WPA8730 KIT setup stability and troubleshooting issues
This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
WPA8730 KIT setup stability and troubleshooting issues
Model :
Hardware Version :
Firmware Version :
ISP :
I have two of such kits.
They are on the same electrical network.
They use the same secured network name (the default name ‘HomePlugAV’).
I first installed the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] kit, then the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] kit. All worked well. I used the web browser method (the simple pairing did not work for me). WPS is disabled on all my AP devices.
Unfortunately, I unplugged one WPA8730 to plug it elsewhere.
Consequence: the CLP network broke.
I mean:
1) no Wifi SSID signal received any longer from either boxes that wifi users could use anymore
2) in the TP-Link utility, I could no longer see the 4 devices: I could see sometimes one or two, not the four, and not always the same! Sometimes it showed the two WPA7830 only, sometimes the two PA8010P only.
After several vain attempts to repair this CLP network remotely, I unplugged them all, plugged them on one electrical rack, reset to factory default, then reset them up to be plugged back where they should be.
I have decided to no longer use the “secured network name” because when user name used:
1) it does not show in web browed \ Device setting \ Powerline and
2) the devices may disappear in TP Link Utillity (no longer all seen) in case of problem following an unplug or power loss.
Much more annoying, the IP addresses of the WPA8730, which were set as fixed addresses, are changed to random addresses (e.g. 192.168.1.230 may become 192.168.5 in the DHCP range or 192.168.1.222 outside the DHCP range!). The gateway address is each time set at 0.0.0.0 when this abnormal behavior happens. The only way the retrieve the new addresses is using TP Link utility. Using an IP scanner utility on the network, the boxes become invisible.
Questions:
1) Is there a more reliable and user friendly tool than the TP Link Utillity available?
[*]It does not show all the CLP devices that have been added. If two “secured network names” would be used (e.g. the default and a user name), it would not show the devices as isolated boxes connected by their “secured network name”. What is shown is random. User network name is not shown under the device. It could if access to th utility was reserved to an ID + PWD owner. So, it is seriously incomplete & ineffective when having to troubleshoot.
[*]When showing a device, it does not show the mac addresses of these devices, it only show their “device names” sometimes generated by the Utility, which are thus meaningless. Device names are meaningless. Once set up by user, they can change later
[*]It does not retain the fixed IP & gateway addresses as entered by the user for the WPA8730. This is a very serious issue.
[*]It changes the arborescence displayed on a frequent basis (sometimes none, 1, 2 3 or 4 devices displayed). The TL-PA8010P connected to the router is not always the shown as the source of the IP tree. When clicking on the device that is the source, the arborescence changes but not always correctly. Not all devices are shown: it refreshes and devices disappear then come back.
[*]When trying to correct the device name as displayed, I receive often (but not always) an ID + PWD window. When entering the ID & PWD given at given at setup time by the user, it does never work in the TP Link Utility. But when entering these same ID & PWD in the web browser, the ID & PWD are still valid and I can access the setup. So, it seems there is a serious consistency problem. On top of the too limited functional design & poor technical implementation, who tested this utility? NB: only MS Explorer works the most frequently, MS Edge does not work always to access the device with IP address.
2) Can I unplug a device (WPA8730) and plug it elsewhere? Or, stated in another manner, what precautions should I take before doing so? The CPL networks may break when I do that, causing a lot of time lost, so worth asking. Stated in another manner, this AV1200-AC1750 WIFI AC Powerline extender kit may work after its initial setup, a setup which may have to be attempted several times (2 to 3 in my experience) before getting it to work in a stable manner. But the setup can easily be lost, having to start again.
3) Why WPA8730 lose their fixed IP addresses and their gateway setup information? Is there a user way to prevent this?
4) Why a the second WPA8730 may not emit usable wifi signal after a setup repair where all parameters seem correctly entered (the mac address of the WPA8730 does not show in any Wifi Scanners app PC or Android while all parameters are correct on the WPA8730). Several attempts (reset, new setup) are needed making it to work again. Is there a simpler procedure to follow to test that the WiFi is effectively working as it should?
