@DesignerGirl you're solution worked brilliantly!  It is definitely the tether app that is causing all the problems. I completely agree, toss that poorly coded program in the trash and only use the web interface to set everything up! 

Thank you so much for pointing out the problem and coming up with the perfect solution. I am very disappointed that TP-link can't come up with a solution to a very clearly defined problem, and charges consumers money for such a negligently designed product. 

@Smells You're welcome, and I agree, they should at least pull the app from the App Store if they aren't going to fix it. Would save a whole lot of people a lot of hassle. Funny mine isn't marked "solution" when the company themselves now says not to use the thether app lol. Has worked for multiple people in multiple threads, that’s all I need. Just wanted to save someone else the goose chase headache that I went though for this. This should be noted in the Amazon reviews but of course those are manipulated so it isn't.

My tether app was fully up to date on a brand new, newest model iPhone, that goose chase told me it is garbage and multiple others have confirmed. Hence why I removed it. Problem solved. I will not be reinstalling your app every again, to reinstall another problem lol.