Poor Range of EE Smart Hub Plus 6

[Barlayde]

Hi. I was recently forced to switch from Plusnet to EE for my broadband service as I needed to keep the landline for my elderly mum to use. 
The router had to be located near the front of the bungalow in the corner of our living room rather than in the hallway to save running cabling along skirting boards and over doorways, but it’s only 3 or 4 metres difference. 
The broadband connection is fine and solid with no issues but the range is very poor compared to my old Plusnet router. I keep noticing my mobile is disconnected from WiFi.  Is the Smart Hub Plus 6 known for poor signal range? I’m a little annoyed at having to pay a monthly charge for an extender when our property isn’t that big and single-level. Will any other non-EE extenders work well with this router?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[Barlayde]

Thanks Bob. The chap who installed the cabling suggested the more direct and shorter the length was to the socket the better. And there was also dado rails to navigate aswell as 2 doorways so it wouldn’t have been a particularly neat solution. 
I appear to have made the iPhone connection more stable by factory resetting my network settings and ‘forgetting the network’ then rejoining. 
I also noticed that the upvc back door is the point at which range seems to fall off a cliff and it is obviously a brick wall as opposed to a thinner, internal wall. The speed is certainly better so it’s a definite improvement in that respect. 
Plan to add an EE extender in the kitchen which should amplify the signal to both my mum’s bedroom telly as it’s next door and when I am outside. Cheers mate

[JimM11]

@Barlayde If you are just going to go Third Party RE, then get from the likes of Amazon the returns policy when it does not work is flawless.

[Barlayde]

Well because the extender through EE is a rolling contract I can trial it and cancel if ineffective. I certainly agree about Amazon’s return policy it is exceptional. 

[XRaySpeX]

EE's WiFi Extenders are not on a rolling contract but a min. term contract.

[Barlayde]

Incorrect. When taken as a standalone add-on to an existing EE broadband plan, EE WiFi extenders are typically provided on a flexible 30-day rolling contract. 

[Fatlarry999]

Like you I had to migrate from PlusNet for exactly the same reason as you, PlusNet have been brilliant since 2015 so it was disappointing to have to move.   I am on Full Fibre 500 core and like you found the coverage and speed not as good for some devices when connected at 2.4GHZ, some of my devices dropped down to Wi-Fi 4 and real slow!  I decided that I was not prepared to pay EE an additional monthly fee to improve coverage and after a lot of research I have bought a TP-Link RE715X AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Extender to link to my EE Smart Hub 6 Plus (SH32B).  Despite all the reviews I saw saying that connection was really easy, especially using the WPS button on both devices, that bit just didn't work for me.   I ended up installing the Tethering App on my mobile, the instructions are not clear for a non-technical person but with the help of AI I eventually managed to connect the extender and move to the desired location and seen some improvement.  Obviously, EE want you to use their extender but I didn’t want that, it’s early says but so far so good, can't guarantee what worked for me will do what you want..  

[JimM11]

@Fatlarry999 At least you tried to match the RE spec to the EE Hub spec, Tp-Link RE's are good, and in general will hold there own so hopefully it just all hangs in there and keeps working. The software WPS option for the EE Hub may have worked better but as you say using Tp option got you going.

[Chris_B]

@Barlayde  Im using a hub 6 and have no issues with range. My hub is even below a fish tank so I’m actually not using it in a great location to start with and it’s only around 15inch of the ground. WiFi signals and water do not play well together.   

 You say it’s on the corner of a room, by any chance is the TV in this same location?  

[Barlayde]

Been using the EE extender and it is spot on. Simple as to connect and has given me full range throughout our entire property internally and externally. I’m even getting 2-3 bar strength WiFi in the farthest reaches of the back garden with no drops in speed whatsoever so I’m very happy with it. 

[JimM11]

@Barlayde Glad it's all worked out and you are getting what you need from it all as it sounds.👍👍