BT Smart Hub 2 and 2.4G only device problems (Sonos and Canon Pixma printer)

[kkig123]

Hi All,

Just switched to BT from Vodafone and the broadband is faster and more stable but I am having a nightmare with the Wi-Fi on Smart Hub 2. My Sonos speakers lost connectivity and couldn't be found and my home printer the same.

To cut a long story short.......after spending about 10 hours on this so far I have worked out that these devices only support 2.4G wifi.  The old Vodafone hub was dual band 2.4 and 5 GHz on same SSID and BT Smart Hub should be the same so should just work.  I have vanilla config with DHCP on BT hub with smart setup cancelled and several reboots etc.

I could only get the printer set-up and the Sonos to connect if I disabled 5GHz on BT Smart Hub 2.  It makes no sense and should not be needed.  Since re-enabling 5GHz I get intermittent issues with the printer and Sonos but it they connect 'mostly'.  The devices are well within range and no overlapping channels so Wi-Fi interference is not an issue.  I even moved them all to be in the same room as the hub to troubleshoot this.

I can't believe this has been so painful.  There are plenty of 2.4G only devices and they should just connect to the 2.4GHz signal no problem.  It's been a long time since I did my Cisco networking certs but I'm not exactly clueless on this stuff but I still can't work out why this is necessary.  It was never an issue on the previous Vodafone hub with dual 2.4 and 5Ghz.

Anyone else having this and found a simple solution (and I ain't interested in buying a dedicated 'proper' wifi access point - this should not be an issue with the standard issue BT kit IMHO 🙂

ta

Ken

[imjolly]

This is a similar thread found with search

https://community.bt.com/t5/BT-Devices/2-4GHZ-and-5GHZ-Bands-BT-Smart-Hub-2/m-p/2158048#M21752

[spile]

Why not repurpose your old Vodaphone as a wireless access point by turning off dhcp? You could turn off wireless on your smart hub if required so it is a router only.

[kkig123]

Thanks @imjolly - I read that thread and no real conclusions I could take from it unfortunately. 

[kkig123]

Could definitely do that. A mixture of stubbornness that this should just bloody work with the BT hub and not wanting more devices cluttering up the desk means I’m keeping that as a last resort 🙂 I still can’t believe we can land a robot on Mars but not reliably get a couple of devices to connect via Wi-Fi without fiddling and bodging things 🤣

[Antony2]

This has become a problem for me since the firmware on the router was updated late April. Called BT and they said they are aware and working on it … let’s see 

[Irish-Lynda]

On your vodaphone setup, was did the frequencies have different SSIDs.

On the BT Hub 2, both frequencies use identical SSIDs and passwords

[kkig123]

Vodafone was same as BT same SSID for both 2.4 and 5Ghz

[john62couch]

Hi, this is my first time in the forum as im having terrible trouble with connection problems to primarily Sky Q and Sonos devices. I spent 1hour and 20 minutes on the phone with Sky at the weekend and my set up is working again now, although im not convinced how long this will be for!! They both worked before getting BT Broadband in February 21, i had been with VM for many years before with no issues other than spirraling costs!! The sonos system was a pain to migrate to BT but it worked eventually and had been ok until my wife pointed out it wasnt working at the weekend....shortly after the mega call with Sky. It wont connect at all now, im going to try and connect with 5G switched off but feel this shouldnt be a permanent fix. I've read with interest the points in this thread and would be interested to find out how to install the latest firmware. If anyone can assist that would be great.