TP-Link TL-WPA281 manual

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender Rev: 1.0.0 1910010522[...]

COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARKS S pecifications ar e subject to change without notice. is a registered trademark of TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., L T D. Other bra nds and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. No part of the specificat ions may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivati[...]

FCC ST A TEMENT This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digit al device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installa tion. This equipment genera tes, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if[...]

National restrictions This device is intended for home and office use in a ll EU countries (and other countries following the EU directive 1999/5/EC) without any limitation except for t he countries mentioned below: Country Restriction Reason/remark Bulgaria None General authorization requir ed for outdoor use and public service France Outdoor use [...]

TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., L TD DECLARA TION OF CONFORMITY For the following equipment: Product Description: Wireless N Powerline Extender Model No.: TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 T rademark: TP-LINK We declare under our own responsibilit y that the above pro ducts satisfy all the technical regulations applicable to the product within the scope of Council D[...]

Import ant Safety Instructions 1. Do not open this product or attempt to servic e it; it may expose you to dan gerous high voltage or other risks. 2. Do not operate this product near water . 3. Do not place or operate this produc t near a radiator or a heat register . 4. Do not expose this product to dampness, dust or corrosive liquids. 5. Do not c[...]

CONTENTS Chapter 1 In troducti on .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 System Require ment ......................................................................................................... ............ 1 1.2 Package Content s ........................[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 1 Chapter 1 Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of this outstanding Wireless N Powerline Extender . This device is not only a 200Mbps Powerline Ethernet A dapter which transforms your house’ s existing electrical wiring into a ubiquitous networking infrastruc ture but also a 300Mbps/15[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 2 1.3 Conventions The Extender , or TL-W P A281/TL-WP A271, or devic e mentioned in this User Guide stands for TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender without any explanations. Parameters provided in the pictures are just references for setting up the product. They may differ from the [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 3 Chapter 2 Hardware Connection 2.1 Before You Begin Please read this User Guide carefully before inst alling and using the equipmen t. The operating distance or range of your wireless connection varies si gnificantly based on the phy sical placement of the Powerline Extender . Factors that can we[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 4 LEDs Name Statu s Indication Solid The device is on. Power LED Off The device is off. Solid The device is connect ed to a powerline network. Off The adapter isn’t connected to any powerline network. Powerline LED Blinking The device is transferring data. Solid The Ethernet port is connected, b[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 5 WiFi/WPS Button Ethernet Port Pair Button Reset Button Item Description WiFi/WPS Press the button for 2 seconds, the Ext ender will wait to be connected by WPS. Pressing the button for 5 seconds will enabl e or disable the wireless function. Ethernet One 10/100Mbps Ethernet port connected to PC [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 6 4 ． Check and confirm the LEDs status. (The Power LED and Ethernet LED on the Powerline Extender should be ON .) The hardware connection mec hanism is shown bel ow: ) Note : Do not connect the Powerline Extender or Powerlin e Adapter to an extension lead, power strip, extension cord, or surge [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 7 As soon as the powerline devices are connected following the steps above, a usable powerline network is available.[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 8 Chapter 3 Configure the Device This Chapter describes how to configure your Ac cess Point via the web-based management page. The TL-WP A281 Wireless N Powerline Extender is easy to configure and manage with the Web-based (Internet Explorer , Netscape ® Navigat or , Firefox, Safari, Opera or Chr[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 9 ) Note : If another TL-WP A281 is displayed on the screen abov e and you cannot dec ide wh ich model is the one you are configuring, please refer to the MAC address under MAC Address column. The device’s MAC address can be found on the label at the bottom of the device. 