TP-Link TL-WPA4220 TKIT 2-Port Powerline Adapter WiFi
TP-Link TL-WPA4220 TKIT 2-Port Powerline Adapter WiFi Starter Kit, Range Extender, Broadband/WiFi Extender, WiFi Booster/Hotspot, No Configuration Required, UK Plug
From the brand
AV1000 Gigabit Powerline Kit
- HomePlug AV2 Standard – high-speed data transfer rates of up to 1000 Mbps
- Gigabit port
- Up to 300 Meters
| Weight: | 680 g |
| Dimensions: | 9.4 x 5.4 x 4 cm; 680 Grams |
| Brand: | TP-Link |
| Model: | TL-WPA4220T KIT |
| Colour: | White |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | TP-Link |
| Dimensions: | 9.4 x 5.4 x 4 cm; 680 Grams |
It pairs to connect throughout the power line immediately. It stays connected. Wireless connection works smooth. Once paired it will keep the connection stable and to its high speed.
If unplugged, when plugged back it reconnects immediately.
1x base unit and x2 receivers. Put one in the daughter’s bedroom and connected the ethernet cable directly to her TV it works 100% better than Wi-Fi, the other I put in the garage at the bottom of the garden. I now have the internet in the garage and it works great! I highly recommend the product to everyone!
Have these as part of a powerline network and we get 60-70MB broadband both wired & wireless in our garden office off a 200 odd MB router service in the main house.
Pretty darn useful!
Had Virgin Media Wifi Mesh Pods supplied but they did not work with the end of my house which is old and has thick walls. I bought the TP Link Powerline units as a last resort and they work perfectly with a great strength signal in those end rooms. Very pleased . Also very quick delivery etc.
Bought this to replace an earlier powerline.
No need to set up – worked straight from the box, but used the free app to change the name so that the SSID was the same as my router.
Note that you have to set up both streams separately, but the SSIDs can be the same, even though they are not by default. I do not think this is mentioned in the documentation.
I was a little cautious about this, and didn’t know how it would work. It works quite well, we have only about 10% loss compared to the speed I would expect to see. It saves me from having to use wifi and suffer latency. Good product.
Only have this item for a few weeks, but, so far, no problems. I gave it four stars simply I do not have it long enough to do a longer time review
They work really well and are so much better than the older ones I had. If you don’t mind using the default SSID’s then these are all you need. Plug in the master, plus in the two hotspots and you’re away. Unless you have ultra fast broadband these will do the job. My connection is only 80mb/s.
I already have a TP Link Powerline set up, and added this to the network to give a Wi Fi boost where the router signal is not too good.
Setting it up took only a few minutes, this gives a strong reliable signal, and I am very happy..
The device arrived by the date advised, it was very easy to install and connect up and it appears to be performing very well. I hope it continues to perform as it is currently doing for a long time.
Hi the units are easy to set up and put my wifi where I need it.
This route well, however, due to the wiring within our household we could only get 20% of the Wi-Fi signal/ethernet signal – Not a device failure, Hence why the item was returned. Now using a Wi-Fi booste
Easy to use and works as said it would. I have it in my garden shed and it works perfectly with no tech issues to date.
Replacement for my prev WPA kit that was old and “end of life” !
Easy to set up via WPS and pairing.
I get a WiFi speed of about 35 mbps down and 15 mbps up which is about half of what my router produces but it is enough for me for all my streaming and wifi devices.
Ethernet to TV works well no streaming issues.
Good to have 2 extenders.
I managed to do a firmware update via the tp-link app which I have never done before in case it went wrong. But it was easy.
The firmware on the adapter and just one extender was applied , then I had to apply the upgrade again to the 2nd extender. Not sure why this is but everything was ok.
So overall happy with this.
Smaller and more compact than the old kit – which is good.
Installation was easy and it worked.
Reasonable price.
Not as fast as advertised (in my set up)
These units are great for extending Wi-Fi and hard wired connections around your property either due to poor router or general signal degradation because of distance or building interference or the disruption of re-cabling with cat5 for the hardwired connections. They can be a bit finicky to set up but work well once they are.
UPDATE: After using this wonderful piece of kit now for several days, I can truly say – it is more than magnificent at what it does. Despite owning the title of ‘grumpy, moany old man, I simply cannot find fault in this incredible bit of kit. I am so happy that I can watch smart TV, listen to my iPod Touch through my B&W speaker, use my iPad, my MacBook, heck, even my android phone hits in to it. I even tried it at the end of the very long garden just because I could and heck, I have a full on signal.
