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Message 1 of 10

BTWiFi-X Installation

Setting up for BTWiFi-X on an Apple device is just too difficult. Finding out how to do it is painful 😖 There are no instructions on the BT Internet help pages. 

If you choose the right search terms, then you find  a ‘user’ reply on the BT users community forum. That explanation is a little terse. 

To install the BTWiFi App you have to enter your user ID and password. But it is not clear which ID and password. Is it your home router, your BT ID or your BT email account? Once the app is installed then you have to go through several non-intuitive menu levels to get to the right place

Then to install the ‘profile’ from the App, you have to enter your ID and password yet again. Which ID and Why? The app already knows your password. And the password field does not automatically pick up the already saved password from the Apple Keychain. You have to manually enter your random 16 character password again. 

And then in the Apple device Settings I think you have to click on 3 different ‘Install profile’ buttons.

It all seems unnecessarily difficult. 

Thanks 

Adrian 

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Message 2 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

the sign in required is your BTID and password



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Message 3 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

Hello,

Yes - it is rather a complex procedure for very little payoff. BTWifi-X appears to have a less secure connection (at least that is what my iPhone tells me when connected), though it is an encrypted connection it is apparently of a weaker encryption, and actually connecting to it takes as long as paint does to dry. I am honestly not sure why it is there, when the open BTWi-fi is right there with it and the BT Wi-Fi pages encourage you to use a VPN with it to make it secure.

And if you want to use BTWifi-X with your MAC? It is a very hacky-fiddly procedure: full instructions here work, but you have to be quick.

Instead I use the BTWi-fi open Wi-Fi hotspot and with it (through iCloud+) use the iCloud Private Relay which takes all the VPN/Proxy/Tor-like elements that I personally care about, which certainly secures you against threat across an open hotspot. (Finding out all the ins and outs of 'how' it does all of this on a technical level can be a pain due to the fact it 'just works', and so the user doesn't usually need all that info, but it is out there to be had).

If they really want to provide a BT Wi-Fi hotspot that is secure for business users, or advanced users, they should really make it less of a clunky process.

Subsequently, the BT Wi-fi app — I have never been able to get the search working on that thing. Postcode or address it just says: location not found. Seems they need time spent on the entire experience from that standpoint. Of course, a load of the reviews for the app are just people complaining about their home Wi-fi which is not what the app is for, nor what should be being reviewed as it is only in regard to the public hotspots. (Which of course also come from your BT Routers, but as they are separate and segregated from your configurable Wi-fi should therefore be referred to as such).

Anyway, just my two cents worth.

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Message 4 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

Hi imjolly,

Yes it is your BT ID, but the point is that it doesn’t say BT ID, it just says ‘Username’. And that is after saying “To install the profile you will be taken out of the app.“

Oh and there is no explanation of what is a ‘profile’ either.

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Message 5 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

Hi wkikkman,
It looks to me as if BTWiFi-X has better security than BTWi-Fi. On my iPhone BTWiFi-X has a little padlock next to it whereas BTWi-Fi has nothing.
I haven’t yet tried to connect our old MacBook Air as that doesn’t get out much these days.
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Message 6 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

Hello,

Yes, weak encryption is better than no encryption - but sometimes weak encryption has been superseded by stronger encryption, because the weak encryption is more akin to a paper door rather than an iron one - I don't know what encryption they use but I suspect it is weaker than that which is used on your home Wi-Fi, and that is just because they haven't put the effort into upgrading it to the later standards.

So it is still a security risk if weak encryption is used.

Open Wi-Fi with no encryption, but a fully encrypted VPN tunnel from ExpressVPN or something like that, would certainly be better than weak encryption.

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Message 7 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

This is a fairly old thread now but it addresses logging in, profiles and security so may still be of some interest

https://community.bt.com/t5/Broadband-Extras-Apps-from-BT/BT-WiFi-X/m-p/1859150#M32879

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Message 8 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

This article says that BTwiFi-X uses “WPA2 Enterprise” https://neilalexander.dev/2017/02/27/bt-wifi

This article says that WPA2 is about the best readily available WiFi encryption today https://www.netspotapp.com/blog/wifi-security/wifi-encryption-and-security.html

To fix the main remaining issue, turn off the pairing button on your router.

 

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Message 9 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

The issue with the pairing button is  separate thing and refers to an error in the WPA2 specification, WPA3 is in itself more secure than WPA2 but can't replace it wholesale yet because many end user devices would be rendered U/S if it did, it therefore has to be backwards compatible with WPA2 which impacts the security enhancements.

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Message 10 of 10

Re: BTWiFi-X Installation

Interestingly enough, I just tried it, and it no longer complains about weak security, so perhaps they have fixed whatever was causing the issue. In which case, ignore my previous comments 🙂

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