BT Home Hub internet into home LAN/WiFi network
Discussion
Is there any way to have a decent AX WiFi setup in your home (likely a pair of decent AX WiFi routers with a dedicated AX back-haul, if such a thing exists), that can just tie the internet from a BT Home Hub 5 into it?
From what I keep reading it seems like the Home Hub 5 can't pass it's internet into another network for distribution? No WAN port. So anything with port forwarding is just impossible?!
Also I quite fancied having a way to run a PiHole and have two SSID to connect to... possible?
I read and read and just don't get answers.
Even the general rubrick for most WiFi extending products seem so vague they're useless... ie, one AX WiFi mesher I read about (£400 too!) used the AX channel for back-haul, so essentially it wasn't an AX product. Flipping stupid.
I live in rented. If I had the choice I'd put LAN cables everywhere and do it properly... though you still have the issue of the BT s
te hardware for the actual internet connection.
Do those old modems (used to get a modem and a router with BT) still work? Will BT support it?
Doesn't anyone actually sell a decent home router/modem with AX on it?
From what I keep reading it seems like the Home Hub 5 can't pass it's internet into another network for distribution? No WAN port. So anything with port forwarding is just impossible?!
Also I quite fancied having a way to run a PiHole and have two SSID to connect to... possible?
I read and read and just don't get answers.
Even the general rubrick for most WiFi extending products seem so vague they're useless... ie, one AX WiFi mesher I read about (£400 too!) used the AX channel for back-haul, so essentially it wasn't an AX product. Flipping stupid.
I live in rented. If I had the choice I'd put LAN cables everywhere and do it properly... though you still have the issue of the BT s
te hardware for the actual internet connection.Do those old modems (used to get a modem and a router with BT) still work? Will BT support it?
Doesn't anyone actually sell a decent home router/modem with AX on it?
Nearly any mesh system can be plugged into a LAN port on your BT home hub and work.
What you seem to be looking for is a tri band mesh system. That will have one 2.4Ghz channel for WiFi clients, one 5Ghz channel for WiFi clients and one 5Ghz channel for dedicated wireless backhaul. Netgear Orbi 6 and Linksys Velop MX10 are two such systems that fit the brief but I have no personal experience of how good they are.
You can use old BT Openreach modems on FTTC connections without problem. I do. If you do that though you’ll need something to do the routing. That could be a mesh system if it supports it or a dedicated router that doesn’t need WiFi because you have your mesh. However unless you need some sort of advanced firewall if or routing I’d just turn off WiFi on the HH and use it with your shiny mesh system.
What you seem to be looking for is a tri band mesh system. That will have one 2.4Ghz channel for WiFi clients, one 5Ghz channel for WiFi clients and one 5Ghz channel for dedicated wireless backhaul. Netgear Orbi 6 and Linksys Velop MX10 are two such systems that fit the brief but I have no personal experience of how good they are.
You can use old BT Openreach modems on FTTC connections without problem. I do. If you do that though you’ll need something to do the routing. That could be a mesh system if it supports it or a dedicated router that doesn’t need WiFi because you have your mesh. However unless you need some sort of advanced firewall if or routing I’d just turn off WiFi on the HH and use it with your shiny mesh system.
Wow those options aren't cheap.
The ASUS ZenWiFi looks good and it's a fair bit cheaper.
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-zenwifi-ax-xt...
Plus I can just get the old BT modem and plug right into this and then let the ASUS do all the work.
I also like the fact they have 2.5GbE which my latest computer has and will be near the modem/first router, along with a new DS920+ NAS which can get a good connection directly to it all.
But thinking about it right now, my NAS won't do more than 1Gb and my only AX device would be my new desktop machine which will mainly be doing sync to the NAS (not working off it), and the NAS is pretty much saturated due to the SATA interface at 1Gb any way.
I'm wondering maybe if bothering with AX is worthwhile at this point. Then again the back-haul at AX speed is the main attraction so the internet and NAS (feeding media) won't saturate the connection on an AC type mesh.
I think just going from a crappy single AC to a very good AC mesh would possibly be a big leap, never mind AX... hmmmm.
The ASUS ZenWiFi looks good and it's a fair bit cheaper.
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-zenwifi-ax-xt...
Plus I can just get the old BT modem and plug right into this and then let the ASUS do all the work.
I also like the fact they have 2.5GbE which my latest computer has and will be near the modem/first router, along with a new DS920+ NAS which can get a good connection directly to it all.
But thinking about it right now, my NAS won't do more than 1Gb and my only AX device would be my new desktop machine which will mainly be doing sync to the NAS (not working off it), and the NAS is pretty much saturated due to the SATA interface at 1Gb any way.
I'm wondering maybe if bothering with AX is worthwhile at this point. Then again the back-haul at AX speed is the main attraction so the internet and NAS (feeding media) won't saturate the connection on an AC type mesh.
I think just going from a crappy single AC to a very good AC mesh would possibly be a big leap, never mind AX... hmmmm.
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