BT home hub 5

talos · Dec 11, 2015, 10:33:12

Will the BT HH 5 work with IDnet as a provider ?
Or does anyone have any better suggestions ?

Steve · Dec 11, 2015, 11:31:46

I'm fairly sure the answer is no.

Other suggestions I'm guessing adsl from a previous post, although I can't give you any specific suggestion as I'm out of touch with adsl hardware but consider what your WiFi needs are ie do you need the faster AC spec like the HH5 or will N suffice.

There are vdsl/adsl modem routers these days similar to the HH5 but tend to be quite expensive and if you not going to get fibre in the foreseeable future probably a waste of money

The Netgear DGN1000 is N wireless and may suffice but as I said earlier. Performance wise I can't advise either way.

Glenn · Dec 11, 2015, 12:02:11

As far as I know the HH5 only works on BT and Plusnet connections.

You could consider a Fritz!Box 3490, covers both ADSL and VDSL in the one box. http://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-3490/

Steve · Dec 11, 2015, 12:08:38

I think you can use it as an AC WiFi access point which is useful but that's about it outside of the above.

talos · Dec 11, 2015, 13:07:46

The Fritz looks good but its a tad expensive, I have no special needs I only want to upgrade my connection, at the moment I use a rather ancient Belkin modem/wifi router which has sufficient spec for my needs, but after having Bt fit a new skt and associated wiring and me replacing the front with a Bt filter plate my actual speed has increased, but not by much, a new router is the only thing left to try.
The BT test site says a speed of 400mb is possible but I am lucky to get half that whilst my near neighbour with a BT hub gets the max 350-400mbit, seemed to me using the same spec/ type hub may do much the same for me, or am I being too simplistic.

talos · Dec 16, 2015, 09:41:03

An update
You can use the HH5 on any provider, I found some for sale on Amazon as factory refurb's £19.99 so I thought I might take a chance. Set up is a breeze and to tell the truth I don't think this "refurb" has been used by anybody before me, it came in its original box with all seals intact, so I am well happy

. Only time will tell if my speed now improves

Steve · Dec 16, 2015, 09:50:31

Certainly I couldn't find any clear evidence that it would work outside BT and Plusnet, however if it does that's good news, excellent price for an AC WiFi router.

Baz · Dec 16, 2015, 14:43:12

Quote from: talos on Dec 16, 2015, 09:41:03
An update
You can use the HH5 on any provider, I found some for sale on Amazon as factory refurb's £19.99 so I thought I might take a chance. Set up is a breeze and to tell the truth I don't think this "refurb" has been used by anybody before me, it came in its original box with all seals intact, so I am well happy . Only time will tell if my speed now improves

that is a surprise as I thought they could only be used on BT...to be honest ive had to return one hub since I joined and I think that was first on the list of ' faults ' that their support staff must have to say..... " its the hub we'll send a new one " haha...turns out my fault was a very bad corroded joint, so probably nothing wrong with the hub.Although there is 2 firmware versions that I had but cant remember the difference now sorry....

Tacitus · Dec 16, 2015, 18:38:23

Quote from: Steve on Dec 16, 2015, 09:50:31
Certainly I couldn't find any clear evidence that it would work outside BT and Plusnet, however if it does that's good news, excellent price for an AC WiFi router.

Aren't there two types of HH5 - the 5A and the 5B? Not sure of the difference, possibly one has wireless AC and the other doesn't, but it could be that one will work on any ISP and the other won't.

Baz · Dec 16, 2015, 20:05:09

yeah its something like that Tacitus but im not sure of the difference...also I have to say that they were very good in sending them out to me, next day and it turned up

Gary · Dec 16, 2015, 23:56:42

Quote from: Baz on Dec 16, 2015, 20:05:09
yeah its something like that Tacitus but im not sure of the difference...also I have to say that they were very good in sending them out to me, next day and it turned up

Home hub A is a Lantiq chipset (ECI) home hub B is Broadcom. Both are 802.11ac

talos · Dec 17, 2015, 06:41:22

The setup in the hub defaults to BT, but deep in the manual set up section is a menu to change your ISP,I just put in my IDnet username and password and the hub set itself up to Idnet's configuration,
couldn't be simpler.

