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For TP-Link WiFi N Powerline AV500 Extender (TL-WPA4220), 429 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.2.

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13.11.2015

**UPDATE 8th July 2016** TPlink have made a new firmware available that should fix some of the most serious bugs - see link in latest comments - I have only tested this for a week so far but it does seem a LOT better. So if you buy these, I highly recommend the first thing you do is upgrade them to the new firmware (upgrading the firmware wipes the configuration). I will be doing a fuller update of my review in due course but in the mean time have changed from 1 to 3 stars.I bought this kit to get better wifi coverage as my house seems to have very thick walls. To give a bit of context to this review, I'm a software engineer with about 20 years experience,a good proportion of which has been spent writing and debugging network related software.Initially they appeared to be working fine, however very soon I started to have intermittent connectivity issues that it took a long time to pin down.There are at least two known problems with the TL-WPA4220 firmware (apologies, this now gets a bit technical):Problem 1: They use a non-standard method to assign themselves an IP address. This is known to cause issues because it is possible for the DHCP server to assign the address the TPA-WPA4220 has picked for itself to a different device, which causes a conflict on the network.Problem 2: After they have been running for at least a few hours, they intermittently stop allowing DHCP traffic to pass through them. This results in client devices 'auto configuring' with a 169.x.x.x address, which means they are unable to access the internet. You can temporarily cure this by power cycling the device. For me, this doesn't just affect DHCP traffic, but also seemed to cause problems with UDP traffic in general.Problem 3: UDP traffic gets randomly blocked. I was finding that a few times a day, the WPA4220 would completely block all traffic that was part of a 'mosh' session. A few minutes later it will all unblock. At the same time, TCP traffic with the same destination and source would pass without a problem, indicating that the problem isn't with power line connectivity but the firmware on the WPA4220 somehow blocking very particular packets.Problem 4: The web server for controlling the wifi settings on the WPA4220 becomes unreachable from the wifi once they have been in use for a few days. This happens even when the units are given a hardcoded IP outside of the DHCP range, and when it happens you cannot even ping that IP address from the wifi - but you can ping it from the power line side.A number of these problems are well documented on the TP-LINK forums over the last 2 years. TP-LINK's representative on the forum states that they are unable to reproduce these issues. One example can be found by googling for 'WPA4220 seems to block dhcp traffic'.Googling for 'WPA4220 dhcp' will turn up many more instances.These problems only affect the TP-LINK units that have built in wifi. The powerline<->wired ethernet adaptors do not have these problems.This is a shame because the hardware on these devices seems to be good, unfortunately it appears they are let down by poor firmware. I will be returning these to Amazon as defective.UPDATE: tplink UK support have replied to my review. I've got in contact with them and supplied extra information to them, they have said that they have been unable to reproduce the problem and that their HQ believe the problem is related to powerline interference and nothing to do with the wifi side of the unit. I have responded on 8th December 2015 that I do not believe this is true with an explanation of my reasoning. I didn't get any response for a long time, but today (23rd February 2016) tp-link finally got back to me, and sent me new units to test. Unfortunately the new units show just as many problems as the old units. I've reported all this to tp-link UK, and done a number of detailed tests they required, and they've passed it onto their HQ. The latest (as of 22nd June 2016) is that after several rounds of beta firmware and sending logs back, TPlink have given me a beta release that fixes the worst of the bugs, the root cause apparently been a problem in how they handle ARP updates from certain wireless chipsets. They do not currently know when they will release this firmware to the public though. They also plan to release a "v2" hardware revision in late 2016 that will use DHCP to get the IP address for the management interface, which will fix some of the other issues.I have now replaced my WPA4220 with a unit from trendnet (TRENDnet TPL-410APK 500 Mbps Powerline Wireless N300 Extender Starter Kit). I've had these since 21st November 2015, and so far (2+ months later) they have proved to be reliable. I'll come back and update this review if I do run into problems.
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11.11.2013

