topic Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue? in Broadband & Landline

Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

Mellman — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 11:48:13 GMT

Hi all,

I am starting a separate thread for this because although the problem originally came to light while troubleshooting repeated YVM102/connectivity problems with our EE TV boxes, the testing we have done since then appears to have uncovered a wider Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz issue.

We are on EE Full Fibre using an Openreach ONT and a Smart Hub 7 Pro. We also have an EE TV main box downstairs, an EE TV Mini upstairs and an EE WiFi extender.

The original symptoms were intermittent connectivity problems with the TV boxes and other devices. Eventually I noticed that our gaming laptop could still see the normal EE WiFi network but would sometimes be unable to connect to it over 5 GHz. If I changed the wireless adapter back to dual band it would immediately connect using 2.4 GHz.

After extensive troubleshooting with EE, including a factory reset of the original Smart Hub, Executive Complaints arranged for a replacement Smart Hub 7 Pro to be sent.

I deliberately installed the replacement in a very controlled way. The EE extender was left completely powered off and initially nothing else was connected to the replacement apart from the Openreach ONT. I connected my desktop directly to the new hub over WiFi.

The desktop uses an Intel WiFi 6E AX210 adapter. On initial setup it connected normally to 5 GHz with a strong signal and no packet loss. At one stage the replacement hub was using channel 36 and everything was working as expected. The gaming laptop, which uses a separate Intel AX200 adapter, also worked normally.

The replacement hub then remained apparently fine for around four days.

Unfortunately the same problem returned.

The gaming laptop lost its 5 GHz connection again. When its adapter was restricted to 5 GHz only, it could see the EE SSID but Windows reported "Unable to connect to this network". Returning the adapter to dual band allowed it to connect immediately over 2.4 GHz.

I then repeated the same test independently on the desktop. When I restricted the AX210 to 5 GHz only, it also could not connect.

At this point the EE WiFi extender was still completely powered off, so the extender or mesh roaming can be excluded from these tests.

Hub Manager showed the main 5 GHz radio as enabled and Smart Channel had selected channel 100.

I ran:

netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

on the desktop. Initially the only BSSID being shown for our EE network was the 2.4 GHz BSSID. The Smart Hub's 5 GHz BSSID had disappeared completely from the scan even though Hub Manager continued to report 5 GHz as enabled on channel 100.

I then used the 5 GHz Smart Channel Rescan option in Hub Manager. It remained on channel 100 and did not resolve the problem.

Next I switched only the Smart Hub's 5 GHz radio off, saved the setting, waited around 30 seconds, switched it back on and saved again.

After doing that, the 5 GHz BSSID became visible again on channel 100 with a strong signal of around 80 percent.

However, neither the desktop nor the gaming laptop could actually connect to it.

This was particularly useful because it showed that simply making the 5 GHz radio broadcast again did not restore the ability of clients to associate/authenticate successfully.

I generated a Windows WLAN report on the desktop while the fault was live.

One failed connection attempt is particularly interesting. Windows recorded that wireless association with the Smart Hub's 5 GHz BSSID succeeded. WPA3-Personal security then started, but approximately five seconds later the security stage failed.

The reported reason was:

"Dynamic key exchange did not succeed within configured time"

Windows also logged:

"PSK mismatch suspected"

The WiFi password was definitely correct. The same SSID/profile/password continued to work on 2.4 GHz and had previously worked normally on 5 GHz on the same replacement hub.

The WLAN report also confirms that the Intel AX210 supports WPA3, SAE and H2E, so this is not simply an adapter which lacks WPA3 support.

As a further test, I enabled the Smart Hub's Compatible WiFi network on 5 GHz. This uses WPA2-Personal rather than WPA3.

Hub Manager showed Compatible WiFi 5 GHz as enabled on channel 100.

However, when I restricted the AX210 to 5 GHz only, the Compatible WiFi SSID disappeared from the available network list completely. The normal EE 5 GHz SSID remained visible but could not be joined.

That makes me less convinced that this is simply a WPA3 problem. It seems possible that the failed WPA3 key exchange is one symptom of a wider 5 GHz radio, virtual AP, Smart Channel or firmware state problem.

At this stage I performed a normal restart of the Smart Hub through Hub Manager. This was not a factory reset.

