Smart 5G Hub and Whole Home Wifi discs - incompatible?

[michthom]

Hi folks. I've switched from a 20Mbps upload / 1Mbps download (max) "fibre" connection (only as far as the cabinet 1.8km away!) to an EE Smart 5G Hub. Amazing improvement, now seeing 300Mbps download / 70Mbps upload.

I have the router in the loft for best signal, and its Wifi reach is also pretty impressive, but (understandably, as expected) it's patchy through our house with some walls dating back to the 1700s...

I had hoped to link up the old BT Whole Home Wifi discs that work just find on the old Smart Hub 2 (see attachment) but I can't get them to pair with the new 5G Hub using WPS.

1) Factory reset the disc (wait for flashing red light).

2) Go into GUI on new 5G Hub and click the button to start WPS pairing - wait for 2 minute countdown to start

3) Press WPS button on disc and light flashes blue

4) 5G Hub reports that a device was successfully added, but the disc is still flashing blue.

5) Wait 5 minutes just in case, but no joy. The disc is not transmitting any SSID, only the hidden network signals on 2.4 and 5GHz bands.

If I plug the disc into the hub using Ethernet, I get a solid red light.

Any suggestions, or are these mutually incompatible products (even through the discs say they work with any network provider/router...)?

[michthom]

Smart 5G Hub:
https://ee.co.uk/broadband/pay-monthly-mobile-broadband-gallery/smart-5g-hub-details

Whole Home Wifi:
https://www.bt.com/help/user-guides/broadband-and-wi-fi-devices/wi-fi-and-home-networking/wi-fi-home...

[rbz5416]

No idea if it makes any difference but the instruction seems to be initiate WPS on the disc first.

Failing that, can you connect the fist disc by ethernet?

[michthom]

Thanks for the swift reply, but as I said connecting with Ethernet is a hard fail - the disc goes straight to a solid red light - I can ping it but that's it.
The WPS section in the hub GUI states the opposite - initiate on the hub first, see attachment. I can try the reverse order but don't hold out much hope.

 

[jac_95]

I don't think the discs can be configured in the same way as you did with the BT Smart Hub.

You'll need to connect one via ethernet to your Smart 5G Hub and then configure the other discs to connect to that connected disc

E.g

5G Router -> ethernet -> main disc -> WiFi  -> other discs

You'll need to use the BT app to configure the discs accordingly 

[rbz5416]

Maybe out of date but this video shows a setup with the first disc connected by ethernet. All the placement images i your link also show the first disc wired to the router.

I can't see any documentation for the EE Hub, is the ethernet definitely connected to a LAN port & not WAN? Can you connect a laptop or other device to the LAN port to see if that works?

[michthom]

Thanks, I'll try this (direct Ethernet from 5G Hub to WHW disc) tomorrow, sounds like I've just been barking up the wrong tree altogether thus far. Yes, the new hub offers two ports on the LAN side, a 1Gbps and a 2.5Gbps.

[rbz5416]

Just a quick sanity check, you do have the white Whole Home discs & not the black Complete Wifi, & the correct app?

[michthom]

Well now don't I feel foolish... An excellent suggestion to check assumptions. I have the *black* discs, which seem to be a different beast to the white Whole Home Wifi ones. It seems I'm unable to alter the thread/title of the top post however, unless an board admin is feeling friendly!

I tried using the MyBT app (instead of the Whole Home Wifi app I'd used previously) but still struggled.

The login I use for MyBT is linked to the older SmartHub 2, it doesn't seem to understand the new EE Smart 5G hub...? When I go into the More / Services / Your Wifi Network it wants to set up my Smart Hub 2, even though I'm already on the wifi from the EE 5G Smart Hub... 

I skip those steps to say I'm already connected to Wifi, but it then barfs and says "It wasn't possible to connect to the network".

We bought the 5G hub on my wife's small business account, which - you guessed it - works as an EE ID but can't be used to login to the My BT app!

I'll try the hardwired Ethernet option direct to the 5G Hub next, and also try resetting everything back to defaults again, but I may give up and buy some access points like the Zyxel NWA1123-ACV3, since those have standalone management software on them so I don't have to battle the interaction with the BT/EE router?

[rbz5416]

The black discs form a mesh integrated with the SH2's SSID. I don't have any direct experience but I'm fairly sure you can't use them with anything else.

Any third party mesh system will have an app &/or direct web access for management.