This is an excellent product, although the set-up certainly wasn't easy plug-and-play for me. In fact, I wasn't expecting it to be straightforward because I had previous experience of installing TP-Link 211 and 281 systems. The 4220 set-up process turned out to be another hit-and-miss affair - it took several hours and repeated attempts until it eventually started working, for no apparent reason. I don't know whether these difficulties can be blamed on the wiring in my house (1970s detached) or my inability to make sense of the totally inadequate and confusing instructions - possibly both.The cloning feature, which is a huge step forward when working, actually makes the installation more complicated if it doesn't work first time.Since the instructions are very vague on the proper sequence to be followed and they do not acknowledge the possibility that either the cloning or the pairing may not work first time around, users like me have to keep trying with little guidance on how to deal with unexpected scenarios.For this reason I can't provide a simple step-by-step guide like some other reviewers, but I can highlight a few questions which arose during the set-up process, together with my observations. This may be helpful to new customers.1. WHERE IS THE CLONING BUTTON ON THE EXTENDER UNIT? (It's an almost invisible recessed switch on the LED strip).2. HOW DO YOU KNOW IF CLONING HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL? (The flickering array of LEDs is not at all helpful. The main indicator of success is that the TP-Link network ID no longer appears on your iPad or other tablet. However, you still don't know for sure that the extender is now transmitting a cloned version of your main broadband. The only way to check is to move the extender and iPad out of range of the router network).3. WHAT ABOUT ENCRYPTION? (Despite the reference on the box to "One Button Encryption" there is no encryption button on the devices, or guidance notes. More knowledgable users will realise that encryption is accomplished through the WPS cloning process. However, some may assume from the list of MAC numbers and passwords in tiny print on the devices that some sort of password-protected set-up is required).4. DO YOU NEED TO USE THE RESOURCE CD OR THE PASSWORDS FOR NORMAL SET-UP? (Not if you have a WPS button on your router. You can set up the adapter base unit and two extenders without getting into unnecessary complications).The good news is that when the 4220 kit is up and working it is first-class. BBC iPlayer or Skygo can be streamed to multiple devices from a seamless network. The system is also much less prone to random loss of Internet connection, as experienced with the previous 281 model.A pity about the instructions.
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28.3.2014

After having seamlessly installed a TP Link Powerline ethernet extender for my SmartTv, I decided to get one of these to improve the WiFi signal upstairs. Given that the ethernet extender install was faultless I expected a similarly hassle free install for this, but no....After an hour of scratching my head and following the setup to the letter many, many times I had totally failed to get it to perform the WPS pair to my BT Home Hub 3. So I turned to Google only to find out that the BT Home Hub 3 has had its WPS button disabled! Be aware that although the WPS button is disabled on the HH3, its associated lights still function as normal, giving you no indication that it isn't actually doing anything!!Cheers BT!!So how to get around this? Well you will need to manually set the SSID and password to match your router.1) Plug in the TPLink extender and connect your laptop/pc to it via an ethernet cable.2) Open a browser and go to: http://192.168.1.13) When asked to login: user=admin password=admin4) Select Wireless, then Wireless Settings from the side menu5) Edit the SSID to be the same as your routers SSID (you can find this on the pullout tab on top of BT Home Hub 3), then click save. (ignore reboot message)6) Select Wireless Security from the side menu7) Select "WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK"8) Edit the PSK password to be the same as your router password, then click save.9) Now you must reboot to put changes into effect, select System tools then reboot from the side menu.Your wireless devices should now connect seamlessly using the connection you have previously setup for your router!Just to be clear this is NOT an issue with the TP Link TL-WPA4220 AV500, it has performed faultlessly and I would highly recommend it.
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8.3.2015

One thing to watch out for here is that this device has a default IP of 192.168.1.1, which is the same as my router so caused a few headaches when first setting it up (I just switched my router off and then changed the IP of this device to something else, then switched my router back on)The WPS function worked flawlessly. I originally tried setting it up with the same settings as my main wireless network, but must have missed a setting as I got authentication errors whenever I tried to connect. I just logged on to my router and selected WPS (push button option, not code entry) and then pressed the bottom LED on this device for a second and it grabbed the correct network settings then.Apartfrom that I only had to change the default password and set it to channel 13.The device came with the latest firmware already installed (1.2.8 Build 140401 Rel.49960n), so no need to touch that.After 10 minutes spent setting it up I now have full signal strength in the top bedroom of my house, and the option to add two wired devices should I want to...The only negatives I can think of is that it's a little bulky when compared to the other powerline devices I bought (PA411), and the aforementioned IP conflict issue...I also can't comment on long-term stability, as this always gets switched off when not in use, so the reports of flaky connections after it's been running for a few days didn't really put me off buying.
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8.3.2014

