BT FTTP and WiFi discs

rustybin

I've got the latest Bt 300mb package Inc whole home WiFi.

Two things which are bothering me.

1) I can't separate the 2.4 and 5ghz bandwidths into separate entities. This is causing a few issues in terms of some of my smart bulbs are 2.4 only.

2) I don't seem to be able to assign a device to a WiFi supply. Ie. Allocate my ps4 to the router directly  which is giving out 200mbs rather than the closer WiFi disk which is giving out 60mbs

Anyone any advice?

mickevh

1) It shouldn't matter: If your bulbs are 2.4GHz only, then they simply won't "see" anything 5GHz - perhaps you can expand a bit on what the symptoms of your problem are, something maybe getting lost in translation.

2) If your SSID names are all the same, then you have no control over which AP/router the client chooses to Associate with (Wi-Fi speak for "connect to.") If you want to choose which AP/Router and  waveband they Associate with, you would need to give them all different SSID's. Though note, if your did so, clients would never automatically "roam" between AP's - that only happens if SSID's are the same. There's no real "right/wrong" way to do this, both approaches have merits and you'll have to decide which you find most convenient.

Incidentally, if you are interesting in optimum performance, you might need to pay attention to the radio channels your devices are tuned to. To use your own example, if your 200mbps router and your 60mbps disc are both using the same radio channel, they (and their associated clients) will all be competing for the same "air time" and you won't end up with 200 60mbps bandwidth - it will be less, especially if the throughput requirement is high.

There are "good neighbour" protocols built into the Wi-Fi standards which kick in whenever Wi-Fi devices detect near by devices (whether Associated with the same AP or not) and cause them to squabble a bit about whose "turn" it is to transmit which can hit the throughput. Ideally you would tune each of your Wi-Fi discs and router to different radio channel so the cells are not competing with each other and can transmit concurrently. We can get into the "rules" about radio channel tuning if you like.

rustybin

1) the bulb showed as being connected to the disc despite being 5ghz, so I turned the disc off, let it connect to the router by itself and now it's working fine.

2) How do I change the ssid channel on the latest Bt router? My understanding is that I can't? On my previous smart hub there was the ability to unsync the two channels. Unless you mean something different? I used to have Rusty-2.4 and Rusty-5 with the same password for both.

mickevh

Which version BT router do you have..?

Be aware that SSID names and radio channels are unrelated - they can (usually) be changed independently of each other. In enterprise kit, for example, we can usually offer multiple (dozens) of SSID's out of an AP but they all use the same radio channel (and compete for the same air time.) SOHO kit is usually more restrictive about the number or SSID's it can avail - often only one per waveband - or if your lucky one "main" one plus a "guest" SSID (e.g. BT FON.) Prosumer kit may offer more.

A dual band router/AP is like having two AP's housed in a single box, one AP serving 2.4GHz one AP serving 5GHZ. Apart from sharing a physical box, they function pretty much independently of each other.

As such, you can offer a different SSID out of each waveband, though equally you can also offer the same SSID out of both. I haven't got a BT HH to check, but from memory the last one I saw (an HH6) "out-of-the-box" offered the same SSID out of both wavebands - all you had to do is name it and it set them both the same. IIRC there's somewhere in the UI - probably in the advanced settings - where you can "split" (in their nomenclature) the wavebands and name them differently. I couldn't tell you exactly where in the UI it is - have a check around the manual.

Most kit tends to automatically set it's radio channels, or ship set to some default value out of the box. Some offer and "auto tune" function to try and select the best channel, but most will let you set it yourself if you wish. However, to repeat, radio channel tuning is independent of the SSID naming. Changing SSID  does not effect the radio channels and vice versa.

rustybin

From what I can see, BT have removed the SSID spitting functionality on their latest Hub.

I'm very tempted to cancel my contract based on what I've seen so far. My Xbox is showing as 80mbps, my PC (next to my router) is showing as 120. This is on a 300mbps contract

mickevh

Tell us what model it is and someone my find a manual for it.

Link rates (ever erroneously called "speed") are a function of both the router, the NIC's in the client devices, a few "bells and whistles" that might need turning on (and some which automatically "step down" is signaling conditions are tricky) and the Wi-Fi environment. "The router" is not culpable for all WI-Fi issues I'm afraid.

By way of example, my router is an "old" 300 450 mbps "N" router. However, the laptop I'm using has a single band NIC that is "only" 2.4GHz capable and "only" 72mbps capable, so 72mbps is all I get - I don't even bother turning the 5Ghz band on on my router unless I have guests.

Equally, I live in flats and have at least 20 sets of neighbours who have Wi-Fi too and we are all fighting over the same airwaves. In locations furthest from my router, I quite often loose connection due to battles with the neighbours - esp. in the evenings when everyone if home from work. This is not a "failure" of my router - Wi-Fi is "just like that" and one has to be a bit "zen" about it.

rustybin

I'll double check. It's the latest Bt router. BT smart hub 2 I think.

I'm getting worse speeds right now on my 300mbps FTTP service than I was getting on my old phone line fibre 70mbps service. So there's either a fault somewhere or BT are throttling it.

mickevh

Found this online - How to split your Wi-Fi SSID's according to BT....

How do I split my BT Hub's SSID (wireless network name)? | BT help

rustybin

This doesn't apply to their latest Hub for reasons unknown

mickevh

If you suspect perfomance issues on your ISP link, it would be best to test it without Wi-Fi muddying the waters if possible. A PC/laptop connected direct to the hub by wired ethernet would be best - it'll give you some better ammo to beat BT with - if you test Wi-Fi it's too easy for them to say "our line is OK, it's a problem with your Wi-Fi locale, nothing to do with us gov."