This topic

BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 14:07:36 GMT

Hello,

We have BT FTTP but it has been down a couple of times recently. BT sent out an EE Smart 4G Hub with an unlimited sim for us to use while we waited for an engineer but we live in a very rural area and get a terrible 4G signal. We can just about get a usable signal if we put it on top of a window blind, thankfully it has a battery in it as a power cable wouldn't reach it. Aside from the poor signal in this area, the other issue is that we both work from home but I'm using a desktop computer without wifi so I'm still unable to work during an outage.

I've just realised that BT now have a Hybrid Connect offering which appears to provide that same connection failover but has a few advantages:

1) It connects directly to the router, so it can be used with wired devices

2) It has external antenna connectors

BT Hybrid Connect is a £7 per month offering which isn't great, seems as you only need to use it when BT have failed to provide a stable connection. Fortunately they do send out the EE Smart 4G Hub for free which brings me to my question - Will the sim from the EE Smart 4G Hub work within the BT Hybrid Connect unit? That way we could have the best of both worlds, the BT Hybrid Connect hardware with an unlimited sim which can be activated whenever we have downtime.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

licquorice — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 14:42:54 GMT

Am I missing something, that's what the hybrid connect does.

The only way to obtain the hybrid connect device is via halo 3+ in any case.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:27:56 GMT

It is what Hybrid Connect does, but the question is really about the SIM. I can get a Hybrid Connect device on Ebay for very cheap, but rather than having to pay a flat fee of £7 per month for a SIM I'm going to very rarely use I want to use the free one that is included with the EE Smart 4G Hub when you have downtime, as part of the Halo Keep Connected Promise.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

licquorice — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:38:11 GMT

The reason it is very cheap is because it won't work.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:42:20 GMT

Oh the SIMs are locked? That's a shame, I don't know why BT don't fulfil their Keep Connected Promise via Hybrid Connect rather than using the using the little 4G Smart Hub, it would be a much better solution as customers could retain their existing network configuration.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

licquorice — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:51:55 GMT

No, the hybrid connect only works with the SH2 when halo3+ has been configured.

Again, am I missing something here?

With halo3+, the hybrid connect kicks in automatically after a few minutes of loss of service and requires no changes to network configuration as it effectively becomes the WAN input to the hub.When service is restored, the hybrid connect just disconects and service resumes on normal broadband.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 15:59:17 GMT

Well we do have a SH2 with Halo 3 (Or at least, our bill says Halo 3 and complete wi-fi while the "current deal" says Halo 2 - I'm pretty sure it's Halo 3 thought as it was only activated a few months ago) so does that mean it will work for us?

We don't have a Hybrid Connect device and during the downtime they sent a mini hub - Should we have received a Hybrid Connect instead? That's ultimately what I want, a Hybrid Connect instead of the mini hub. If we were meant to get one with it then that's great I'll get on the phone and ask for one.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

licquorice — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:05:03 GMT

You only get the hybrid connect with halo 3+ as previously stated, not halo 3.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:07:41 GMT

Ah I didn't realise they'd switched to +, we've only been connected here for a few months - They seem to change their Halo packages more often than the wind changes.

That explains it though, thank you for your help.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

imjolly — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:07:53 GMT

You need halo 3+ not just halo3 to get hybrid connect

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:11:08 GMT

If you want a Hybrid Connect that works directly with a Smart Hub 2, then you need to re-contract to Halo 3+.

I can recommend waiting to do so though as deals change, I ended up at £44.99 for Fibre 2 with Halo 3+, but had watched the price fluctuate for a few months between £58.99 and £68.99 in my offers.

Alternatively, you can easily recreate the functionality with an off the shelf 4G hub from Amazon and a PAYG sim, but as you have discovered, it isn’t seamless fallback so you need to manually intervene.

In the end I moved to Halo 3+ from a DIY solution because it is a neater solution for the family when I am not here.

On a side note, I would only personally use Halo 3+ on a FTTC broadband connection, the newer FTTH services are far more robust than the copper based ones.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:15:17 GMT

It says it's £1 / month more and we have a fresh contract so it isn't really going to extend it by much, so it seems like a no-brainer.

We do have FTTP but it has gone down a couple of times (Engineer booked, will be interesting to see why) and thanks to our location and being forced onto Digital Voice, it leaves us with absolutely no communication mechanism - I'm not sure we'd even be able to call 999. If we can get Hybrid Connect setup with an external antenna, we'll have reliable communication again.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

licquorice — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:21:30 GMT

You need to be aware that DV doesn't work via the hybrid connect.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:24:18 GMT

We are in a decent area for EE and still have to use an external aerial to get 2 bars on the Hybrid Connect but it has still worked fine when I have forced an "event".

The connection is limited to 30 Mbps when active. What is annoying (especially for the money), is that it isn't always active and essentially providing a bonded line and higher aggregate speeds, which a business version of the product does, albeit only for those on ADSL.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:26:02 GMT

Good to know about DV, we can still take advantage of it with Wifi Calling but it's disappointing to hear that DV is not supported.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:25:45 GMT

@licquoricewrote:
You need to be aware that DV doesn't work via the hybrid connect.

A good point and considering the exceptionally low bandwidth used by VoIP, a real head scratcher of a decision.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:28:52 GMT

Can I ask what external antennas you've used on yours? I'm planning to put an antenna on the roof for it so should get an acceptable signal there. We can just about use the mini hub when it's in a very specific place on top of the blinds (Can get 7meg, but everywhere else we get about 50k so it must be a sweet spot there) so hopefully up high will be good.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:41:26 GMT

Have you considered something like Starlink if you are rural?

When I said external aerials I actually meant the "rabbit ears" type, not an outdoor aerial, apologies. this is quite a good video explaining what to look for though: https://youtu.be/AqFD2b6yz-w

I found the Cellmapper info very helpful in particular.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

licquorice — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 16:50:17 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

@licquoricewrote:

You need to be aware that DV doesn't work via the hybrid connect.

A good point and considering the exceptionally low bandwidth used by VoIP, a real head scratcher of a decision.

I guess its not the bandwidth, its the complication of temporarily accessing the 'landline number' via the mobile network.

Re: BT Hybrid Connect

yngndrw — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 17:15:07 GMT

We have considered Starlink but with having FTTP here it isn't really worth it, we just need a backup for as lower recurring price as possible. Shouldn't really need a backup with FTTP but it is what it is and being so rural if it goes down we lose everything - Can't work and can't call anyone in an emergency.

And thanks, will take a look.