@woozle ok, I'll try and will come back with the result. thx

  @woozle I'm very puzzled on how to configure the settings. If I leave automatic dhcp, the TL-WR940N use a 192.168.0.x network (assigning 192.168.0.1 to itself) that does not work because the iPad hotspot has a 172.20.xx.xx dhcp network. If I statically input a 172.20.xx.xx ip for the gateway (the iPad in this case) and another 172.20.xx.xx ip for the TL-WR940N, then it seems impossible to connect, simply it does not appear in the networks list...

Any help?

  @santelia 

If the TL-WR940N remains at 192.168.0.1 when set to "Smart IP (DHCP)", then it means it has not successfully connected to the Wi-Fi hotspot.

Normally, as soon as a connection has been established to a host network, the "Smart IP (DHCP)" feature would retrieve an IP address from the host's DHCP server and assign that IP address to the TL-WR940N.

Try what happens if you specifically select WDS Mode "WDS1" or "WDS2" instead of "Auto".