This topic

Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 14:20:28 GMT

I have a smart hub 2 and have recently been trying to figure out all the different devices connected to it or that have been connected to it. Very confusing, partly because I also use 2 TP-link adapters and a TP-link extender. What I have just concluded is that there are some devices connected to my BT network which are not my own (probably neighbours). Strangely, they seem to appear in the Hub as "Port 1" and "(Static)" devices, even though I know they must be connected to the Wifi.

I would like to be able to easily identify my own devices so that I can clarify descriptions and see how they are connected etc and be able to easily identify devices which are not mine and are connected using BT wifi sharing.

I know I can just opt out of the wifi sharing, but thought I would ask first whether there is an easy way of identifying BT wifi sharing service devices in the Smart Hub 2.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

licquorice — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 14:25:53 GMT

Devices connected by BTwifi sharing service do not appear in your hub network map. It is a completely separate network and is not visible in the hub.

Bear in mind any devices connected by wifi via powerline extenders will show as connected to the Ethernet port the extender is plugged into because that is where they connect to the hub.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 15:13:07 GMT

Thanks for a quick reply. If wifi sharing devices are allegedly not reported then I remain baffled, because there are definitely devices I don't recognise as belonging to me showing as connected, though it is of course helpful to know devices connected by wifi via powerline extenders will show as connected to the Ethernet port the extender is plugged into. I am also baffled that the devices showing as connected in My devices does not seem to be consistent with what shows as connected in the Address table.

I have been making a note of device MAC addresses as the basis for accurately identifying what is connected to the Network. Can you expand and clarify a little your explanation that devices connected by wifi via powerline extenders will show as connected to the Ethernet port the extender is plugged into please?

To take an example. Say I have a desktop PC which is using a powerline wifi extender. The desktop PC has a MAC address, the desktop PC wireless LAN card has a MAC address, the extender wireless has a MAC address and the powerline adapter that is ultimately connected by ethernet to the BT Smart hub router has a MAC address.

On my hub, the desktop PC wireless LAN MAC address and/or desktop PC ethernet MAC address are reported and not the MAC address of the powerline adapter that is ultimately connected by ethernet to the BT Smart hub router. On the other hand, if the desktop PC is connected using the wireless from the extender, the MAC address of the PC wireless network card is reported rather than the MAC address of the extender.

I remain baffled about what is reported, but thanks for your help and comments.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 15:32:05 GMT

Are you running any iOS14 devices?

If so, see https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT211227

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

licquorice — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 15:39:17 GMT

Basically the hub network map is a mess and really can't be relied upon. Powerline adaptors themselves don't appear in the map, just the end connected devices in my experience.

Might be worth a factory reset of the hub to clear everything out.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:37:31 GMT

Thanks for the heads up. We are not generally iOS users. We do have one iPad mini in the house which is iOS12 and is reported by the Hub with the MAC address of the device.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 11:08:01 GMT

Thanks. It is very helpful to have an experienced user's opinion that "Basically the hub network map is a mess and really can't be relied upon." I will stop trying to make sense of it!

I am going to follow your suggestion to factory reset and start again. Despite your comment about any wifi sharing not being reported by the router, I also want to turn off wifi sharing but can't find where to do that because the instructions I find in BT's support page* don't seem to match what I am looking at when I am logged into my BT with My BT ID:-

If you have a BT ID:

To opt out, follow the steps below:

Log into My BT >
Choose Your package and then Inclusive extras
Scroll down to BT Wi-fi and click on Manage BT Wifi
Scroll down and click on the Opt out of BT Wi-fi drop-down, and then the Opt out of BT Wi-fi button

Remember, if you ever want to opt back in, it's easy: just log into My BT.

I have Your products, Broadband and then links that seem to be aimed at selling upgrades. Nothing about Inclusive extras or BT Wi-fi. I think your comment about the hub network map being a mess and can't be relied upon can be applied to whole of the BT customer website.

Thanks again for your help and comments.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 11:32:08 GMT

Log into My BT >
Choose Your Products
Scroll down to BT Wi-fi and click on Learn More
Scroll down and click on the Opt out of BT Wi-fi button

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:44:43 GMT

@shaz_j

Message 7 is just one example of what's wrong with the BT website.

As you can see, the poster has tried to follow the Help page to resolve the problem but the help page is out of date and doesn't help at all. You can also see in message 8 that I have corrected the help page advice and re-posted it

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

shaz_j — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 15:56:51 GMT

Hey @Anonymous,

Thank you for flagging to me. I'll get this updated with the relevant team.

We do try our best to keep the content as accurate as possible and I can only apologise that this has fallen through the cracks. We will continue to improve our processes to ensure this is not the case moving forward.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 10:55:00 GMT

Thanks. First time I tried I got : "Sorry something's gone wrong. There's been a problem while processing your request. We have registered this problem and will be looking into it shortly."

I then tried again and as far as I can tell it has worked.

How long does it take before it becomes effective? I don't remember seeing anything about that on the webpage about that, but can't check because I am presented with a different page now I have asked to opt out.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:39:19 GMT

Pleased to hear you finally got somewhere.

The best answer I can give to this question is from another thread "

I opted out of BT wi-fi yesterday and have been led to believe that I would have to wait as much as several weeks before wi-fi is 'not active' on my hub."

See: https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-setup-Wi-Fi-network/Trying-to-opt-out-of-BT-wi-fi-to-prevent-my-BT-smart-hub-from/m-p/2005823#M171202

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:26:22 GMT

Thanks. The link to Your products was helpful to see that I am invited to join BT Wifi. Presumably that means I have managed to successfully disengage for BT Wifi. My router settings now also say it is not active. That was not the case when I checked before Christmas. Without the link in your post it may have otherwise taken me quite a time to find my way back there because the website is such a nightmare to navigate. So thanks.

Re: Smart Hub 2 connected devices

Addick — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 11:35:21 GMT

To bring things to a conclusion, I have managed to reset and now only see devices connected that I recognise. That was after both resetting the router to factory settings and turning it off and back on again. After the factory reset I was still seeing a couple of devices I did not recognise - allegedly connected by Ethernet. The disappeared after the power off and power on.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to helping me solve my problem, and best wishes for the New Year.