Article – From the horse’s mouth
TP-Link
TL-WPA4220 – Welcome to TP-LINK (Product Page)
My Comments
One main reason most of us would buy a HomePlug-based wireless access point is to extend the coverage of that Wi-Fi wireless network past that radio obstacle like the double-brick interior wall without needing to pull new cabling. Or you don’t want to butcher your garden or dig up your lawn so you can reliably extend your home network with its Wi-Fi wireless segment to that garage or bungalow.
But a setup hurdle that one can easily end up with is copying the SSID (wireless network name) and network security parameters from your existing wireless router to the access point and making sure these are accurately copied so you can have proper roaming operation for your wireless network.
TP-Link have made this simple through the use of a “Wi-Fi Clone” button on the TL-WPA4220 access point. Here, this access point uses the WPS-PBC “push-button” setup routine to learn the parameters associated with your small wireless network segment.
This procedure has to be performed with this HomePlug access point in good Wi-Fi range of a router or access point that implements WPS push-button setup.You push the WPS button on your suitably-equipped wireless router as if to enrol a new device to your home network, then push the “Wi-Fi Clone” button to complete the procedure. This means that the access point has what is needed to be part of the Extended Service Set which is you home network’s Wi-Fi segment.
From that point on, you just simply establish that HomePlug AV powerline segment as the backbone for your wireless network and benefit from the increased coverage. But I would personally have this access point equipped with the WPS client setup mode for enrolling client devices close to it to avoid the need to traipse back to your wireless router to enrol that Android smartphone or Internet radio that is to be used in the remote area.
What I see of this is that steps have been taken in the right path to move away from the so-caled “range extenders” towards a more reliable and proven method of extending a wireless network’s coverage by simplifying the tasks required for achieving this goal.
