topic Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings in Broadband & Landline

Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

DigiVIV — Fri, 22 May 2026 19:26:35 GMT

The Smart Hub 7 Plus is annoying in various ways, but the most annoying seems to be that it doesn't do what I tell it!

I have turned off the 2.4Ghz band for the "Main" wifi and also turned off the 5Ghz band for the "Compatible" wifi (so that there are separate SSIDs for the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands).

But whenever the hub restarts it reactivates 2.4Ghz for the "Main" wifi.

It keeps the 5Ghz off for the "Compatible" wifi, so clearly is half listening to me!

Am I missing something, or is this just a bug that needs fixing? (And if the latter, could EE fix it please, pronto?!...)

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

JimM11 — Fri, 22 May 2026 20:46:07 GMT

@DigiVIV Why are you trying to do that to the main wifi, the mlo needs them both on for the operation, the unit is NOT separate SSID capable so that may just be the reason it turns it's self back on, what channels are the 2.4Ghz bands using if you know or can check. The unit also has hidden ssid and ee wifi operating in the same band ranges also.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

DigiVIV — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:07:55 GMT

Well, you've hit upon another annoyance there, because it's not possible choose channels! 🤷‍♂️

But either way, the reason why I want a setting isn't at issue: only that the setting, although available, doesn't set!! 🤦‍♂️

(Which is worse than it not being an option.)

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

bobpullen — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:18:38 GMT

@DigiVIV - odd behaviour indeed and sounds like a bug. Is it critical that the devices connected to the main SSID do not use 2.4GHz?

It should be possible to fix the 2.4GHz channel. What problems are you having in that regard?

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

JimM11 — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:24:10 GMT

@bobpullen If you get a chance take a look at the link from posting, Re: Wifi issues - Page 3 - The EE Community

Did not get the full picture off all the channels and associated macs, did ask and a lot going on with the Plus/Smart wireless ssid/channels.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

bobpullen — Fri, 22 May 2026 21:34:16 GMT

@JimM11 - just taken a look but can't see the relevance. The signal strengths etc. look fine in that thread.

For @DigiVIV's problem, it should be pretty easy to replicate. I'll just need to find a gap where I'm not going to annoy the rest of my household with my fiddling 😂

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

DigiVIV — Fri, 22 May 2026 22:08:03 GMT

Hi @bobpullen ! Thanks for taking an interest. I mean, it's home broadband, so even with WFH I'd hesitate to describe it as critical 😉 I have a Ubiquiti AP I can use to work around the problem if necessary, I suppose. But yes, the main reason for wanting the control is an older Mac. And one way or another I need to achieve my aim of keeping it on 5Ghz. There's no way to force it to connect to 5Ghz without a separate SSID. It tends to slip back to 2.4Ghz having initially connected at 5Ghz otherwise, despite getting a perfectly good signal. It was a particular problem with the PlusNet Hub 2 (have recently transferred to EE). I suspect in that case that the hub itself was especially sensitive to signal thresholds and booted devices off the 5Ghz band too readily.

You are right that the 2.4Ghz channel can be fixed on the Smart Hub 7 Plus, but it seems weird that that's the only one that can be, and it doesn't really help me!

Hopefully you can replicate the issue when convenient. I don't really have any other problems except that the OFF setting doesn't stick on restart. Everything works fine until restart...

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

bobpullen — Fri, 22 May 2026 22:17:03 GMT

@DigiVIV - not being able to fix a 5GHz channel kind of makes sense. The newer EE hubs use higher power DFS channels in the 5GHz spectrum and they are regulated. What this means is that your router will be forced away from the higher channels if it detects something like weather or air/radar traffic in the vicinity. You have no control over this so the concept of fixing a channel that your router might decide not to use regardless could well lead to confusion.

The Mac will almost certainly be making decisions itself as I'm fairly confident that the Plusnet hub doesn't do any proactive 'steering' itself.

