This topic

Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gomezz — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 15:16:56 GMT

Finally got round to installing the HH2 box I was sent a few years back (2019?) along with a new Youview box needed to replace the old one that was misbehaving itself. Didn't install the new HH2 at the time as the original HH from 2014 was still working perfectly fine.

Along with the old HH box there was installed a white box fixed to the wall nearby. The connection then ran as

Main BT socket -> Extension socket -> White box -> HH box -> Ethernet / wi-fi connected devices

What I did was just plug the new HH2 box directly into the extension socket, not bothering with the supplied filter adapter as the extension socket had a filter built in (this was installed by the engineer at the same time as the white box).

All seems to be working fine but just wanted to check that the white box is indeed now redundant and the external filter is indeed not needed?

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gg30340 — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 15:23:58 GMT

See link

https://www.bt.com/help/broadband/getting-set-up/how-to-set-up/bt-smart-hub-2/connection-one-port

When setting up just ignore the colours of any Ethernet cables. The cable does not know which colour it is.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

licquorice — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 15:35:10 GMT

It would help if we knew what 'the white box' actually is, but if everything is working without it, it doesn't appear to be required.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gomezz — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 15:35:21 GMT

Thanks for that but those instructions seem to assume you have no previous HH connection and are starting with an unfiltered main BT socket.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gomezz — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 15:37:53 GMT

I am assuming that the white box provides functionality to feed the old HH box. Could be the actual modem (or whatever that is called in broadband terms) and old HH box provided only the router/switch/wi-fi functionality.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

licquorice — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 16:03:36 GMT

I suspect it was a modem, no longer required.

Was it an Huawei device?

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gomezz — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 22:17:14 GMT

I was hoping an BT/Openreach installer from around ten years ago would know exactly what I was talking about.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gg30340 — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 22:43:06 GMT

Post a picture of your setup.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

iniltous — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 07:08:43 GMT

https://kitz.co.uk/routers/openreach-modems.htm

some early VDSL/FTTC setups had a separate modem and router , newer ‘routers’ as it’s incorporated into the one box , therefore you don’t need your separate modem anymore, so it can be discarded.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gomezz — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 09:25:41 GMT

Done what I should have done before and found a picture of the VDSL modem online which matches the white box I have. So come the upgrade visit I am expecting that to be replaced with the FTTP ONT panel instead and a length optical fibre run from there to the new outdoor junction box? Or will the installer fit the ONT panel by the front door on the other side of the external wall where the external junction box will be fitted replacing the old copper wire junction box? Which means running a longish ethernet cable from the ONT to where I have the new HH2 router in the dining room / study which is where all the device side ethernet cabling already runs from.

Re: Setting up HH2 box ahead of Digital Voice upgrade visit

gomezz — Sun, 10 Aug 2025 10:12:12 GMT

Thought I had done setting up the new HH2 box, changing SSID, wi-fi key and admin password etc.

But, just been trying to FTP from my laptop to my mobile and found out that the new HH2 had allocated a different DNS address to the one set up in Windows Explorer on the laptop. Spent some minutes working out again how to add a new named network address.