BT Home Hub 4

[Simon]

These seem to be going for a song on Fleabay, presumably the locked versions.  Anyone know what they're like, and if they are easy to unlock?  I always liked my 2Wire BT Hub, and presumably these are just newer versions of that?  A friend has just bought a new unlocked one, and is very happy with it.

[Den]

I had a HH4 and a openreach box when I signed up for Infinity. When I had the option of purchasing a HH5 cheaply off BT I jumped at it as it does everything but all from one box.

[Simon]

Yeah, but I'm more interested in how to get it to work with an ISP other than BT.

[Lance]

Remember though that the 2wire was business orientated whereas the home hub, obviously, isn't. Whether that has any implications on build quality I wouldn't know.

[Simon]

Not really worried about build quality, as it's only got to sit on a desk or be hooked to a wall. 

[Baz]

Why are they going so cheap then and what is cheap to save me looking.So i'm guessing they locked to BT are they.

[Den]

As I am on fibre it may not apply for you Simon, but it seems to hold sinc over a very long line and every bit as good as my 2wire was if not better. 

They are going cheap because folk have upgraded when they have moved up to Infinity.

[Baz]

Ah ok   sorry I dont know much about them.So with infinity you get all new gear and they let you keep the old one .....and sell it on 

[Den]

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/networking/1305838/how-to-use-the-bt-home-hub-5-with-another-isp

[Simon]

I lost the one I was bidding on.  It went from £8.69 to £22 with about 3 seconds to go.  Bloody snipers!   

[Clive]

Computeractive rates it as the best router Simon. 

[Simon]

I'll keep my eye out for one. 

[Gary]

WiFi on them is not great in fact its quite poor, they only have one gigabit Ethernet the rest are 10/100 , the HH5 is an AC router but it has issues, and many people dumped them hence the 4 and 5 were cheap to pick up, they are limited on basic  features too, the HH5 is a ECI chipset the HH4 I think is a broadcom. The HH5 has a huge thread on the BT forums as it kept rebooting when using on its own without a separate modem VDSL modem. The HH4 does not get great reviews http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/wireless-routers/1301443/bt-home-hub-4

[Simon]

I've only got one device that uses Ethernet, which is the main PC, so that won't bother me.  Actually, I tell a lie, I also have my Bluray player connected, but I don't really think it matters if that's only 10/100.  Looking at that review, I certainly wouldn't pay £50 or £100 for one, but for less than £20, it's got to be worth a punt, just to see if the wifi is better than the 7800DXL, which is not as good as the 7800N.

[Gary]

I've only got one device that uses Ethernet, which is the main PC, so that won't bother me.  Actually, I tell a lie, I also have my Bluray player connected, but I don't really think it matters if that's only 10/100.  Looking at that review, I certainly wouldn't pay £50 or £100 for one, but for less than £20, it's got to be worth a punt, just to see if the wifi is better than the 7800DXL, which is not as good as the 7800N.

Routers with internal aerials are generally not as good, I get a weak signal from the HH4 sitting 4 feet away from it at my mothers, your mileage may vary. Also you will need to disable the remote access command for firmware updates in it as they occur in the backround. I would have gotten wifi extenders/Homeplugs or one of the Asus/Netgear new AC routers which have wifi that knocks your socks off and flogged the DXL, not a home hub, that's just me though. Cant you just put high gain aerials on the 7800DXL? 

[Simon]

The Asus routers are so ugly!  I hate all the antennas sticking up like that.  Probably silly, as I know performance counts first, but I have to look at the thing too.  I don't think I'd want another Netgear.  They seem to be troublesome, and you have to make sure you get the right firmware, etc...  Too much hassle for me these days. 

I already have a BT Wifi Extender which works well enough with the DXL.  It's only because a friend got a HH4 that I've been looking at them.  Guess I should really be saving my money for the new iPhone. 

[Simon]

By the way, I believe the HH4r is factory unlocked, and can work with any ISP, so the background updates shouldn't be an issue with that one, should they?  I hope not, because the friend is with IDNet and they managed to set theirs up relatively hassle free.

[Gary]

The Asus routers are so ugly!  I hate all the antennas sticking up like that.  Probably silly, as I know performance counts first, but I have to look at the thing too.  I don't think I'd want another Netgear.  They seem to be troublesome, and you have to make sure you get the right firmware, etc...  Too much hassle for me these days. 

I already have a BT Wifi Extender which works well enough with the DXL.  It's only because a friend got a HH4 that I've been looking at them.  Guess I should really be saving my money for the new iPhone. 

My R63300v2 has been trouble free and has a huge wifi coverage as its has wifi signal amplifiers in it, most new Routers now have external aerials and it gives much better performance, its lot like you stare it 24/7 well hopefully not

I thought the HH4 are all locked to BT and you would need to unlock it like the BT Business Hub, also it has BT Fon which needs disabling, and the BT background service looks for new firmware etc automatically. I thought they were all locked and had to be unlocked.


I'm not getting the new iPhone this year, its a new shape new screen size and looks like it will have the same ram as my 5s I'll stick to the two year S cycle or whatever they will call it from now on as those models tend to have the glitches taken out of them that the previous model had put in. That's if I do update, tbh my phone does all I want it to anyway. I have given up on the upgrade everything because its new cycle, it generally either brings issues or disappointments as new is not always better and Apple has gone down in its build quality and OS stability in my view over the years. The best phone they made was the iPhone 4s 

[Den]

I live in quite a large house so I added Devolo power extenders and find no problems. The range on the 4 and 5 was better than the 2wire but my needs changed when I bought smart TVs so the extenders made sense.

[Gary]

I live in quite a large house so I added Devolo power extenders and find no problems. The range on the 4 and 5 was better than the 2wire but my needs changed when I bought smart TVs so the extenders made sense.

The 4 and 5 have been given bad reviews for range, and from seeing my mothers if hers is typical its not that great, I guess a lot depends on where you live and what's around you and what your walls are made of.

[MisterW]

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/networking/1305838/how-to-use-the-bt-home-hub-5-with-another-isp

That article's a bit misleading, it's not really configuring it for use with another ISP, it's just how to use it as a wireless AP with an existing router.

[Gary]

any router thats thin enough to go though a letterbox and hit the floor I find worrying, they also get damn hot too. 

[Lance]

Not really worried about build quality, as it's only got to sit on a desk or be hooked to a wall. 

Sorry, I was thinking about the quality of the internal components and circuitry rather than external casing.

My in-laws use a HH5 without any issues on their BT line.

[Simon]

Your concerns and Gary's point about it getting hot perhaps correlate, Lance. 

[Den]

Simon, I have a HH4 and openreach box going spare as BT let me upgrade to HH5 for about £30. Make me an offer.