5) Reset in Utility & reboot in web browser don’t give clear messages to user of proper execution. Reset to factory defaults can be done in the utility as a “basic setting”, really? Reboot can be done in web browser but no reset in web browser (strange). I would have expected the reverse. All this is not clear for the discovering user.
6) Why “device names” appear as having changed when connecting to the boxes using the TP Link Utillity: if I connect through the PC on which I configured, it gets the proper names back, but if I connect through another laptop, all devices get a kind of new default name. Bizarre and not user-friendly. Or do I miss something?
7) When connected on my Laptop to the NAS via a TL-PA8010P box in MS Access 2016, I get from time to time disconnects, forcing me to close Access, wait, and reconnect. So, I always worry as to what data has been saved or not (consistency of the database). The same should apply to other such remote connections. This connection is not reliable enough. In comparison, when I use in wifi an Asus RT-AC66U configured as AP, instead of using the TL-PA8010P (both are in the same room for my tests), no user (me, partner or children) ever got a noticeable connection drop. So, the TL-PA8010P which can get to significant high speed in downloads / uploads does not offer the same continuous reliability. The electrical network is extremely quiet (remote area, nobody in the house but me while testing).
These issues around this PLC require knowledgeable technical answers.
As is, the quality of the kit is too far from meeting my expectations for the price. When setup, and not touched, the product works. But when the PLC network is not setup or broken for simple manipulations (unplugging, replugging), far too much time is lost to reset it due to lack of basic visibility on configuration and status.
As a user, I much prefer less performance but more solid continuous reliability and ease of use. I have two other good TP Link products. This kit should still be seriously functionally enhanced, technically improved in terms of continuous reliability and better tested, including the user utility.
My previous PLC experience was poor. Based on this renewed PLC experience, again, it remains incredibly better to get a competent electrician to place ethernet wires in the walls and deliver a tested ethernet network in the key rooms where signal is needed! Then a reliable AP nearby should do for the mobiles & tablets.
A schema of the network is attached.
Hardware Version :
Firmware Version :
ISP :
I have two of such kits.
They are on the same electrical network.
They use the same secured network name (the default name ‘HomePlugAV’).
I first installed the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] kit, then the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] kit. All worked well. I used the web browser method (the simple pairing did not work for me). WPS is disabled on all my AP devices.
Unfortunately, I unplugged one WPA8730 to plug it elsewhere.
Consequence: the CLP network broke.
I mean:
1) no Wifi SSID signal received any longer from either boxes that wifi users could use anymore
2) in the TP-Link utility, I could no longer see the 4 devices: I could see sometimes one or two, not the four, and not always the same! Sometimes it showed the two WPA7830 only, sometimes the two PA8010P only.
After several vain attempts to repair this CLP network remotely, I unplugged them all, plugged them on one electrical rack, reset to factory default, then reset them up to be plugged back where they should be.
I have decided to no longer use the “secured network name” because when user name used:
1) it does not show in web browed \ Device setting \ Powerline and
2) the devices may disappear in TP Link Utillity (no longer all seen) in case of problem following an unplug or power loss.
Much more annoying, the IP addresses of the WPA8730, which were set as fixed addresses, are changed to random addresses (e.g. 192.168.1.230 may become 192.168.5 in the DHCP range or 192.168.1.222 outside the DHCP range!). The gateway address is each time set at 0.0.0.0 when this abnormal behavior happens. The only way the retrieve the new addresses is using TP Link utility. Using an IP scanner utility on the network, the boxes become invisible.
Questions:
1) Is there a more reliable and user friendly tool than the TP Link Utillity available?
[*]It does not show all the CLP devices that have been added. If two “secured network names” would be used (e.g. the default and a user name), it would not show the devices as isolated boxes connected by their “secured network name”. What is shown is random. User network name is not shown under the device. It could if access to th utility was reserved to an ID + PWD owner. So, it is seriously incomplete & ineffective when having to troubleshoot.
