I have a tp-link AC1200 (RE305) Wi-Fi Range Extender that I've been trying to use for the past couple of months, but it's been frustrating.

I use a VPN connection (software: Pulse Secure) with my company laptop to connect with their internal network from home. Sometimes my Wi-fi connection will switch to the range extender's better signal and it breaks my VPN connection. Reconnecting to the wi-fi doesn't appear to work and the VPN software is unable to re-establish a connection until I unplug the range extender and go back to the direct router connection. VPN works perfectly through my router otherwise, although I need to use a custom DNS server to avoid issues with my ISP.

I'm using the range extender as a signal booster / range extender and not as its own access point. The SSIDs are broadcast for both 2.4Ghz and 5.0Ghz. All lights are blue when the issue occurs.

Do range extenders need to support VPN passthrough for this to work properly? I've recently upgrade the firmware to the latest but the issue remains.