Reply to: Good router (BTHH replacement)

[zazou]

Which model HH is it?

It's a HH4 we have. The 2.4 GHz has gone from nothing to working partly with me changing the settings (we live in a detached house and no new routers in the area).

The new BT Smart Hub might be an option, happy to pay a bit extra if it's more powerful / faster WiFi:
https://www.productsandservices.bt.c...ucts/smart-hub

[Fred Bloggs]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...e+hub+5&_sop=1

Just noticed one in WIltshire (not sure if it's near you) finishes in 6 hours no bids, 99p, because the seller has gone for "collect only"

Thanks so much for the link. Sadly, I'm 8 hours + on UK time so I missed this overnight, and collection from around 10,000km away might be an issue! Thanks again.

[d000hg]

"Proper" stuff is mean to do things like kick users off an AP to switch them to another - in reality, it's notoriously naff and only really a small improvement on multiple devices on one SSID. The real advantages are from a management perspective, with some niceties thrown in.

Don't get me wrong, an all out enterprise Wi-Fi solution is going to be better than what you have - but the options for home/SoHo are really only half a step better.

So you're saying Mesh is a bit of a gimmick and there is no good transparent/seamless way to have a "distributed SSID"?

Thanks for that. I think it is probably worth looking out for one as a spare then. The HH5 has been a good bit of kit to be honest. I've tried Draytek, Netgear, Belkin, Thomson etc.... The HH5 is a good as any IMO.

HH5 is pretty solid in my experience. I got a HH6 which had noticeably better range but they are notoriously unreliable. I had two fail and gave up. In fact I think I started a thread here and was recommended some replacements which had a fibre modem included, for about £100.

[WTFH]

Thanks for that. I think it is probably worth looking out for one as a spare then. The HH5 has been a good bit of kit to be honest. I've tried Draytek, Netgear, Belkin, Thomson etc.... The HH5 is a good as any IMO.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...e+hub+5&_sop=1

Just noticed one in WIltshire (not sure if it's near you) finishes in 6 hours no bids, 99p, because the seller has gone for "collect only"

[Fred Bloggs]

Yes, and the easiest thing to do is to buy them off eBay. Lots of chumps have been sold the line that BT hubs are useless, so they go out and buy another brand then sell their BT one BNIB on eBay. You'll get a replacement HH5 for < £15 and if you're lucky for as little as a fiver.

Thanks for that. I think it is probably worth looking out for one as a spare then. The HH5 has been a good bit of kit to be honest. I've tried Draytek, Netgear, Belkin, Thomson etc.... The HH5 is a good as any IMO.

[WTFH]

My BT HH5 is connected to a VDSL modem. Presumably I'd just buy another "cable" router if mine breaks?

Yes, and the easiest thing to do is to buy them off eBay. Lots of chumps have been sold the line that BT hubs are useless, so they go out and buy another brand then sell their BT one BNIB on eBay. You'll get a replacement HH5 for < £15 and if you're lucky for as little as a fiver.

[VectraMan]

My Draytek router seems to work and you don't have to plug into anything (apart from the BT faceplate and mains obviously).

If it's for (V)DSL just buy one that supports it and ditch the modem.

[Fred Bloggs]

My BT HH5 is connected to a VDSL modem. Presumably I'd just buy another "cable" router if mine breaks?

[vwdan]

I would be interested in Mesh WiFi but I haven't figured out if it's actually something special? I can say that simply putting my various WiFi repeaters on the same SSID/password is pretty useless... many devices simply don't jump to the strongest one as you move around. Does one need special kit for mesh - is it hardware or software, and is the idea it should be totally transparent to the client devices?
.

"Proper" stuff is mean to do things like kick users off an AP to switch them to another - in reality, it's notoriously naff and only really a small improvement on multiple devices on one SSID. The real advantages are from a management perspective, with some niceties thrown in.

Don't get me wrong, an all out enterprise Wi-Fi solution is going to be better than what you have - but the options for home/SoHo are really only half a step better.

[WTFH]

As it is for me, I give all my WiFi transmitters (4 so far) slightly different names and get used to the idea of manually switching SSID if I want to watch Netflix in the bathroom, etc. A minor annoyance.

Pretty much the same here - kitchen (Modem Plusnet, soon to be BTSH), lounge (BTHH4), office (BTHH5), attic (BTHH5).
In fact in the office I also have a BTHH3 with wifi turned off because I needed a couple of extra network points.

I have 2x BTHH3 and a Belkin Router that are going spare, if anyone needs one let me know, free to a good home if you pay the postage.

[sal]

By the looks of that kit, it still uses the BTHH as the "modem" though?

Yeah it doesn't have a DSL modem included, didn't realise that this is what went wrong with yours. In which case just contact BT (or your current BB provider) to send you a replacement. Not that many good 3rd party routers+DSL modems out there and using one might give you headache if there is an issue with your broadband and provider support is ignorant.

Yes, apart from being a website designed by/for marketing departments, it looks like it's just a variation of powerline networking.

...OK, I've only tried to view the website on an iPad, but there's no substance to it. Click on "Learn More" and you get 2 sentences surrounded by several scrolls of graphics.
And for that reason, I'm out.

Agree that the website is a bit over the top and not doing good job at explaining what the product actually is, but it has nothing to do with Powerline, Mesh is a variation of wifi extenders with the hassle of configuration removed here is some info on it:

Mesh Wi-Fi Networks: All you need to know ahead of the Google Wifi UK launch

[d000hg]

I don't think there's a problem using the BTHH as your modem - you presumably can turn off it's WiFi ability.

I would be interested in Mesh WiFi but I haven't figured out if it's actually something special? I can say that simply putting my various WiFi repeaters on the same SSID/password is pretty useless... many devices simply don't jump to the strongest one as you move around. Does one need special kit for mesh - is it hardware or software, and is the idea it should be totally transparent to the client devices?

As it is for me, I give all my WiFi transmitters (4 so far) slightly different names and get used to the idea of manually switching SSID if I want to watch Netflix in the bathroom, etc. A minor annoyance.

[WTFH]

By the looks of that kit, it still uses the BTHH as the "modem" though?

Yes, apart from being a website designed by/for marketing departments, it looks like it's just a variation of powerline networking.

...OK, I've only tried to view the website on an iPad, but there's no substance to it. Click on "Learn More" and you get 2 sentences surrounded by several scrolls of graphics.
And for that reason, I'm out.

[SimonMac]

https://amplifi.com/

The future of home WiFi is in Mesh, and this is the Ubiquity answer to that. Making their their enterprise class tech user friendly at soho prices.

By the looks of that kit, it still uses the BTHH as the "modem" though?

[sal]

https://amplifi.com/

The future of home WiFi is in Mesh, and this is the Ubiquity answer to that. Making their their enterprise class tech user friendly at soho prices.