BT whole home wifi issues

[zAndy1]

I've just bought the 3 disc whole home wifi and am having a couple of annoying problems that I'm hoping someone can help me with. Firstly I can't update the firmware using the app , it just comes back with 'there was a problem checking for the updates' each time. I've changed the DNS setting for the main disc to 8.8.8.8 but it still happens. Secondly my phone isn't swapping to a better (closer) disc unless I disable and reenable WiFi . I can be connected to the disc upstairs , come downstairs and it doesn't swap to the main disc even though the signal strengths when I'm downstairs and it's connected to the upstairs disc are -83 (upstairs) and -49 (main disc). I bought this on the promise it would act as a mesh and devices would swap to the best access point seamlessly, it's pointless if it stays connected to a disc with a far lower signal strength and link speed. It's a hauwei mate 20 pro phone if that makes any difference...

Right now I'm tempted to return it if these issues can't be resolved so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on it for me 

Thanks 

[zAndy1]

Just to clarify something, if I'm connected to the upstairs disc and go downstairs it stays connected to the upstairs one until I disable WiFi on my phone and reenable it when it immediately connects to the main disc in the lounge. All I want is for that to happen automatically...

[zAndy1]

Ok so I think the fact my phone isn't switching discs is an Android thing, my wife's and daughters iPhones / iPads both switch automatically so I'm not too worried about that aspect of things. All I have you do is switch WiFi off and back on again to get my phone to switch to the nearest disc which takes a few seconds so no big deal. Can anyone help with the firmware update problem though? I'm currently on 1.02.11 build 02, I think there's a later firmware although I have read it's caused some issues so am I better leaving things as they are anyway and not upgrading to the latest firmware? 

[pscarborough]

Hello,

I don't have a solution as such but I was in a similar situation. I also recently installed the BT Whole Home WiFi and at the time had a Huawei Mate 20 Pro mobile. It would hang on to a particular disc for too long even if the signal became quite weak and the only way to force it to move was to disconnect and reconnect at which point it would connect to the closest disc. All other devices (a mix of Apple phones and tablets and some windows laptops) seem to move fine. This week I upgraded my phone to the new Google Pixel 5 and this moves perfectly between each of the 3 discs. So in summary it isn't an Android issue but is perhaps a Huawei specific issue.......

[zAndy1]

Thanks for that, yeah I think it might be an emui 10 thing actually. Is the pixel 5 a genuine upgrade over the mate 20 pro then? Been thinking about a change of phone for a while now and this might be the incentive I need to do something although perhaps changing phones rather than disabling and reenabling WiFi might be considered hard to justify 😉

[pscarborough]

To be honest I'm not sure the Pixel 5 is that much of an upgrade. The camera is very good but then I always loved the camera on the Mate 20 Pro. If it weren't for the free Bose headphones that came with it for preordering and the 10% store credit in the Google store because I subscribe to their storage plan then I probably wouldn't have gone for it. As it is I think I'll probably use it for a few weeks and then go back to my Mate 20 and give the Pixel to my wife (who currently uses a Pixel 3a) while I wait for a phone that is genuinely better than Mate 20 Pro. That assumes I can put up with it not switching between BT discs like it should of course! I guess with the imminent arrival of EMUI 11 there is a small chance that it may change it's behaviour with respect to WiFi although I'm not that hopeful......

[zAndy1]

I've just added the 3rd disc to my wholehome network , it's nearer the 2nd disc I added that's in an upstairs bedroom than it is to the disc connected to the router downstairs. Just for my own understanding should the 3rd disc have connected to the 2nd one that's nearer. This is the network map 

Should the office one be a child of the bedroom one rather than a child of the lounge one? That picture suggests to me that the office disc has connected to the lounge disc , is that how it should look / be configured and if not how do I change it? 

[Bob1001]

Not really a problem but I am curious. We had a power failure today and when it came back on and everything had settled down my TV said that I was connected to the router but had no internet connection, it was wrong as I can stream video over the internet.

I then looked at the connections and prior to the power cut the TV was connected to my BT smarthub. however now it has connected to the disc in the lounge (nearer and better connection) so I wonder if all the connection information is not always correct if a device decides to connect to a disc rather than the hub.

[zAndy1]

Can anyone help with the question about updating the firmware? I've tried doing it using the app and via the web interface and it fails using both methods saying 'there was a problem checking for the updates' . I'm at a loss what to do about it , is firmware update working for everyone else? 

 

[Dan-O]

Hi @zAndy1 

Just to check, are your discs connected in the UK and not using a VPN? The firmware server is only accessible in the UK.

Dan-O