You want WAP mode. Connect the WAP to your network switch. Set up the WAP with the same SSID and password as your current WiFi network.
I finally got the darn thing reset last night. I kept poking a pin into it, and it wouldn’t reset. I read the instructions that came with it. They said to power it on so all 4 lights were on, then stick a pin into the reset and keep it pressed until the lights went off. But I was already trying that! The lights just wouldn’t turn off.
It took me about 2 hours of trying to stick that pin in, of powering it on and off, of unplugging it for a while, plugging it back in, having the pin in there when I powered it on, and all kinds of other combinations I could think of.
Finally, for no reason that I could discern, I unplugged it again, plugged it in. Lights came on again. I stuck the pin in there again, and this time, the lights went off. Hallelujah! The TP-Link gods have answered my prayers.
So this time I did WAP mode, and it worked great! In fact, even downstairs right next to the google router, I still am instead connected to the TP Link upstairs, and the signal down there is fine too. And upstairs, even at the south end of the house, the signal is fine. Since I put the TP Link right about the center of the house upstairs, it covers the whole of my small house.
So yay! Thank you for answering my idiotic questions. It seems like an unnecessary expense, but it’s cheaper than getting those Google Nest thingies, so I’m pretty happy with this solution.
Sorry, bit late to reply, but I simply got a set of 3 of these in my house: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WRDR22H
The bottom one plugs into the ethernet cable. The other 2 are split across the house and talk to each other. In my case, the house is higher than wide, so they create a kind of vertical mesh.
But those are super easy to use (basically little to no set up) and mean I have strong signal throughout the house.
Instead of connecting to a router, I simply connect to the mesh network. My router is simply there to feed into one of those devices.
Awesome, glad it worked out for you! Sometimes you have to hit those reset pinholes in just the right place and with more pressure than you think to get them to fully engage.
I have read that WiFi signal from basic WAPs/routers tends to have better range downward than upward – I’m not sure how true that is, but it seems to fit my limited anecdotal experience. In other words, if you have a three-level house and a single wireless router, you will probably have better overall coverage if that router is on the top floor rather than the basement. Of course, putting it in the center of the middle floor would be optimal.
I’ve switched many into WAP mode.
I forgot what I clicked on, and now I’m giggling about how nerdy the Weird Al version of WAP might be.
There’s some wi-fi in this house / there’s some wi-fi in this house