3. Enter admin for the [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 10 Figure 3-4 S t atus ¾ Firmware Version - This field displays the current firmwa re ver sion of the Powerline Extender. ¾ Hardware Version - This field displays the current hardw are version of the Powerline Extende r. ¾ Powerline - This field displays the current settings or information for [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 11 z Wireless Radio - Indicates whether the wireless radio f eature of the Powerline Extender is enabled or disabled. z Name (SSID) - The SSID of the Powerline Extender. z Channel - The wireless channel in use. z Mode - The current wirel ess mode the Powerline Extender works on. z Channel Wid th -[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 12 I. By PBC If the wireless adapter supports Wi-Fi Protected Se tup and the Push Button Configuration (PBC) method, you can add it to the network by PBC with the following two methods. Method One: Step 1: Press the WPS button on the front panel of the device for 2 seconds. Step 2: Within two minu[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 13 Method T wo: Step 1: Press the WPS button on the front panel of the device for 2 se conds. Step 2: For the confi guration of the wirele ss adapter , please choose Push the button on m y access point in the configuration utility of t he WPS as below , and click Next . (QSS, also called WPS, is u[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 14 The WPS Configuration Screen of Wireless Adapter Method Three: Step 1: Keep the defaul t WPS S tatus as Enabled and click the Add device button in Figure 3-5 , then the following screen will appear . Figure 3-6 Add a New Device Step 2: Choose Press the button of the new device in two minutes an[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 15 The WPS Configuration Screen of Wireless Adapter Step 4: W ait for a while until the next screen appears. Click Finish to complete the WPS configuration. The status LED on the Powerline Extender will li ght green for five minut es if the device has been successfully added to the network. The WP[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 16 Figure 3-7 Add a New Device Step 2: Choose Ent er the new device's PIN and enter the PIN code (t ake 16952898 for example) of the wireless adapter in the field after PIN as shown in the fi gure above. Then click Connect . ) Note: The PIN code of the adapter is al ways displayed on the WPS [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 17 The WPS Configuration Screen of Wireless Adapter ) Note: The default PIN code of the Power line Extender can be found on its label or on its WPS configuration page as shown in Figure 3-5 . Y ou will see the following screen when the new devic e has successfully c onnected to the network. Figure[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 18 ¾ MAC Address - The physical address of the Powerline Ex tender's Ethernet port. The value can no t be changed. ¾ IP Address - Enter the IP address of the Powerline Ex tender in dotted-decima l notation (factory default setting is 192.168.1.1). ¾ Subnet Mask - An address code that deter[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 19 Figure 3-1 1 Wireless Settings ¾ SSID (Set Service Identifier) - Identifies your wireless network name. Enter a value of up to 32 characters. The same Name (SSID) must be assigned to all wireless devices in your network. The default SSID is TP-LINK_XXXXXX ( XXXXXX indicates the last si x uniqu[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 20 • 1 1bg mixed - Both 802.1 1b and 802.1 1g wireless st ations can connect to the device. • 1 1bgn mixed - All 802.1 1b, 802.1 1g and 802.1 1n wireless stations can connect to the device. If all of the wireless devices connected with the Powerline Extender can connect in the same transmissio[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 21 Figure 3-12 Wireless Security ¾ Disable Security - Check this radio button to disable wirele ss security . If disabled, the wireless stations will be able to connect this device without encryption. It is strongly recommended that you choose one of the security types to enable security . ¾ WEP[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 22 • WEP Key Format - Y ou can select ASC II or Hexadecimal format. ASCII format stands for any combination of keyboard characte rs in the specified length. He xadecimal format st ands for any combination of hexadecimal digits (0-9 , a-f, A-F) in the specified length. • WEP Key - Select which [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 23 Figure 3-15 WP A-PSK/WP A2-PSK • Ve r s i o n - Y ou can select one of following versions. 9 Automatic - Select WP A-PSK or WP A2-PSK automatically based on the wireless station's capability and request. 9 WP A-PSK - Pre-shared key of WP A. 9 WP A2-PSK - Pre-shared key of WP A2. • Encr[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 24 T o Add a Wireless MAC Address filtering entry , click the Add Ne w … button. The “Add or Modify Wireless MAC Address Filtering entry" page will appear , shown in Figure 3-17 . Figure 3-17 Add or Modify Wireless MAC Address Filtering entry ¾ MAC Address - Enter the wireless station&ap[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 25 Click the Delete All button to delete all entries Click the Next button to go to the next page and click the Previous button to return to the previous page. For example: If you desire that the wirel ess station A with MAC address 00-0A-EB- 00- 07-BE is able to access the device, while all other[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 26 value determines the time TS frames to a particular receiving station and lt in poor network performance , which indicates the nded that this function be enabled. h WLAN . This function will be disabled if WDS/Bridge is enabled. If you are not familiar with the setting items on th is page, it&a[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 27 is page and to show the current If the numbers of connected wireless st ations go b eyond one page, click the Next button to go to the hown in Figure 3- 10 ): Network Settings , St ation Settings and QoS Setting . Click any of them, and you will be able to configure the ction. The det ailed e x[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 28 n Settings and name for each station. 