Absolute hate of Smart Hub 2.

For years my parents have been happily using FTTC with a 3rd party router, the huawei HG612 modem and not a problem to be found.

Out of contract pricing was very high so renewed broadband. As a "Fibre First" exchange, they had to switch to FTTP and digital voice. BT wouldn't just re-contract on the existing service FTTC, you HAVE to migrate.

Anyways, it's all installed and working.

The problem is digital voice. Because it forces you to use the Smart Hub 2, an utter abomination of a device.

DHCP - Can't set DNS servers on the device or set DNS servers to be issued via DHCP. Forces you to use BT DNS servers. Annoying at a minimum.

Can't use it as a bridge for internet to use a 3rd party router. That would have been useful because then the SH2 could be used for voice and a competent device could be used for router functionality.

WiFi....this one just boggles my mind. Turned WiFi off because using the old competent router as a WiFi access point. At least I THOUGHT I turned WiFi off, it says it's off, the SSID doesn't show when scanning for networks....except WiFI channel scanning and connections/disconnections show in the event log. Why would WiFi need to show in the event log when WiFi has been disabled?

BT Public Wifi. Even if you turn WiFi off because of Public WiFi it's never really off. OK, can opt out of it....except my parents actually use it when they're out and about. Which means it has to stay enabled on the abomination of a router.

Have we gone back to the 1970s when you were forced to use a Post Office branded phone or your service wouldn't work? Now you're forced to use a BT router or your landline won't work.
Want a higher security router? Nope, not if you want your phone line to work.

And yes, I know I could have moved their number to a VoIP service and got a standalone ATA for the phones but they wanted to stay with BT.

Which means I'm left annoyed and furstrated at the mandated nonsense and being forced to use extremely overpriced and underwhelming hardware. And BT try to make it out to be the best device in existence :|

I think you have asked and answered the questions. Not a lot to add really.

Yeah.
I wish BT would release a standalone digital voice hub for people possibly with other broadband providers or people who just don't want to be locked into the SH2....wonder if it'll ever happen....

In reply to a post by NBK:

Yeah.
I wish BT would release a standalone digital voice hub for people possibly with other broadband providers or people who just don't want to be locked into the SH2....wonder if it'll ever happen....

I very much doubt it.

BT's Digital Voice doesn't work with other broadband providers.
You will no longer be able to take a voice line via BT while running broadband from another provider, over the same line, as you could with PSTN/FTTC.

On FTTP the default is a single port ONT. You need to take stand alone phone from BT, or both phone and broadband from BT, but you cannot take phone from BT and Broadband from supplier X. The phone from BT requires it's own internet connection.
Unless of course you can arrange a 4 port ONT, or install 2 ONT's. Either way the BT voice will require it's own internet connection and a BT Smart Hub.

Edited by j0hn83 (Fri 29-Apr-22 16:00:22)

Am I right in thinking BT Voice is to a considerable extent a deliberate non-industry-standard way of locking in customers?

In reply to a post by pluralist:

Am I right in thinking BT Voice is to a considerable extent a deliberate non-industry-standard way of locking in customers?

Zen require you to use 1 of their pre configured Fritzboxes to use their VOIP.
I think Hyperoptic require their CPE for their VOIP.
Virgin require the Virgin Hub for VOIP, though at least that works in modem mode.
Sky require their hub... etc...

It's becoming common place.

In reply to a post by pluralist:

Am I right in thinking BT Voice is to a considerable extent a deliberate non-industry-standard way of locking in customers?

Maybe in the future there will be a way to separate the services. But I think at the moment they are trying to make the process as simple as possible, even if it's frustrating for the more tech-minded people.

OP, isn't it possible to port the phone number over to a VOIP provider then just order FTTP broadband from BT?

In reply to a post by NBK:

And yes, I know I could have moved their number to a VoIP service and got a standalone ATA for the phones but they wanted to stay with BT.

Unfortunately the choice really is that binary. There is no way around it and no plans for BT to change - but there is a choice...

In reply to a post by NBK:

Which means I'm left annoyed and frustrated

How do your parents feel about using the SH2? if they were as annoyed and frustrated as you are wouldn't they have moved their telephone number to a separate VOIP provider and used mobile data rather than BT public wifi while they were out and about?

Edited by deleted (Fri 29-Apr-22 16:49:37)

In reply to a post by pluralist:

Am I right in thinking BT Voice is to a considerable extent a deliberate non-industry-standard way of locking in customers?

Most likely a side-effect of support cost savings by standardising the retail offering as they will have remote diagnostics.

The biggest gripe is that they do not offer a mechanism to split bundled broadband and voice to separate providers which is really what some customers want to be able to do.

Whilst there are complexities going from WLR3 + FTTC to SoGEA + VoIP from another provider, due to the way underlying systems and processes work, there is absolutely no technical reason why BT cannot offer migration of broadband from FTTC to FTTP, when it is available to the customer, and then allowing the customer to port out the WLR3 phone number to another provider. It is purely to retain people and make money from call packages or the eye-watering call charges.