Which is better - BT Smart Hub 2 or Plusnet Hub 1 ? For the man Baldrick1

[#1]

@Baldrick1  assuming my understanding is correct (I dont have a Smart Hub 2 to check), then yes , you do🙄

[#2]

@MisterW 

I have one and the option is not there.

[#3]

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@steve56 wrote:

When you login to the router via the web, in the settings there is an option to turn FTTP on, hence the question. Its interesting that you mention that the PN Hub 2 ( which I dint have ) doesn't seem to have a separate WAN port as there is one on my PN Hub 1 ( its Red ). Anyway I won't be using FTTP now I've got everything up and running 😉 with my BT Hub 2

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I haven’t said that there isn’t a WAN port. One of the LAN sockets has been repurposed as the WAN socket. The Plusnet Hub Two therefore has three LAN and one WAN port, the same as the FTTP versions of the original BT Smarthubs.

[#4]

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@MisterW wrote:

FTTP mode? I must admit that I don’t have a Smarthub 2 to check and I didn’t know it had such a control.

I believe that sets the SmartHub 2 ethernet port 4 as a WAN port (and maybe disables the DSL?). Its normal mode is for all 4 ethernet ports to be LAN ports, unlike the PN Hub2 which ALWAYS uses port 4 as a WAN port

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It toggles the fourth port between WAN/LAN and stores it to flash memory so it survives resets etc. It doesn't do anything to the DSL capability.

@Baldrick1 wrote:

@MisterW 

You have to ask why on earth this is not included in the Plusnet Hub 2.

There's a whole wealth of things to consider here e.g. customers regrading between technologies/refurbishment of devices/user error etc.

For the techncially minded it makes sense. For the majority, I'm not so sure.

@Baldrick1 admittedly a different scenario, but you'll have seen as many examples as I have of folk getting confused about the bridging functionality of the Hub Two. This is despite it doing exactly as one would expect it to.

The fact @steve56 is deliberating the FTTP toggle on his BT hub also speaks some volume

[#5]

@bobpullen 

Accepted that there’s a need to make these hubs as simple as possible for the non technical customer to use

However BT/Plusnet do seem to flip flop if you look back through the WAN port options from the 2704N, Hub One/BT HH5, Smarthub and Smarthub 2 approach.

[#6]

I've learned something today, FTTP is in someway the way to go, however the only Providers Virgin Media and Gigaclear offer FTTP products at present. It is super fast but we are a long way off before many other Providers start to offer FTTP, that includes BT, Sky, Talk Talk etc

Quote from web site:

'The government has outlined plans to roll out FTTP capability to 3 million homes by 2020, though this is unlikely to be fully established. One day, packages such as this will become the norm, but until then, many will have to make do with FTTC.'

Perhaps before I die I might just get FTTP.

Happy days people 😎

Steve

[#7]

@steve56 

Actually Virgin is a cable company offering a very fast digital link, it is not FTTP. 
Your list of FTTP providers is way out of date with many ISPs including BT, EE, TT  etc. With Plusnet joining in probably in the summer.
FTTP might be being rolled out a bit faster than you realise, see. https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/11/openreach-officially-name-the-next-170-uk-fttp-rollout....

Mind you my area doesn’t appear in their plans as of yet.

[#8]

I stand corrected, thanks for the link.

Think though we are some way off before most people ( Homes ) will have the option if they wish to use FTTP, I know I can't get it where I live at present.

[#9]

@steve56 two thirds of premises have access to gigabit services. If we're talking pure fibre it's closer to a third (still not that far off 'most' though) - https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/01/2021-h2-uk-coverage-of-gigabit-broadband-hits-65-3-per...

[#10]

@bobpullen 

Being a cynical old s#d when it comes to statistics my immediate conjecture is whether FTTP ‘availability’ includes FTTP On Demand. 

[#11]

@Baldrick1 - in terms of the figures I linked to, I don't think it does.

[#12]

Hi, I've just been sent a Plusnet Hub 2 and it doesn't seem to like my smart plugs as they need 2.4GHz. I note your moment about the Hub 2 not being able to separate the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Is there a work round for this problem?

[#13]

Hiya @ncc562, whilst you can't split the frequencies on the Hub Two, you are able to turn off the 5GHz. 

This is something I should be able to do for you remotely, so if you'd like me to do this just let me know

[#14]

Hi Lauren,
What about the devices I have that currently use 5GHz?

[#15]

You can temporarily disable the 5GHz radio, try and associate the smart plugs and if that works, re-enable the 5GHz radio and hope things remain connected.

If that doesn't work, there are different 'wireless modes' in teh Hub Two settings that you can try; some have reported success in similar scenarios when using mode 2 or 3.

There are other alternatives, typically involving the use of additional access points, however it's worth trying the above before going down that route.