This topic

Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

JR1812 — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 03:17:16 GMT

I need a Hub that has 6 ports or more. Is this possible?

If not, what is the max number of ports I can get witht the BT Hub?

If not at all poss, then what type of splitter do I need to get?

Thanks in advance

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

Keith_Beddoe — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 06:11:04 GMT

@JR1812

Welcome to this user forum for BT Retail phone and broadband customers.

The BT Smart Hub 2 has four ports, or three if you have FTTP.

To get more, add an Ethernet switch.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

spile — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 07:41:20 GMT

Just buy an 8 port switch. £20

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

JR1812 — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:44:19 GMT

Thanks so much for your resposnse. Really, really appreciated.

Buying an 8 port switch sounds the ticket.

I would appreciate it if you can suggest what 8 port switch I should buy though. I'm not very good with things like this. I just googled and it gives me a thousand options!! So if you are able to pin point the one you reckon is a good one, then I'll google and buy it online.

Thanks again for your quick reply.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:55:37 GMT

TP-Link TL-SF1008 is a tenner on Amazon.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

VeteranISPUser — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:14:57 GMT

Hi @JR1812 I tend to use the professional unmanaged NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Network Switch (GS108). A little more expensive but solid and reliable. I have 5/8/16 port versions of this switch.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:35:17 GMT

As long as you stick to one of the major brands, TP-Link, Netgear, Linksys, etc. you won't go wrong. The only other consideration is what you'll be connecting. If you will be connecting cameras, access points or other devices that require Power Over Ethernet, then spend a bit more on a PoE switch. This will allow you to power the devices from the ethernet cable without a separate power supply.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

dave44 — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:00:41 GMT

TP-Link TL-SF1008 only supports 10/100 so is going to limit each device to 100Mbps. It may or may not be a problem to the original poster, depending on their internet speed.

I would probably pay a little bit more for a gigabit model.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:04:35 GMT

@dave44wrote:
TP-Link TL-SF1008 only supports 10/100 so is going to limit each device to 100Mbps. It may or may not be a problem to the original poster, depending on their internet speed.
I would probably pay a little bit more for a gigabit model.

@JR1812

This relates to the TP-Link I posted (& sadly can no longer edit). That's what happens when you rely on asking Google for an 8 port gigabit switch expecting it to return results for an 8 port gigabit switch!

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

JR1812 — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:13:33 GMT

Gosh. Thanks everyone. Really appreciate your input.

What I have is a BT hub with 3 ports and Wifi (with boosters).

Question is, will this NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Network Switch (GS108) provide Wifi throughout the house? I need the extra ports for the CCTV cameras (that use Concept Pro software).

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:29:01 GMT

No WiFi, ethernet only.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

licquorice — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:30:37 GMT

An Ethernet switch is just that, it isn't a WiFi device. It just increases the number of Ethernet ports

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

gg30340 — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:30:52 GMT

A network switch does not provide wifi. It just allows you to add more devices that need an Ethernet cable to connect to the Internet via the BT hub.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

DarrenDev — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 06:49:39 GMT

@JR1812 wrote:

Gosh. Thanks everyone. Really appreciate your input.

What I have is a BT hub with 3 ports and Wifi (with boosters).

Question is, will this NETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Network Switch (GS108) provide Wifi throughout the house? I need the extra ports for the CCTV cameras (that use Concept Pro software).

Just to be totally clear here - you would plug the switch into one of the LAN ports on your BT hub - this would then provide the extra ports you need. You would still keep the BT hub connected, and it would still be responsible for providing wifi.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

JR1812 — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 07:01:54 GMT

Oh. This is wonderful news. Thank you so much for your advise. OK, I'm clear now.

Get the ETGEAR 8 Port Gigabit Network Switch (GS108) to provide the extra ports I need (for CCTV etc) and keep the BT hub connected, because this will providing wifi.

A HUGE thank you to everyone. I had no idea the BT Community was so amazing. I started off with no hope but am now clear about what I need to do. Thank you so much. I am very grateful.

Re: Smart 2 Hub with 6 ports possible?

TimCurtis — Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:16:18 GMT

@JR1812

If you have BT TV then I'd suggest NOT using Netgear switches as they generally don't support (or didn't) IGMP snooping which is where only the requesting device gets the BT TV transmission otherwise all devices after that swicth get it and that can cause significant flooding (datawise) issues to your network.

For that reason I'd suggest a TP-LINK SG108 which does the job nicely.