YVM102

[Den543]

I get errors on my EETV Mini boxes all the time, especially the one in our bedroom.

The main error we seem to get is YVM102, which seems to now be showing every time we turn on the EE Mini Box.  This seems to have gotten worse.  This is what I have found:

• The error happens often.  The box will have been working last time we turned the device off,  and shows when we next turn it on again some hours or days later.
• When the error occurs, If I navigate to the Configure your Wireless Connection screen, my WiFi is not showing as available.(this is EE Broadband WiFI with extensions).
• Even Though the EE TV Mini thinks my WiFi is no longer available I know it is because:  The Samsung TV next to the device is still connected to the WiFi. 
• A Speedtest on my smartphone of the WiFi next to the device shows that it over 300MBit download speed and over 40Mbit upload speed. 
• A test of wifi signals using the Wifi Analyser app shows that it things the router is 1 metre away (there is an extender in the room below).

Rebooting the EE TV Mini fixes it so that it can see my wifi again and use it.  But this smells very strongly of a software issue with the box itself because it can only see a working and very strong wifi signal after a reboot.

My wife has lost all confidence in the box to the point that if these issues do not go away we will be leaving EE when it is time to renew our contract.  We want a TV service that just works every time it is turned on rather than needing a reboot every time.

The box software is up to date.  Previously we had Sky routers/extenders and Sky Q tv boxes - all in identical locations to where the EE kit now is,  and everything used to work perfectly with no such issues.  This again points to the EE box being at fault.  

[Mellman]

Thanks Jim. I've checked the hub status and it is currently running firmware r4.29.1-R-1930437-PROD-1, so it looks like I am already on the latest generally rolled-out firmware for the Smart Hub 7 Pro.

I noticed from the firmware information that r4.29.1 specifically includes a fix for "5GHz WiFi sometimes stops working after firmware update", which sounds particularly relevant given what we experienced.

The hub was factory reset yesterday, so I can't say with absolute certainty from the current status page whether it was already on r4.29.1 before the reset or whether anything changed around that reboot. The 5GHz side is currently working again following the factory reset.

Regarding Channel 100, one of the devices I used for testing was a desktop with an Intel WiFi 6E AX210 adapter. When the fault was present I forced that adapter to 5GHz only. It could still see the EE network but would not connect to it. As soon as I returned the adapter to normal dual-band operation it connected again over 2.4GHz.

From what I can find, the AX210 should support Channel 100, so I don't think Channel 100 alone explains what happened with that particular device. I agree that it would still be worth checking the capabilities of the other affected devices individually though.

Your suggestion of asking EE for a replacement Smart Hub 7 Pro is where I'm leaning if the fault returns. The fact that the current firmware apparently contains a fix for 5GHz stopping, yet we have experienced essentially that behaviour, makes me even more interested in ruling out the hub itself.

Thanks also for the information about your ASUS setup. The XT8 and RP-AX58 combination is exactly the sort of real-world experience I was hoping to hear about.

EE TV is the main thing making me cautious about replacing the EE hub completely, particularly making sure the live channels still work properly, so I'll have a look through the TV section as you suggested.

Thanks again.

[Mellman]

Quick update, unfortunately the exact same problem has already returned.

It is only around 30 hours since I spent approximately three hours on the phone with EE technical support, during which the Smart Hub 7 Pro was completely factory reset, the downstairs TV box was factory reset and set up again from scratch, and the downstairs TV box was moved onto powerline/Ethernet.

Following the factory reset, 5GHz came back and the affected devices were able to connect again.

Tonight I checked the Hub Manager and we are right back where we started. The 5GHz section is once again showing "No devices are connected".

I have to admit I am getting extremely frustrated with this now.

We have spent hours and hours troubleshooting this, restarting equipment, removing the extender, testing different devices, testing the separate Compatible WiFi network, switching the 5GHz radio off and back on, rescanning channels, forcing a completely separate Intel AX210 desktop onto 5GHz, and finally doing a complete factory reset of the hub with EE technical support.

The factory reset has apparently bought us little more than a day before exactly the same fault has returned.

This is precisely why I was uncomfortable with the conclusion from the support call that the main problem was the location of the router and that the answer was essentially to have Ethernet installed around the house.

I completely accept that wired Ethernet is preferable for fixed devices, and as I mentioned previously I have already tried to arrange a proper Ethernet installation. Unfortunately retrofitting a neat concealed installation into our finished house is not straightforward and I have struggled to find installers willing to undertake it.

