This topic

I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 16:45:32 GMT

I need help please - I cant take much more of this poor wifi in my house but only at certain times mostly weekends.

We have the BT Smart Hub 2 with 3 of the BT wifi disks. Can work for a couple of weeks then hell starts and the wifi drops everywhere for long periods. Wifi tests wont even connect - mostly tends to be at weekends - we restart the router and the disks but still there. Spoken to BT numerous times, had engineers out and they just say its weird and have to live with it. Oh and the BT engineer that comes advises to go to Amazon and get some Eero's to replace the disks.

Still under contract so cannot leave yet, connection to house is fine apparently. We also have Sky Q with the mini boxes which the engineer always says could cause issues but verifies the settings are correct to work with BT.

Weve done a channel scan and move the HUB to a different channel away from where most of the traffic is around here but we still get issues. Im sick of the kids shouting at me lol.

What can I do please - Eero or other kit - settings wrong, throw it all away!

HELP! Thank you.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

imjolly — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 17:04:57 GMT

When you changed WiFi channels you need to make sure hub does not use channel 36 on 5ghas that is used by SKYQ SELECT 44 OR 48

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 17:11:49 GMT

It was on 36 - now on 48, the engineer changed that. Ive been checking that regularly that it sticks.

What else can I check and validate?

What other options do I have?

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Les-Gibson — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 17:41:53 GMT

You don't say which type of disk you have so I'm going to assume they are Complete Wi-Fi disks (the black ones).

Have you checked for the optimum placement of the disks using the BT app?

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 17:46:31 GMT

Sorry yes it is the black ones (we have 3 of them). And I have done the placement with the app and discussed / confirmed with the engineer.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Les-Gibson — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 18:07:42 GMT

What about the construction of your house, is it an older house with solid walls or a modern house with partition walls?

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 18:23:38 GMT

1930's - Semi detached with solid walls

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Keith_Beddoe — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 19:42:35 GMT

@worb68

Those repeating wireless disks are going to really struggle in that situation, so you may need to look for another solution. Ideally Ethernet cabling with individual wireless access points in each room, but this would involve a lot of work.

A third party wireless mesh system like the TP-Link Deco range may perform better under those conditions, as they can access all wireless channels, and pick the ones with least interference.. Three nodes are normally more than adequate. You would turn wireless off on the home hub, as these can operate in access point mode.

Depending on your broadband speed, The Deco E4 (up to 100Mbs) or Deco M4 (up to 1000Mbs)

I use the Deco E4 on a slow ADSL connection, but I can also connect it to a fast 4G connection if needed.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 20:59:05 GMT

Ok thank you - I’ll have a look at them. Are there other options as well?

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 22:02:11 GMT

If congestion really is the issue then I wouldn't recommend the M4. It's extremely limited & has no manual control of WiFi channels & relies on auto-selection. Although to be fair that applies to many mesh systems. You also can't split the SSIDs so would have no control over which band devices connect to. I had a set briefly & found the 2.4GHz channel selection poor & the 5GHz appears to have no auto-selection. According to TP-Link's own staff the 5GHz is fixed on channel 36, the last thing you want with Sky Q.

The M5 is a little better in that you can create a separate 2.4GHz IoT network & the firmware also allows you to set a preferred band & node for a device to connect to. Still no manual control of WiFi channels though & again my 5GHz band is stuck firmly on channel 36, This conflicts with my neighbours but fortunately their signal is low. I just use two in a 70s semi with solid walls.

Have you downloaded a WiFi analyser to check for yourself what''s going on with competing channels?

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 22:30:05 GMT

What would you recommend for a WiFi analyser? I struggled to find an app for iOS devices. I have a pc that can be used as well.

is there other kit better than the M5’s? From TP or another manufacturer?

thank you all - I do appreciate the help you’ve all been providing.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 22:46:04 GMT

Can't help with iPhone but I use inSSIDer from Metageek on PC. It's free to download & use at a basic level but you have to create an account & sign in to use it.

There's always better kit available but the price reflects that. I was quite shocked to find how rare manual channel selection is & the only one I found of the known brands was ASUS. But it's very expensive.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 22:49:21 GMT

Just read the Amazon reviews of the M5’s and seems possibly not compatible with Sky Q. One to look into.

i need something -just not sure what!

thanks.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Keith_Beddoe — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:12:35 GMT

@worb68

My eldest daughter used to live in a house like that, with solid walls that wireless would not penetrate. Her solution was to use individual wireless hotspots which used the mains wiring to communicate.

Those days it was the BT Hotspot 600 devices, but I think there are better options now from TP Link.

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/powerline/tl-wpa4220-tkit/

These are only single band, so no interference with SkyQ. They also have a couple of Ethernet ports each.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:28:54 GMT

I have looked at them but I need more than two adapters. My problem is it works fine for a few days and then WiFi will just stop for a day. Yesterday was really bad, this morning all good again.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Keith_Beddoe — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:35:17 GMT

You can add more adapters if needed.

You issue sounds more like wireless interference, there is little you can do about that.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:55:51 GMT

@Keith_Beddoewrote:
You issue sounds more like wireless interference, there is little you can do about that.

That's something to be aware of when using inSSIDer or similar WiFi analysers. They will only show you other WiFi networks & not other potential sources of interference such as microwave ovens. Although such interference is generally permanent or very short lived, so doesn't really match your scenario.

It would be worth having a conversation with your neighbours to see if they also have problems.

Re: I need help - these BT WiFi Disks are shocking

worb68 — Sat, 09 Mar 2024 18:44:52 GMT

If it is WiFi interference what options do I have to remediate?