I am simply over joyed
‘Sometimes on a review you kind of feel excited and don’t actually know where to start. On the one hand I find ‘War & Peace’ reviews about as helpful as the proverbial chocolate teapot; although, I have see some nice ones. I digress, so here it goes FWIW.
This was a case of third time lucky. I’d purchased and returned two of the so-called things that plug in to a socket , press the WPS button while pressing the button on the router and job done. Sadly my new build cottage is protected by kingpin insulation lined on both sides with foil. No wifi is getting through it.
I was on the cusp of giving up when I stumbled on this offering from TP-Link. Once I got my thick head around the fact it does not bounce a signal through wifi I was home and dry. Setting up is a breeze. I plugged in the ethernet cable to the smallest unit and it had a ‘chat’ with my router and set itself up. Then I plugged in the bigger unit, switched it on (don’t press pair). And sorted; I thought all was good.
All I wanted to do was use my iPod Touch to play music through a Bowers and Wilkins A7 in my den which is about thirty metres from my cottage. Nothing! Totally useless. Speaker I had plugged into the ethernet and into the unit; no worries light stopped flashing on my B&W unit.
Turned on the iPod and nothing, it so would not pick up. In the box it all went while I went off to do other things, in a huff. Then I wondered. No good following the instructions, useless. Fine if you just want to power ups a TV or similar. Once you want to stream music or use an iPod there is something you NEED to do.
Go into your iPod wifi settings and wait until you see the TP link highlighted. Click on it and enter the password which is handily printed on top of the TP Link unit. All went well. Choose music, hit the A7 speaker and voila, perfect signal. Been listening to my music all afternoon without dropping once.
I now fully understand how these things work. I used the smaller unit as mentioned plugged into my router and only one of the two larger units. I suppose should I wish to use a TV in my shed or garage, I will use the second unit.
I cannot tell you how pleased I am. JUST be sure if you have issues to look on your TV, speaker or whatever if it asks to join your TP Link unit. Enter th password and you really are JOB DONE! I got there for under 100.
As long as your Neutral cable is connected, in the Consumer Unit, to the same block then the signal goes through, if it’s on a different RCD or not on the same common screwed neutral block..forget it!!
My internet speed is 2 gigabits at the router so I thought this would be a good addition to my gaming pc setup.
Latency is acceptable. I am getting an additional 6ms when connected with the overkill cat6 cable.
Speed is not acceptable with neither the cable or the wifi. I even tried it on the same plug, 50mm apart. Couldn’t get anything more than 140 mbit/s.
So downloading a 25 gig call of duty update is a pain but playing the game is perfectly fine.
I’ve tried a few different Powerline adapters but none have been suitable for the range needed and some were complicated on long winded to set up and pair. However, this was set up in a couple of minutes and I now have full strength internet in my home office at the bottom of a 100 feet garden. Very pleased indeed and relieved!
On setting it up, it wasn’t as straight forward as expected and finally worked out I had to log on to the website to find the password to connect on WIFI. A bit of a faff and could have been a bit easier if explained better in the instructions. But still was set up within an hour, even with my issues.
So if you were worried about connecting over different circuits, this one works.
It was easy to set up. But range was about 40m. Likely as I could not fit to the sane circuit as required in the instructions. Do I bought another and used two and it’s been very good.
This transmitter and wifi receiver works perfectly for me, despite the transmitter and receiver being on completely different circuits in my house, and the receiver is in the garage at the end of the garden, going through about 100ft of 2.5mm cable! Nothing else has worked for me and I bought this expecting more disappointment, however I am happily surprised at how well this works, and I would recommend it to anyone experiencing problems getting internet signal to troublesome areas of your property. The setup could not have been simpler, plug both units in next to each other, press the WPS button on the router, wait a couple of minutes, then hey presto, I have WiFi signal wherever I plug this in. A bit pricey as I went for AC pass-through on both units as we don’t have many power sockets, but worth it to finally have WiFi in the garage and throughout the garden.
Yes so easy to set up, not yet convinced that this does boost/ extend wifi signal, living in a modest house, the distance from my router and the extender ( located in same double socket) to my ring doorbell is approx 28 ft to outside. The doorbell keeps losing wifi connection. So despite really positive write up I’m not totally convinced. Surely with the other extender plugged into the same electric wiring and positioned some 10 ft from the doorbell it should boost the signal to outside to an acceptable signal strength.