More importantly though, I still do not understand how the physical location of the router explains this particular behaviour.

This is not simply one device at the edge of the WiFi range occasionally having a weak signal.

When the fault occurs, the Hub Manager shows zero devices on 5GHz. Previously my gaming laptop could see the network but could not connect to it, and we reproduced the same behaviour using a completely separate desktop with an Intel AX210 adapter. When that desktop was forced to 5GHz it could see the EE network but could not associate with it. Returning it to dual-band operation allowed it to connect immediately over 2.4GHz.

A full factory reset then restored 5GHz, only for the same problem to return roughly 30 hours later.

The hub is currently running firmware r4.29.1-R-1930437-PROD-1.

At this point I really do feel as though we are just going around in circles.

I do not think it is reasonable to keep repeating factory resets every time the 5GHz side of the router gets into this state, particularly when we now know that even a complete reset only appears to fix it temporarily.

Jim, I think your suggestion that the next logical step is to ask EE for a replacement Smart Hub 7 Pro is looking increasingly sensible.

I am going to contact EE again and ask them to replace the hub rather than simply repeat the same troubleshooting process.

At the same time, I am now seriously considering buying a good third-party router or WiFi system anyway. We rely on the network for too many things in the house to keep having this happen, and after all the time spent troubleshooting it I am reaching the point where I would rather pay for better equipment than keep going through the same cycle with the EE hardware.

Obviously EE TV compatibility is still the main thing I need to investigate before replacing the hub completely, which is why the ASUS information and the suggestion to look through the TV section are really useful.

I will update the thread again with what EE say about replacing the hub, but I am honestly pretty fed up with the situation now. After a three-hour support call and a complete factory reset I did not expect to be looking at exactly the same "No devices are connected" message on 5GHz barely more than a day later.

[Mellman]

Another update, and I am absolutely furious with EE now.

I called EE again this morning using the urgent callback link that the technical adviser gave me after Saturday's approximately three-hour support call.

That link was specifically provided so that I could get back in touch quickly if we experienced any further problems following all of the troubleshooting and the complete factory reset of the Smart Hub.

Before we could even properly discuss the continuing technical problems, I was suddenly told that EE could not deal with me without speaking to my dad first because I apparently do not have the correct level of authority on the account.

I cannot adequately express how angry and frustrated I am about this.

My dad is the account holder, but I have been authorised to deal with this account on his behalf for well over a year. We went through an enormous amount of hassle with EE about this exact issue last year. It resulted in a large complaint and, after considerable effort, the authority situation was eventually sorted out.

Since then I have personally dealt with EE countless times.

This is not a situation where I have occasionally phoned up to ask a simple technical question.

I have personally ordered new EE TV boxes.

I personally dealt with upgrading our equipment from the old BT setup to the current EE router.

I have personally had two EE WiFi extenders sent to our house.

I have personally dealt with numerous broadband and TV faults.

I have spent hours speaking to EE technical support.

I have been allowed to arrange, replace and reconfigure equipment.

Normally, when I call, EE sends a security code to my registered mobile number. I read that code back to the adviser, they verify me and we continue with whatever I am calling about.

This has happened repeatedly.

I would estimate that I have spoken to EE at least 20 times since the authority issue was supposedly resolved last year.

Indeed, only on Saturday EE technical support spent approximately THREE HOURS troubleshooting these current broadband and TV problems with me.

During that call we factory reset the Smart Hub, factory reset and reconfigured the downstairs EE TV box, discussed the WiFi problems in detail, moved the downstairs TV box onto powerline/Ethernet, and went through the history of all the troubleshooting I had already carried out.

At the end of that three-hour call the adviser gave ME a special urgent callback link to use if the problems continued.

I used that exact link this morning.

And somehow, less than two days later, I am suddenly being told that I do not have sufficient authority to deal with the account.

After a considerable argument, the adviser eventually agreed that he could continue discussing the technical problem with me provided that he did not disclose account or policy information.

Fine.

I was not asking him for confidential account information.

I was trying to get EE to resolve the same technical fault that EE had already spent hours troubleshooting with me.

Given the amount of troubleshooting we have now performed and the continuing instability, I told the adviser that I wanted the Smart Hub replaced.

He refused.

The reason given was not that he disagreed with the technical case for replacing it.

I was told that he could not send me a replacement router because I am not the policy holder and apparently do not have the required level of authority.

At that point I was completely fed up and told him that I wanted to make a formal complaint about the situation.

