Smart Hub 2

[WastelandStag]

My in laws have just received a BT smart Hub 2. They cant register their smart cameras with it as it says there is no compatible 2.4ghz network. I can't currently visit to log in to their hub and sort this. I've also read that you can no longer split the networks. What is the solution to this?

I've read something about turning off Smart setup, but surely this isn't a proper work around as most users won't be able to even log in to their hub, let alone work out that this will fix their issue.

[imjolly]

The most used solution is to access hub manager then wireless and disable the 5ghz network then connect your 2.4ghz device and once connected then enable the 5ghz network

[WastelandStag]

Thanks for this, they can't do this on their own so I guess they're stuck until I visit them. I find that this is a ridiculous oversight by BT, surely this stuff should be accessible.

[HHGTTG]

The first thing I do when I get a new or second hand BT hub is to connect it to my laptop using an ethernet cable and power it up. Then I access the Hub manager pager by typing 192.168.1.254 into the browser and go from there, altering the admin password and SSID/s  and wireless key, turning off 'Smart set up' so that my existing peripherals all recognise the new hub from previous Hub's identical entries when I reconnect to the Internet. Usually goes without any hiccups.

Thanks to this forum that's how I learned to do this. If and when a new Smart Hub 2 is forced upon me due to the big switch over that will get the same treatment. I'm 85 now and don't like to be defeated by such things.

[imjolly]

This is a problem with the device not the hub. Some devices appear to have problem connecting and it is a simple process to enter hub manager 192.168.1.254 in browser then enter admin password then go to wireless and toggle 5ghz WiFi to off. Connect device to 2.4ghz network save and log out. Can sort 5ghz WiFi later

[HHGTTG]

I thought that you could not separate the 2.4 and 5ghz bands in the smart hub 2 and hence, as you say "disable the 5ghz" network, or as an amateur in these matters, getting confused. I can see in my current Home Hub 6 that I can separate the two networks and name them accordingly and switch off but again I thought Smart Hub 2 was criticised for not having this.

[imjolly]

@HHGTTG 

nothing has changed and you cannot split the 2.4/5ghz networks in SH2 and give then different SSID.  however you can turn one off so by turning off the 5ghz network it helps devices connected to the 2.3ghz wifi.  once connected then you can turn the 5ghz back on

[HHGTTG]

What is the advantage of turning back on the 5ghz one though. I thought people complained that equipment behaved a bit erratically sometimes switching between the two. I believe the 5ghz is more powerful but has shorter range etc.
For my simple needs I'm happy with 2.4ghz.

[licquorice]

It's the device you're using for setup that needs to be 2.4Ghz - the coexisting 5Ghz network doesn't actually matter. The crappy device is listening for packets broadcast on the physical layer to tell it the SSID and password, so the phone has to be on that band to send them. Which is a problem for iPhones that don't let you specify the band, so the fix is to turn off 5Ghz, not because the device cares, but to force the phone to use 2.4.

I.e, the devices are connecting in ad-hoc mode rather than via the router.

A single SSID is required for true band steering of dual band devices.

[HHGTTG]

Many thanks. You have made it clearer to me - I think!
Thanks for your time.