After the restart, Smart Channel selected channel 149 rather than channel 100.

The result was immediate.

The desktop automatically connected successfully to 5 GHz again on channel 149 using WPA3-Personal.

The gaming laptop also immediately regained proper 5 GHz connectivity. Windows shows it connected on channel 149 using WiFi 6/WPA3, with a current link speed of around 721 Mbps receive and 360 Mbps transmit.

The upstairs EE TV Mini box, which had also started having connectivity/interface problems again at approximately the same time as the 5 GHz problem returned, also began working normally again after the Smart Hub restart.

I am not claiming that this proves channel 100 itself is the cause because the restart changed two things at once. It reset the hub's internal state and also caused Smart Channel to move from channel 100 to channel 149.

However, the observed sequence on the replacement hub so far is:

5 GHz working normally while the hub was using channel 36.

5 GHz subsequently failing while Smart Channel was using channel 100.

Two completely independent computers unable to use 5 GHz.

EE extender completely excluded from the setup.

Smart Channel Rescan did not resolve the problem.

Cycling only the 5 GHz radio caused the BSSID to become visible again but did not restore client connectivity.

Windows WLAN diagnostics recorded a WPA3 dynamic key exchange timeout against the Smart Hub's 5 GHz BSSID.

The WPA2 Compatible WiFi test also failed to provide a usable 5 GHz alternative.

A full Smart Hub restart then moved 5 GHz to channel 149 and restored normal 5 GHz operation on both computers.

The EE TV Mini also returned to normal operation following the same restart.

What makes this especially concerning is that this is now the second Smart Hub 7 Pro on which we have experienced very similar 5 GHz association failures.

The replacement hub is running firmware:

r4.29.1-R-1930437-PROD-1

The previous Smart Hub was also running this firmware when we reproduced the earlier 5 GHz failure.

The desktop and gaming laptop use different adapters, Intel AX210 and AX200 respectively, and both are now behaving normally again following the hub restart. That makes a fault with one particular client considerably less likely.

The lack of manual 5 GHz channel selection on the Smart Hub also makes this very difficult to isolate further. Ideally I would like to be able to lock the hub to a known working non-DFS channel such as 36, 40, 44 or 48 for several days and see whether the fault ever returns, but as far as I can tell the Smart Hub 7 Pro does not allow this.

For now I am leaving the hub exactly as it is on channel 149 and monitoring it.

If the fault returns, I intend to capture the selected channel, BSSIDs, client behaviour and WLAN diagnostics again before restarting or changing anything.

I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has seen similar behaviour with the Smart Hub 7 Pro, particularly a situation where 5 GHz remains visible but clients suddenly cannot associate/authenticate until the hub is restarted.

I would also be grateful if someone from EE could advise whether these findings can be passed to the team responsible for Smart Hub 7 Pro wireless/firmware development. Having now reproduced similar behaviour on two separate hubs, with multiple independent clients and the extender excluded, I do not think another factory reset or replacement hub alone adequately explains what is happening.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:02:55 GMT

@Mellman Going to take a bit off reading but the below 5Ghz was alleged to be fixed that FW version....

Firmware version: r4.29.1

Deployment date: From June 2026

Hub Type: SH40J

Release notes:

Fix - Connectivity Backup not working over WiFi
Fix - 5GHz WiFi sometimes stops working after firmware update

Do you happen to have a wifi analyzer on a mobile device to confirm what is being seen actually signal wise, cannot tell that from your long post?

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:01:04 GMT

@Mellman

If you can also include your captures will allow looking at with a bit more depth, although i do band separate the Triband Hub and can fix the channel were ever i want/need it to be also have zero neighbouring issues. Also running 160Mhz double width channel that netsh cannot display. So Channel 100 (114).

C:\Windows\System32>netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

Interface name : WiFi
There are 1 networks currently visible.

SSID 1 : SKY6xxxxxx
Network type : Infrastructure
Authentication : WPA2-Personal
Encryption : CCMP
BSSID 1 : a0:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Signal : 97%
Radio type : 802.11ax
Band : 5 GHz
Channel : 100
Bss Load:
Connected Stations: 2
Channel Utilization: 66 (25 %)
Medium Available Capacity: 0 (0 us/s)
QoS MSCS Supported : 0
QoS Map Supported : 0
Basic rates (Mbps) : 6 12 24
Other rates (Mbps) : 9 18 36 48 54

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

Mellman — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:08:42 GMT

Thanks Jim, that's really useful, particularly the r4.29.1 release note. I hadn't realised that version specifically contained a fix for 5GHz sometimes stopping working, so the fact I've now reproduced a very similar failure while actually running r4.29.1 is interesting.

