Can I add just one BT Whole Home disc?

bunyboy

Hi All,

I've got a slight dead zone of wi-fi in the house, it's not the end of the world and I wasn't going to do anything about it until... a friend gave me a BT "Add-on disc for Whole Home Wi-Fi" that he didn't need. It's completely brand new unused and I thought I'd be able to connect to my BT router and just stick near the dead zone and fix the problem...

But some googling makes me think that I need at least two to make this system work; one plugged into the router and then any others can connect to that and be scattered around the house. Am I right?

Or can I just use this one and extend my wi-fi a little?

Thanks!

KamSandhu44

I beiieve you need at least one disk connected to your router.

bunyboy

And by connected, you mean actually physically connected by an ethernet lead, right?

cjed

Yes, you can have just a single disc - I've used this to provide a guest WiFi network on a system that didn't have the capability. The single disc does need to be connected to the network via an ethernet cable though.

bunyboy

Ah... does that mean I need to plug it into one of the powerline adaptors I've got?

cjed

Yes, if you're going to put it too far away to wire directly into your router.

bunyboy

I have to put it quite far from the router, don't I? I mean, it wont do the job of extending the wifi signal if it's sat right next to the router, right?

And if it doesn't do that, then I don't need it...

Thanks for the advice!

ChuckMountain

Wouldn't your guest be on the same network though, thus its not really a guest?

mickevh

Yes, that's right. Far be it for me to speak for him, but what I think CJed is indicating is that the "backhaul" link between the disc and the router needs to be over a cabled link, whether direct or via your HomePlugs.

Some of the newer "whole home" type systems (not that I've ever had one) have AP's ("discs" in BT speak) that "talk" to each other to establish various things including whether backhaul links are availed over wires or Wi-Fi. However, the router you have won't be able to "talk" to the disc you have in the same way, so you'll (probably) have to set up the disc manually as a stand alone AP on a wired backhaul.

pocketmonkey

I set up a single disc and smart hub 2 a little while ago. I don't believe that required an ethernet connection (except for the initial setup   pairing). It seemed to work fine without although I never tested the range as they were both fairly close together. Give it a try and let us know what happens..