@spilly80 

 

Hi,

 

regarding Q1: I just wanted to try this myself with a RE305 V4 that, apart from the wireless specs, is similar to the RE200 V5. To my surprise I noticed that this extender does indeed not support WPS when it is in "Range Extender Mode". The WPS menu is missing and also by using the physical button on the device WPS was not possible.
However, when the RE305 is configured in "Access Point Mode", then WPS works.

 

regarding Q2: I've never had such problems. Therefore I can't comment.
Do you have any other Wi-Fi-capable devices you could test this with?

 

regarding Q3: If the solar panel hardware comes with an app that can be utilized to perform the setup of the Solar Panel's Wi-Fi connection, then I think this would be the way to go. Since this would only have to be done once, someone could maybe help out with a smartphone.

 

Access Point Mode:

 

Range Extender Mode:

@woozle 

 

Many thanks for your interest and above all your tests

 

I have since made progress and have connected RE200 successfully,

- but not using WPS to connect a normal client device to a RE subnet as I had hoped.

 

MY ANSWERS to my Q1 - Q3

 

Q1  Can I connect via WPS to SSID_ext?

Ans: NO. You must input the Password when any client joins the _EXT subnet

 

Q2. (Why failed with key error?)

My RE200 had a long hex string in place of the correct router password.

The  http://tplinkrepeater.net cable connection to RE200 revealed this immediately.

So I corrected and saved the proper password and all worked OK thereafter.

 

TPLink Support could not explain how the password failed to retain the correct pw

after a Hard Reset and a successful initial WPS connection

 

Q3  Do I need other software?  Not really. Only a browser. 

Open http://tplinkrepeater.net in a browser after connecting by ethernet cable to RE200

That allows you full access to the network config

 

 

The User guide leaves some room to read the WPS section wrong, (as I have done)

 

WPS is convenient and hassle free for network connection (unless you are an Apple device)

For all others, WPS lets devices join a LAN reliably in seconds

 

TPLink devices do utilise WPS, but, selfishly, only for themselves, just for the one time initial setup to join the LAN

TPLink does NOT generously extend this WPS service to new clients joining their TPLink subnet

It's possible to argue it should not do so on security grounds, but it would be good if this were explicitly documented

 

So a client joining the router's LAN may connect by WPS, but clients joining a TPLink subnet can not use a passwordless WPS procedure

=============

 

That leaves my friend a problem yet to be solved.

- His solar panel controller does not have a keyboard and he does not have a smartphone to connect to his solar controller.

 He has no way of entering the password at the moment.

I will sort that out somehow.

=================

 

I used the Support Chat service

Eventually they asked me to link the client PC by ethernet cable and start http://tplinkrepeater.net

That immediately showed that the WPS installation process had NOT copied the Router's to the RE200.

All the other settings were as expected, including the SSID_EXT name.

 

Once the RE had saved the change I could then log into the network successfully

 

Thanks to community & support for clarifying WPS usage

 

Spilly80

spilly80 wrote

@woozle 

 

 

=============

 

That leaves my friend a problem yet to be solved.

- His solar panel controller does not have a keyboard and he does not have a smartphone to connect to his solar controller.

 He has no way of entering the password at the moment.

I will sort that out somehow.

=================

 

 

  @spilly80 

 

Have you already checked whether the manufacturer of the solar panel controller provides an app that could be used to setup the solar panel's Wi-Fi connection?

 

In case there is, then, like I indicated in my earlier post, someone else who does own a smartphone should help Bert to connect his solar panel controller to the Wi-Fi network (i.e. to the SSID_EXT). This would only have to be done once.

 

  @woozle 

 

I have a mobile, and  I'm sure I can cope

 

As you suggest, we hope this is a once off process - until Bert changes his router that is 

(- which is on the cards actually anyway)

 

spilly80