Problems With Macbook Pro Connecting To Broadband

[Dropout10]

Hello, 

I've recently started having real problems with my Macbook Pro connecting to a Smart Hub 2.  I got the hub in January and everything was okay until about a month ago.    Connection to the wifi is really sporadic.  Sometimes it will connect and sometimes (mostly) not.   Even when it's  connects, it's nearly always very slow and keeps dropping out.   

I've tried switching off the 5 Ghz which seems to help for a time but only when I'm sat very close to the Smart Hub.  If I'm not in the same room, it will not connect at all - not much use for a laptop!

I've tried updating my OS (Big Sur) as I read this can cause problems.  And I've tried turning the Hub and the laptop on and off again!   It's driving me a bit nuts to be honest. Any advice anyone can give would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance. 

[imjolly]

Have you turned off smart setup in hub manager?  If not then turn it off.

Have you tried changing the wireless channels to see it that helps. Best using a WiFi analyser on mobile

[Dropout10]

Thanks so much for your advice.  Smart set up is already off. I've tried switching between the 2.5ghz and 5ghz channels.  It doesn't seem to make much difference and with only one channel on, even if it works when I'm in the same room as the hub, it won't connect if I go into a different room. Thanks.

[Will168]

Do you only have this problem with your home network or does it happen with other wifi networks too?

[Dropout10]

To be honest I haven't been out the house with it much lately but I've never had problems with it elsewhere. I had a friend come over with her Macbook Pro yesterday and she couldn't connect either.  It's really frustrating! 

[Will168]

OK, no  probs. I had a similar problem a couple of years back and it turned out that the wifi antenna connector inside the MacBook Pro had worked loose. But it doesn't sound like the same thing for you, if you friend also had an issue.

Based on your friend's MacBook doing the same, it could be a MacOS issue or a wifi issue which could be related to interference in your home environment (but then it would likely manifest on other devices too) or it could be the SmartHub itself.

I was previously able to use my MacBook Pro on Big Sur without any drops in wifi with a SmartHub 2 and I've also not had any problems on Monterey either. Therefore, I would think it's not MacOS itself either.

If you are still in contract with BT, you could raise a fault and they will likely send a replacement SmartHub 2 free of charge, which could solve your problem if it's the Hub itself.

[Dropout10]

Brilliant. Thanks for that.  I'll get onto BT and see if I can get a new hub. Fingers crossed that will work!  Thanks again. All the best.

[Dropout10]

So I rung BT,  a very nice gentleman there did some jiggery pokery at his end  and things are working much better.  He could see there was a problem with the Macbook Pro connecting and said something about 'some congestion'. Anyway, it's still not connecting quite as well as other devices but is much, much better so fingers crossed! Thanks for all the help.