Okay+
There’s a lot going on with this system and with this app so there’s a lot to go wrong. Discs are communicating with each other to find the best connection and communicate with your devices effectively as they move around your home. Have 4 WiFi discs. Unfortunately, despite the latest firmware, for no obvious reason, my system seems to stop working every 6 weeks or so. Using the white discs here so turn the one with the network cable off, wait a few seconds and then back on and everything jumps back into life again. You do need patience to use this system but having searched, I’ve no seen a better alternative. It’s good to stick with this App and the white discs (as opposed to the black discs) so you can step away from BT if they become too expensive, and they’ll still work with a different service provider.
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Great, but...BT developers please note!
Resolved our wifi stability issues and it has the great facility to control individual or groups of devices. So I can turn the wifi off for my kids at bedtime :) HOWEVER, it didn’t take long for my youngster to download the app from the app family share and to change the times for her!!!!
Why oh why have an app enabling parents control of their kids’ connectivity but not have a passcode/face ID protection? Basic stuff I’d have thought. Please please add this to the next release. Also a nice to have would be an ‘allow wifi access’ for a period of time, useful if a schedule had kicked in turn access off for a group but you want to grant a brief time of access. Currently one needs to turn off the schedule but then needs to remember to turn it back on later!!! Adding these things would make it a ten star product!
Why oh why have an app enabling parents control of their kids’ connectivity but not have a passcode/face ID protection? Basic stuff I’d have thought. Please please add this to the next release. Also a nice to have would be an ‘allow wifi access’ for a period of time, useful if a schedule had kicked in turn access off for a group but you want to grant a brief time of access. Currently one needs to turn off the schedule but then needs to remember to turn it back on later!!! Adding these things would make it a ten star product!
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App no longer connects to disc after recent update
When I first got my disc, I could connect to them via the app using a non disc Wi-Fi on the same network. Then you took that functionality away to only work when connected to a BT disc and today I cannot connect via the app when connected to the BT disc Wi-Fi. Way to go BT, fix one thing and break several others. Can’t wait for the next update, maybe my disc will vanish. At least the disc website works. Seriously though BT, get your act together. These cost a lot of money and with every firmware (and now app ) release seems to add more issues. Every few days I have to restart the BT discs manually ( please add a schedule in to be able to restart at a set time) as when using voip on my phone it works fine until my phone migrates to another disc and then stutters ( not noticeable when using anything else) but a whole home restart solves that issue. Sonos has a similar issue, works fine if discs restarted but over time sonos becomes unresponsive. Please fix you app and firmware instead of breaking it.
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3hrs to set up :(, brilliant when finished :)
Setting up took my just over 3 hours.
The instructions are simple when (!!!) you know what your doing, but if you make one mistake the software can’t handle it. I only solved it by switching it all off and starting again, which when I then knew what I was trying to achieve (ie do initial connection all within 1 meter of each other) was fine and took 15 mins. If they’d explained the high level process in the quick start leaflet, it would have been much easier.
But then getting them to map around the house took ages and many attempts too. They just wanted to stay linked to the base station, but with a long thin house, I needed them to daisy chain wirelessly in a line, so the furthest discs kept saying “weak signal”. After some experimenting and learning where to strategically stand to trick them into a daisy chain, they all have perfect signal strength. They let you see the mesh map in the app, but it’s not manually configurable, which would have made this quicker. Or why there isn’t just a “re-map mesh for best signal strength” button in the app and the software tries all map combos till it finds the best one, I don’t know.
BIG PLUS !! (If you can get through the pain of set-up) I now have full WiFi strength in every room in the house and down to the bottom of the garden, and it’s seamless as you move around, (which is irritating with non-mesh systems needing to re-connect to the same Wi-Fi name)
The instructions are simple when (!!!) you know what your doing, but if you make one mistake the software can’t handle it. I only solved it by switching it all off and starting again, which when I then knew what I was trying to achieve (ie do initial connection all within 1 meter of each other) was fine and took 15 mins. If they’d explained the high level process in the quick start leaflet, it would have been much easier.
But then getting them to map around the house took ages and many attempts too. They just wanted to stay linked to the base station, but with a long thin house, I needed them to daisy chain wirelessly in a line, so the furthest discs kept saying “weak signal”. After some experimenting and learning where to strategically stand to trick them into a daisy chain, they all have perfect signal strength. They let you see the mesh map in the app, but it’s not manually configurable, which would have made this quicker. Or why there isn’t just a “re-map mesh for best signal strength” button in the app and the software tries all map combos till it finds the best one, I don’t know.