I was then told that I could not even make a complaint.

Again, because I apparently do not have the required authority.

That is absolutely insane.

So, according to EE, I have apparently been authorised enough to:

Order new EE TV equipment.

Arrange the change from our old BT equipment to EE equipment.

Have two WiFi extenders supplied to our house.

Deal with broadband and TV faults repeatedly.

Spend hours troubleshooting EE equipment with technical support.

Factory reset and reconfigure that equipment.

Receive security codes on my registered mobile number and use them to verify myself.

Spend approximately three hours with technical support on Saturday dealing with this exact fault.

Be given a special urgent callback route by that adviser so that I can continue dealing with the problem.

And even continue discussing the technical problem with today's adviser.

But the moment I ask EE to actually resolve the problem by sending replacement hardware, suddenly I am not authorised enough.

Even more absurdly, when I then ask to make a formal complaint about being treated this way, apparently I am not authorised enough to do that either.

How on earth is that a coherent system?

We are absolutely sick of being messed around by EE.

I completely understand that EE has security procedures. I am not asking anybody to ignore account security and I am not asking for access to confidential information.

What I am objecting to is the fact that we went through this exact authority nightmare last year, made a substantial complaint about it, eventually got it sorted, and I have subsequently been allowed to deal extensively with this account for well over a year.

EE cannot reasonably allow me to act on the account repeatedly, allow me to order and arrange equipment, verify me using my registered mobile number, and spend hour after hour troubleshooting faults with me, only to suddenly change the rules at the exact point where I ask them to actually replace the equipment we have been troubleshooting.

I have now found the forum thread I created last year while going through the original authority fiasco.

It is frankly unbelievable to be reading that old thread and realising that, over a year later, we are apparently back in exactly the same ridiculous situation that we spent so much time getting resolved.

And now it is actively preventing us from resolving an ongoing broadband fault.

I want to make a FORMAL COMPLAINT about this.

Not only about the broadband and EE TV problems, but specifically about the handling of my authority on this account, the complete inconsistency between what EE has allowed me to do for well over a year and what I was told today, the refusal to supply replacement hardware after all of the troubleshooting already undertaken, and the extraordinary claim that I am not even permitted to register a complaint about it.

I want somebody at EE to investigate what authority is actually recorded against my name, what happened when this was supposedly resolved following last year's complaint, why it has been accepted on numerous occasions since then, and why today's adviser suddenly interpreted it completely differently.

I also want somebody to explain how it can possibly be acceptable for EE to spend hours asking an authorised third party to carry out technical troubleshooting and factory resets, but then refuse to allow that same person to see the fault through to a resolution.

I am not prepared to simply go through the same authority process we fought through last year and pretend that none of that history happened.

Nor am I prepared to accept that the answer to this situation is simply "get the policy holder to call".

That completely avoids the issue.

The entire point is that we already went through the process of authorising me to deal with this account precisely because I am the person who manages the broadband and TV equipment and deals with technical support.

Something has clearly gone badly wrong with either EE's records, EE's processes, or the way those processes are being interpreted by different advisers.

I want that investigated and corrected permanently.

As for the original technical problem, after everything we have already done I still want the Smart Hub replaced.

I do not want another factory reset.

I do not want another three-hour repetition of troubleshooting we have already completed.

I do not want another suggestion that we simply install Ethernet throughout the house.

And I certainly do not want another call where, after everything we have already been through, I have to argue about whether EE will even allow me to ask for the problem to be resolved.

We are absolutely, thoroughly fed up with being messed around.

At this point I want a formal complaint opened, I want the authority problem investigated and permanently resolved, and I want somebody at EE to take ownership of the underlying broadband problem and actually do something about it.

[DDenEE]

I feel your pain, because I have been through it before myself.

My experience is that switching off IPTV and using aerial import only on the main EE TV box fixes it (there will still be occasional other glitches, but this error will go).  Everything else, including plugging it directly into a EE Smart extender or powerline adapter using a LAN lead will fail.

As for the EE TV mini boxes which have no aerial input option - I just boxed them up and replaced with Google TV dongles (other brands available).

As for their WiFi, since I left EE and got my own very cheap Chinese wifi router+extender pack (Cudy) the poor quality of the EE kit has really been shown up.   With EE I had their router plus 2 extenders plus two powerline adaptors in my four bedroom house - I had literally spent days positioning things and building up to that layout to try and solve black spots.  With the new cheaper kit I have just one extender and no powerlines and the quality of signal throughout the house and at the bottom of my garden is far better.