I was adding this to an existing Powerline network consisting of two TP-Link AV600 wired-only adapters, but despite numerous attempts, it wouldn't pair with those automatically using the pairing buttons. And while I did manage to get it to extend my WiFi network automatically, it didn't pick the best WiFi channel so the signal wasn't as good as it should have been.So in the end, I had to download the Powerline configuration app from TP-Link's website (luckily there is now a Mac version) and configure it manually, which was ultimately a good thing anyway as my other two Powerline adapters were using their default security settings, and I never like to leave network devices doing that.Then I had to log in to the adapter's web interface to set up the WiFi the way I wanted. That's obviously all more hassle than I'd have liked, but on the plus side, at least it was all possible.Once all up and running, it does what it's supposed to do very well--I'm still surprised at how well Powerline technology works. It's a pity that there's no AV600 version available yet, but I'm sure they'll get there eventually.
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24.8.2015

It works fine but the wifi range is not as good as expected. Still, it did extend my wifi to another room. The range sometimes is very good and sometimes it drops significantly, I'm not sure what causes this fluctuation, but no big issues here.You can either use the SSID and password provided (no need to set it up), or you can download the software (it's all in the manual) and change the SSID and password as you like (and select the wifi channel if the default option isn't the best). It was easy to set up, although initially I could not remember which button to press on my existing power-line adapter to pair them as I no longer have the manual. It did work in the end so all is good :-)This adapter clones your network,rather than just extending the wifi signal so it should perform better than standard wifi boosters.All my other adapters are TP Link, so I don't now if pairing with other makes would cause any problems. My only issue at the moment is that the adapter is larger than the other adapters I have, and larger than I expected.
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17.1.2014

Bought to extend TP-Link Powerline Extender Kit i bought from John Lewis which was quite literally "plug and play".Amazon click and collect service was OUTSTANDING - not often you would hear me say that but it really was incredibly efficient and simple, including the return of the wrong product i ordered in error!Extender synced to network but it is not obvious that you have to treat the TP Link like a different wireless router and save the access code as you would any other wireless access point. That said to my total amazement I went through to technical support on an 0845 number in less than a minute and a very helpful technician from the other side of the world helped me sort out my misunderstanding (and stayed with me to prove it worked)in 5 minutes.I suspect the wifi cloning is probably cleverer than my understanding and the instructions really need to be dumbed down further for the likes of me but getting great wifi reception in blind spot of the house - result!
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6.3.2014

Was initially very pleased with this item: It was simple plug'n'play with my existing TPLink power line adapters and wireless router, via the WPS button. Speed was almost as high as the main router, nil latency and i-devices had no problem shifting around the house as they had with the previous repeater.Two weeks in though the whole wifi system has practically ground to a halt speed-wise and has needed numerous restarts. Removed the repeater and issue resolved so it must be this unit.Additionally, it's now decided it won't pair via WPS as it used to.Going to send it back for a replacement as it did work well to start with. Fingers crossed, and will update this post later..UPDATE:Sent the old unit back and got a new one.So far so good, all seems to be working ok as before. In view of the fact that the last one worked fine to start with I've provisionally updated the star rating and will update to full marks if it doesn't break down in the next month or two!
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25.1.2014

I wanted this to extend range of my existing wifi in our house. The instructions supplied aren't great. There are some short-form pictorial instructions on a leaflet, and about 30 pages of instruction manual on the (included) CD. The short-form instructions might be OK if your router has a "WPS" button - whatever that is - and the manual on the CD seemed to over-complicate everything. My (BT) modem/router didn't have a WPS button, so it took a while to work out what needed doing. I am sure the short-form instructions miss out a key step if you want to join an existing network..... but after using the config software on the CD I did manage to get the wifi extender connected to my router,and broadcasting a wifi signal with the same identity (SSID) and password as the original wifi network.A success in the end: my wifi network is now extended to parts of the house that couldn't be reached before, and I've been using it all day for streaming music.
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3.5.2015

