BT TV Box Pro, and wireless connection

[Mark]

Morning all,

For the last 4 years+ I've been connecting my TV Box Pro via wireless, using a Plusnet SmartHub 2 router.

This has worked just fine 🙂

I'm now thinking of jumping broadband providers to possibly Vodafone (same speed, same FTTP technology, just a lot cheaper (£25 per month with no increases, compared to £40+ with Plusnet, and their renewal offer isn't that good, despite calling them).

Has anyone here tried connecting their TV Box Pro via wireless with any other provider / router ?

I seem to recall the TV Box Pro uses some WiFi channels that weren't normally available on certain routers ?

[TimCurtis]

@Mark 

The issue you have is that unless you bought the box and it wasn't supplied by the BT group you must return it or be charged.

Can't see any issues with using a different router/ISP as many will be using their own routers with the Pro box anyway.

Obviously you'll lose your subscription channels and any recordings saved from those channels and will now need to use a terrestrial aerial to receive transmissions rather than using IP mode which you might have used before.

[DarrenDev]

EE TV isn't available on Plusnet anyway, so the IP channels won't currently be working.
The TV Box Pro has never been offered for sale - they remain the property of BT/EE at all times. Some online sellers are selling them, however they are also effectively selling stolen goods.

To answer the original question though - The TV Box Pro uses standard 5GHz wifi channels, and should work fine with any standard router.

[Mark]

The TV Box Pro was bought privately, so doesn't need to be returned.

It has only ever been used as a Freeview Recorder, with the catch-up apps (all have worked fine) ..

Initially when bought & set-up it would only work with BT or Plusnet routers as they were the only ones that supported access to the 'higher' WiFi channels back then.

[iniltous]

I guess the point is , if the box is stolen and then resold to someone unaware of its status as stolen property , it’s still stolen property, you just have bought it from someone who had no right to sell it .

[Mark]

Not my problem to be honest.

It was purchased off a seller a good 4 years ago, and if BT want to pursue him for non return of goods that's fine.

Good luck to that ..

As an ex BT employee of many years, and still with many contacts in the company I'm told that boxes sent out back then were not required to be returned, so hopefully it not's an issue

[DarrenDev]

@Mark that only applied to older TV Box models.  The TV Box Pro has only ever been offered on loan - never to keep.

[Kimberlin]

I think everyone who uses the platform knows that eBay is awash with BT/EE hardware, undoubtedly, much of it should have been returned and never was or was intercepted in the post. But of course until BT/EE do anything to challenge and stop it going on, it'll keep being offered for sale. I'm still amazed that even the latest BT Smart Hub 3 is already available for sale. I mean, where are those coming from?

[Mark]

Ah, fair enough

[FLC]

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@Markwrote:
Initially when bought & set-up it would only work with BT or Plusnet routers as they were the only ones that supported access to the 'higher' WiFi channels back then.

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If anything, it was the other way round. The Pro Box didn't seem to like the higher channels & BT routers didn't support them anyway. If that was indeed the issue, it seems to have been resolved with software updates.

What does remain a problem is the very weak, or non-existent, WiFi aerials in the box. Even with a high end third party router, the Pro Box seems to need to be in the same room to connect.