These power line adaptors work really well in the power line aspect, 170+ Mbps in the furthest away room using the Ethernet connection and 50Mbps over the WiFi signal it gives out. The only thing I would say is that you will need one in every room you want a good connection as the WiFi doesn’t go far. All units need to be on same power circuit so check which plugs you can use. Also I have 1gb Full Fibre to the House Broadband so that Is what my results are based on. I have the main unit and three of the Ethernet/WiFi units and all work and all I had to do was plug them in close to the main unit initially to pair and was then able to move them to the room I wanted. Overall it’s not cheap but to have very good internet over both Ethernet and WiFi in the rooms you have the units, then it’s worth it just to not hear my Sons whine about the signal and buffering. Going to buy a fourth unit for my Kitchen. If your happy to spend a bit then I would highly recommend these. These are WiFi 5 technology but unless you have WiFi 6 devices there is no point spending more on extenders offering WiFi 6
These are THE BEST BOOSTERS EVER!!
I had these recommended having wasted money on rubbish ones previously. Definitely worth the money.
Simply put, you get a box you plug into your router which also plugs into the mains electricity.
You then have 3 boosters (like big plugs) that you plug around the house where signal is rubbish – because they go straight into your electricity, you just connect to whichever box is in that area of your house/office. That’s a non tech explanation lol! Plug, connect & go! SIMPLE
These are brilliant for my house as I have big thick walls & the router is opposite side of the house to my home office! As they plug direct into the sockets the signal shows as ‘excellent’ every time on every device & as I move around the house my phone picks up the different boosters automatically instead of dropping the connection. Great for video calls/facetime or music apps on your phone when you’re moving around. Very impressed, highly recommend 5
I really like that the passwords for each port are all numbers!
My house has brick internal walls dating from mid 20th century and covers an area large enough to make WiFi difficult. The house wiring is approximately 15 years old, I have no ethernet cables between rooms, I rely on powerline data transmission using the house ring circuits. I find no problem running powerline devices on simple inexpensive extension leads (without power filtering) and somewhat surprisingly find these devices work between ring circuits; I don’t understand why this is but it’s likely because I don’t understand my house wiring well enough (it was rewired before I moved in). The takeaway is that in my house the powerline works very well everywhere, even in the ‘garden office’ which has its own ring circuit and is 60ft from the house, but it might not follow you will get the same performance; from what I read your house electrical wiring is critical to your experience.
I currently have four AV1000 (max 1000Mbps over powerline and with 1Gbps wired ethernet) and two AV1300 (max 1300Mbps over powerline with dual band wifi and 1Gbps wired ethernet). I downloaded the tpPLC utility from tp-link and run it on Windows 11; it shows the powerline speed being achieved between the various devices in my house is more or less half the max theoretical speed of the slowest device. Thus AV1300 to AV1300 is typically ~700Mbps, AV1300 to AV1000 is typically 400/500Mbps and AV1000 to AV1000 is also 400/500Mbps. The tpPLC utility shows these numbers vary over time over a small range. Whether these speeds are a realisable data rate for connected devices I don’t know, I assume there are loses and actual connection speeds for equipment will be slower. The broadband speed to my house over fibre is 130Mbps. Speed tests from computers to the internet using ethernet cable connected to the 1Gbps ports show me achieving 120/134Mbps so powerline isn’t causing a bottleneck and I’m seeing my full broadband speed. When I increase my broadband speed to 264Mbps it will be interesting to see if I see this greater speed over powerline. The AV1300 TL-WPA8631P offer 2.4GHz & 5GHz wifi. At 5Ghz I also achieve 120/134Mbps, at 2.4GHz this speed seems to drop sometimes to 100+Mbps; I was surprised by this because the TL-WPA8631P is rated at 300Mbps for the 2.4Ghz wifi. Otherwise horses for courses, 2.4GHz penetrates brick walls much better than the 5GHz and I switch off whichever wifi frequency works less well in the environment it is being used, typically using 5GHz only within a room and 2.4GHz between rooms through brick walls; it stops connected wireless devices sometimes choosing the less strong/fast signal; that’s a typical wifi issue not limited to these devices. The wifi TL-WPA8631P have excellent configuration options when using their web interfaces, including MAC white listing which I use extensively, and one can restrict a MAC (eg a child’s smartphone) so it can’t access WiFi at night. Being able to restrict MACs on a school night is essential, they learn soon enough not to use up their 4G phone data. I have not tried using OneMesh, my broadband router doesn’t support it and I don’t find the need for Mesh WiFi. Rather than have all network names (SSID) the same and experience the commonplace wifi issue of a computer hanging on too long to a weak signal from a distant access point and not knowing which access point you are connected to, all SSID names are different and we know where we are connected; that is fine for us. If you walk around your house while in a video conference your mileage might be different and need Mesh wifi.