I'll get a WiFi analyser onto my Android phone and take some captures of the 5GHz environment. The hub is currently healthy again following the restart and has selected channel 149, so I'll capture that as a working baseline first. If the fault returns I'll capture exactly the same views while it is broken and before restarting or changing anything.

The 160MHz point is also interesting. I hadn't appreciated that netsh showing channel 100 wasn't giving the whole picture in terms of the width being occupied.

Is there anything particular you would like included in the captures beyond the 5GHz channel graph, BSSID, signal level and channel width?

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:26:10 GMT

@Mellman No you have got it well under control by the looks of it, Netspot by ETWOK Inc, free version do not buy it is good on Android, Windows PC version is a bit fluffy but a little useful at times. Got some old captures so will find link etc, just ignore my sky name, kept it for years, no need to reinvent the wheel. Netspot WiFi Inspector part off it below.

Re: Wifi issues - Page 3 - The EE Community

No Longer an EE User, never had a 7 Pro 6+ was mine for the 11 months i managed to hang in there for, 100% Asus AI mesh wired / wireless backhauls with some Tp Powerline in the mix awkward spots.... Fresh pics if you need them let me know.👍

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

Mellman — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:32:24 GMT

Thanks Jim. I've now got WiFi Analyzer running and this is the current healthy state.

The hub has moved itself back to channel 100 since the restart and is currently working normally. The analyzer shows the main 5GHz BSSID on channel 100, centre channel 114, using 160MHz width, with my phone connected successfully at around -63dBm.

I've also confirmed that both the Intel AX210 desktop and Intel AX200 gaming laptop are currently connected successfully on channel 100 as well.

So channel 100 itself clearly isn't inherently unusable by the clients. If the fault returns while the hub is still on channel 100, I'll capture this same graph before changing or restarting anything so we have a direct healthy versus failed comparison.

There also doesn't appear to be any significant neighbouring 5GHz WiFi overlapping the 100/114 block in the current capture.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:44:08 GMT

@Mellman Will take a look when your posted picture gets cleared for general viewing.👍 Will also take a look at you Intel's when i get a little time tomorrow, think i also have both those versions also desktop/laptop although will say never ever had an issue whatsoever with them at all. Link below to how the channels look mesh node.

Re: 'Compatible Wifi' issues with new Smart Hub Pro and Smart Wifi Pro - The EE Community

Updated pictures when cleared for viewing. Low value Tp is the next door neighbour's normally he has it on 40Mhz wide channel and it is on Netspot Channel 5 to 11, what can one say? To low to bother anything for me....

2.4Ghz setup. Channel 1 is in use just too far to show up the connection.5Ghz setup, CH36 80Mhz CH100 160Mhz width's.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:59:29 GMT

@Mellman Picture cleared and looks good, strength matching in your wifi6 bars about correct as well with one bar dropped.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:38:43 GMT

@Mellman Slight oops, Desktop has a MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160Mhz Wlan,

Laptop is an Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160Mhz Wlan, any how fired them both on now running combined Lan/Wireless operation and will leave that way for a week or so, again been on many times zero issue.

Will check the wifes laptop when she heads off to bed for the night, it's a daily user but connects on the Node at 80Mhz wide Ch36 all the time where she use's it, will let you know but expect it's up there type wise as an Asus workhorse for her. If there was one single issue with it she would be screaming as she does not must be working perfect....

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

Mellman — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:29:39 GMT

Hi Jim, thanks again.

The fault has actually reproduced again this morning on the replacement Smart Hub, and I have managed to capture considerably more information while it was live.

The EE TV Mini started having the same guide/interface connectivity problem again. At the same time my desktop, gaming laptop and phone had all ended up on 2.4GHz, despite the Hub Manager still showing 5GHz enabled on Smart Channel 100.

