Ask the Experts Live Chat - Home Hub 4

[SeanD]

Hello,

Stephanie and I are pleased to announce our next live discussion with some of our BT experts! It's about one of our latest new products, the Hub 4. This will be a great chance to get our Hub 4 experts onto the community to tell you a bit more about that and answer any questions you may have.

We have added the Chat transcript below for any of you guys who missed this event.

7:02	JacquiBT:  Hello everyone. Thank for you joining our ‘Ask the Experts’ Live chat. I would like to introduce Dave, Sam and Emma who are our hub 4 experts and will be answering your questions tonight. I would like to invite you to ask your questions now.

7:03	[Comment From imjolly imjolly : ]  why are there no adsl stats available on the HH4

7:04	[Comment From DS DS : ]  evening all. Are the antennae omni directional?

7:05	Sean Donnelly:  Thanks for the question, Emma will respond to that question Imjolly

7:05	JacquiBT:  Thanks DS, Dave will respond to your question now

7:05	Dave:  Hi DS, yes they are

7:05	[Comment From Steve Steve : ]  Are there any plans for new firmware on the hub 4 to bring new features?

7:06	JacquiBT:  Thanks Steve, Dave is answering that question for you

7:07	Dave:  Hi Steve - yes there are. There will be more information available about this - and any new features - before each firmware drop.

7:07	[Comment From Steve Steve : ]  why can you not opt out of BT WIFI on the home hub 4?

7:07	Dave:  Hi Steve - you should have no problem doing this through the Hub Manager

7:09	JacquiBT:  Some great questions coming through, the experts are typing up responses now

7:09	[Comment From DS DS : ]  Personal testing - Why is the 2.4GHz range less than the HH3 when at a distance from the hub, but better close up than the HH3?

7:10	JacquiBT:  Thanks DS, Dave is answering this now for you

7:10	[Comment From George George : ]  Will the 'Home Network' page show a HH4 instead of the Current image of the HH3?

7:11	JacquiBT:  Thanks George, Sam will answer that for you

7:11	Sam:  Hi George, the HH4 image will be displayed in place of the HH3 in the next firmware release

7:12	Dave:  Thanks again DS - you shouldn't find that, but this can depend on a lot of different factors in the home. I've found mine to be a bit better actually! But it should be pretty much the same for most customers.

7:12	Sean Donnelly:  Did you know the Hub 4 has Smart Setup? Easy set up in just a few minutes. No CD or computer needed, it's all online and works on any device. Set up your Hub 4 router and access all your free extras like BT Cloud and BT Family Protection in just a few clicks.

7:12	[Comment From DS DS : ]  Is it possible for BT to allow us to move the BTWifi SSID's to another channel, leaving our own SSID on a less congested channel?

7:12	Dave:  Hi imjolly, sorry for the delay, Emma asked me to reply on her behalf. We have made the stats in the Hub manager simpler for customers to understand, we were reacting to feedback that it was too general for the wide range of customers and tech understandings.

7:12	JacquiBT:  Hi DS, Sam is replying to you now

7:14	[Comment From JamesS JamesS : ]  What speeds can I achieve over wifi, assuming I'm connected to 5ghz? Thanks.

7:14	Sean Donnelly:  Did you know the hub offers Easy Wireless? Connect wirelessly by selecting your BT Home Hub connection on any compatible device and just push a button on the Hub and you're connected. It's that simple. No passwords needed.

7:14	JacquiBT:  Hi JamesS. Dave will reply to your question

7:14	Emma:  Hi imjolly, we have made the stats in the Hub manager simpler for customers to understand, we were reacting to feedback that it was too general for the wide range of customers and tech understandings.

7:15	Sam:  Hi DS, moving BT Wifi SSID's to another channel is not possible on the HH4. However, we are looking closely at the wi-fi SSID's the hub broadcasts to see whether we can improve this experience.

7:15	Dave:  Hi James, 5GHz maximum data transfer rate of 300Mb/s; this will tend to translate as an optimal actual speeds of up to 100 Mb/s - depending on lots of factors in your home

7:15	[Comment From George George : ]  Why did you remove the built in plastic wireless info tab with a card?

7:15	JacquiBT:  Hi George, Dave is going to reply to that question

7:16	Dave:  Hi George - this was part of the design process, we've tried to make it even easier for customers to find their wireless information. Now it's not integrated it's a little bit more accessible.

7:16	[Comment From thebennyboy thebennyboy : ]  I currently have the HH3 and would like to know what noticable difference it will make having a HH4 over a HH3? We use the ethernet ports and the wireless.

