MacBook pro will not work with TP-Link wifi extender, but iPhones do?

wackybasilisk wrote:

The iPhones are a 14 Pro and an 11.

The MacBook Pros are both 13-inch 2020 models with Intel processors.

Thanks for the continued help!

According to MacTracker,

• iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 11 both have Wi-Fi 6 with 2x2 MMO
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) and (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt Ports) have 802.11ac (also known as Wi-Fi 5). Apple says the Wi-Fi is "IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible."

So the iPhones (which can communicate) are using the same version of Wi-Fi as the extender. Both are using a newer version of Wi-Fi than the MacBook Pros.

Could that be a clue?

IEEE – What’s the Difference Between Wireless Standards IEEE 802.11ac and IEEE 802.11ax?

802.11ax (what your iPhones support) can work in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands. 802.11ac (what your MacBook Pros support) can work only in the 5 GHz frequency band.

The description of your extender says that it "Separates 5 GHz (2402 Mbps) and 2.4 GHz (574 Mbps) WiFi bands for faster speeds and greater capacity with the latest technology". It doesn't seem likely, but could there be some configuration problem with the 5 GHz service? The MacBook Pros apparently have both 2.4 GHz radios (that 'b' & 'g' compatibility) and 5 GHz radios (that 'a' compatibility), but when operating using Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), it sounds as if only the 5 GHz radios would be in use.

If there was something that interfered with 5 Ghz radio service, but not with 2.4 GHz service, then maybe the two iPhones (which have Wi-Fi 6) would use 2.4 GHz and (slowly) work around that, while the two MBPs would be out in the cold, with no connectivity at all.

According to the TP-Link site, the RE715X is a Mesh WiFi 6 Extender.

https://www.tp-link.com/us/home-networking/range-extender/re715x/

What are the models of the iPhones that work with this extender?

What are the models and release years / times of year of the MacBook Pros that do not? ( > About This Mac)

From that, we can look up the technical specifications for the iPhones and MacBook Pros to determine what versions of Wi-Fi they implement.

you have said you tried pinging, but you can ping anything with an IP address. I suggest you ping, in order:

• The access point. It should have an IP address even if its a wonky one, shown in its setup screens

• Your main Router address, like 192.168.0.1 -- shown in WiFi (advanced) TCP/IP pane

• The Service provider's upstream gateway. That IP address should be shown in the Router configuration

• 1.1.1.1 which is CloudFlare's IP address, but entered as a numeric, no DNS lookup is required, and I can remember it.

does anything work? what passes, what fails?

wackybasilisk Said:

"MacBook pro will not work with TP-Link wifi extender, but iPhones do?: [...]our two MacBook Pros will not work with the extender network. It shows that I'm connected to the wifi network, but no internet or app will work on the extender. Ping tests have failed on the extender network[...]"

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Troubleshooting Mac Wi-Fi:

Just because you have a network connected does not mean your are connected to the Internet. You may be using intenal LAN services.

A few thoughts to try...

I. Clear the Temporary Internet Files:

• Cookies perform remembrance of certain site-entered data.
• Cache keeps a snapshot of the last time you visited a site.
• Go Here: Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac - Apple Support

II. Restart your Router:

1. Power: off the router
2. Wait: 30 seconds
3. Power: It back on

III. Try a New Admin User:

What happens when you create a new administrator user, and log into it? Do you still get this error? If not, then it is likely an error with the current user. If so, then it is likely an error with your Mac.

wackybasilisk Said:

"MacBook pro will not work with TP-Link wifi extender, but iPhones do?: [...]our two MacBook Pros will not work with the extender network. It shows that I'm connected to the wifi network, but no internet or app will work on the extender. Ping tests have failed on the extender network[...]"

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Try a Ping Using Terminal:

Ping google.com and see if it it successful. Then press : [command + Q] to terminal the command.

To Open Terminal while in Recovery Mode:

1. Boot To: Recovery Mode
2. Go To: Utilities menu (top of screen)
3. Select: Terminal
4. Type this Command:

ping google.com

See if you get a reply from the ping:

wackybasilisk Said:

"MacBook pro will not work with TP-Link wifi extender, but iPhones do?: […]The iPhones are a 14 Pro and an 11. The MacBook Pros are both 13-inch 2020 models with Intel processors.[…]”

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You are welcome.

A. Pinging Results:

So, any successful results from the pinging?

B. Find Your Location:

Enable Location Sharing, and the see if your location and IP Address are shown here: https://www.geolocation.com/

You may want to disable Location Sharing afterwards.

C: Terminal Commands:

What results do you get using these commands in Terminal?:

whois apple.com
curl ifconfig.me

Is this pertinent? My iPhone 15 Pro Max can directly connect to an advertised 6GHz Wi-Fi 6E SSID using WPA3 (only), but my 2023 M2 Mac Mini Pro doesn't even see it because I have no capability to transmit a dual-channel Wi-Fi 5Ghz/6 GHz SSID as Apple requires in the preceding pertinent link. And Wi-Fi 6 (5Ghz) wants a WPA3 security handshake.