Multiple devices not connecting to either 2.4 or 5ghz on SmartHub

[elguerro79]

I realise that there are a lot of posts on here about Smarthub2 and device connections but I still don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. 

I have tried turning off 5ghz and connecting devices such as my Sonos and my Ring products, plus my house alarm, and none of them will connect. I recently got a replacement smarthub to see if it was the specific hub I had and that hasn't resolved it. I have connected things one by one and while the Complete wifi discs connect, as do my Nest thermostats, I cannot get the above devices to connect. 

I've read about factory resetting devices and then connecting them again, but I can't do this with my house alarm. We're also having issues with certain websites and apps on some devices just not being able to connect at all (like BBC Sport or The Guardian) while messaging aps like Gmail and Whatsapp do.

I've been trying to fix this for ages and am at the end of my tether. I've never had any problems like this with any other broadband provider. Why do so many people have these issues with BT and what else can I do to try and sort it? 

[Les-Gibson]

Try going into advanced settings / My Network and remove as many Unknown devices as the hub will allow (it won't allow connected devices to be removed) and then restart the hub, temporarily turn off 5GHz and try again.

I regularly purge unknowns from my hub and have never had a significant problem connecting smart devices.

[elguerro79]

Unfortunately this didn't work. Is there a recommended set-up for 2.4 that you would use? A specific channel for example rather than the Smart set-up? Based on other advice I've seen here I've tried Smart Channel and Wireless Mode 3

[Les-Gibson]

I'm using channel 11, mode 1.

Very infrequently I might have a problem setting up a new device but they usually connect after a couple of attempts and after that they behave immaculately.

[elguerro79]

Nope, not working at all. I am beyond frustrated and I have spent so much time trying to make this work.

[imjolly]

Have you tried using a wfif analyser on your phone to find out wireless channels in use near you and then selecting a free or less congested channel both for 2.4 and 5ghz. If you have SKYQ then avoid channel 36 as that is used by sky

[elguerro79 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your help on this everyone. It turned out that the external router that we were using to extend the wifi to our garage (connected to a cat5 that is run from our main Hub up to our garage office) was somehow completely blocking the 2.4 band. As soon as we disconnected it, I was able to connect most of the devices (apart from the Sonos and the Ring Chime which I think are both special cases). So we tried moving one of our complete wifi discs up there, connected to the cat5 and it now works perfectly. Thanks for all your suggestions and advice!

[licquorice]

I suspect both devices were set to the same channel, they need to be on different channels to avoid interference.

[elguerro79]

Ah yes, maybe. 😏