BT Homehub 2 Repeater

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BaldGuy

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I have a BT Homehub 2 and want to set up a repeater for extended wireless aroung the house... been online and everything i've found says you can't with a Homehub 2... anyone know different?
 
From what I can see the Homehub 2 doesn't support WDS therefor you cant just add a second access point in the traditional manner

On a BT business hub (outlaws over xmas) I extended mine by using an Asus WL-330GE (my travel router) - a brilliant piece of kit about the size of a packet of normal (non superking) cigarettes. It will connect wired or wirelessly to a Net connection and then share it albeit with a second different SSID

When travelling its a complete gem that i wouldnt be without, last year in the US we had 2 x netbooks and 2 x Nokia N95s (VoIP) connected at each location we stayed. This is also pretty useful in places like the Wynn where they charge per device. I connected both wired and wireless depending on location.
It has the useful ability to connect to a wireless SSID and then rebroadcast your own (home?) SSID for all devices. This means at each new location only the one device needs re-configuring.

Mine is configured exactly the same as my home router so whenever I set up everything connects automatically.


Alternatively you could just use another wireless AP on a different channel and hard wire it back to the hub ?


I don't have a homehub 2 to test with, but let me know if you want to borrow the Asus for a few days


Mark
 
Mark - your a diamond dude..... your quite far from me though.... where can i get one? I presume its mains powered? Can I just setup and leave it?

GW
 
I checked the web and whilst stocks are thin they are available here

There are other stores but these guys claim to have stock and at least have an address!

I will happily stick mine in the post if you dont need weeks of tech support :)
 
No it won't. Homehub 2 has WDS disabled in the firmware. BT also locked out telnet access so you are stuck with what's left configurable in the GUI.

I was irritated by the poor range and so opened it up, drilled the top edge and added two external aerials on pigtails from Oxfordtec (standard box has two small flat-plate internal aerials that you just unplug and leave). Reaches the bottom of the garden now...
 
No it won't. Homehub 2 has WDS disabled in the firmware.


Yep - but the Asus acts as a client and retransmits on a different SSID using NAT for multiple clients :) - this is Ok if you dont want extended N coverage and G will suffice
This certainly is currently working on a BT 2Wire Business hub on the latest firmware which has also been badly hacked by BT to prevent anything but BT VoIP but I have no dealings with homehubs so I cant tell if they have managed to prevent this



However

I was irritated by the poor range and so opened it up, drilled the top edge and added two external aerials on pigtails from Oxfordtec (standard box has two small flat-plate internal aerials that you just unplug and leave). Reaches the bottom of the garden now..

That is a nice simple solution to the problem !
 
I might have a BT Business Hub laying around somewhere - the power supply for it went belly up a couple of months ago - want me to have a rummage around for it?
 
Yep - but the Asus acts as a client and retransmits on a different SSID using NAT for multiple clients :) - this is Ok if you dont want extended N coverage and G will suffice
This certainly is currently working on a BT 2Wire Business hub on the latest firmware which has also been badly hacked by BT to prevent anything but BT VoIP but I have no dealings with homehubs so I cant tell if they have managed to prevent this



However



That is a nice simple solution to the problem !

Sounds like that would be a possibility - I wanted Wireless N and the total of about £18 worked for me (no warranty left of course but BT just send a new one if it breaks anyway...).

Of course the new "ears" don't look so sleek as the bare box but approx 2.5x the range compensates as the hub now sits on a bookcase in the study out of the way!
 
It's probably not useful in your specific situation but DD-WRT is an open firmware for WiFi devices that includes things like bridging, repeating etc. Worth a Google if you need to do anything non-standard with WiFi (I have a bridge behind my TV for the Xbox, HTPC etc).
 
Not the cheapest solution but certainly the easiest is the Devolo 1422 dLAN Wireless Extender. Costs £123.57 from PC World.

You simply connect a network cable from the hub to the special plug and plug it into a normal socket. The signal is then sent via your copper electicity cables to whichever socket you plug the extender into. It then appears as a separate wireless access point for you to connect to.

I have used the devolo wired products for years as I live in an old house with solid walls with plenty of dead spots. This wireless solution is perfect and really does make wired networks almost obsolete.

It's a simple 2 minute installation. As I said, it's not the cheapest solution - depends how you value your time.

Good luck.
 
I found the most effective solution and the most robust one too was to use an old Cisco (industrial use) access point in to my normal router.

We've upgraded them all in our offices so we have stacks of these Cisco access points gathering dust.

Coverage is infinitely superior than anything designed for home use and it *never* requires a reboot.

Only problem was setting the cisco router up via telnet... No easy to use GUI on these :eek:

Has anyone used the homeplug extenders? maybe this is the best option for the OP?
 
I provide a loving home for last-gen tech if you want to recycle any of those Cisco jobbies...

Trade you 3 JetDirect hubs and an ISDN modem? :D
 
I found the most effective solution and the most robust one too was to use an old Cisco (industrial use) access point in to my normal router.

We've upgraded them all in our offices so we have stacks of these Cisco access points gathering dust.

Coverage is infinitely superior than anything designed for home use and it *never* requires a reboot.

Only problem was setting the cisco router up via telnet... No easy to use GUI on these :eek:

Has anyone used the homeplug extenders? maybe this is the best option for the OP?

Yes I have two Slingboxes using them (so they don't "hog" the wireless). no issues at all.
 

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