topic Re: Access Point for Garage in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 19:39:06 GMT

Hi,

The Wifi in my garage is very poor and I have installed cat6 cable which runs from my BT Smarthub 2, near my front door, to the garage.

(I'm on Plusnet and still have the router they sent a few months ago, which looks the same as the BT one but is white and not black).

My plan is to either use a third party router, or to set my Plusnet router up as an Access Point.

In very simple language (I'm not familiar with this technology), I'd be grateful for advice on either configuring the Plusnet router or, if it would be better, which third party router to buy for under £50 please.

Many thanks......Mike

Re: Access Point for Garage

Longliner — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 16:04:54 GMT

Quick glance on ebay shows plenty of BT HH6 between £7 and £30. Works great with PN, I've had one as my only router for past couple of years.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 19:51:18 GMT

OK thanks. I'll look into it.

Regards......

Re: Access Point for Garage

HPsauce — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 22:29:26 GMT

Why not just buy a cabled WiFi Access Point? Or do you like configuring equipment and have the relevant skills/understanding of networking?

Re: Access Point for Garage

HPsauce — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 10:45:38 GMT

I'm assuming you will have mains power available but some Access Points can also run using PoE (Power over Ethernet) which can give greater flexibility of location. Though these are more normally used in business rather than domestic settings.

A used ex-business model can probably be found quite cheaply on eBay.

Re: Access Point for Garage

bobpullen — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 11:01:45 GMT

@Tranquilitybase wrote:

Hi,

The Wifi in my garage is very poor and I have installed cat6 cable which runs from my BT Smarthub 2, near my front door, to the garage.

(I'm on Plusnet and still have the router they sent a few months ago, which looks the same as the BT one but is white and not black).

Sounds like you have a Hub Two. You can configure it as an access point and the Wi-Fi in the garage will be akin to what you get with the Smarthub 2.

To do this, you need to power up the Hub Two, log into the Hub Manager and make a few changes.

Firstly, connect a device to the Hub Two and browse to http://192.168.1.254 (hub needs to be powered up, but not connected to the Internet)
Navigate to Advanced Settings > My Network and enter the hub's admin password
Click IPv4 settings and change the IP address assigned to the hub. This needs to be something that is not being used by any other device on your network. If you haven't fiddled with the Smarthub 2 config, then you should be safe to use something below the default DHCP range e.g. 192.168.1.1
Disable DHCP
Save the changes
run an ethernet cable between one of the Smarthub 2's LAN ports and one of the LAN ports on the Plusnet Hub (do not use the fourth port, use ports 1-3)
For good measure, power off both hubs; then power up the Smarthub 2, wait for it to connect to the Internet, and then power up the Plusnet hub.

Some things to be mindful of...

Because the Hub Two is not connected directly to the Internet, the LED on the front of the unit will likely flash orange. Despite this, devices conected to either its Wi-Fi, or ethernet ports, should still be able to access the Internet. Unfortunately, you cannot disable the LEDs on the Hub Two when it's in this state as it ignores your LED preferences when it thinks there is an error condition.
Without any further conifg, you will see two separate Wi-Fi networks with different names/passwords. If you'd rather keep everything the same, then you can change the Wi-Fi name/password on the Hub Two to match what you're using on the Smarthub 2.
If you configure both Wi-Fi networks with the same name, then it is down to the connecting device to decide which it uses. You may find that when you move closer to the garage, a device 'clings on' to the Smarthub 2 network, even though the signal is stronger on the Plusnet hub. If this presents a problem then it's probably best to keep seperate network names so you can force/dictate which hub each device connects to.
When a wireless device moves from one hub to the other, you may notice a very brief interruption in connectivity.
If you look at the network map in the Smarthub 2 Manager, devices that are connected wirelessly to the Hub Two will likely show as wired. This isn't anything to worry about but can cause confusion if you're not expecting it.
If you need to access the Plusnet Hub Manager for any reason, then you need to browse to the new IP you assigned it e.g. http://192.168.1.1 and not http://192.168.1.254 (the latter will take you to the Smarthub 2 Manager)

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:16:20 GMT

Many thanks......I'll bear this in mind.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:17:25 GMT

Thanks for your replies.

I have power in the garage so will probably keep it simple by using an adapter.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 16:20:14 GMT

Hi,

Thank you for your very detailed explanation of how to go about setting this up.

I need to make a decision over the weekend whether to go this route or perhaps to buy a third party AP.

Thanks again.....

Re: Access Point for Garage

HPsauce — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 20:19:11 GMT

If you've already got the spare router it's worth giving it a go if you're happy to try following the instructions above.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 10:37:17 GMT

Hi,

In point 6 above, you mention not to use the 4th port. Just out of interest, why is this the case please?

Many thanks.......

Re: Access Point for Garage

Baldrick1 — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 11:23:08 GMT

@Tranquilitybase

The 4th Port is for a WAN connection, not LAN, so can't work on the local network, Hence the red WAN label on this port.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 18:38:59 GMT

Mine looks like this......It has four LAN ports.

Re: Access Point for Garage

bobpullen — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 18:48:01 GMT

@Tranquilitybase wrote:
... which runs from my BT Smarthub 2

That image does not look like a Smarthub 2, it looks like a Home Hub 5 to me?

@Tranquilitybase wrote:

My plan is to ... set my Plusnet router up as an Access Point.

You can probably use ports 1-4 on the BT Hub. You just need to avoid port 4 on the Plusnet hub.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 18:53:28 GMT

It doesn't look like this:

It looks like this:

Re: Access Point for Garage

HPsauce — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 18:57:21 GMT

Just to clarify I "THINK" he has a BT Smarthub2 as his main router. That picture of the BACK with four LAN ports and a RED WAN port is presumably the device (or similar) intended to go in the garage - correct?

As noted above it looks like a BT HH5.A Plusnet Hub one is similar (very!) but white not black. The two are functionally almost identical.

@Tranquilitybase can you clarify please, which device is where?

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 18:59:15 GMT

That picture of the BACK with four LAN ports and a RED WAN port is presumably the device (or similar) intended to go in the garage - correct?

Yes. That's right....I'm using the BT one as the main router. It looks just the same as the Plusnet one which was sent a few months ago when I joined them.

Re: Access Point for Garage

bobpullen — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 20:18:23 GMT

So the main router is a BT Smarthub 2 and the Plusnet device is a Hub One then? (the product name will be on the label affixed to the router)
If we are talking about a Hub One, and not a Hub Two, then you can ignore the advice about not using the fourth LAN port.
My instructional image will also be wrong as it's from a Hub Two, not a Hub One.
My instructions are still valid, it's just the various settings will be located in a slightly different place in the Hub One manager.

Re: Access Point for Garage

Tranquilitybase — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 20:38:45 GMT

OK. Thanks for the clarification and, again, for you time in explaining this process so well.

I feel more confident now.

Regards......