7:17	JacquiBT:  Hi Bennyboy. Emma is going to reply to that question.

7:17	[Comment From Paul Paul : ]  How much faster is the processor in the home hub 4, compared to previous versions? how will this effect my online experience?

7:18	JacquiBT:  Hi Paul. Sam will answer that for you

7:18	Sam:  Hi Paul, the processor is a staggering 3x faster compared to the HH3

7:19	[Comment From Guest Guest : ]  Although opted out of BT wifi the hub still shows as being active

7:19	JacquiBT:  Hi Guest, could we ask that you post this on the community so the moderators can pick this up

7:19	Sean Donnelly:  Did you know that the hub 4 offers Dual band frequency which makes for a more reliable wireless connection? Smart dual-band technology reduces wireless interference and drop out’s giving you a reliable connection for all your devices.

7:20	[Comment From Guest Guest : ]  When you opt out of BT WIFI it appears to only opt out on the 2.4ghz channel and not the 5ghz channel. Are you looking into this?

7:20	JacquiBT:  Hi Guest. Dave will reply to your question

7:21	Dave:  Hi - thanks for this feedback, we'll definitely look in to it for you

7:21	Sean Donnelly:  Excellent questions coming through folks

7:21	Sean Donnelly:  Our experts are typing answers so please keep them coming

7:22	[Comment From Josh Josh : ]  Is it a known issue that the HomeHub 4 has problems identify the Xbox 360 as a media center extender when connected through a wired connection?

7:23	JacquiBT:  Hi Josh. Sam is replying to your question

7:23	[Comment From Winston Winston : ]  How much power does the home hub 4 use?

7:24	JacquiBT:  Hi Winston. Dave will respond to your question

7:24	Sam:  Hi Josh, we are aware of this issue. This is a problem with the Xbox rather than the HH4 but something we are reviewing together.

7:24

Emma:  Hi the bennyboy, the main advantages of the hub 4 are the faster processor (3 x faster) and 5 GHz wifi. There is no interference with 5GHz so you get better performance and as the range isn't as wide you dont have to share the bandwidth with neighbours etc. the hub still has 2.4 GHz so you still have the range you have withhub 3 too!

7:24	Dave:  Hi Winston, I am afraid there's no simple answer as it really depends on what features are in use. But the Hub 4 meets the latest Broadband Equipment Energy Code of Conduct targets for energy consumption.

7:25	[Comment From Mel Mel : ]  Why did you ignore your existing customers loyalty by charging them for a new hub, don't they pay enough already in their monthly fees?

7:25	JacquiBT:  Hi Mel, Dave will reply to your question

7:25	[Comment From Winston Winston : ]  How long did it take you to design and develop the home hub 4?

7:26	JacquiBT:  Hi Winston, Emma will reply to your question

7:27	[Comment From George George : ]  Will we get manual power save back?

7:27	JacquiBT:  Hi Gerorge. Sam will answer your question

7:28	[Comment From Jade Jade : ]  Does the home hub 4 support ip6 through a future upgrade?

7:28	Emma:  Hi Winston, It was about 2 years when we first started the project with the first ideas and concepts

7:29	JacquiBT:  Hi Jade. Emma will reply to your question.

7:29	Emma:  Hi Jade, thats something we are working on so yes something for the future

7:30	Sam:  Hi George. With regards to the manual power save feature, we have looked to make this automatic for all of our customers. However, you are able to change the brightness of the lights as an additional step.

7:30

Dave:  Hi Mel - we've made a lot of changes for our existing customers since the launch of the Hub 3 a couple of years ago. Our customer offer for the Hub 4 only £35 - a really big discount compared to the full price of £109! We've also created a range of recontracting deals that contain a Hub 4 for only the cost of delivery. If you're out of contract or in the last 3 months, you could take advantage of those offers as well. We really want all of our customers to be able to take advantage of these options!

7:31

Sean Donnelly:  Did you know the Hub 4 has a faster processor? Inside the BT Home Hub 4 router is our latest Broadband processor – the brains of your Hub. It allows you to pass information between connected devices quicker than ever. So if you are transferring files from one computer to another or watching a film streamed from another device, the BT Home Hub 4 won't slow you down.

7:31	[Comment From thebennyboy thebennyboy : ]  Our house has very thick stone walls and the wireless is weak in certain rooms. We have a few devices in our house that support 5Ghz Wi-Fi. Does the HH4 also work ok with home plugs that use your power cables to provide network connectivity?

7:32	JacquiBT:  Hi thebennyboy. Sam will respond to your question

7:32	[Comment From Calvin Calvin : ]  What future developments are in the works for home hub 4?

