# Alternative to bt hub 5?



## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

OK I'm on BT fibre optic and using there Home hub 5, but this has to be the worst wireless ever! (dispite what the adverts broadcast)

I counted in 1 hour last night wifi drop out 56 times!! All i have it connected to is 2 Ipads and an Apple tv box, Its only the Ipads currently using, yet its getting to be impossible to stay connected for more than a minute then it drops and it never regains automatically, so you have to shut what ever app, safari etc completely then restart it. I'm using Ipad air the wife using the model before.

This is our 3rd home hub 5 after the first was damaged during a storm, the second wouldn't connect to any wifi devices. I cant stand another 3 hour conversation over the phone with some poor sole in India trying to rectify any issue using a pre set check list only to be told my phone lines showing as ok  They taken control of my hub swapped a few settings around which has made no difference at all.

So back to original question, I know absolutely naff all about routers/hubs etc, All I'm after is someone's experience with a hub that can offer excellent wifi strength that is compatible to a fibre optic line. (don't even know if that makes a difference)


Any help most appreciated.

Dan


----------



## AndyVee (Aug 1, 2013)

I recently received placed my home hub 3 with. Netgear wndr3700 from PC World. A much better router and more stable connection over WiFi. Does younbt setup have 2 boxes. One the openzone modem and the other the homehub or do the newer homehub have the BT connection straight into them?


----------



## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

I used to be on the hh3 which had the separate openreach white box. I only upgraded to hh5 as when the family all came around with the phones and tablets wanting my wifi it couldn't cope.

The hh5 does not require the openreach box infact it tells you not to use it in the manual.


----------



## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

I binned it after a few days and replaced it with the Linksys WRT1900AC

An absolute beast of a router, you do need an external modem but the performance (when I got mine) was top in all bar one field that it was tested on.


----------



## pxr5 (Feb 13, 2012)

I'm using a HH5 and it suits my needs well. However, good alternative all-in-ones VDSL2 modem/routers:

TP-LINK TD-W9980 
Billion 8800NL 
Billion 8800AXL


----------



## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

The reason it's dropping out is the 2 wireless channels are Broadcast as a single name/connection on the home hub5. Split the two channels and rename one of them then you get the option what wireless connection you want to connect to. The hubs use 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz channels. After I split the channels I called one channel wireless5 and the other wireless 2. Never get any issues now.

Log into the hub and go to advanced settings then wireless and on the tab for 2.4 change the wireless ssid, then go to to the tab for 5Ghz and under the option sync with 2.4Ghz select no, also rename the wireless ssid for the 5Ghz connection.


----------



## IamDave (Feb 6, 2015)

As above split the two channels it makes a world of difference! I never have any dropout now.

Only thing to consider is if you use a number of Devices and stream to them (such as apple AirPlay) they'll need to be on the same channel.


----------



## Hereisphilly (Nov 17, 2014)

I found the HH5 to be absolute garbage, and I had worse range than the HH3, even with the wifi channels split.

As cossiecol said, the best way to get good wifi performance is to use a decent cable only router, and pair it with an openreach modem, assuming you have BT infinity.

You can get an openreach modem off ebay for about £20, and a router that gets good reviews for the price is the TP Link C7 AC1750, can be found on amazon for £90

I myself use that and a Netgear R7000 and its superb, if a little more expensive @ £120

There are N-band only routers avaialbe too for less if you want to go down that route


----------



## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

m4rkymark said:


> The reason it's dropping out is the 2 wireless channels are Broadcast as a single name/connection on the home hub5. Split the two channels and rename one of them then you get the option what wireless connection you want to connect to. The hubs use 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz channels. After I split the channels I called one channel wireless5 and the other wireless 2. Never get any issues now.
> 
> Log into the hub and go to advanced settings then wireless and on the tab for 2.4 change the wireless ssid, then go to to the tab for 5Ghz and under the option sync with 2.4Ghz select no, also rename the wireless ssid for the 5Ghz connection.


Thats extremely useful, thanks :thumb:

Ive just done the above, but for it to work I had to split the two channels first (choosing 'no' to sync with 2.4GHz) and apply this setting and enter the relevant passwords etc. I could then go into each tab and rename them. Ive actually renamed them to 'Trojan' and 'Virus' to keep any snooping neighbours away 

Hopefully this will stop my Hub5 from dropping to 2.4GHz.

Thanks


----------



## Alfa male (Jun 16, 2009)

Ditto the above BT Hub 5 is absolute crap, had so many issues and complaints before they admitted there is a technical bullet about a fault with the routers. In the end I cancelled due to the constant poor service and problems which you don't expect on the highest broadband package


----------



## HarryHedgehog (Aug 13, 2013)

As above, had the same issues, but this sorted them out for me. http://bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/...d-dual-band-devices-wirelessly-to-the-bt-home


----------



## DLGWRX02 (Apr 6, 2010)

The 2.4 and 5 were already split, as when BT took control via my PC that's what they done and renamed it etc. today I spent 2 hours with a BT representative via online chat during that time I had wifi drop out 21 times! Eventually he said he thought the router was faulty. After chat I was looking through the settings and noticed that only the devices connected to the 5 ghz were dropping out. So I turned it off completely and then reset all the iPads and phones, now the 6 devices I had in total on wifi are using the 2.4 hrs channel and I've had no trouble since.

Thanks for the links and help also, I'm still considering though replacing it, yes I still have my openreach modem so that may come in handy if I go the seperate router route.


----------



## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

Had very similar issues, put my 5ghz channel to 104 and haven't had the issue since


----------



## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

I was going to say change the channel the 5Ghz connection runs on and see what happens.


----------



## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Will_G said:


> Had very similar issues, put my 5ghz channel to 104 and haven't had the issue since


Whats the difference between each channel please? Any reason why 104 works better for you?


----------



## Will_G (Jan 23, 2012)

The channel selection changes the frequency slightly. So although it's running on 5ghz it'll be running on a slightly different frequency. There are various reasons to change channel due to interference from other wifi signals or other home products. The likes of wireless home phones I believe run around the 2.4ghz and can cause issues with the normal wifi signals.

For some reason 104 works for me. I think that when I selected the channel it gives a warning about not connecting some devices properly but everything I've used has been fine.


----------



## m4rkymark (Aug 17, 2014)

I use channel 48 and never get any issues on it, on the forums other people seem to find channel 40 works really well for them. It depends not only what devices you have but also what devices your iPhone/iPad can see outside your home e.g. Your neighbours wifi.

Changing channels is all about trial and error and finding what works for you


----------

