Smart Hub Plus SH31B firmware observations

[juiceof2limes]

Moving over from BT to EE and have had one of the new Smart Hub Plus routers sent to me.
 Swamped the BT router out for the new EE one. Using as primary routet only because of Digital Voice/ EE equivalent  etc.

Some observations with the latest firmware (r1.21.0-R-910349-PROD-83002);

Prior to it updating itself with latest firmware, I saw Dynamic DDNS option under Advanced, Broadband. That is now gone.

I have WIFI/DHCP server turned off because I have a secondary ASUS router doing the real work.  Every time the firmware updates, it turns WIFI / DHCP back on. This needs to be fixed as I decided how I want it setup, not EE.

Under Phone and Contacts, you can import a VCF file from a previous hub, but there is NO option to export your contacts. So effectively if you hub is replaced for whatever reason, you loose any contacts you have added to phones. This is another flaw that needs to be fixed in the firmware.

The technical log hardly has any details in it. I know my the hub went down overnight for yet another firmware update (because of WIFI/DHCP issue mentioned above).  However there is nothing in the log to mention this. In fact is just has the 5 entries from when I powered it off/back on the previous day.  It's set on DEBUG/ALL so there should be a ton of info. So again looking like another flaw in the firmware.

And why is it so slow to move around the settings!

The old BT Smart Hub 2 is far better than this EE Smart Hub which should of been a step up.

I am probably whinging to the wrong crowd, as I doubt anyone of the EE Technical side would see this.

[bobpullen]

Some good feedback here.

Prior to it updating itself with latest firmware, I saw Dynamic DDNS option under Advanced, Broadband. That is now gone.

DDNS isn't currently supported but the fact it was visible in the pre-upgrade build gives me hope it will return at some point. In the interim, if you need a DDNS solution, and there's a device on your network that's online 24/7, then you can probably use some client software to do the updates.

I have WIFI/DHCP server turned off because I have a secondary ASUS router doing the real work.  Every time the firmware updates, it turns WIFI / DHCP back on. This needs to be fixed as I decided how I want it setup, not EE.

I'm suffering the same problem, see here. 

Under Phone and Contacts, you can import a VCF file from a previous hub, but there is NO option to export your contacts. So effectively if you hub is replaced for whatever reason, you loose any contacts you have added to phones. This is another flaw that needs to be fixed in the firmware.

The technical log hardly has any details in it. I know my the hub went down overnight for yet another firmware update (because of WIFI/DHCP issue mentioned above).  However there is nothing in the log to mention this. In fact is just has the 5 entries from when I powered it off/back on the previous day.  It's set on DEBUG/ALL so there should be a ton of info. So again looking like another flaw in the firmware.

I understand that these two have been acknowledged as areas for improvement too.

The old BT Smart Hub 2 is far better than this EE Smart Hub which should of been a step up.

I'd say the inverse is the case in terms of actual performance though. My personal experience of the Smart Hub Plus is that it's a significantly more capable device from a Wi-Fi perspective.

[juiceof2limes]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.   Good to know I am not alone in spotting these minor niggles. Lets hope that in the not to distant future given that more people will be using the SH+ that these fixes get applied.

Agree with what your saying re WI-FI on the unit but as I already have a decent WI-FI setup, didn't want to change that. I just need to check now and then and if another firmware update comes through to switch WI-FI off again on the SH+ along with DHCP.  

[XRaySpeX]

Yes, I find it surprising & disconcerting that functionality on the SH+ just disappears so quickly with firmware updates. Another simple obvious function to disappear is Save & Restore. I saw it when I 1st accessed my SH+. By the time I had configured my settings to my liking & was ready to Save them it had gone 😞 !

Don't be surprised if something like Guest Network goes soon. It's too good a function for such a dumbed-down router 😉 .

[juiceof2limes]

Ah that's a very good point re Save & Restore, I forgot to mention that. I noticed it there on first boot up and then it promptly went post a firmware upgrade.   Thought firmware was supposed to fix and enhance not downgrade 😁

I would swap it out if it wasn't for Digital Home Phone/Digital voice.  In hindsight, perhaps I should of ported the number. I know you couldn't do that easily with BT without termination of Broadband. Not sure if that is the case with EE as they are still subsidiary of BT. Something to ponder on and look into at some point.  

[garywood84]

I'm also affected by some of those issues, including the lack of DDNS.

But one other issue is that my BT Advanced Digital Phones with Alexa no longer work with Alexa. Trying to access the Alexa function results in a message "Alexa is unavailable".

[huggons · Accepted solution]

My SH+ updated from
EE r1.21.1-R-910349 to 
EE r1.21.1-R-940596 today. The update changed my WiFi setting from fixed channel 6 on 2.4 GHz, to smart WiFi. Anyone else having unwanted saved settings changed by updates?

[juiceof2limes]

Just checked and I've also been updated to the new version. I have the SH+ WIFI turned off but that is now back on again frustratingly.  Wish they would leave settings as set by the end user!

[huggons]

Telephoned EE tech support, but they couldn't grasp the issue.

[Gonz2]

Reading this with interest, and firstly I am not technical. Had nothing but issues with drop outs on new smart hub plus and 3 boosters, had same set up with Bt hub 2 and discs placed in same spaces and to me the new hardware is terrible. Is there something I should be looking at that could improve this? Speed is great, but never had drop outs on zoom/teams like this before.