Using WiFi Analyzer on the phone, the main 5GHz BSSID 28:04:7a:ff:5a:03 was still broadcasting on channel 100(114), 160MHz, at a strong signal. Windows on the desktop could also see the same 5GHz BSSID at around 70 to 82 percent signal.

I then restricted the desktop Intel AX210 to 5GHz only and attempted to connect. It could see EE-5SH8QG on channel 100 but could not establish a usable connection.

I generated another Windows WLAN report during the failure. There were repeated association attempts which ended with:

"The driver disconnected while associating."

One manual attempt also ended with:

"The specific network is not available."

This was despite the same scan still showing the 5GHz BSSID strongly broadcasting on channel 100.

There was one complication during some earlier testing this morning because an old EE extender had accidentally been powered on by somebody else in the house and was broadcasting our previous SSID. I spotted this, unplugged it completely, confirmed the old SSID had disappeared, and then repeated the 5GHz-only AX210 test again.

The failures above are from that repeat test with the old extender completely absent.

Also worth mentioning that the Mini problem had already started before that old extender was powered on, so it cannot explain the initial recurrence.

For comparison, this exact replacement hub, same 5GHz BSSID and same channel 100(114) 160MHz configuration was working normally yesterday with the desktop, gaming laptop and phone all successfully using 5GHz.

I have the full Windows WLAN HTML diagnostic reports from both failure periods if any particular sections would be useful. I am reluctant to post the complete raw files publicly because they contain various PC and network identifiers, but I can extract any relevant event details.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:32:22 GMT

@Mellman Good lady has a AX211 in one the other is an AX201 so not fully same as yours but zero issues on either.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 12:30:41 GMT

@Mellman On the Main wifi if that is what you are using, then GO look at what the securities are set at, got NO idea what the Pro has available for use, do NOT think anything is to do with CH being selected so that just may be a red herring, my units apart from the later ones that are newer, but the Asus is set WPA2-PSK or Personal that some prefer to call it, think you may not be able to push the Pro main down but just look see. Have PM'd so you are aware, EE MOD will go edit out all your MAC/SSID's do not publish them it is a public Forum for all to see... xx out what you don't need to display!

The WLAN-AutoConfig entries may show you if the unit is struggling securities connection in it's logging file.

Nothing in your history so when did you do the 6 Plus to the 7 Pro jump, did ignore your Third party kick off so you know that opened up old wounds but has spurred me on to sort out Sister's mess end off Sept....

I did a couple off Netspot, PC version captures couple weeks ago if you need to go look see linked them below.

Re: Home Hub Pro & WPA - Page 2 - The EE Community

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

tnj — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:11:50 GMT

It is only a thought but you had more luck on channels 36 and 149 and these are the channels which are not DFS channels. 100 sits in the DFS range and if the router detects a radar signal it should stop transmitting for around 30 mins or it could change to a non-DFS channel. I have no idea how this is implemented on the EE routers and you have little choice in bandwidth and getting a channel to lock. It may not be your issue but it could be something to consider.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:44:32 GMT

@tnj Valid point normally will fold back still on ch100 but to a 80Mhz wide so 100(106) and yes small blip does happen at times, OP is saying though 100(114) still there blasting away but devices have just hung up there spur's so to speak....

Really just need to get a single device that is happy and unaffected, for me when issue with the Samsung mobile, sat it couple feet away from the Main Hub, it never once miss behaved for the week or so, took it walkabout the home again and sure did it's down 30Mb/s no recovery apart from wireless off/on, additional AP sorted it out and i would swear blind and until this day NEVER wifi weak is not the problem, sugar happens and just this one mobile the wifes was fine no matter what.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

Mellman — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 09:32:14 GMT

Thanks both. I agree DFS is definitely something worth keeping in mind as a possible trigger.

The bit that makes me unsure whether this is normal DFS behaviour is what happens once the fault is present.

During the latest failure WiFi Analyzer was still showing the main Hub 5 GHz BSSID strongly on 100(114), 160 MHz. Windows could also see that same BSSID at around 82 percent signal, but multiple clients had fallen back to 2.4 GHz and an AX210 forced to 5 GHz repeatedly failed to associate.

I also tested cycling just the Hub's 5 GHz radio during the previous recurrence. That caused the 5 GHz beacon to become visible again, but clients still could not associate. A full Hub restart restored everything immediately.

