topic Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP? in My Router

Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 19:59:56 GMT

I purchased a new BT business smart hub 3 on ebay as a bit of an experiment with the hope it would work on my plusnet FTTC connection (like some older BT smart hubs do). It doesn't work, and the router seems to have a hard coded username of btbusinesshub@business.btclick.com and no way to change that to my plusnet credentials, if I go to the advanced settings page where the broadband username is it just come sup with "We experienced difficulty getting the data. Could you kindly reload the page? [CHOP3-800]". The router seems very buggy when navigating around the menus in general as well. There is no option to split 2.4 and 5ghz networks either like on older BT hubs. I suspect it would benefit a firmware update but at the moment I have no way to connect it to get that done. Current firmware is r0.74.0-R-760043-PROD-83002

I bought the BT hub to use wifi 6 and hoped that would come in useful as I am moving to plusnet FTTP in May. It is not totally useless as I have connected my plusnet hub back to broadband, and connected the BT hub to a lan socket on the pusnet hub, set a different IP to the BT hub and turned DHCP off on it. I am now using the 2.4 connection on the plusnet hub and 5ghz on the BT hub with different SSIDs. I can see a stronger connection all around the house on the 5ghz network with both wifi6 and wifi5 devices using the BT hub than I used to get on the plusnet hub.

Does anyone know if the BT hub will work if I connect it directly to the ONT when plusnet FTTP is installed? Or are BT business hubs hardcoded to BT connections or somebody's BT account? Any tips to get it working fully would be appreciated!

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

dvorak — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 20:01:21 GMT

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Full Fibre to My Router

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 07:48:17 GMT

@boogle

I have no experience of the BT business smart hub 3, but when you are trying to change the credentials, are you disconnecting the hub from the internet - preferably by pulling out the cable that goes to the phone socket on the wall or ONT?

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:36:27 GMT

To confirm, I have tried to configure the hub with it not connected to anything other than my laptop via ethernet cable. it's the same everytime (the error msg I mentioned when going into the advanced config screen where you would typically put in your credentials. It's seemingly stuck with that BT user name).

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

Dan_the_Van — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 15:52:10 GMT

Have you tried disconnecting the DSL cable first, this may allow you to change the details?

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 17:57:29 GMT

@boogle does this work ? - Entering your broadband network username and password on the BT Business Hub 3

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 18:53:33 GMT

@boogle have you tried doing a factory reset, so there is no prior user altered settings and passwords

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

bobpullen — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:31:39 GMT

@boogle - I'm afriad you'll not be able to change the PPP credentials on the Smart Hub 3, ergo you'll not be able to connect it directly to your ONT. The errors navigating the GUI will likely be because elements of it are dependent on cloud communication.

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:52:28 GMT

Thanks all for the suggestions, I tried them all but no joy, so it's just a daisy chained wifi 6 router for me with no modem.

Bob, I think you are right. Do you know if I gave it to someone who has BT infinity residential FTTC, could they use it? Would it communicate tocloud and do firmware updates etc?

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

bobpullen — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:55:04 GMT

I suspect it would be OK, yes.

Almost certainly if the PPP username is currently configured to bthomehub@btbroadband.com.

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:57:03 GMT

I can give it a try, But the user id is stuck as btbusinesshub@business.btclick.com

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

bobpullen — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:58:35 GMT

I think that should also be OK, but I can't be 100% certain without some leg work (which I'm not in a position to do at the moment).

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 19:00:30 GMT

Thanks, it will take me a few weeks, but I will try and get it connected to my friends BT home line and see if it works for him more fully.

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

Mahammad — Sat, 18 May 2024 17:42:24 GMT

Any luck? I'm hoping to get it as it has WiFi 6 but apparently better DNS customisations compared to the consumer BT Smart Hub 2, I'm on FTTC though.

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

Dan_the_Van — Sun, 19 May 2024 09:12:14 GMT

@Mahammad Welcome to the forum.

as it has WiFi 6 but apparently better DNS customisations compared to the consumer BT Smart Hub 2, I'm on FTTC though.

There are many third party routers which fill your requirements and some would recommend using one of those in preference to a ISP provided device which are less configurable.

The benefits of WiFi 6 will be lost on FTTC for internet use as it speed is slow but you may see improvements if you are streaming data within your home LAN.

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Sat, 25 May 2024 10:00:10 GMT

No further forwards. I moved from FTTC to FTTP with plus recently. The router won't connect on either type of connection, you can't alter the BB username or even get that page to load properly. I am currently using the plusnet hub plugged into the ONT with 2.4ghz wifi and the BT hub connected via ethernet using the 5ghz wifi (DHCP switched off). It works but not ideal as two devices instead of one and the orange light flashes on the BT hub which could be annoying. Over summer I am going to take it to someone elses house who has BT FTTC and see if it works more fully there, at least it migh download new firmware, as the 0.74 firmware is glitchy, for eample, after setting the 5ghz network name and encryption key, it shows as "unknown" in the menu but continues to work! If I were you I'd get a TPlink for about £50 and forget about the BT business smart hub 3

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

bobpullen — Sat, 25 May 2024 11:46:44 GMT

0.74 firmware is very old and I doubt it will update unless the hub is doing the PPP connectivity.

Regardless, a newer firmware still isn't going to offer you the ability to change the PPP credentials away from their defaults.

Re: Using a BT Business Smart Hub 3 on plusnet FTTC or FTTP?

boogle — Sun, 28 Jul 2024 19:25:55 GMT

Small update, took the BT business hub 3 to someone who has BT home broadband. I didn't have time to do any testing, but connected it to their ONT, the router booted without flashing organge light, left it for a couple of hours while we went out, disconnected it, took it home, reconnected to my plusnet (by ethernet from plusnet smarthub2) and I found firmware had updated to r1.34.0-R-994210-PROD-83002 , I guess that is the latest version (Bob, do you know?) and I can now at least navigate around the router menus withour errror msg like on v 0.74, and I can see the wifi network name (went blank on v0.74). I can also see the wifi is set to wifi 6 performance and 5ghz smart channel 100 - anyone know if this is a good channel for performance? I guess it is as I see 310mbs performance over wifi on my plusnet 300mbs package on laptop and phone.