BIG PLUS !! (If you can get through the pain of set-up) I now have full WiFi strength in every room in the house and down to the bottom of the garden, and it’s seamless as you move around, (which is irritating with non-mesh systems needing to re-connect to the same Wi-Fi name)
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Home Hub is brilliant but the app keeps hanging.
Installation using the app was excruciatingly painful only realising after two people spent two hours that the app stops functioning providing incorrect information when the hubs themselves were working fine. For the app to work, you need to keep force closing it then opening back up again. It’ll get to a point it will hang again especially if your screen times out.
Easier installation process: Use the app to set up first disc. (Yes, you can get this far). Then, to connect other discs, ignore the app. In close proximity, on the second disc, turn on and wait for continuous blue light. Press the WPS button on the back. Green light on both discs should start flashing. When blue light constant on both, you’re then connected. Repeat for the third disc. Turn off discs two and three. Reposition in your house and turn back on and wait for solid blue light. Well, that’s the gist of it.
The app’s connectivity has let this product down - hence the three stars - and, because of that, I would imagine many people would have sent the product back thinking it doesn’t work just as we very nearly did. Persevere as, once up and running, the Home Hub is excellent (5 stars).
Easier installation process: Use the app to set up first disc. (Yes, you can get this far). Then, to connect other discs, ignore the app. In close proximity, on the second disc, turn on and wait for continuous blue light. Press the WPS button on the back. Green light on both discs should start flashing. When blue light constant on both, you’re then connected. Repeat for the third disc. Turn off discs two and three. Reposition in your house and turn back on and wait for solid blue light. Well, that’s the gist of it.
The app’s connectivity has let this product down - hence the three stars - and, because of that, I would imagine many people would have sent the product back thinking it doesn’t work just as we very nearly did. Persevere as, once up and running, the Home Hub is excellent (5 stars).
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Response from developer
Hi, thanks for your review and feedback and good to hear that once up and running the app is excellent. cheers John BT UK Team
Great product poor app
So I got the three disc option and seems to work very well. The problem is getting them to work using the App. Installing the first disc using the provided Ethernet cable is fine. Trying to install the other two is hopeless. The connection test constantly tells you no connection move closer until I was stood in front of the first disk and it still telling me to move closer. So you think you may have done something wrong but it’s impossible to go back to the start of the process without deleting and reinstalling the app only to go through the whole process again.
In the end after installing the first disk I just plugged and turned on the other two and low they connected without the need of the app. They work fine and moving from room to room is seamless. So why is the lousy app needed to complicate matters?
I’m now trying to update the firmware via the app and guess what yup it’s been downloading for over an hour. I guess that doesn’t work either.
Please BT give your app dev team a talking too I’ve already given up with your cloud storage no, don’t get me started on BT Cloud. Really I think the typing pool could do better.
In the end after installing the first disk I just plugged and turned on the other two and low they connected without the need of the app. They work fine and moving from room to room is seamless. So why is the lousy app needed to complicate matters?
I’m now trying to update the firmware via the app and guess what yup it’s been downloading for over an hour. I guess that doesn’t work either.
Please BT give your app dev team a talking too I’ve already given up with your cloud storage no, don’t get me started on BT Cloud. Really I think the typing pool could do better.
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Response from developer
Hi, sorry that you’re having problems with the WHW set up. Please contact the helpdesk on 0808 100 6116 or email btconnectedhome@bt.com so that we understand your issue and help fix it. Thanks John BT UK Team
Very pleased
So after experiencing long term performance issues in the property, down as low as 4mb even though the outside performance was consistently running at 270mb we decided to purchase the BT discs. The setup is incredibly simple, although I would comment the messages in the app could be misleading to a less knowledgeable person. So after completing the setup for all discs and leaving one connected to the BT router and switching off the Wi-fi on the router, I located one on each floor of a three floor property. Coverage all over the property is now much improved. However...I would add that once all devices were moved across to the BT discs they did struggle a little. But then again they were trying to manage 40 plus connections. I decided to switch the WiFI access on again at the router and spread devices across both access points. I am now consistently seeing very high performance all round the property and outside in the front and rear garden. Very pleased indeed.
