EE Smart Hub (SH31B) - Painful Admin Experience.

[danielmc0]

I agree. Setting custom DNS servers is important for me for security and parental controls. This is not possible with the EE Smart Hub SH31-B (arguably anti-competitive too?).

Also, I have been unable to use the WAN Ethernet port, which I need to use to connect via our Virgin Media Business Hub connection (with a static IP range) as I wanted to use it as a wireless router with it's Wifi 6 support. There is no way support were able to assist.

An SSH back-door in would be helpful or an actual advanced settings area in the GUI.

[XRaySpeX]

@danielmc0 : The SH+ WAN is meant to be connected to the Full Fibre ONT. Why are you using it on a VM connection, which is incompatible with OR Full Fibre anyway?

[danielmc0]

Thanks @XRaySpeX. That makes sense. No FTTP here though I'm afraid - just FTTC 40/10 with old copper (cuts out frequently).

EE Support didn't inform me as much when asking, and neither have I spotted that limitation anywhere else. Obviously, most non-ISP routers' Ethernet WAN ports allow for IP configuration to connect to a generic WAN, which is why I was hoping there might be a way to configure this. The router is a brick otherwise. I know they lock functionality down to avoid issues...

[XRaySpeX]

@danielmc0 : Sorry, I'm not clear? Whose BB do you have? EE BB or VM BB?

What are you trying to do with the EE SH+? Is it to connect it as a secondary router to the main router which is connected to BB, be it EE's or VM's.

If it's VM's why do you have the EE SH+?

[djenson]

If you have an EE FTTP connection over ADSL/VDSL, and want to use a 3rd party router, and don't use the Digital voice system, your best option is to buy a BT Business Smart Hub 6 (can usually be picked up for £15 on ebay), put in the BT residential credentials, then turn on modem mode. I did this for over a year, until I got FTTP.  

As such, I  actually have the Bt Business smart hub I used available if you want it, preconfigured with the BT residential info. Private message me if you are interested. 

[djenson]

Sorry, I meant EE fibre connection, not ee FTTP. 

[XRaySpeX]

@djenson : You actually mean ADSL or FTTC.

[danielmc0]

We have a Virgin Media Business line with static IPs, which works okay (drops sometimes as Virgin does!!!). Then we also have an EE FTTC 40/10 line, which drops frequently as it's archaic cabling this end (engineer visiting soon), so it's unusable - we can't even watch streaming services on that connection. On top of these cabled connections, for resilience we have a 4G BT/EE router and also a 5G EE/BT router for backup as both lines give up from time to time.

Because the EE FTTC line is so unstable, but the router's WiFi is good, I wanted to use it as a wireless router to go through the VMB connection, hence wanting to use the Ethernet WAN port. Sounds like I just need to fork out for another WiFi 6/7 router, which I was hoping to afford, but it's not a big problem I guess!

[JimM11]

@danielmc0 You need to persist and have the OR engineer get on and fix the line so that you do not continually have a problem with the FTTC 40/10 connection. The EE router modem appears to be possibly over sensitive or it is maybe the way EE provision to maximise the speed, I have just had OR engineer's out multiple visit's due to sync instability, when he hook up his cable tester, he could see some errors and long story short, where the copper cable connected in the dormer of the house in a BT connection box, house is 55 years old now and never been messed with, he disconnected both cables either side, crimped the 2 connections that only goto/went to the Master socket, and now day 14 with absolutely zero DSL error's... I could not be happier but it took a good engineer with loads of experience to be persistent to sort it out. Engineer was couple of hours in testing but he got it, so unless this changes this will be put down as the fix!!!!  HTH

[XRaySpeX]

So can't you connect the SH+'s WAN port to a LAN port of the VM & use it as a WIFi-6 WAP?