Time to upgrade my BT Hub 4 Help. should i get a Asus RT-AX88U or ?

Meridiusuk · 30 Jan 2021 at 12:53

Hi all

I have been using an Openreach modem and hub 4 for a few years and noticed since i am now adding a lot more WI-FI devices and network devices it seems to struggle, not so much with speed more to do with reliability as the hub crashes here and there and takes about 30 min to even sort itself out.

Also, it does not seem to delegate devices very well as some devices like a iPad can take time to load web pages or just hangs for 2 to 5 sec longer than it should.

I do have a smart hub and smart hub 2 but never used them as you cannot split the frequencies and i don't think it would be better than a Openreach modem.

I was looking into a mesh system but they all seem to rely on apps and not browser based which i don't like. So i was looking at the Asus RT-AX88U as i can still use the bt Openreach modem.

what do you think of this router? am i been silly and just use the smart hub 2 or other.

I would like some help as years ago i used to use net gear stuff all the time but herd there no longer good and have a lot of problems.

thanks for any help

bremen1874 · 30 Jan 2021 at 15:24

At least try using the modern BT kit you've already got.

I wouldn't get hung up on wanting to keep using the old Openreach modem, you're likely gaining nothing.

Do you have a show-stopping reason why not being able to 'split the frequencies' is a problem?

Dropping £300 on an eyesore like that Asus should be a last resort. For that money, I'd be installing half-decent ceiling mount access points.

Avalon · 30 Jan 2021 at 15:24

Before you spend anything, at least try the SH2, things have come a long way since the 4. If you still feel you need to spend money, I wouldn’t generally buy ASUS networking products, they have a horrible history when it comes to networking, what specifically do you need your set-up to do that the existing hub’s aren’t doing? If it’s just better WiFi, then can you run a cable to the upstairs (assuming you have one) landing ceiling or similar and mount an AP?

Meridiusuk · 30 Jan 2021 at 16:04

I have a lot of 2.4ghz only devices and herd that because you cannot split the freq it can cause problems?

The reason i want to replace the hub 4 not because of slow wi-fi it's because the router keeps resetting now and again and can take about 30min to sync back up as I now have a lot of wi-fi devices connected to the hub as i have a lot of home automation and 2 phones and 2 tablets. The rest of my stuff like pc, Xbox, hi-fi, tv and Harmoney devices are all wired through a hard-wired network cable going to a 2 x 8-way switcher and the hub is plugged into the switcher.

prob got about 12 hard wired devices and 13 WIFI devices going to the hub 4 and I think it cannot cope with that many devices as back then not many people had that sort of devices logged into the router, some devices are not going all at the same time but they are all ip locked so they use the same ip all the time for other reasons so i am not to sure if the hub is not coping.

also read a lot of people hate the smart hubs because there not much better and people are going for separate modem and router over the smart hubs but not too sure, another thing is you cannot put the smart hubs into modem only which have some people not to happy because they want their own setup and cannot do that with the smart hub

what you think?

bremen1874 · 30 Jan 2021 at 16:15

I think that worrying about 2.4GHz devices having problems before they do have problems is pointless. Most people, most of the time, don't have any problems.

You can usually get around 2.4GHz issues by temporarily disabling 5GHz on the router when you're first adding the device.

A total of 25 devices isn't a number where you'd expect to be having issues even on an older router such as the hub 4.

Setup the best of the BT routers you have and see how it goes. Worry about problems if/when you have them.

Avalon · 30 Jan 2021 at 19:28

Meridiusuk said:
I have a lot of 2.4ghz only devices and herd that because you cannot split the freq it can cause problems?