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Response from developer
Many thanks for leaving us the comprehensive feedback. I appreciate the time that you've taken and I am really pleased to see that you're Wi-fi performance is looking much better now :) Cheers, Robbie - BT UK Team
By whole home
Just recently moved over to bt whole home mesh WiFi and wow what a difference, my setup in my 3/4 bed semi detached house has always been tricky covering every corner of the house, especially with all the smart home devices I have.
I was previously using 3 routers, 2 in the house and 1 in the garage to cover my many devices which include ring cameras which rely on a good solid Wi-Fi network.
I bought the 3 disc whole home which covered the house perfectly with a solid 210 mbps speed anywhere in the house, the only slight problem I had was one of the ring spotlight cams about 30 feet from the nearest disc wasn’t quite enough, so I just bought another disc installed that in the garage which gave me the perfect WiFi signal for that camera and covers the back garden during the summer while we sit outside. It’s still early days as I’ve only had this up and running about a week now but really can’t fault it.
I was previously using 3 routers, 2 in the house and 1 in the garage to cover my many devices which include ring cameras which rely on a good solid Wi-Fi network.
I bought the 3 disc whole home which covered the house perfectly with a solid 210 mbps speed anywhere in the house, the only slight problem I had was one of the ring spotlight cams about 30 feet from the nearest disc wasn’t quite enough, so I just bought another disc installed that in the garage which gave me the perfect WiFi signal for that camera and covers the back garden during the summer while we sit outside. It’s still early days as I’ve only had this up and running about a week now but really can’t fault it.
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Response from developer
Hi, thanks for your feedback and good to hear how it has helped you connect throughout your house. John BT
Works like a dream
I purchased the 3 disc pack to replace all my tp link powerline and range extenders, mainly because they wouldn’t mesh properly while I walked around the house so would end up having to disconnect and reconnect often.
So initial setup was easy enough, download the app then plug one disc into router and go from there, I hit an initial snag that the app wanted to download a firmware update before I had set the disc up, I just left the app running while it did its stuff and within 5 mins the firmware of the discs had updated, it then asks to setup next disc which I did in bedroom, perfect signal then onto kitchen again perfect signal, I renamed the ssid to what I was using before on tp links and the password, and all my devices continued as if nothing had changed!
The best part is watching on the app as I move around the house I can physically see my phone iPad etc switching between the discs, going to buy an additional one for the lounge and that will get rid of my last tp link, excellent bit of kit
So initial setup was easy enough, download the app then plug one disc into router and go from there, I hit an initial snag that the app wanted to download a firmware update before I had set the disc up, I just left the app running while it did its stuff and within 5 mins the firmware of the discs had updated, it then asks to setup next disc which I did in bedroom, perfect signal then onto kitchen again perfect signal, I renamed the ssid to what I was using before on tp links and the password, and all my devices continued as if nothing had changed!
The best part is watching on the app as I move around the house I can physically see my phone iPad etc switching between the discs, going to buy an additional one for the lounge and that will get rid of my last tp link, excellent bit of kit
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Excellent purchase!
After a year of struggling with a NetGear EX8000 extender, three (white) BT discs mean I can now enjoy at least 50mbps (download) WiFi across my five bedroom three storey home and even within my office in my (detached) converted garage. I was lucky to get 8 Mbps before at this location, but to be fair I didn’t have a third access point (disc); merely the NetGear extender sited in my conservatory. I guess a further NetGear extender might have worked, but it was as expensive as trying three BT discs.
My lounge (e.g hub location) disc and conservatory disc are 30 feet apart with merely a glazed (patio door) obstruction and report -58 (“excellent”) and work great across all internal rooms. My external (garage) office reports -64 (“good”) despite the signal having to travel 25 feet first through glazing, then across an open yard and then through a brick/stud wall.
What is evident is that if battling through brick walls then the discs need to be a little closer together. I would suggest a 30 feet limit for internal walls/floors and a 20 feet limit for Brick/external is an approximation. But much depends on construction/insulation (which might even be reflective aluminium foil inside external walls).
My lounge (e.g hub location) disc and conservatory disc are 30 feet apart with merely a glazed (patio door) obstruction and report -58 (“excellent”) and work great across all internal rooms. My external (garage) office reports -64 (“good”) despite the signal having to travel 25 feet first through glazing, then across an open yard and then through a brick/stud wall.
What is evident is that if battling through brick walls then the discs need to be a little closer together. I would suggest a 30 feet limit for internal walls/floors and a 20 feet limit for Brick/external is an approximation. But much depends on construction/insulation (which might even be reflective aluminium foil inside external walls).
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