7:33	JacquiBT:  Hi Calvin. Dave will answer your question

7:33	[Comment From DS DS : ]  Why are the 3x antennae internal? Is this for design purposes. Also as they form part of the reverse side of the PCB, does this affect the TX and RX?

7:33	JacquiBT:  Hi DS. Emma will reply to your email

7:33	Sam:  Hi thebennyboy, the HH4 works with powerline adaptors. We currenty have a range of these availlable through the BT Shop.

7:34	[Comment From George George : ]  How many wireless devices does the HH4 support simultaneously?

7:34	JacquiBT:  Hi George. Sam will reply to your question

7:34	Dave:  Hi Calvin, thanks for your question. We're constantly looking to improve our products, and will keep all of our customers informed when changes are coming and improvement they will bring!

7:34	[Comment From Ken Ken : ]  Is there an online guide as no instructions came with my hub?

7:35	JacquiBT:  Hi Ken. Dave will reply to your question

7:36	Dave:  Hi Ken - you can find these at www.bt.com/help/hub4 - there's one for BT Infinity and one for BT Broadband. Hope you find them helpful!

7:36	[Comment From Abbie Abbie : ]  Does the home hub 4 keep an adsl connection from dropping out better than home hub 3?

7:36	Sam:  George, our testing has shown the HH4 works with up to 20 devices simultaneously.

7:37	JacquiBT:  Hi Abbie. Dave will answer your question

7:38	[Comment From Keith Keith : ]  Where do you keep customers informed with what fixes and changes have been made in firmware updates? New website for this maybe?

7:38	JacquiBT:  Hi Keith. Emma will answer your question

7:38

Dave:  Hi Abbie - it certainly does! And it does that by using dual band wireless. The 5GHz band avoids the many, really annoying causes of wireless interference and prevents drop-outs. If your devices aren't ready for 5GHz, we can offer a USB dongle so you can experience the full benefit of dual band.

7:39	[Comment From George George : ]  With regards to the ADSL stats, as they were in the 'Advanced Settings' these would only be looked at mostly by the advanced users and whom would require the additional info. Helps very much with diagnostics.

7:40	JacquiBT:  Hi George. Sam will respond to your question

7:41	Sean Donnelly:  Did you know? The BT Home Hub 4 router features smart diagnostic lights which automatically check your Hub and alert you to any problems.

7:42	[Comment From imjolly imjolly : ]  do test show if the HH4 is better holding the internet connection than previous HH ie it will not drop the line so easily?

7:42	Sam:  George,you make a valid point. Thank you for your feedback. However, we decided on this approach for simplicity for our wider customer base. This is something we will be monitoring and taking feedback on regularly.

7:42	JacquiBT:  Hi imjolly. Dave will answer your question

7:42	Sean Donnelly:  Keep the questions coming

7:43	[Comment From Ken Ken : ]  Does the 10 day stabilisation period apply if just upgrading to HH4?

7:44	JacquiBT:  Hi Ken. Sam will pick up your question

7:44

Dave:  Hi imjolly - they do, yes. As I mentioned to Abbie, 5GHz really helps avoid wireless interference and gives us unbeatable wireless reliability. We've also got lots of information on how to minimise interference and improve performance on 2.4Ghz - you can find that here http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/38072/kw/interference/c/346,502,505

7:44	[Comment From Ann Ann : ]  Can the USB port on the back of the home hub 4 be used as a network drive/printer server? If not will this feature be added?

7:44	JacquiBT:  Hi Ann. Dave will answer your question

7:45	Sam:  Hi Ken, the 10 day stabilisation period only applies to customers new to BT, not those who have upgraded from previous versions of the Hub

7:46	Dave:  Hi Ann, it can - but this isn't something we support. The port is ready to go for customers who want to use it, but it's not something we're able give technical advice on I'm afraid.

7:46	[Comment From Sally Sally : ]  How can I change to this new hub and does it cost me more :0)

7:46	Emma:  Hi DS, you are right the antennae are internal for the design for the product. They are on the back of the PCB as thats where the space is! There is no affect on the TX and RX - the hub is set up with TX and RX at the antenna and we measure outside the case

7:46	JacquiBT:  Hi Sally. Dave will respond to your question

7:47	Sean Donnelly:  Sleek design! The BT Home Hub 4 router is sleek and slim, looks great anywhere in your home and takes up hardly any room. It fits through most letterboxes so you don't even need to wait around for it to arrive.