[Mellman]

A further update, because I have now gone back through my records from the authority problem I had with EE last year, and what I have found makes today's situation even more infuriating (https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Broadband-Landline/Being-added-to-an-A-C-as-a-3rd-party-contact-via-ca...).

This is not simply a case of me remembering that the authority issue was "supposed to have been sorted".

I still have the private message correspondence with Christopher_G from the EE Community team from last year.

Christopher originally contacted me after seeing the thread I had created about the problems I was having with EE recognising my third-party authority. He specifically said that he wanted somebody to look at how my access was set up and "make sure the correct processes are being followed when you call."

He then referred the matter internally to the complaints team.

He subsequently confirmed to me that Gernelle from the Executive Complaints team had spoken to us and would be handling the complaint going forward.

Most importantly, once this had been dealt with, Christopher sent me the following:

"Hopefully, now that Gernelle has updated the account, any calls that you have with our customer support team go much more smoothly."

So EE's Executive Complaints team actually became involved in this exact authority problem last year and UPDATED THE ACCOUNT.

And following that, things did work much more smoothly for the better part of a year.

I have since dealt with EE numerous times myself, ordered TV equipment, dealt with our move from the old BT equipment to EE equipment, had two WiFi extenders sent to the house and dealt with repeated technical support issues. Usually a security code is sent to my registered mobile number, I read it back and we continue.

Which makes what happened this morning even more absurd.

After all of that, and after a THREE HOUR technical support call on Saturday, I am suddenly told that I cannot authorise the replacement of the router because I am not the policy holder.

Then, when I ask to make a formal complaint about what is happening, I am told that I cannot even do that.

I now want EE to explain exactly what Executive Complaints changed on the account last year, whether that change is still present, and why the authority that has apparently worked for approximately a year was suddenly treated differently today.

If today's adviser was correct, why have EE repeatedly allowed me to carry out all of the above since Executive Complaints updated the account?

If today's adviser was wrong, then his incorrect interpretation of my authority directly prevented an ongoing technical fault from being resolved and prevented me from registering a complaint about it.

Either way, something has gone very badly wrong.

I have messaged Christopher_G again this morning because he was the person who originally got this escalated to Executive Complaints, and I am hoping he can trace the previous case and help establish what has happened.

I was angry before finding these messages.

Having now found written confirmation that Executive Complaints dealt with this exact issue and updated the account last year, I am absolutely furious that we are apparently back here again.

[Mellman]

A further update following the saga this morning.

Alex_H from the EE Community Support Team picked up my post on the old third-party authority thread and escalated the situation to Executive Complaints.

I have now spoken to Executive Complaints.

Importantly, they have confirmed that I AM correctly authorised on the account.

So the authority issue that prevented the telephone adviser this morning from sending replacement hardware was not because my previously arranged authority had disappeared or was incorrectly configured.

Executive Complaints have now ordered a replacement router, which is being sent by Royal Mail 48.

They have also advised that the handling of this morning's call will be fed back to the relevant team so that any knowledge gaps can be addressed and additional training provided where necessary.

The complaints adviser is going to call me again in three days to check how things are progressing.

So, after the approximately three-hour troubleshooting call on Saturday and everything that happened this morning, we are FINALLY getting the Smart Hub replaced.

I am going to leave the current setup alone as much as possible until the replacement arrives. Once it does, I will set it up and monitor the WiFi, particularly the 5GHz behaviour, and see whether the problems we have been experiencing return.

I am not going to call the technical issue resolved until we have actually tested the replacement hub for a reasonable period, but at least we have finally reached the hardware replacement stage.

Thank you to Alex_H for getting this escalated so quickly.

[Mellman]

I have a fairly significant update after doing some controlled testing with the replacement Smart Hub 7 Pro.

Unfortunately, after initially appearing to work properly for around four days, the same 5 GHz problem has now reproduced on the replacement hub.

The EE WiFi extender has remained completely powered off throughout this testing, so it can be excluded from what happened below.

When the replacement hub was first installed, 5 GHz was working normally. My desktop, which has an Intel AX210 WiFi 6E adapter, connected directly to the hub without any problems. The gaming laptop also worked normally. The hub was initially using a lower 5 GHz channel, including channel 36 during the period when everything was working.

Today the gaming laptop lost its 5 GHz connection again. If I forced its WiFi adapter to 5 GHz only, it could see the EE network but Windows reported "Unable to connect to this network". Returning the adapter to dual band allowed it to connect over 2.4 GHz.