3.6.2 Statio The S tation Settings p age shows remote stations in cu rrent network and allows you to enter , modify or delete the password Figure 3-22 S tation Settings ¾ MAC Address - The remote station's MAC addres s. The value can not be changed. ?[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 29 Figure 3-24 Add a new station Click the Refresh button to update the curr ent connected stations. Click the Next button to go to the ne button to return to the previous Add or Modify operation only when the remote station is connected. If t he remote station ntered the password is power off or [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 30 ¾ Simple Application Mapping - The group allows you to choose what type of traffic with the highest user priority you will use your local device for by pitching on one of the following four radios. z Internet - The Internet Application Mappi ng be use to Internet server. z Online Game - The On[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 31 enable you to configure the corresp onding function. The detailed ex planations for each submenu are provided below . Figure 3-26 The System T ools menu 3.7.1 Firmware Upgrade Selecting System T ools > Firmware Upgrad the device on the screen shown in Figure 3-2 e allows you to upgrade the l[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 32 ) Note: The firmware version must corre spond to the hardware. The upgrade process takes a few moment s and the Powerline Extender restarts automatically when the upgrade is complete. It is important to keep power applied during the entire process. Loss of pow er during the upg rade could damag[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 33 with the uploading configuration file. 2. W rong process will lead the device un managed. 3. The restoring process last s for about 20 seconds and restarts automatically . Do not power off the device during the process to avoid any damage. 3.7.4 Reboot Selecting System T ools > Rebo e screen[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 34 anagement page or Quick Setup will be prompted s user name and password. The new user name and password must not exceed 14 charac ters in length and must not include any spaces. Enter the new Password again to confirm it. Click Save when finished. Click Clear All to clear all. 3.7.6 System Log [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 35 ss Network reless utility . Follow the steps below . ireless icon Chapter 4 Connecting to Wirele 4.1 In Windows 7 Windows 7 users may use the built-in wi 1. Left-click the w in your system tray (lower-right corner). The utility will display any available wireless networks in your area. Select t[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 36 Figure 4-2 3. Y ou have joined the home network and can surf the Internet now . Figure 4-3 4.2 In Windows Vista Windows Vista users may use the built-in wireless utility . Follow the steps below . 1. Open the wireless utility by right -clicking on the wireless computer icon in your system tray [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 37 Figure 4-4 2. The utility will display any available wireless netwo rks in your area. Select the wireless network you would like to connect and then click Connect . Figure 4-5 3. If the network you would like to connect is se curity-enabled, enter the same security key or passphrase that is on [...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 38 Figure 4-6 4. Y ou have joined the home netwo rk and can surf the Internet now . Click close to finish the connection. Figure 4-7 4.3 In Windows XP Windows XP users may use the built-in wi reless utility . Follow th e steps below . 1. Right-click on the wireless com puter icon in your system tr[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 39 Figure 4-8 2. The utility will display any available wireless net works in your area. Click on a network (displayed using the SSID) and click the Connect button. Figure 4-9 3. If the network is security-enabled, you will be pr ompted to enter the key as shown below . If not, you will connect to[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 40 Chapter 5 Pair Buttons 5.1 Pair (Secure with 128 bits-AES) The Homeplug A V standard uses 128-bit AES (Advanc ed Encryption S tandard) to safely transmit data between powerline dvices. For the powerline devices to communicate with each other , they all need to use the same Network Membership Ke[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 41 Join an existing Powerline Network: Powerline device A and Powerline device B form a HomeplugA V Netwo rk, and Powerline device C wants to join this network. Ste p 1 . Press and hold the Pair button on Powerline device C TL-P A21 1 for 3 to 8 seconds. Ste p 2 . Press and hold the Pair button on[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 42 Appendix A: T roubleshooting Guide The Troubleshooting Guide provides answers to common problems regarding the Powerline Etherne t Adapter. 1. The Power LED does not light up. Ans. Check the following: 1. Make sure that the Powerline Extende r is properly plugged into a power outlet. 2. Make su[...]

TL-WP A281/TL-WP A271 Wireless N Powerline Extender 43 Appendix B: S pecifications General Standards HomePlug AV, IEEE802.3, IEEE802.3u Modulation Technology OFDM, 1024/256/64/16/8-QAM, QPSK, BPSK and ROBO Data Rate 200Mbps for powerline 300Mbps for wireless Range 300 meters in house LEDs Power , Powerline, Ethernet, WiFi/WPS Interface 1 Ethernet L[...]