Tacitus · Dec 17, 2015, 07:42:49

Quote from: Gary on Dec 16, 2015, 23:56:42
Home hub A is a Lantiq chipset (ECI) home hub B is Broadcom. Both are 802.11ac

How do you tell the difference? Is the model type A or B marked on the device itself? The reason I ask is they sometimes appear on Fleabay and it might be a cheap way to get 802.11ac.

Gary · Dec 17, 2015, 08:46:28

Quote from: Tacitus on Dec 17, 2015, 07:42:49
How do you tell the difference? Is the model type A or B marked on the device itself? The reason I ask is they sometimes appear on Fleabay and it might be a cheap way to get 802.11ac.

BT Home Hub 5 - Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.204.1.11 (Type A) or v0.07.03.814 (Type B) Not sure if its written on the unit, I imagine it is.

To be honest I still use a separate modem and Router, the HH5B is better but even the Netgear R7000 and Asus RT-AC68U both has so many more features, the Netgear R7000 (I use one) has better wifi coverage, as does the Asus. Both have Transmit power you can adjust and smart connect, airtime fairness etc plus namy more features and they can be used with BT TV. The R7000 is about £129 now new, the Asus about £139.

talos · Dec 17, 2015, 09:39:49

Mine is
BT Home Hub 4r (Type A) | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.130.1.13.1.19 details found in the setup menu

Gary · Dec 17, 2015, 09:49:03

Quote from: talos on Dec 17, 2015, 09:39:49
Mine is
BT Home Hub 4r (Type A) | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.130.1.13.1.19 details found in the setup menu

BT auto updates the firmware

Steve · Dec 17, 2015, 09:57:18

So it's not a HH5 but a HH4 , not that there's anything wrong with that except it's N wifi not AC but explains the price you paid as well.

Gary · Dec 17, 2015, 10:30:56

Quote from: talos on Dec 17, 2015, 09:39:49
Mine is
BT Home Hub 4r (Type A) | Software version 4.7.5.1.83.8.130.1.13.1.19 details found in the setup menu

Also the HH4 has no VDSL modem built in and only has one Gigabit port too. Its a HH3 in a new form pretty much.

Baz · Dec 17, 2015, 14:56:49

Quote from: Tacitus on Dec 17, 2015, 07:42:49
How do you tell the difference? Is the model type A or B marked on the device itself? The reason I ask is they sometimes appear on Fleabay and it might be a cheap way to get 802.11ac.

On the bottom of hub it says which type you have BT Home Hub5 - Type A thats what mine says and if they know their stuff the engineers who were dealing with my case said type A is the newest one

Steve · Dec 17, 2015, 17:55:42

As regards FTTC it doesn't matter which is the newer or older one, the type A is for ECI cabinets and type B for Huawei cabinets, adsl it doesn't really matter.

talos · Dec 18, 2015, 07:41:36

Quote from: Steve on Dec 17, 2015, 09:57:18
So it's not a HH5 but a HH4 , not that there's anything wrong with that except it's N wifi not AC but explains the price you paid as well.

AH! you spotted my deliberate mistake then

I've been researching the wrong hub. But still I'm happy with its performance, it has at least proved that my old hub may not have been the culprit for the poor performance and cheaply too, Argos are still selling this at a much inflated price. I don't really understand all these "chipset" discussions, chip's are what I have with fish

. I tend to go with the "If it works don't mess with it" school of technology. Perhaps I've lost my sense of adventure, but after many years of trying to debug (starting with the ZX81) I am now happy to leave alone

Gary · Dec 18, 2015, 08:04:17

Quote from: Baz on Dec 17, 2015, 14:56:49
On the bottom of hub it says which type you have BT Home Hub5 - Type A thats what mine says and if they know their stuff the engineers who were dealing with my case said type A is the newest one

Type B was the newest

They decided to use Broadcom after issues with Type A on some cabs to diversify.