE450 don't show-up in the client list, even though their IP comes from the ASUS router's DHCP. I have another TP-Link extender (TL-WA855RE) which does show the clients in the list when they connect through it. So their must be something different in the TP-Link firmware.

A client is uniquely identified by its MAC address not its IP. Looking at the docs for the RE450 it appears to be a basic repeater and as such the router will only see the repeater's MAC address not those of the clients behind it. The TL-WA855RE on the other hand can operate in "Proxy Mode" whereby each client is given a virtual MAC address which is passed to the upstream router allowing the clients to be seen individually.

 

[Viktor Jaep]

Actually, I seem to remember this RE450 behavior didn't happen with older ASUS firmware - circa last summer.

Yeah, after letting it settle for a couple of hours, it still seems to act a bit strange. It was initially visible in my client list as the static IP I had assigned it, but now it's showing up as a DHCP range IP that wasn't even assigned by DHCP. It's still reachable using the static IP I gave it, so I'm not sure how it came up with that.

The icon does seem to correctly show that there are "x clients connecting to the RT-AC3100 through this device". But my Simplisafe Security Cameras are for some reason doing the same thing, and each showing that there are 3 devices connecting through them. Hum. :/