Switch from Smart Hub Plus to Pro

MarkJeffery · ‎05-11-2025

Hi there,

Have obtained a Smart Hub Pro and Wifi Pro via a 3rd party. I have the 900Mbps full fibre service and have a couple of issues.

(1). After switching over and re-installing the EE app (only way to get the app to pair with PRO), it still shows the PLUS hub and PLUS Wifi units as images rather than the PRO versions. How do I get the app to show the correct images?? For info, I used the "transfer settings" method to keep the house network name etc the same.

(2). My Mac Studio M2 Max and iPhone 16 Pro which are both Wifi 7 compatible are only showing as connected to the 5GHz channel. I do not appear to be able to get them to connect to the Wifi 7 - 6GHz. How do I get these new devices to connect to Wifi 7?

Other than the above - everything seems good. Do I need to speak directly to EE and inform them of upgrade to get correct images in app? Appreciate any help on getting things to connect to wifi 7??

Best Rgards

Matt_124 · ‎05-11-2025

The app will show the details of the equipment you were provided with your contract by default. While possible to pair other EE equipment, it will always come back to the default equipment EE provided you and have on record.

When transferring settings it is possible the 6GHz band was disabled as it was not present on the Smart Hub Plus (there have been some reports of this happening), you may need to check this in the Hub Manager. Instructions on accessing it can be found here: https://ee.co.uk/help/broadband/manage-use/manage-your-ee-hub

If this has happened, you may need to factory reset and change the SSID and Password manually in the Hub Manager.

As you have bought these third party, EE may not be able to support as the Smart Hub Pro or Smart WiFi Pro add-on is not on your account. This add-on is the official way of getting the Hub and Extenders and includes the support and opportunity to get a replacement if something goes wrong - as you have not chosen to go down this route your setup would not be officially supported.

Important to note that while you have bought these third party, they should not have been sold to you. All equipment provided by EE for their Broadband and TV services remains their property and, if EE chose to do so, could be branded as stolen and their serial numbers blocked at any time. You're very much operating in a grey-zone so the support you should expect would be limited.

JimM11 · ‎05-11-2025

@MarkJeffery Also little note for you, the 6Ghz band is not needed for wi-fi 7 operation, few wi-fi 7's out there that don't have it!

You may just have to use the web manager would be the best way, take a look at the settings and adjust on, http://192.168.1.254 will get you there, may push it https for securities though!

Ewan15 · ‎06-11-2025

@Matt_124 You said

"Important to note that while you have bought these third party, they should not have been sold to you. All equipment provided by EE for their Broadband and TV services remains their property and, if EE chose to do so, could be branded as stolen and their serial numbers blocked at any time. You're very much operating in a grey-zone so the support you should expect would be limited."

That would only make sense as an action on EEs part if you were not allowed to use the EE broadband service with a third party router. If a customer chooses to use an unsupported router, the Pro in this case, what does it matter to EE? The customer is still paying for the service and if anything it helps market the router, as prospective customers are more likely to know someone who uses one.

The fact that some sellers have many pro routers to sell and have been selling them as sealed brand new items, from not long after the Pro was released suggests that they are getting them from the manufacturer or possibly from EE.

To phone EE CS: Dial Freephone +44 800 079 8586 - Option 1 for Home Broadband & Home Phone or Option 2 for Mobile Phone & Mobile Broadband.

Matt_124 · ‎06-11-2025

@Ewan15 Yes I did say this.

The fact of the matter is the serial numbers are traceable to the original account holder by EE. If they've been coming from EE they're units provided with a service that were never opened, should have been returned and the above applies. I am pointing out the risk with falling outside of the official routes.

If the manufacturer was selling them direct to customers, I'm certain that would violate their agreement with EE. That's a very strong suggestion to make and if you have a source backing that up I am happy to be corrected.

Regardless, this discussion has been had before: https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Broadband-Landline/SH-40J-Smart-Hub-Pro-turning-up-on-a-certain-auctio...

"I didn't think that EE were selling them. I thought that they were only available as part of an EE contract.

Selling EE supplied equipment is generally not a good idea as they may ask for it back."

You were correct back then.

MarkJeffery · ‎06-11-2025

WOW - Thanks for those comments. That opens a can of worms.... Rightly or wrongly, I went down the road believing that EE would only supply directly if you had the 1.6Gb service (hearsay). I thought that any router could be used on the service believing naively that would include there own equipment... Hey ho, life is never that straight forward... I have now gone back to the original PLUS router as I do not want to risk my service. I'll call EE today as it's not about the internet service but more about wanting the 2.5Gb router part of the Pro, the wifi 7 is a bonus. But I certainly have no need for the 1.6Gb service!!!!

bobpullen · ‎06-11-2025

@MarkJeffery wrote:
(1). After switching over and re-installing the EE app (only way to get the app to pair with PRO), it still shows the PLUS hub... I used the "transfer settings" method to keep the house network name etc the same.
(2). My Mac Studio M2 Max and iPhone 16 Pro which are both Wifi 7 compatible are only showing as connected to the 5GHz channel.

I strongly suspect this is the crux of the issue (bold). I saw another thread round these parts recently where this didn't go well for somebody whose App was mis-identifying the hub - see here.

The App seems to depend on whatever is registered against your account at EE's side, rather than 'looking' at the physical hub you've paired it with. When using Transfer devices, it will therefore only change the details of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz network (the Plus doesn't support 6GHz). This will leave you in a situation where the 6GHz WiFi network name/password is different to that of 2.4/5GHz. Would explain why your Mac won't connect if it's configured to use the network name from the Transfer journey.

I doubt much ill would come from you using the kit you've acquired from a third party (not to you anyway 😉) - but if you do decide to use it, then I'd recommend a factory reset of all units, and choosing to decline the Transfer/Backup journeys in the app. If you want to, you can always change the WiFi name/password yourself via the Hub Manager at http://192.168.1.254

Matt_124 · ‎06-11-2025

@MarkJeffery

No worries, just wanted to make you aware of the lack of direct support and the risk as a part of my reply - although EE have not yet taken this action, they could in the future and leave you with a paperweight.

Not to scare you off it by any measure, as far as anyone would be concerned you didn't know any better and would be unlikely to be liable for anything.

You can use it (after a factory reset and setting it up fresh), but I would keep your Smart Hub Plus around as a backup just in case.

It's just a bit of a grey area.