7:48	Sean Donnelly:  10 minutes left folks so keep the questions coming

7:48	Emma:  Hi Keith, keep a check on the announcements board, we will post up news about firmware releases and whats included

7:48

Dave:  Hi Sally. We've tried to make this as easy and cost effective as possible for all our customers! There are two simple ways to get a Hub 4 - the first is to visit www.bt.com/hub4 and upgrade for £35. For anyone who is out of contract or in the last 3 months we have great recontracting deals that include a free Hub 4 (you just have to pay for delivery) - you can discuss those with our Customer Options Team! Hope that helps!

7:48	[Comment From Ken Ken : ]  In which direction should HH4 point in relation to the device in use for maximum efficiency?

7:49	JacquiBT:  Hi Ken. Sam will reply to your question.

7:49	[Comment From Mel Mel : ]  Is it possible to turn off the lights on the bt home hub 4 altogether through hub manager? For example if you wish to use it as a slave hub. Can you add this feature?

7:49	JacquiBT:  Hi Mel. Dave will pick up your question

7:50	[Comment From Mike Mike : ]  Using HH4 as a repeater results in orange blinking for the power light and broadband light stays steady orange. The internet connection is fine but how can this be fixed?

7:51	JacquiBT:  Hi Mike. Emma will answer your question

7:51	Emma:  Hi Mike, this is not supported

7:51	Sam:  Hi Ken, it should not matter which direction you point the the HH4 in relation to your device. However, it is a good idea to avoid too many devices blocking the Hub (i.e. other electrical devices in the immediate area)

7:51	Dave:  Hi Mel - as you've probably notice we've changed from 3 lights to one main light. The blue light tells you that everything is ok with the Hub. So I'm afraid you can't turn the lights off altogether - even if you're using the Hub as a slave. You can dim them through Hub Manager though.

7:51	[Comment From George George : ]  Can you confirm the latest firmware? The BT Help site says 4.7.5.1.83.8.130.1.5.1.1 however mine had that firmware and has since changed (4.7.5.1.83.8.130.1.10)!

7:52	JacquiBT:  Hi George. Sam will pick this question up for you

7:53	Sean Donnelly:  Keep the questions coming

7:53	Sam:  George, 4.7.5.1.83.8.130.1.10 is the latest version. The FAQ is in the process of being updated. Thanks for the feedback.

7:54	[Comment From Andy Andy : ]  BT WIFI remains as active in hub manager when i opt out and only seems to disable on the 2.4ghz channel. Are you aware of this issue?

7:54	JacquiBT:  Hi Andy. Dave will answer this for you

7:54	Dave:  Hi Andy, we had a few questions about this earlier on - we're looking in to this and will update the community once we have an answer for you!

7:55	JacquiBT:  Hi Folks, 5 minutes left, we have room for a few more questions

7:56	[Comment From George George : ]  With previous Home Hubs there have been issues with the time on the Hub (eg when clocks changed), as there is now no manual adjust of the time or pointing it to a different time server, have the problems been fixed your end and so will not duplicate with the HH4?

7:56	JacquiBT:  Hi George. Emma will pick this question up for you

7:58	[Comment From thebennyboy thebennyboy : ]  Does the HH4 have better line diagnosis. So lets say there is a fault on the line, will the HH4 be able to detect line faults and perhaps inform the customer and BT to the fault?

7:58	JacquiBT:  Hi thebennyboy. Dave will pick this up

7:58	Emma:  Hi George, yes we have that fully fixed now, so no problem when we fall back this autumn

7:58	[Comment From Andy Andy : ]  WPS was in the news for being hacked and the security breached. Does the home hub 4 include a new secure version?

7:59	Dave:  Hi thebennyboy - the Hub lights will change to tell the customer there's a problem, then our advisors have a lot of information available to them to find and fix the problem!

7:59	JacquiBT:  Hi Andy. Sam will pick this up for you

8:00	Sam:  We disabled on HH3 for that reason, there is now no longer a pin feature for WPS, it has been replaced by a more secure button on the HH4. You can see which devices are conencted via your Hub Manager

8:00	Sean Donnelly:  Thank you very much for all the questions. I hope you guys have found this as useful as we have. We would like to thank our experts Emma, Sam and Dave for giving us their time to answer your questions tonight.

8:01

Sean Donnelly:  I am sorry if you have not had a chance to ask a question but there are only so many we can answer in an hour. Rest assured if you have any unanswered question please feel free to post them on the forum and we will endeavour to provide an answer as soon as possible. The chat is now closing, we hope you have enjoyed it and found it informative, we would like to thank you for joining and wish you all a goodnight

Cheers

Sean