I'll do my best to see if I can replicate things when I next get the chance. If it is a bug then the more noise the better 😉

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

DigiVIV — Sat, 23 May 2026 08:23:26 GMT

@bobpullen Yes, clearly what I mean is: this bug is a threat to national infrastructure and a potential risk to life. It must be rectified as a matter of urgency, otherwise EE could be liable. Seriously, though, it is a real problem because the hub can end up being turned off / restarted in an unplanned way for a number of reasons, including power cut, (it has been when the firmware was updated and the backup battery installed: hence discovery of bug) and if I'm not here to fix it, or don't realise or forget, then the setup I have chosen to put in place for good reasons stops working correctly. You have to be able to rely on available configurations being maintained.

What you're saying about DFS makes perfect sense; but in the same spirit of certainty and reliability, given my particular location and purposes, I would opt not to use those channels if the Smart Hub 7 Plus offered the choice. (Maybe it does in the "Compatible" wifi, but then I wouldn't get the two separate SSIDs.)

Anyway, I'm pretty sure this is a bug and would be most grateful for anything you can do to get it squashed in a firmware update 🙂🙏

I have to use the EE hub because of Digital Voice, but other minor annoyances I've been able to work around (eg. there's something going on with the DHCP and/or DNS services that that Mac also doesn't like so it loses internet connectivity occasionally unless TCP/IP is configured manually, Android devices tend to disconnect unless Transition mode is used for authentication, a Roku box on the 2.4Ghz network isn't happy unless IPv6 is off...) and everything is basically hunky dory... provided the router isn't restarted! 💣

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

DigiVIV — Wed, 27 May 2026 21:11:38 GMT

I must say, the obligatory DFS and "smart" channel selection are proving to be very irritating, so if there is any possibility of controls being provided to disable those features in a future update, that would also be most welcome. All they deliver for us is regular periods of lost connectivity. I may have to switch off the EE wifi altogether and use Ubiquiti instead.

The extra SSIDs that @JimM11 flagged are equally unwelcome. I also get the point about MLO; but do not need to use it.

All in all, the Smart Hub 7 Plus is perhaps trying to be a bit too "smart" -- and making a pain of itself in the process!

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

JimM11 — Wed, 27 May 2026 21:41:25 GMT

@DigiVIV That is the case, you cannot channel fix the EE Plus 7 smart hub down or up, nor wither it's going to be 80/160Mhz, that's the nature of the hub, Pro may be better with 6Ghz free and clear of DFS, but that has it's own issue. You may want to drop back to wifi 5 and get a AP close to your mac, that will help the 5Ghz probably be more stable. Are you close to an airport or radar station, glasgow airport / prestwick airport both 20 miles either way, and no issues with DFS, but do have my Asus set for channel's selected, 36 (42) on 80Mhz, and 100 (114) on 160Mhz, no issues at all for the two separate 5Ghz bands. 2.4Ghz currently all sitting on CH11... My old Asus wifi 4 but with 5Ghz support hated the EE Smarthub 6 Plus, and flipped between the 2.4/5Ghz also, AP close to it fixed that out and it stuck hard 5Ghz all the time, even on combined or separate ssid's just like you are trying to do!

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

DigiVIV — Wed, 27 May 2026 22:18:41 GMT

Thanks @JimM11 If only EE would provide a little more control over the wifi settings (as well as ensuring that available settings are retained!) that would solve a lot of problems. But otherwise, yes, looks like alternative APs, proffering older standards may be required. Am quite near an airport and approach path.

Just really annoying, because better firmware / UX would save so much hassle. There's no technical reason why the Smart Hub 7 Plus can't be a perfectly good wifi router for the whole range of technologies actually in use today.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Plus does not retain wifi settings

JimM11 — Wed, 27 May 2026 22:35:02 GMT

@DigiVIV You may just have to hold off until @bobpullen get's a little time to play and see what is going on with the Plus for you with it not holding the channels and switching back on with the Main wifi one, 2.4Ghz/5Ghz that is a feature on/off power to channel test and jump away from nearby signals with neighbours etc. Approach path for me is directly overhead both in/out but does not seem to affect the Asus in the slightest.