Smart Hub Pro WiFi 7 connection problems with many devices

[tnj]

I have recently had my service activated using the Smart Hub Pro and the WiFi7 extenders. However I am finding the WiFi on the Smart Hub Pro virtually unusable, so much so I have had to go to back to using my old BT SmartHub2 and its extender discs as a WiFi provider running off the Smart Hub Pro and that works perfectly well supporting over 70 wifi devices on the 2.4G network, the majority of these being IoT Tuya based. So my Smart Hub Pro will manage the DHCP and routing for the WiFi devices it will just not provide the WiFi connectivity. WiFi signal levels are very good.

What happens is as the number of devices on the Smart HUb Pro WiFi network increases the Smart Hub Pro starts struggling and keeps connecting devices without internet and dropping the WiFi connections to devices already logged on. It seems to start struggling somewhere between 30 and 40 devices. It also becomes to slow to respond on its web interface with pages timing out with CHOP-300 errors. The WiFi problems occur across both the main and the compatible networks on the 2.4G band but I can connect freely on the 5G & 6G bands. I have tried adding the WiFi devices one by one in case there is a specific device causing the problem but it occurs whatever devices are connected.

The online diagnosis from BT could see the errors occurring and I have had a replacement Smart Hub Pro provided and the same problem occurred on that. I also had a visit from a BT engineer who could see the problem but was unable to offer any solution. He tried removing the extenders in case they were causing the issue and the hub still malfunctioned. The hub is running the latest r2.64.7-R-1303938-PROD-1 firmware.

I am surprised that this latest Smart Hub Pro cannot support  more than around 30-40 devices when a seven year old BT SmartHub2 can. It looks like I may have to buy an independent mesh system.

Has anyone here managed to get a large number of WiFi devices working on the Smart Hub Pro or has anyone experienced the same problems as me or even better found a solution to this problem?

[tnj]

I cannot believe that EE are reporting that the engineer came and everything is now working. That is an absolute lie, he could not fix anything. The fault has been closed and apparently all that is needed is a router reboot. I will have to wait the usual few weeks and yet another complaint to OFCOM.

[bobpullen]

@tnj - I have a fairly large volume of devices connected to mine (paired with a single extender). 10+ wired devices, 30+ wireless and probably another 10 or so wireless devices that are 'transient' so not always connected.

Seems to cope OK.

I've nowhere near such a large volume of devices on the 2.4GHz band though, probably closer to 10. 70+ does seem an awful lot!

How many devices/extenders do you have connected in total and how are they spread across interfaces/bands etc? Anything else 'non-standard' about your network setup e.g. switches, additional access points, Powerlines etc?

[Peter_W]

Hi @tnj.

Thanks for taking the time to highlight the experience you've been having with your Hub recently. 

I've just popped you over a private message so we can take a few more details around this.

Peter

[tnj]

Hi,

There are so many devices on the 2.4G band as they are all Tuya/SmartLife which predominantly are all single band. The large number of devices is partially due to having around 30 smart light bulbs, then there are many light switches, socket switches, movement sensors and smart thermometers. On top of that there are the mobiles and tablets that are multiband then the traditional LAN devices such as PCs, printers, TVs and SkyQ.

My original set up was a BT SmartHub 2 with four extender discs on which this all ran perfectly on 330Mb/s FTTC. I can put the cable from the new fibre ONT into this SmartHub and it works well. I have connected the SmartHub via a LAN port with its DHCP disabled to work as a WiFi whilst I have problems with the new Smart Hub Pro WiFi.

The Smart Hub pro is currently connected using one extender and I have more but I am not using them yet until I have eliminated the problems. The Smart Hub Pro is connected to a 2.5G switch and the extender is also connected to this switch although I have tried it with the WiFi backhaul and connected into the back of the hub. At the moment I am not using the Compatible WiFi or the Guest as these seem more unstable than the main. The Smart Hub is routing all my traffic and allocating around 80 DHCP addresses without issue. It is just the WiFi connections that are not working as expected with connections seeming to be bumped off as other connections are made and devices connected to the WiFi but not the internet.

[bobpullen]

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@tnj wrote:

The Smart Hub pro is currently connected using one extender and I have more but I am not using them yet until I have eliminated the problems. The Smart Hub Pro is connected to a 2.5G switch and the extender is also connected to this switch although I have tried it with the WiFi backhaul and connected into the back of the hub.

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In way of comparison, my single extender is also using wired backhaul connected to a 2.5Gbps switch (it's actually connected via two that are daisy-chained). I know I don't have the same volume of 2.4GHz clients as you but thought I'd mention as it's probably the optimal way to configure things whilst troubleshooting, as it removes the variable nature of the wireless backhaul from the equation.

Approach is definitely a sensible one though i.e. factory reset/unplug everything and start with just the hub. If stable but Wi-Fi coverage is lacking, introduce the first extender, making sure it's in an optimal position - not too far obviously, but also not too close. Reassess, and if still lacking coverage then introduce next extender etc. etc.

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@tnj wrote:

My original set up was a BT SmartHub 2 with four extender discs on which this all ran perfectly on 330Mb/s FTTC. I can put the cable from the new fibre ONT into this SmartHub and it works well. I have connected the SmartHub via a LAN port with its DHCP disabled to work as a WiFi whilst I have problems with the new Smart Hub Pro WiFi.

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Recognise this is the workaround so not your end-game but I'm curious: -

1. What is the configuration of the Pro's Wi-Fi in this setup? Is it still broadcasting 2.4Ghz?
2. Is the Pro extender still connected in this setup?
3. Are the SH2 and Pro using the same Wi-Fi SSID/network name?
4. Are you also using the SH2 extenders in this configuration? (if so, the number of potentially-competing access points could get messy!)

One other thing to be mindful of if the answer to (3) is yes...

The Smart Hub 2 will be using WPA2, whilst the Pro uses WPA3-Personal-Transition. There are quite a few devices that will grumble if they have previously connected to (and 'remembered') a Wi-Fi network configured to use one security method, and then later asked to connect to a network using the same name but different security method. It's sometimes necessary to 'forget' and recreate the Wi-Fi connection on the client devices to get around this. Similalrly, if SH2 and Pro are both running in tandem then I'd expect some oddities with any devices on your network that support WPA3. There's a good chance they'd refuse to connect to the SH2 when in range and that could lead to some odd behaviour.

[tnj]

Hi,

The Smart Hub Pro has the 2.4Ghz fully turned off for now so as not to compete with the SH2. They are otherwise using different SSIDs. There are four SH2 extenders in use whilst I am having to use the SH2.

I have tried re-paring the devices on the SHP on its SSID and that was when I first noticed the issues and went back to my old SSID on the SH2.

I have tried my devices paired to the SHP compatible WiFi using WPA2 and WPA/WPA2 but that makes no difference.

I have tried the devices on the SHP with no extenders in use to see if the extenders were the issue and the problems occur with only the SHP in use and nothing else old or new turned on.