Overall I have found these powerline devices amazing; for my purposes these devices beat dragging ethernet cables around the house. If you have Gigabit broadband and want to see it in distant parts of your property then wired ethernet might be the way to go (though I note powerline equipment with speeds faster than AV1300 are available which I have not tested) but for more modest speeds, like my 130Mbps broadband, and good house wiring, this might be all you need. I have not tried mixing different vendors, all our devices are tp-link. I’ve updated the firmware on both of the TL-WPA8631P, because it was there not because I needed to, I used the web interface but the downloaded tpPLC utility also has the facility to do this.
We needed one more when we had our broadband upgraded. This one had to go upstairs for the kids to do their homework as the wi-fi range was a little flaky.
I have a lot of TP-Link kit and they work very well with the router.
Literally, plug it in, press the pairing button, sit back, wait, job done.
Rock solid connection, can be configured for either streaming, gaming or general browsing.
It works with the other three to provide a full duplex network. Depending on the wiring of the house, anything up to about 750Mbps is possible. It provides and excellent wired and wireless connection.
In short, but these, they are simple to operate, the through plug is rated at 10A so perfect to run most applicances from.
Initially I tested the extender using the Quick Installation which uses the default TP-Link SSIDs and password. This worked in the garage despite the transmission via the mains power passing through an RCD circuit-breaker. Having a different SSID (network) from the house is a bit of a pain so I then tried unifying the extender. This gave me a bit of trouble until I realised that the extender needs to be reset (under power) to the factory defaults first. I strongly recommend that the extender should be next to the router to unify using the Wi-Fi button. My problem was that the extender had not copied all the required data from the router when the router hit a time limit and its Connect/WPS light stopped flashing. The remedy was to just press the WPS button on the Fritz!Box router again and the extender then successfully completed its copying.
Performance seems as good as that in the house; but I do not stream data or game.
One issue was that my (new) iPad complained that the extender’s wi-fi (WPA/WPA2) was not secure. I downloaded the TP-Link Utility on my PC and upgraded it to WPA2/WPA3; this was remarkably easy.
We live in a 1950’s house with brick internal walls. A WiFi router is just enough to cover 2 rooms and a WiFi mesh system would not penetrate the walls. . With the AV1300 Powerline adapter connected to a Fritz!box router and 3x AC1200 WiFi extenders (1 in the middle and one at each end of the house), the whole house has a good signal and there are no dropouts. I’ve shared the Fritz!box WiFi log in details across all 3 extenders so now there is only 1 password for the whole system. This was achieved by pressing the WPS button the router and then the WiFi buttons on the extenders. The router is set as a mesh master and you can move around the whole house with your device and not notice any WiFi changeover or drop-outs. I’m also using the ports to connect to a smart tv, Apple TV and hue bridge. Very pleased with the whole set up. Would have preferred the ports on the extenders pointing towards the floor for neatness and to not obscure the on/off switch on the wall-socket, but the switch is rarely used. Also like the fact that there is still a socket available (pass through) on the front of the adapter and extenders. Highly recommended for older houses.
I bought this Powerline Wi-Fi extender in order to get a better signal to the back of my house and back garden (where I have my outdoor Ring Floodlight Cam). My main router is in my front room and the signal was weak at the back of the house. This was so easy to set up, I plugged one end (the adapter) into the mains socket near my router and connected it via the supplied Ethernet cable. I then plugged in the other end (extender) into a mains socket at the far end of the of the room (40 ft long room). I followed the simple instructions and within minutes had a stronger signal at the back of the house even including upstairs. The Wi-Fi name was copied over so I don’t see a different network (unlike ordinary extenders) and my Floodlight Cam now gets a better signal.
This also works in conjunction with an existing Powerline I have (TL-PA4010P KIT).
My router is Virgin Hub 3
I am very pleased with this purchase and the seller.
