Smart Hub 3 needing a daily restart for the last week

[BillyTheKid11]

Hi,

I had fttp installed in May, including the Smart Hub 3, everything has been fine up until last week.

Daily since last week, the whole network locks, no wifi, no ethernet, not possible to access the hub via 192.168.1.254 or the app. No error lights on the router and none on the ONT box on the wall.

My network is as follows;

ONT - Router - 8 port network switch - tp-link access point in kitchen, Xiaomi access point in garden office.

All of this kit has been in place and running correctly since 2021, on the old bt hub with the fttc connection.

When i restart the router, all comes back to normal.

I have raised this with ee, who told me there was a fault with the exchange that openreach were looking at, this has since been resolved. Now they are saying it is due to my network and the fact i am running network switches and this is causing some issue with the router! Instead suggesting i should be using their mesh system.

This is madness and i would much prefer the cable connection to my garden office which has been in place 3 years.

Am i yet another victim of the poor quality router supplied by ee? Do i just need to bite the bullet and get a third party router to replace the ee one? 

As far as a i am concerned, nothing i am doing on my network should be causing a problem. The two access points do not have DHCP servers, and use the central ee smart hub for all management.

I am massively frustrated as ee don't seem to even consider that it could be a problem with the router.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Mustrum]

@BillyTheKid11   Not sure what you mean by Smart Hub 3, none or the routers are known by that name.

Have a look at the Help page and the tabs for recent router, guessing you have the Smart Hub Plus.

Have you done any diagnostics to help work out if it is the router or your network? First option would be to disconnect your attached network and see if the fault occurs with just the router connected to the network. 

Looking at the log files may help,  as would disconnecting connections one at a time to see if the router works rather than rebooting it first.

A few ideas for you to check before trying another router. I am with you with a wired network, but like the router things can go wrong so more in depth diagnosis will help get to the real issue.

[BillyTheKid11]

I was told by live chat  have the smart hub plus which is also known as the smart hub 3.

The problem is I WFH in my garden office, the fault happens randomly during the day, I can't remove that connection and wait for the router to go wrong again.

My understanding is that the log files are wiped when the router is rebooted. When this issue happens I cannot access the hub via either the ip or the app, so I don't understand how i can collect any logs?

I would like to do some more in depth analysis, but ee have not really instructed me on how this can be done.

Thanks for your reply.

[Mustrum]

You have a weekend coming up, if as you say it is happening daily, disconnecting every thing on Friday after work would be a good way to start. It should at least give you an idea if it is the router or line, or something within your network.

If your network is so critical you surely have a contingency plan you can use for a day or three?

[BillyTheKid11]

So I disconnected everything and the same issue happened with the network.

EE sent a new router and I set that up on Sunday night. Opeanreach engineer came out yesterday and checked everything. No faults on the line, no issues detected.

I came home from work tonight, same issue. No internet. Router unresponsive, can't get in via the ip or the app, can connect to wifi network, but no active internet.

Only option is to power cycle the router. All comes back fine.

Obviously I can't check any event log, as that has been wiped.

I am a bit lost on where to go with this. Feel like a 3rd party router is my only option now.

Any advice welcomed.

[JimM11]

@BillyTheKid11 Forget the app and the ethernet, you said that the wireless ssid was up and you could see the network, on the wireless device, can you http://192.168.1.254 and see if the hub manager opens up then? If you have tried that let us know. You do not have any parental controls or anything like wireless extenders or wifi enhancer feature on your system?

[Mustrum]

@BillyTheKid11  I have never been a fan of BT or any ISP routers (EE routers are based on BT devices.)  so a third party one will give you more options.

Much will depend on your budget, but getting one online at least gives an option to return it if you are not happy. My current favourite is from Asus, but TP Link or Netgear are also good. You may as well get a WiFi 6 one, and most will have 1Gb LAN ports.

[BillyTheKid11]

Hi Jim,

When this happens the router becomes unresponsive, can't get in via the ip 192.168.1.254 or the app.

I am running two access points which are connected via Ethernet, one in the kitchen one in the garden office.

No extenders or parental controls.

[JimM11]

@BillyTheKid11 So you cannot manage the router via a wireless device, that is what i was pushing for, ssid and wireless is it switched on for your AP and also for the EE Router, trying to find out were you saw the ssid transmitted from?  

[BillyTheKid11]

Ok let me explain my network.

ee smart hub plus - 8 port network switch -> ethernet connection to tplink access point in kitchen

ee smart hub plus - 8 port network switch -> ethernet connection to xiaomi access point in garden office

both access points have the wifi name set as the same as the hub in the living room, so devices move between them and it all looks like on network.

this set up has been in place since 2021, when the old fttc connection was in place, and has worked fine throughout.

the smart hub plus can be connected to and managed using 192.168.1.254 when connected to either the main wifi network, or the networks put out by the access points.

when this problem occurs the internet connection completely disappears, i can still stay connected to any of the wifi networks, but there is no internet, same with ethernet connections from the outer, no internet.

hope this makes more sense now.