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Shane Smith
Asked: 2019-11-24 11:34:49 +0800 CST

TP-Link TL-WA850RE Wi-Fi Range Extender won't work

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I bought this to avoid drivers by using the ethernet port but the stupid thing still doesn't work. The range is fine since I can connect with my phone. When I plug in the cable nothing happens. In the network panel menu item, it has a question mark on it. I've uploaded some photos of what it says. Please keep in mind I am new to ubuntu and don't know how to do anything. I did have D-Link Wi-Fi extender but gave up trying to get it to work.

screenshot

networking wireless 19.10

2 Answers

  1. As this comment is too long for a comment field, posted as an answer:

    As you seem to have tried both a D-Link and a TP-Link Extender you seem to be misunderstanding what a WiFi Range extender does and and how it works:

    A WiFi Range Extender works by capturing a WiFi signal and transporting that good signal over to a wired connection. It does not turn a crappy WiFi signal into a good signal! :-(

    So let's say you have your WiFi router in the basement and on the first floor you still have good WiFi reception but on the second floor you don't. Then you have to plug in the WiFi extender on the 1st floor and run a cable to the 2nd floor.

    In this particular use case, you might be better off with a TL-WPA9610 KIT which will use your existing electricity wires to transport LAN signals (you need 2: one next to the router to send the LAN signals and one in an electricity socket next to your computer to receive them)

    This also makes this question and answer completely off-topic here as there is absolutely no Ubuntu angle...

    Sorry! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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  2. I faced the same problem; the wired connection on the extender worked fine with Windows on a dual-boot computer, but it wouldn't work with Ubuntu even though I could get a working wired connection directly from my cable router. I was able to solve the problem by

    -- Setting the IPv4 method to manual

    -- Copying the address, netmask and gateway numbers from the wired settings within the extender configuration (I had to use a second computer connected to the extender to find those settings) and entering them in Ubuntu's wired settings

    -- Turning off automatic DNS and entering DNS numbers manually

    -- Disabling IPv6.

    I'm not sure if all these steps were necessary, but this is what worked for me.

    I was using the model TL-WA855RE, which I assume is nearly identical to the model in the original question.

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