'Smart Hub 3 is coming soon'

[TheLobster]

The BT app updated for me just a few moments and I, too, noticed the new hub being mentioned.

The "Learn More" button does nothing.

I just wonder if BT customers will get BT router or a rebsdged EE one.

I also wonder how existing customers will be affected. I'd bet good money we won't be sent a new hub 3 as a free replacement.

Also, has BT finally stopped pushing domestic customers to EE?

[licquorice]

Why on earth would BT send replacement hubs to their several million customer base unnecessarily?

[Colin_London]

Yes they have according to a Daily Mail article from last month. Apparently BT will now be the ‘old persons’ brand whereas EE is for the hip youngsters 😄

I reckon you’ll probably be able to get new equipment if you recontract, but we need that article to go live to find out what their plan is.

[Colin_London]

Why would they send new equipment out? Well as I say above initially it will probably only be if you recontract to prevent you jumping ship to another provider which provides better equipment.

Secondly possibly because equipment does need refreshing from time to time for security and support reasons.

The fact that BT sells a 900Mbps FTTP service which is not supported by their routers WiFi is a third possibility - this must generate quite a few complaints.

[licquorice]

The 900 Mbps service is adequately served by WiFi 5, as the many screenshots I have posted in the past attest to.

You are living in a parallel universe if you think BT are going to replace all the SH2s with SH3s. There are still many folks out there still using the hub5 and possibly hub4.

[Kimberlin]

As much as some don't wish to read it, the SH2 is a techno dinasour. Most routers produced now employ WPA3 WiFi encryption as standard but are still fully backward compatible with older standards. BT SH2 isn't WPA3 capable. Plus, as many are aware, WiFi 6 has also overtaken WiFi 5 and again, SH2 isn't WiFi 6 capable.

None of this will matter to those with zero interest in their router performance or security or are happy to trundle along using out of date tech, just so long as it works.

[Colin_London]

@licquorice Did I say that they will do that?

What they have done in the past is replace the kit when I have recontracted as the equipment specified forms part of the deal you are signing up to.

Also in the past you could buy the next router up, but given the equipment is generally on loan to you now that may not be an option any more.

[Colin_London]

@KimberlinDespite the protestations we are already seeing here I have to agree with you. To say that WiFi 5 is sufficient for a 900Mbps connection is ridiculous when the maximum possible connection speed is 866Mbps, and throughput is always a fraction of connection speed. In any practical use case you are not getting any more than 500Mbps out of SH2 WiFi. There have been enough complaints over the years on here to know that it is a problem.

So whilst many won’t give a hoot, anyone who actually cares about security and wants to get what they paid for from their WiFi connection will actively want something better than a SH2 nowadays.

[Kimberlin]

@Colin_London  Precisely the reason why I purchased and use my own 3rd party router. There’s too many flaws in ISP routers for my own personal use, not to mention the snooping via DNS, targeted ads and the overall lack of control with settings.

But, as we’ve said, it won’t affect the vast majority of customers because they aren’t interested in the equipment provided, but they certainly complain when it isn’t working.

Long live SH2 and any other router that might have been in service during the last 20 years.

[licquorice]

Yep, there must be thousands of hackers queuing up outside houses to crack the WiFi on a domestic router.