Moving from Modem to SH2

[gspearson]

I've had my first warning that we are moving to Digital Voice shortly which will mean using a SmartHub2 - which I've had in a box for a couple of years.  May I check with fellow users that what I propose to do is OK?

I use a Huawei 612 modem connected to a mesh of 3 DECO M5s (one in PPoE mode to connect to the modem).   This has been very successful.

I will replace the modem with the SH2 (and turn off its Wifi) and then connect my Deco system via one of the SH2 Ethernet sockets.  I will have to reconfigure the primary Deco to come off PPoE.  The rest of my mesh would be unchanged.  In effect I would run the SH2 only as a modem.  The house is big and stone built so the SH2 would not reach the whole place.

I can and should do this before DV arrives.

When DV arrives, I will move my telephones (4 in a chain) to the socket on the SH2.  Can the SH2 provide enough ring power for 4 phones?

[rbz5416]

You may have to set the Deco up from scratch. You should just be able to switch from router to access point mode once the SH2 is connected & online, but the Deco app isn't all that.

Not sure what you mean by having phones "in a chain"? If you mean individual handsets connected to wired extensions, then you'll have to patch your extension wiring into the SH2. The quick but untidy way is to take off the master socket faceplate, connect the SH2 to the test socket with a micro filter & plug a BT431a cable into the faceplate.

he tidy way would involve fitting new extension socket & moving the wiring to that.

[gspearson]

@rbz5416 Many thanks for the reassuring reply.  I'm comfortable with reworking the Deco system, I've installed them in various places.

The telephones are wired to the master socket - which is not near the IT stuff so that will be a task as you suggest.  I'll buy the double ended cable as you suggest.

The modem has been so neat and the SH2 is so clumsy.  Even the power block is upside down!

[rbz5416]

As you will now be reliant on the SH2 for DHCP & DNS, a couple of potential downsides:

All BT Hubs apparently have a bug where they don't release expired DHCP addresses back to the pool. With the prevalence of devices now using randomised MAC addresses, that can lead the the SH2 running out of addresses, which requires a factory rest.

You  cannot set manual DNS addresses in the SH2, so are stuck with BT's.

Another option is to keep the Deco in router mode with a static IP addres & disable DHCP on the SH2. You'd then be double NAT'ing but that doesn't appear to be an issue for those that do it.

[gspearson]

That's interesting.  It takes me to/beyond the edge of my understanding.  Does this mean leaving the Deco as first in line with the SH2 feeding from it, in effect for the telephone alone?

[rbz5416]

Sadly that doesn't work, the SH2 has to be the first device.

[gspearson]

Thanks - we have a BT DV roadshow here next week so I am now briefed to be able to understand  what I'm told.

[WSH]

While your setup is not exactly the same, you might be interested in this:

https://community.bt.com/t5/Home-setup-Wi-Fi-network/Smart-Hub-2-and-Bridge-Mode/td-p/2306834/page/2

Have a look at meassage 16.  Good luck with the road-show providing anything useful on the technical level.

[gspearson]

Re "Message 16": It is a HG612 I am using now - I am changing only because we want to continue a landline telephone, using DV.

I am readying myself for a pointless discussion at the road show.  They might know (not officially) if OR will bring a fibre to my street - probably not as we have CityFibre and Virgin here already.  

[WSH]

Fair enough.

As I said, it's not exactly the same setup, but I thought it might give you something to work with if you wanted to carry on using the Deco as your router and use DV, (which has to go through the SH2).  All the best, anyway.