Which wireless access point to use with SmartHub 2?

[blokeley]

I have a BT SmartHub 2 in my house.  I am converting my garage into a room and wish to have Wi-Fi support in there, ideally with the same SSID and password as the Wi-Fi from the SmartHub so that my devices are connected to the "same" Wi-Fi network whether in the house or garage.

I have a cat 7 Ethernet cable running from the SmartHub to the garage, so I think I can plug in a Wireless Access Point in the garage.  

The garage is too far away with too thick walls to make me think a Wi-Fi repeater like the BT Disc would work.

Is it possible to have a Wireless Access Point with the same SSID and password as the SmartHub?  If yes, which hardware would you recommend?  Thanks in advance

[Keith_Beddoe]

Is it possible to have a Wireless Access Point with the same SSID and password as the HomeHub?  If yes, which hardware would you recommend?  Thanks in advance

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/access-point/tl-wa901n/

About £26.

Having the same SSID would not enable roaming between nodes, devices will stay connected to the initial node until the signal is lost. Its better to have separate SSIDs so you know which node you are connected to.

[rbz5416]

How aggressively devices roam depends on the device. Personally I'd try the same SSSID first & see how that works for you.

Note that the device @Keith_Beddoe has linked to is 2.4GHz only.

Might be worth seeing if you can get BT to send you a Smart Hub, then you could use the HH5 as an access point for free.

[blokeley]

Sorry - I just realised that I have a SmartHub 2, not a HomeHub! Does that change your answer?

[rbz5416]

Only if you want to be able to manually select the 5GHz band in the garage. You can't have different SSIDs on the SH2, so if you wanted to keep the same SSID in the garage you'd have to bind both channels on the access point too. Although if you buy a 2.4GHz only device that becomes a moot point as you'll only have one SSID.

Do you have any old routers kicking around?

[blokeley]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with what "binding both channels" means. Is the setup as simple as:
1. Plug the ethernet cable (which comes from the SmartHub 2 LAN port) into a Wireless Access Point like a TPLink wa901n (although ideally one that supports both 2.4 and 5 Ghz).
2. Set up the Wireless Accces Point to have the same SSID and password as the SmartHub.
3. Hope that your device (phone etc.) connect to the one with the strongest signal (which won't always be the case).

[gg30340]

If you do an Internet search you will find any number of dual band wireless access points at various price points.

You will be able to change the SSid and password on them but there is really little point in changing the SSid to be the same as the BT hub because unless you have a Mesh system your device will have to drop the wireless connection from the BT hub before it would latch onto the wireless connection from the access point even if they share the same name and password.

If you have different SSids for the BT hub and the wireless access point you will at least know which device you are connected to where as if they have the same SSid you won't know which one you are connected to.

[rbz5416]

Binding simply means that both WiFi bands share a single SSID. The down side of this is you can't choose which band you connect to.

The setup depends to some extent on the AP & whether it is a true AP or a router. But generally you start by connecting to just the access point, set it to an IP address in the same range as the SH2, 192.168.1.63 or below & then connect the ethernet cable. A new product will almost certainly have a wizard to walk you through setup.

Edit

As you're getting conflicting advice re the SSID(s), I'll clarify my suggestion. It's correct that many devices will not roam aggressively & you have no control over that. PCs aside, where you may have options for the WiFi adapter,  you will be stuck with whatever the devices software tells it to do. That may be to cling to the weak SSID until it drops completely or it may roam to the stronger signal. Only testing this with your own devices in your own environment will reveal what works best for you, which is why I suggested trying the same SSID first.

Of course with different SSIDs you need to remember to switch the device manually each time you move between areas.

[gg30340]

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@rbz5416 wrote:

Of course with different SSIDs you need to remember to switch the device manually each time you move between areas.

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No you don't.

If the signal is weak from the BT hub or the Access Point or is non existent it will be dropped regardless if the SSids are the same or not and the device will automatically log onto the stronger signal regardless if the access point and hub are named the same or not.

This is what happens when you are connected to a wireless network say at a friends then you go back home. The friends network is dropped and when you get home you do not have to remember to log onto your home network, your device does it automatically.

It is only a true mesh system that will seamlessly, without dropping, move between the hub and an access point. 

[rbz5416]

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@gg30340wrote:

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No you don't.

But we're no talking about a complete loss of signal. If the argument against using the same SSID is that the client will hold onto a weak signal & not roam, how is that same client going to now drop a weak signal in order to jump onto another SSID? If the signal is weak enough to drop a connection & jump to a new SSID, it should also be able to jump to a stronger SSID with the same name.

But I'm not sure this is helping the OP much. I stand by try it & see rather than assuming it won't work.