No broadband for TV and problems with mini connectors

[carney]

My TV has had no broadband function for several days even though the messages said I had a broadband connection and the problem was between the hub and the TV box. I tried the BT online help desk and spent several hours, as advised, checking plugs, cables, then repeat. Eventually I noticed that the BT mini-connector next to the hub had no lights. I tried pairing and resetting but that didn't work. Today I bought 2 tp-link (TL-WA850RE)  range extenders for the hub and the set top box, connected by ethernet cables as they are in different rooms. EE don't have them in shops and I was advised to go to Argos. The situation is now worse because I now have only intermittent broadband for my laptop and no internet connection for the TV. Does this mean I have simply bought the wrong equipment, or could it be the hub?

[pddco]

With your laptop ( ideally with an Ethernet port) connected to the hub directly or via WiFi with the hub next to it, try running a speed test (fast.com). If the speeds are what you’d expect, then the issue is how you’re connecting the hub to the TV box. You say you’ve got BT Mini Connectors. These use the mains wiring to extend an Ethernet port on the hub to somewhere else in the house near the TV box. They are not WiFi devices. So there should be an Ethernet cable from the hub to a nearby Mini Connector and in the other room an Ethernet cable from the Mini Connector to the TV box. The Mini Connectors need to be paired with each other. Hopefully you’ve got  some instructions how to do that. Or of course Google is your friend. Does this help?

[carney · Accepted solution]

Thank you, pddco, for your quick response. I placed my laptop next to the hub (no ethernet port on the laptop), and to my surprise the speed was better than usual and hasn't switched off. Likewise the mobile phone, which has been poor this afternoon So thank you for that. I still have the problem of the faulty mini connector and the replacement I bought today.

[pddco]

If your setup was working fine before the mini connector failed, could you get a replacement from somewhere? Or rather than the WiFi extenders you’ve got,  get a pair of Powerline adapters to replace the mini connectors you already have and use the mains wiring to connect to your TV box?

The WiFi extenders you’ve bought do not use the mains wiring like the mini connectors and are not a direct replacement. It sounds like you’ve setup two wireless access points and confused things. Hence why the WiFi connections are poor. Personally I would concentrate on trying to get your setup working as it did before using powerline type connectors.

Also, are you paying for BT/EE TV as well as your broadband service? In which case it maybe worth talking to BT again. This time saying that you can’t get the BTTV service you’re paying for as their supplied mini connector (I’m making a big assumption here) has failed. Worth a try? 

[carney]

Thank you. Yes you were right, pddco. I have now bought Powerline connectors for the ethernet and everything is working very well. It's so easy to be led astray, so thanks for the suggestions.