This has worked well for us as we had a weak WiFi signal in our lounge (after a real palava setting it up with a Google Chromecast). It was set up as an extended WiFi network with its own SSID and password, so we connected everything to that instead of the original (unextended) WiFi network. After thinking the TP-LINK extender wouldn't work with the Chromecast via WiFi, after lots of error messages, it turned out to be compatible after all - by changing the Network name (SSID) to include _EXT at the end of the name. Then Chromecast was recognised and added to the network successfully and working great. Until that point I couldn't get the two to work together,and was on the verge of taking either the Chromecast or TP-LINK WiFi extender back. Glad it worked out in the end as otherwise, seems to be a very good product.
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14.5.2014

I need a repeater to get decent coverage over a large rambling house and the old one died on me. I had already installed TP-Link Powerline Network Adapters (in order to connect remote TV's to the Router), so it made sense to try this. It worked straight out of the box, I just had to press one button on the Wi-Fi Extender and on one of the Network Adapters and they connected immediately; the Wi-Fi Extender was then visible to all devices immediately. Buyers should note that it creates a new Wi-Fi connection, it does not extend the existing one; so, on mobile devices you have to connect to both and switch the connection to the stronger signal. My Toshiba Ultrabook, iPhone and iPad all do this seamlessly,but conceivably some devices may need manual intervention.
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7.10.2019

I added this wifi powerline extender to my existing powerline with no problems at all.I already have a powerline net to allow internet access to an upstairs bedroom that had major problems with stable wifi from my Virgin superhub3.I wanted to get better access for my office in the garden (Ok its an insulated shed!) .This powerline - wifi extender does the job well - it configured itself fine and I now get 20M stable as a rock to my office.I previously used a wifi-wifi extender and got 10-20M when it felt like it and lots of go-slows and dropouts.This is a much better solution.It's running from the house through an external socket, around 20 feet of buried armored cable and a small distribution board,to the office and so I'm happy it gets 20M!
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16.6.2016

I bought the 2 unit version of this initially. Its purpose was to supply wifi in a separate building on the same electrical source. So the first building had a broadband service via landline, but the wifi from this did not reach into the second building. I paired up the two units side by side, instructions via YouTube. (The instructions supplied are not as good as the video). I installed one in the first room and the second in the other room. I was shocked that it worked. Not only did the second room have a wifi service, but it seemed stronger than in the first room.Then I bought the 3 unit version for the home. Brilliant! It works a treat, but setting it up doesn't seem to go as the instructions describe.Once set up, no problems at all.
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17.5.2017

Given that I had been burned previously into buying a TP-Link PA 4010 thinking it would also do as a wireless range extender (only to find out it was a wired version only) I was concerned about throwing good money after bad. However, I was assured that all TP-Link devices are backwards compatible and that this would extend my excellent wired extender to my extension and silence the Greek Chorus of family complaints about their wifi on their cursed iDevices. It did *exactly* plug and play from the wired system and I haven't heard a peep out of the domestic nay-sayers. I would also say as a postscript that anyone concerned (as I was)should contact TP-Link's excellent customer service with queries on extending existing systems.
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10.1.2014

Looked long and hard at the previous very helpful reviews. Bought the powerline pass through (TL-PA451 AV500) with 2 wireless adapters (TL-WPA4220 AV500 300M), result.. EXCELLENT. Signal improved all round the house, wife happy that signal doesn't keep dropping off when she is at the other end of the house (got to be worth it for that !), and it extends well into the garden because we can position the wireless adapter at the opposite end of the house to our main Virgin Hub. We have even been able to connect our Virgin Tivo boxes to our wireless network from the wireless adapters, with the ethernet cables (2metres) provided. Don't dally thinking over this set up, just buy it,it makes wireless life so much easier.
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