BT Home Hub

[ratfink]

So... I had port forwarding enabled on my home hub 4, so I could attach remotely to a code repository running on my home network.

Today I go to add another port, and my modem crashes when I select "firewall" in the interface. Completely crashes, takes a few minutes to sort itself out. Took a few iterations to determine it was selecting the option causing the crashing and not a general fault with BT.

So.. I factory-reset, it no longer crashes but I don't have time to fiddle much. I come back later when I do have time, guess what it crashes again when I try to set up port forwarding...

Reading the interwebs this kind of issue can turn up, possibly a firmware update that's forced by BT and maybe reapplied with a lag after a reset.

It's not the greatest router in terms of flexibility so I want to replace it. But whereas I was pretty comfortable buying a normal broadband router like the netgear 834g I used to have, now it's all rather complicated. I'm on BT Infinity. Do I need a modem or not, what sort, what is tri-band wifi etc etc- what are all these options - I just want it to work, have firewall and access settings I can set, have a decent wifi signal, 2k and 5k wifi, enough umph to deal with 5-10 wifi devices, and download/upload fast.

I'm hoping one of the many gurus on this site might be able to spare some words of wisdom! Any recommendations?

 

[tokyoracer]

I'd ring them up and see if you can get them to send you a SmartHub. Just tell them you're having internet issues, make something up even so they will send you a new one. If you're on Infinity (fibre), you should be entitled to a "SmartHub". Mine seems to be pretty stable anyway.

 

[Retro_Lover]

The Homehub 4 & 5 are possibly THE worst pile of utter shite I have ever used. I used to keep getting random crashes, and worse still - constant drop-outs and reconnects at download speeds slower than my upload speeds. So instead of my usual 32Mbit connection with Infinity, I would get 5Mbit. After lots of swearing at BT, I got nowhere. And threats to leave if they didn't send out a Homehub 6, even after they accepted the HH 4 and 5 were ****.

So I got one of these bad boys.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NEQZ12Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got mine for £40 from amazon, used but boxed and in great condition.

And I can put hand on heart and say not only has my speeds improved, 33Mbit, 6Mbit up, I also get 1 disconnect a fortnight, as opposed to 1 every hour. The interface is superb, and so easy to setup port forwarding. Not trying to sound like a salesperson or anything, I got my advice from other Infinity users. The 3 aerials also provide me with the most stable and fastest wireless connections I have had yet, with both my Xbox One and PS4 connecting and downloading better than ever. Just downloaded a 19Gb update of Driveclub for PS4 in 3 hours. Not too bad.

Hope that helps.