After 12 minutes, the connection between the TP-LINK routers in WDS mode breaks and is restored

First of all many thanks to the author for the informative article. Based on the addition to the article, two TP-Links successfully work in WDS mode (Archer c2 -> source, Archer c20 -> receiver). As an addition I would like to note that after disabling the DHCP server on the source router, the receiver router can only be logged in via a wired connection from the source router.

The question is as follows: two routers successfully work in bridge mode. From the receiver router the home network extends through twisted pair to the TV set. The TV successfully sees all the folders on the PC and plays video from there. After about 12 minutes, the TV reports that the server is no longer visible (the PC-server is working steadily at this time). Suspecting that the problem could be in the DHCP lease time increased from the recommended 120 minutes to 1200 minutes – after a reboot did not help. Where to look for the problem, can you tell me? Thanks!

Answer

You need to look into this. I would start by resetting and updating the TP-Link Archer c20 firmware (if there is a newer version). Then I would try to set everything up again. I have a few questions (important, unclear points) about the WDS problem itself, which you can clarify in the comments below.

TP-Link Archer c20, which receives internet from Archer c2 in bridge mode, is in the stable signal area of the main Wi-Fi network?
Have you set both routers to static Wi-Fi network channels?
Is the problem only that the TV stops seeing the PC server, or does the internet stop working on all devices connected to the TP-Link Archer c20?
After rebooting both routers, is the connection restored? Or is it restored automatically.
And most importantly. If you don’t start video playback on the TV from your computer, the routers don’t lose WDS connection? It just seems to me that it could be due to load. Although, your routers are not weak, this shouldn’t happen.

It’s important to understand if the problem is related to the DLNA server on your computer and video playback on your TV.

Here you need to look at where and under what conditions the connection between routers drops to find the problem device, the cause, and fix it.