This article provides steps and suggestions to help you solve problem that the controller cannot discover the EAP. The overview of steps is shown in the following picture.

Step 1: Check the Power LED

Make sure the EAP is powered on and its Power LED is stable green.

Step 2: Check the IP address of EAP on the DHCP Server

Go to the DHCP server to find EAP’s IP address. Make sure the EAP gets an IP address without IP conflicts from the DHCP server.

Step 3: Check the network connection using the Ping command

Ping the IP address of the EAP on the computer running the controller to check if the EAP is accessible. (By default, its IP address is 192.168.0.254.)

If the computer running the controller can access the EAP, refresh the web management page to check if the EAP is discovered.

If the computer cannot access the EAP or the EAP is still not discovered, go to the next step.

Step 4: Check the network settings according to its topology

Different configurations are needed according to your network topology. Make sure the configurations are suitable and correct.

The following introduces needed network configurations for different topologies.

Ÿ   If the controller and EAP are in the same VLAN and subnet (as shown below), there is no extra needs about the network configuration. Go to Step 5: Enable ports 29810-29813 on the management device.

Ÿ   If the EAPs are in different VLANs (as shown below), configure VLANs on the Layer 2 switch. For detailed steps, refer to FAQ-1365.

Ÿ   If the controller and EAP are in different subnets (as shown below), run a Discover Utility on a computer or configure DHCP option 138 on the Layer 3 switch so that they can communicate with each other. For detailed steps to discover EAPs in different VLANs, refer to FAQ-1359 (using Discover Utility) or FAQ-1360 (configuring DHCP option 138).

Ÿ   If the controller and EAP are in different sites (as shown below), configure VPN Tunnel or Port Forwarding on the router.

For detailed information about configuring these two features, refer to the following FAQs according to the method you use.

Step 5: Enable ports 29810–29813 on the management device

Check the firewall and antivirus software to make sure TCP/UDP ports 29810–29813 is enabled on the computer, or directly disable the firewall and antivirus software.

EAPs communicate with the controller via TCP/UDP ports 29810-29813. If the firewall and antivirus software block these ports, they also block the packets between the controller and EAPs.

Step 6: Install Discover Utility to collect more information

Follow the instructions below to get detailed information about your problem and help the TP-Link support team solve the problem faster.

* To run the utility, close the controller first. The controller and utility cannot run together on one computer. Click to download the latest Discover Utility

** If the utility cannot discover the EAP, confirm if the EAP sends the discovery packet first. Keep the current network topology and capture packets in the LAN port of EAP to analyze the situation. The packets with the following features are discovery packets:

*** Our Technical Support contact information can be found at https://www.tp-link.com/support/contact-technical-support/.

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