Signals now run up the armoured cable out to the shed and to the wifi unit. It’s not the fastest of connections giving me adequate performance that end, but allows a wifi cctv camera to work well enough and serve the equipment in the workshop.
The only issue I’ve had, and the reason for a 4 rather than 5 star review, is a (very!) occasional drop of the wired link and an auto-switch to wireless. However, resetting the network adaptor or just unplugging the unit for a few seconds has always reactivated the wired connection immediately.
I paired it in just a few seconds with an existing TP-Link TL-PA4010 AC600 sender, and almost immediately the tlPLC Utility reported a stable link speed of 320Mb/s across 35 and 45 metres of ring main from the sender.
Security options are available for its wifi hub, via its wifi or wire linked from PC, when using a relevant Utility. They allow one to set robust admin name and password, as well as a strong wifi password. There are also options for timed access, parental controls, guest access, optimum mode of operation, wifi power level, everything one might need. I did not bother with OneMesh etc.
After reading the somewhat sketchy instructions with a generic EU picture for the different shape and inverted (but more ergonomic) UK device, initial setup and function test only took a couple of minutes. To do this I secured the admin name and password using the tlPLC Utility on the PC. Download of the latest version of the Utility from the manufacturer was quick, and detailed configuration for better security and usability took about ten minutes working through all the options. One useful option for intensive use is the ‘preferred usage mode’, but I’ve set it for internet as a TV only takes about 8Mb/s even on HD and our broadband is only 50Mb/s.
Wifi access to a crucial aspect of network security could be a bad thing or a good thing, so I’ve set a very strong admin password, just as I’ve done with the router. It may be more fiddly with a phone, but typing is easy on a PC, so no big deal.
One of my rooms is blocked from the wifi in the rest of the house by too much steel and masonry, but fortunately it is on the same ring main as my internet hub. This extender with the three ports and the remote wifi hub was ideal, and the TV and DVR are plugged into two of the ports while the wifi allows use of tablet, phone and laptop, all simultaneously while remote from the main hub.
I set a different wifi password and hub name from the main hub simply for convenience of setup and better security although they could have shared them, and because previously one phone had difficulty in deciding which hub to use when the password was the same. Two different passwords and the phones, tablets and laptops change hub seamlessly as we walk around the house.
It replaced an increasingly unreliable old TL-WPA4220 AV600 . The louder the whistle from its power supply, the less effective that old one became. It died just a month out of warranty, but I could not be bothered with the hassle of arguing about something so cheap.
Ground Floor / Sitting room. So I plugged in the wifi extender in another socket in the same room with the main unit. I got 266 Mbps on LAN, 95 on 2.4 GHz and 280 on 5Ghz. I was a bit surprised by this result. I would have expected MUCH higher speeds on both the LAN and Wifi given the wifi extender and main unit were placed in the SAME room, just different plug sockets! By way of comparison when I was connecting the laptop directly to the router I was getting 950 Mbps on LAN and 625 Mbps on 5Ghz wifi.
1st floor / room above sitting room. 156Mbps on LAN, 53 on 2.4 GHz and 173 on 5Ghz
2nd floor. 151 on LAN, 72 on 2.4Ghz and 155 on 5Ghz
Attic. 124 on LAN, 80 on 2.4Ggz and 132 on 5 GHz
Easy to setup… even though it’s not too obvious where the potential fault is should it fail in ethernet connection. I first bought this at the beginning of Oct and setup the extender for ethernet use. The gigabit speed and 3 ethernet was a big selling point. I am using a laptop and VOIP phone for work. So my connections need to remain stable. After just a few days use the extender started to drop connection requiring several resets finally the extender failed completely. Disappointed I was ready to giveup but on the Amazon return screen I had the option “how can we make it better” and chose to replace it with another one. Much to my surprise it turned up a day later and worked straight out if the box. It dropped connection once since that time and I only cycled the port on and off to get it going again. No fiddling with settings or WiFi required. To avoid complications I was willing to use the default names for the connections but it actually cloned the WiFi ethernet names without blinking. I only used two of the three ethernet connections available so I’m more than happy that I have one spare. It is expensive compared to other makes I’ve seen but it’s worth it when It all works the way you want.