[*]When showing a device, it does not show the mac addresses of these devices, it only show their “device names” sometimes generated by the Utility, which are thus meaningless. Device names are meaningless. Once set up by user, they can change later
[*]It does not retain the fixed IP & gateway addresses as entered by the user for the WPA8730. This is a very serious issue.
[*]It changes the arborescence displayed on a frequent basis (sometimes none, 1, 2 3 or 4 devices displayed). The TL-PA8010P connected to the router is not always the shown as the source of the IP tree. When clicking on the device that is the source, the arborescence changes but not always correctly. Not all devices are shown: it refreshes and devices disappear then come back.
[*]When trying to correct the device name as displayed, I receive often (but not always) an ID + PWD window. When entering the ID & PWD given at given at setup time by the user, it does never work in the TP Link Utility. But when entering these same ID & PWD in the web browser, the ID & PWD are still valid and I can access the setup. So, it seems there is a serious consistency problem. On top of the too limited functional design & poor technical implementation, who tested this utility? NB: only MS Explorer works the most frequently, MS Edge does not work always to access the device with IP address.
2) Can I unplug a device (WPA8730) and plug it elsewhere? Or, stated in another manner, what precautions should I take before doing so? The CPL networks may break when I do that, causing a lot of time lost, so worth asking. Stated in another manner, this AV1200-AC1750 WIFI AC Powerline extender kit may work after its initial setup, a setup which may have to be attempted several times (2 to 3 in my experience) before getting it to work in a stable manner. But the setup can easily be lost, having to start again.
3) Why WPA8730 lose their fixed IP addresses and their gateway setup information? Is there a user way to prevent this?
4) Why a the second WPA8730 may not emit usable wifi signal after a setup repair where all parameters seem correctly entered (the mac address of the WPA8730 does not show in any Wifi Scanners app PC or Android while all parameters are correct on the WPA8730). Several attempts (reset, new setup) are needed making it to work again. Is there a simpler procedure to follow to test that the WiFi is effectively working as it should?
5) Reset in Utility & reboot in web browser don’t give clear messages to user of proper execution. Reset to factory defaults can be done in the utility as a “basic setting”, really? Reboot can be done in web browser but no reset in web browser (strange). I would have expected the reverse. All this is not clear for the discovering user.
6) Why “device names” appear as having changed when connecting to the boxes using the TP Link Utillity: if I connect through the PC on which I configured, it gets the proper names back, but if I connect through another laptop, all devices get a kind of new default name. Bizarre and not user-friendly. Or do I miss something?
7) When connected on my Laptop to the NAS via a TL-PA8010P box in MS Access 2016, I get from time to time disconnects, forcing me to close Access, wait, and reconnect. So, I always worry as to what data has been saved or not (consistency of the database). The same should apply to other such remote connections. This connection is not reliable enough. In comparison, when I use in wifi an Asus RT-AC66U configured as AP, instead of using the TL-PA8010P (both are in the same room for my tests), no user (me, partner or children) ever got a noticeable connection drop. So, the TL-PA8010P which can get to significant high speed in downloads / uploads does not offer the same continuous reliability. The electrical network is extremely quiet (remote area, nobody in the house but me while testing).
These issues around this PLC require knowledgeable technical answers.
As is, the quality of the kit is too far from meeting my expectations for the price. When setup, and not touched, the product works. But when the PLC network is not setup or broken for simple manipulations (unplugging, replugging), far too much time is lost to reset it due to lack of basic visibility on configuration and status.
As a user, I much prefer less performance but more solid continuous reliability and ease of use. I have two other good TP Link products. This kit should still be seriously functionally enhanced, technically improved in terms of continuous reliability and better tested, including the user utility.
My previous PLC experience was poor. Based on this renewed PLC experience, again, it remains incredibly better to get a competent electrician to place ethernet wires in the walls and deliver a tested ethernet network in the key rooms where signal is needed! Then a reliable AP nearby should do for the mobiles & tablets.
A schema of the network is attached.
File:
