Techy questions before i switch to plusnet

[#1]

i am seriously thinking of switching to plusnet . In my case , it will be FTTC . 

I am with BT out of contract at the moment, ( 70Mb d/l , 16 Mb u/l ) and I have some questions.

Will the plusnet deliver the same performance, Im guessing it should do as it will come via the same DSLAM street cab and so long as the product is not throttled back , cant see why it shouldnt be the same.

Also, the router that plusnet will send out, what is the plusnet router equivelent to in terms of the BT hub .....? This is important because at the moment, i have a BT hub 6 as the main router , and I have a hub 5 ( piggy backed ) off this. both are connected via ethernet, in other words, the hub 5 upstairs is a wireless extender off of the hub 6 downstairs. this is important so that the IP CCTV cameras work fine off of the hub 5 upstairs, so , - what I need to know is, ... with the plusnets routers, will i be able to log into the router as " admin " so i can  go into " advanced settings " etc etc. ( also , has the plusnet router got a factory reset ? ( guessing it has ) - also, will the switchover be fairly seemless, so long as the plusnet router has been delivered and plugged in, on the night before the switchover ?

Thats about it for now. I am happy with BT but Im out of contract and BT cannot come anywhere close to the 24 month plusnet deal at the moment

thanks for any replies

[#2]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, the service should be akin to BT. It is delivered using the same underlying Openreach product and the same stability/line configuration options etc. are used when provisioning. 

The hub that we will ship is a Plusnet Hub Two. Under the hood, this is almost identical to the BT Smart Hub 2. Compared to your Smart Hub 1 (BT Hub 6), the main difference is the fact that the 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless networks cannot be 'split' i.e. they must share the same wireless network name.

There is no reason why you can't continue to use the HH5 as a second access point with the Plusnet router, you can log into the Plusnet router's admin interface the same way you can the BT hub.

An alternative would be to continue using your BT equipment (assuming you don't have to send it back), by reconfiguring the PPP login details stored in the router. There are plenty of guides around these parts on how to do this. One caveat is that the login details stored in BT routers can sometimes revert to defaults meaning you have to reconfigure things again, however this is a fairly rare occurrence (tends to happen when there are Wholesale network outages).

The Plusnet hub will not work on the BT line prior to switchover without reconfiguring. For the sake of simplicity, I'd suggest against this. Just wait until you have notice that the Plusnet service is active and then swap the equipment out (or reconfigure the BT hub should that be what you decide to do).

Hope that helps.

[#3]

@circuit_bender   Welcome to the Community Forum.

The Plusnet Hub 2 is a rebadged BT Smarthub 2 but with its own bespoke firmware. It has the same wireless performance as the original Smarthub and Smarthub 2. The only downside is that you can't split the 2.4 ans 5 GHz bands on either the Smarthub 2 or Plusnet Hub2. The Plusnet hub has other features not available on your current hub, for example, it can be used in bridge mode and you can set your own choice of DNS resolvers, should you wish.

If there's no financial penalty for keeping you current setup then you can continue using your current set up by simply removing the DSL lead, logging in to your BT hub and changing your log in credentials to Plusnet's. You will find more information on this pinned to the top of the Router board.

Another option you have to make the change easier is to log into the Plusnet hub and change the wireless SSID to match that of your Hub 6 so that you don't have to reconnect your wireless devices.

Do come back if you need more information.

Edit

Sorry for the repeated information @bobpullen types faster than me!

[#4]

Thanks for the great info , Re: the wireless bands and not splitting them, is it possible to at least " disable " the 5ghz band so that just the 2.4 Ghz wireless works. ? I have a feeling that the IP cameras I have are only 2.4ghz compatible and I'm fairly sure when I connected them, they didnt like 5Ghz signals being around so i disabled the 5ghz band on the BT hub(s)

Thanks again

[#5]

is it possible to at least " disable " the 5ghz band so that just the 2.4 Ghz wireless works. ?

It certainly is. Often its possible to just disable 5ghz while the 2.4ghz devices are connected, and then re-enable it afterwards and the devices remain connected

[#6]

thanks for the reply