After that restart the Hub initially chose channel 149, but later automatically returned to 100(114), 160 MHz and continued working normally there. So channel 100 itself definitely works with these clients when the Hub is healthy.

That makes me wonder whether a DFS or Smart Channel event could potentially be triggering a bad internal state rather than the failure simply being the expected DFS evacuation itself.

One other difference from Jim's Samsung example is that this is affecting several unrelated clients at the same time. I have an AX210 desktop, an AX200 laptop and a Samsung phone all dropping to 2.4 GHz, with the EE TV Mini developing its connectivity symptoms at the same time.

I've now sent EE Executive Complaints a full technical report and the original WLAN diagnostics, and they are forwarding it to the relevant team, so hopefully they may be able to see something useful at the Hub/firmware end.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 10:02:27 GMT

@Mellman Stick to it you are doing everything needed, i really get very little DFS issues 25 miles middle off two Airports but i am direct in the Landing path OH flights wise, Channel 100(114) never folds back sticks well up on 160Mhz, then again and the current versions used still on connection but the Asus is just so rock solid and no PW issues what so ever, if a device ie my Samsung actually few devices that are not chain linked Asus wise, the phone will latch onto a node does stay up on the 5Ghz mesh so does not drop back to 2.4Ghz band ssid's are all split apart from the PL node in the garage if it does get slow 5 second off on the wifi connection for the mobile then it not going to say 100% but up in the high 90's will connect correctly and back to the 1200mb/s sync rate....

All the models are still on @Mellman and not seeing any issues at all with wifi connections. Laptop with the 6E on it have chained it to various nodes over the last few day's and holds as expected, will take a look see later when i get a minute.

Edit:- nothing to report all still working as expected device wise, Laptop still connected to the furthest away node on the 160Mhz channel speed down due to the distance but no disconnect's at all well not logged anyway.

It may be worth looking at MLO connection just incase your devices/hub are getting confused and not knowing which way to path...

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

jak26 — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 11:53:16 GMT

I don't think I'd have patience with daily issues on 2.4Ghz or 5GHz. I like to keep the ISP router (7+ for EE) connected to the ONT to make support calls easier - and the 7+ works fine in Compatible 2.4GHz WPA2 Only - but use a Asus tri-band with multiple 2.5Gb/s LAN ports as an AP nearer to devices.

ISP routers are only on loan for the duration of the contract - ones own router as a ISP router replacement or as an AP is a small investment if you have a good number of devices and an interest in network things.

The Asus seems to pick a non-DFS 5GHz channel away from neighbour routers but I don't think channel changing is an issue for most clients - it's a basic Wi FI function. One time DFS might be a factor is just after a restart when there's a delay before the 5GHz SSID becomes visible.

Similarly with WPA - Ive got one device that needs WPA2 Only but all 5GHz devices work OK with WPA2/WPA3 and 6GHz with WPA3 - everything connects and stays connected

The 6GHz band has issues as well as range as some devices seem reluctant to see the SSID - so although 6GHz can be 2x speed, 5GHz and wired LAN do the job.

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

JimM11 — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:19:07 GMT

@jak26 Used to have the day's upon day's DFS from restart, but will say once the stupid Asus does make it's mind up it hang's in there no issue, may be a completely different but since the last Asus FW update, the Main Node fires up CH/Width right out off the power on and does not mess about anymore, straight up and at it far as i am concerned that's what it should do, it knows what the area is like had before been up and done so why mess it up, can always fold back to 80 wide if it needs to do so. No 6Ghz for me on the Tri Band so not a factor, would never work in my home anyway no way to get through the brick walls....

Re: Smart Hub 7 Pro 5 GHz failure reproduced on two hubs - channel/firmware issue?

jak26 — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:40:53 GMT

After checking again the Asus is picking a DFS channel - there's not that many non-DFS to pick from - just 80 wide but that's quick enough for most things - but at least it stays steady. If it was to change then clients should just reconnect after a bit but I haven't noticed any streaming radio or TV etc dropping. On a previous AP it had a rule that it would only change to a non DFS to avoid constant changes. The few times I have main enabled on the 7+ (like the switches back on after a restart bug) it defaults to DFS as well. I guess the give away is the delay before the 5GHz SSID appears.