I already had a couple of GB adapters (TP-Link TL-PA717 KIT) which are working great so i thought that by adding these ones that their lan speed would simply clock down a little to match however what actually happened is that everything worked for a few minutes then froze up completely for another few minutes, rinse and repeat – this behaviour was noticeable on both lan and wireless. However when I put the non wireless TP-Link AV1300 at the top of the chain (directly connected by cable to my router) everything works great so somethinjg to keep in mind if you are mixing speeds.
I love the fact that the wireless and leds can be set to come off and on, on a timer. I’m working from home at the moment and i like the fact that while working i can sit next to the wireless module and my work machine can connect via cable to it and the wireless aspect is off during my working hours so i’m not blasted by radiation from it all during my working day.
I have the leds on a schedule to match – leds on wireless on leds off, wireless off and vice versa, works great.
To set up, took around 30-45 minutes all in. The single sheet guide in the box is all you need.
It does recommend downloading their app to install – which I did. Once installed, the app has basically served its purpose as all the data on it is available through the web interface of the extenders (192.168.0.XXX).
The hardwired CAT-5 link works flawlessly in my wife’s office. A speed test gives around very similar speeds to being directly connected to the main house router.
The Wifi extension upstairs also has a CAT-5 output, which I’ve tested successfully. But I use for the Wi-Fi only at present. It is okay and gives a strong signal out – enough for my daughter. I’ve “cloned” the main WiFi SSID (details on how to do this are in the box) which gives a basic mesh network in the house. However, I’m sure there is a clash with the main wifi, as some points in the house now give a lower signal. A simple switch on and off on my phone/tablet/laptop usually gets it to pick up the stronger of the signals – buts it’s not seemless.
There IS an update coming to this set (AV600) that will give native mesh networking when used with a TP-Link router – but this hasn’t been rolled out yet (July 2020).
Overall, I’m impressed. It’s served it dual purpose brilliantly – and not bad for 65 at time of purchase
1) To start with, it only supports 2.4 Ghz frequency band.
2) If we install this and mirror the home wifi SSID, all devices will connect to the SSID hosted by this product even if the wifi router’s signal is strong in that room.
3) The connection to this device from router is based on a single RJ45 network cable. When I looked at the router home page, all wifi devices in the home were sharing this single RJ45 connection’s bandwidth. So the actual network speed of each device is slower than connecting directly to router’s wifi network.
4) The annoying problem is that all wifi devices at home will loose internet when the RJ45 lan connection lease expires at the router. We will have to reset all devices to get the connection back.
5) In my house, every floor’s electrical sockets are on a different circuit breaker and as a result, I wasn’t able to get even 90 Mbps when I used the RJ45 cable to a laptop on the top floor.
This kind of defeated the objective and I returned the product for full refund.
Thought I’d give this set a try to also bring WiFi into rooms that had zero or a patchy signal from our far away router.
It works, fantastic!
I did the trick (detailed in the instruction sheet) to copy the same ID and password from my router – so I didn’t need to log-on to a new ID/password with my devices, everything is seamless. My router transmits two WiFi signals, 5GHz and 2.4GHz, the TP-Link transmitters picked up the 2.4GHz ID & password (and I assume they also transmit at 2.4GHz as the max speed is 300 Mbps – which is way faster than our BT ‘superfast’ here, 30 Mbps).
Getting the end units paired with the source unit, as I know from experience doesn’t always work first time. Actually I’ve found it best to physically link the end unit to a computer with an ethernet cable (and turn it WiFi off on the computer!), just so the end unit is actively wanting to supply internet to a computer. Then do the pairing procedure, press the source unit then the end unit. Then you can unplug the end units and put them where you want. The WiFi units strength covers a couple of medium-large rooms each, it’s not a super-strong whole-house signal, but for it’s purpose works 100% within the room of each transmitter, and also 100% through the wall of the socket the transmitter is plugged into, to the adjoining room.
I also downloaded the iPhone app, to turn the LEDs off, works, great; but the app isn’t essential, you don’t need it. The ap also allows you to control off times for the WiFi of each transmitter, if that may be of interest.
Also older TP-link Powerlines (which I have a few of!) also work fine with the new system (and the app).
Note : this is both a Powerline system and a WiFi extender. Some models are *only* WiFi extenders – which require a good WiFi signal to bounce that signal on further like a relay race. As this is using Powerline, the internet goes through your main’s wiring near your router, then the end unit which can be far beyond any existing WiFi signal, picks up the internet through another mains socket, then transmits a fresh WiFi signal from that location. Great!!