The reason i want to replace the hub 4 not because of slow wi-fi it's because the router keeps resetting now and again and can take about 30min to sync back up as I now have a lot of wi-fi devices connected to the hub as i have a lot of home automation and 2 phones and 2 tablets. The rest of my stuff like pc, Xbox, hi-fi, tv and Harmoney devices are all wired through a hard-wired network cable going to a 2 x 8-way switcher and the hub is plugged into the switcher.

prob got about 12 hard wired devices and 13 WIFI devices going to the hub 4 and I think it cannot cope with that many devices as back then not many people had that sort of devices logged into the router, some devices are not going all at the same time but they are all ip locked so they use the same ip all the time for other reasons so i am not to sure if the hub is not coping.

also read a lot of people hate the smart hubs because there not much better and people are going for separate modem and router over the smart hubs but not too sure, another thing is you cannot put the smart hubs into modem only which have some people not to happy because they want their own setup and cannot do that with the smart hub

what you think?

I think you should stop worrying about hypothetical issues that by your own admission don’t really apply to you. You have a decent hardware option that will cost you nothing other than a few minutes of your time and you won’t even try it? The HH5/6 modem chipset is actually better than the one in your modem and the HH5/6 are way better than the 4.

Donnie Fisher · 30 Jan 2021 at 22:56

I just renewed my bt broadband deal through the online chat. As a long customer (halo customer I think they called it ) I’ve saved money, been given a new smart hub and it’s fixed all the WiFi issues I had been having with the older hub.

had to use the online chat thing to get it, not just selecting a new deal from the ones they offered on the main page.

Meridiusuk · 31 Jan 2021 at 08:41

been doing some reading and the smart hub 2 is just the same as the first smart hub as it has all the Same design apart from,

smart hub 2
1. use the black wifi discs
2. Use DECT
3. cannot separate frequency's

Smart hub 1
1. you can use the white discs instead of the black versions.
2. no DECT support
3. you can separate the frequency's

all other hardware is the same, link

Different types of BT Hub | BT Help

a quick question can i plug both routers in to setup the new one before i unplug it or is that not possible?

another reason and this is a big one i remember now why i did not use the smart hub2 it's because you cannot use the white bt discs to extend your wifi with a network cable, the white disc versions you can use a network cable to extend the wifi with a smart hub 1 but you cannot do this with the black versions.

the white discs do not work with the smart hub 2 just the first smart hub. The smart hub 2 can only use the black versions and these cannot use a network cable to extend their range which i need to do.

I also read this and find it strange as he had a router and 5 discs and replaced them with 2 ASUS versions and it was all better

"I'm a customer of BT and use BT Smart Hub 2 with 5 BT complete WiFi black discs in my house. I would like to change my BT Smart Hub 2 to a new router and then have further router throughout the house."

his later response

"Update, I purchased 2 x Asus RT-AC68U 1900 and setup AiMesh. It works a treat and I get much improved speeds where I have coverage.

Currently the primary AiMesh router is connected wired to my BT Smart Hub. Is there a way to connect it wirelessly? I could then move it away from the BT Smart Hub and give further coverage."

find it strange that 2 Asus touters where better than 1 router and 5 extending wifi discs.

thanks

Avalon · 31 Jan 2021 at 09:38

I’m confused, your op makes no mention of any discs and you’re quoting other people’s posts from other forums, do you want us to provide them with advice or you? As to plugging both routers in, it’s not possible to connect more than one modem to the line, but why is this even a question? Surely you can tolerate the 2 minutes of downtime to set up a router and change an SSID/password to match the old one? Disc wise (if you do have them), plug the first one in via cable, they will work with any ISP/router, what they won’t do is work in the same way as the black discs.

Meridiusuk · 1 Feb 2021 at 21:16

im just trying to figure out if using a smart hub 1 and wifi discs is better or Openreach modem and using a Asus router and mesh later is better. I don't want to mess around twice as i have a lot of devices and there all static IP in the router and i have to start from scratch to sort them all out and have port forwarding sorted.

I just posted what others were saying as i wanted to try and make the right decision. I am not familiar on the smart hub1 and did not know if it was good at gamming and delegating data as the hub 4 is terrible for it and also has problems running everything as it crashes or hangs a lot and i am not to sure if its because i have had the hub 4 for years and its getting old or if its to slow to handle everything.

Avalon · 1 Feb 2021 at 21:45

That makes very little sense, you've literally spent longer typing your reply, let alone reading replies that aren't relevant than it takes to set-up a new hub. Plug in, set-up and change an SSID.