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Optimizing The TPCast Router

Table Of Contents

Connecting To The TPCast Router

The TPCast router control panel can be accessed from http://192.168.144.1 (CE) or http://192.168.1.1 (PRE) using a web browser and the following credentials:

  • Username: tproot (if prompted)
  • Password: 8427531 (CE) or 12345678 (PRE)

Switching To Another Wi-Fi Channel

If you experience tracking issues, you may have to select a different channel. The channel you select will vary based on region, outside interference and network configuration so try each channel until one works well for your setup.

  1. In the router control panel, navigate to WLAN Settings > Basic Settings > 5G, and change Channel from AutoSelect to a different option. It is recommended to use channels in the lower end of the spectrum (36 ~ 48) as these have shown to be more reliable for most users.
  2. Click Save to apply the changes.

Switching To Another Wi-Fi Network Mode

If you continue to experience regular tracking issues, it may be nessecary to update the stock TPCast router to operate in "11a only" network mode.

  1. In the router control panel, navigate to WLAN Settings > Basic Settings > 5G and change Network Mode from 11vht AC/AN/A to 11a only (recommended for PRE/CE-CN users) or 11vht AC/AN (recommended for CE-US/CE-EU users).
  2. Click Save to apply the changes.

Using A Different Router

Alternatively, using a more reliable router to overcome poor connection or bandwidth issues exhibited by the stock TPCast router may be an option. The following routers have been tested by community members with the OpenTPCast upgrade and have shown to work as suitable replacements to the TPCast router:

  • Ubiquiti UAP-AC-HD
  • Asus RT-AC68U
  • D-Link AC1750
  • Linksys WRT1900ACS
  • Netgear WNDR3700

Running The TPCast Router Independently From Your Home Router

Official configuration: Connect the TPCast Router between PC and Home Router.

PC <---> TPCast Router <---> Home Router <---> Internet
             \
              -----> TPCast Power Box

Recommended configuration: Connect the TPCast Router on secondary NIC on PC (either on-board or USB-to-Ethernet adapter).

       ---> Home Router <---> Internet
      /
PC <--
      \
       ---> TPCast Router <---> TPCast Power Box

The official TPCast documentation instructs you to connect your TPCast router between your computer and home router, however this has shown to cause connectivity issues. It is recommended to run the TPCast router independently of your home router by connecting the TPCast router to your computer using a secondary ethernet port on your motherboard, a secondary network card, or a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

Note that when connecting the router in this configuration, it may be nessecary to assign a static IP for your computer on the second ethernet adapter.

  1. Navigate to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
  2. Right click the network adapter that your TPCast Router is connected to, select Rename and rename it as TPCast Router for easier identification.
  3. Double click the TPCast Router network adapter, double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and enter the following settings:
  • Select Use the following IP Address:
    • IP address: 192.168.144.90 (It is recommended to use an address outside of the TPCast router's DHCP range to avoid conflicts.)
    • Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
    • Default gateway: 192.168.144.1
  • Select Use the following DNS server addresses:
    • Preferred DNS server: 192.168.144.1

Customizing Wi-Fi Credentials

Devices upgraded to OpenTPCast can be configured to use custom Wi-Fi credentials for additional security, or to connect the TPCast to a different router.

Updating The TPCast Router Credentials

  1. In the router control panel, navigate to WLAN Settings > Security Settings > 5G and change the SSID and Password fields to the desired credentials.
  2. Click Save to apply the changes.

Updating The TPCast Power Box Credentials

Method 1: OpenTPCast Control Panel Editing Wi-Fi Credentials in OpenTPCast Control Panel

  1. Navigate to http://tpcast.local (or http://<tpcast-ip-address> if not using Bonjour) in your web browser.
  2. Navigate to General > Network, and amend SSID and Passphrase with the desired credentials.
  3. Click Save & Reboot TPCast to apply the changes.

Method 2: Configuration File

  1. Remove the MicroSD card from your TPCast power box, insert the MicroSD card into your computer and locate the boot partition in My Computer/This PC.
  2. In the boot drive, edit the file opentpcast.txt in Notepad++ (or another text editor that handles Unix line endings), amend ssid and passphrase with the desired credentials, then save the file.
ssid=MyHomeNetwork
passphrase=MySecretPassword
  1. Create an empty file in the boot partition called initwlan if the file does not exist, ensuring that there is no file extension.
  2. Remove the MicroSD card from the computer and insert the MicroSD back into the TPCast power box.

Restoring The TPCast Router To Stock Settings

  1. Press the reset button on the back of the TPCast router to restore it to the default factory settings.
  2. Navigate to the TPCast router control panel at http://192.168.144.1 (CE) or http://192.168.1.1 (PRE) using a web browser and the following credentials:
    • Username: tproot (if prompted)
    • Password: 8427531 (CE) or 12345678 (PRE)
  3. Navigate to Network Settings > LAN Settings and set IP address to 192.168.144.1 (CE) or 192.168.1.1 (PRE).
  4. Navigate to WLAN Settings > Basic Settings > 2.4G and uncheck Enable for Wireless.
  5. Navigate to WLAN Settings > Basic Settings > 5G:
    1. Check Enable for Wireless.
    2. Set Network Mode to 11vht AC/AN/A.
    3. Set ssid to the SSID specified on the TPCast power box label.
    4. Select Enable for Broadcast(SSID).
    5. Select AutoSelect for Channel.
  6. Navigate to WLAN Settings > Security Settings > 2.4G:
    1. Set SSID to TPCast_AP.
    2. Select Disable for Security Mode.
  7. Navigate to WLAN Settings > Security Settings > 5G:
    1. Set SSID to the SSID specified on the TPCast power box label.
    2. Set Password to the passphrase specified on the TPCast power box label.
    3. Select Mixed WPA/WPA2 - Personal(TKIP&AES) for Security Mode.
  8. Navigate to DHCP Server > DHCP Server > Check Enable for DHCP Server:
    1. Set Start Address to 100.
    2. Set End Address to 200.
  9. If the router password differs from the stock configuration, navigate to System Tools > Change Password and set the router password to 8427531 (CE) or 12345678 (PRE).