I then repeated the test independently on the desktop using its Intel AX210 adapter. Exactly the same thing happened. When restricted to 5 GHz only, the desktop could not connect either.

At this point Hub Manager showed:

5 GHz: On
Smart Channel: 100

I ran "netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid" on the desktop. Initially it could only see the Smart Hub's 2.4 GHz BSSID, despite Hub Manager still reporting that 5 GHz was enabled on channel 100. The 5 GHz BSSID had disappeared completely.

I then used the 5 GHz Smart Channel Rescan function in Hub Manager. It remained on channel 100 and this did not restore 5 GHz connectivity.

Next I switched only the 5 GHz radio off, saved the setting, waited, switched it back on and saved again.

After doing this, the hub's 5 GHz BSSID became visible again on channel 100 with a strong signal of around 80 percent. However, neither the desktop nor the gaming laptop could actually connect to it.

I also generated a Windows WLAN diagnostic report from the desktop while the fault was occurring.

One of the failed attempts is particularly interesting. Windows records that association with the Smart Hub's 5 GHz BSSID succeeded, WPA3-Personal security then started, and approximately five seconds later the security stage failed.

The reported reason was:

"Dynamic key exchange did not succeed within configured time"

Windows also recorded:

"PSK mismatch suspected"

The WiFi password was definitely correct. The same SSID/profile/password continued to work over 2.4 GHz and had previously worked normally on 5 GHz.

As another test, I enabled the Smart Hub's separate Compatible WiFi network on 5 GHz. This uses WPA2-Personal rather than WPA3.

Hub Manager showed Compatible WiFi 5 GHz enabled on channel 100. However, when I restricted the Intel AX210 to 5 GHz only, the Compatible WiFi SSID disappeared from the available network list completely. It therefore did not provide a working WPA2 alternative either.

At that point I performed a normal restart of the Smart Hub from Hub Manager. This was not a factory reset.

After the restart, Smart Channel selected channel 149 instead of channel 100.

The results immediately changed.

The desktop automatically connected successfully to 5 GHz again on channel 149 using WPA3-Personal.

The gaming laptop, which has a separate Intel AX200 adapter and had previously been unable to connect when restricted to 5 GHz, is also now successfully connected to 5 GHz on channel 149. Windows shows a current link speed of 721/360 Mbps.

The upstairs EE TV Mini box, which had also started experiencing connectivity/interface problems again at approximately the same time as the 5 GHz problem returned, is now working correctly again following the Smart Hub restart.

I am not claiming that channel 100 itself has conclusively been proven to be the cause, because restarting the hub also resets its internal wireless state.

However, the observed sequence so far is:

5 GHz working normally on channel 36.

5 GHz subsequently failing while Smart Channel was on channel 100.

Two independent computers unable to use 5 GHz.

The extender completely excluded.

Smart Channel Rescan did not resolve it.

Cycling only the 5 GHz radio restored the 5 GHz broadcast but did not restore the ability for clients to connect.

Windows WLAN diagnostics recorded a WPA3 dynamic key exchange timeout against the Smart Hub's 5 GHz BSSID.

A WPA2 Compatible WiFi test also failed to provide a usable 5 GHz connection.

A full Smart Hub restart then moved 5 GHz to channel 149 and restored normal 5 GHz operation on both independent computers.

The upstairs EE TV Mini also began working normally again after the same restart.

This is now the second Smart Hub 7 Pro on which we have reproduced very similar 5 GHz behaviour. The replacement is running firmware r4.29.1-R-1930437-PROD-1, which was also the firmware running on the previous hub.

Given that this has now occurred on two different Smart Hub 7 Pro units and has affected multiple independent clients, I am increasingly concerned that this may be a Smart Hub 7 Pro firmware, Smart Channel, DFS or wireless state issue rather than simply faulty client hardware.

It is also frustrating that there appears to be no option to manually lock the 5 GHz radio to a known working non-DFS channel such as 36, 40, 44 or 48, as that would give us a very useful way of testing whether the problem returns.

For now I am going to leave the hub running in its current working state and monitor it closely. If the fault returns I will capture the channel, BSSIDs and client behaviour again before restarting anything.

I would be very interested to know whether EE can escalate these findings to whoever is responsible for Smart Hub 7 Pro firmware/wireless engineering, particularly given that the replacement hardware has now reproduced the same issue.