Skip to content
FileSaveAs logo

FileSaveAs UK

Mobile Technology, Smartphones and Connectivity

  • Home
  • Mobile Phones
  • Smartphones
  • Home Internet
  • Mobile Internet
  • News
  • Toggle search form

BT Home Hub Help – Using a Second Router

Want to use the Home Hub with a second router? Or looking to use the Hub as a secondary hub to extend your wi-fi range? Here’s some hints.

 

 

Using the BT Home Hub as the main router

We’ve been asked to help with the following: "I’m considering moving to BT Broadband but want to keep my existing D-Link Wireless-N wireless router and gigabit Ethernet switch. Is it possible to disable the wireless access on the BT Home Hub, using it only as an initial entry modem/router+ IP Phone device?"

The answer is "yes", provided your other router can work as a switch. Here’s what you need to do

  • Connect from one of the Home Hub’s Ethernet ports to the main port on your other router/switch
  • Disable wi-fi on the Home Hub – details
  • Log in to the Home Hub interface and turn off DHCP. On the Hub v1, go to ‘Advanced > Configuration > IP Addresses’. On the Hub v2m go to ‘Settings > Advanced > Home Network > IP addresses’ and deselect the "Use DHCP Server" option.

Doing this should make your other router responsible for assigning IP addresses and wireless connectivity (so you’ll need to enable DHCP and wireless on the other router).

 

Using the Home Hub as a secondary router

We wanted to find a way of getting our BT Home Hub to work with an existing ADSL router and BT Broadband. This was so that could get broadband in two different parts of our office (ready for BT Vision). Our second router is a Netgear DG834PN.

We found a solution in the end, as follows:

  • First, we turned off the Netgear router’s DHCP service, by accessing the Belkin Router’s configuration software
  • There didn’t seem to be a way of using the Netgear router as a wi-fi receiver (to get a wireless signal from the BT Home Hub) – it was able to advertise itself as a wireless access point, but not able to make use of another router’s wireless signal for Internet access. The way around this for us was to make use of a wi-fi Game Adapter (the Belkin G Wireless Network Adapter F5D7330). This has an Ethernet port and is meant to be used for connecting a games console that doesn’t have wifi, to a wireless network.
    At the time of writing, this Network Adapter is available at Misco. and PC World.
  • We configured the Belkin Game Adapter for wireless Internet access by connecting directly to a PC and using the Belkin configuration software. We had to make sure the Adapter was using an IP address and subnet in the range expected by the Home Hub. We then connected the adapter into the first port of our Netgear router using an RJ45 Ethernet cable.
  • The Netgear router recognised the connection, and other devices plugged into the other ports on the Netgear router were able to make use of the Belkin Game Adapter’s Internet connection.
  • This solution works a treat for us, but we were surprised there wasn’t an easier way. See the thread at FileSaveAs forum to discuss this.

 

Using a second BT Home Hub

A question from Graham: "I currently have my BT Home Hub in a room upstairs connected to a PC and I am considering getting BT Vision. If I purchased a second hub for downstairs, would both hubs work?"

You can’t have two BT Home Hubs directly connected to a broadband-enabled phone line at the same time – you can only have one Broadband Advice modem in use on any one line. The best option is to site your Home Hub close to your TV (for Vision), then use a USB wi-fi adapter for your PC upstairs.

Thanks to Darren for adding the following: "You can have two BT home hubs, (or a second router), one as a repeater. All you do is select the repeater option on both, and on your main one, configure the address of the second one to use as a repeater, just that the second one has no ADSL line going into it".

There’s more on this process on the Jarviser Repeater Hubs page, although note that it seems that this process isn’t possible with the BT Home Hub v2.0

 

 

Need more Home Hub help?

We have a number of other pages offering help and advice on the Home Hub:

  • Home Hub Security Settings
  • Home Hub Port Forwarding
  • Home Hub Phones and Telephony
  • Logging in to your Home Hub
  • Home Hub USB sockets
  • Wireless settings on a Home Hub
  • Troubleshooting Home Hub Problems
  • Using a BT Home Hub with a second router

 

 

If you’ve got any questions we’ve not covered, or need help and advice, please ask in our Home Hub forum – Sign up and post a new message.

When posting – please make sure you include details of your computer’s operating system (XP, Vista, etc), which Service Packs have been applied, the software version your Hub’s running, and how you’re connecting (Ethernet, wi-fi or USB)

Go to Home Hub Forum

 

Other Home Hub resources:

  • Hub Information: BT Home Hub Basics
  • Common Questions: Home Hub FAQ , Home Hub Audio Guide
  • More on the BT Home Hub: Jarviser Hub Files
  • BT Fon Help: BT Fon Information
  • Internet on the move? Mobile Broadband help
  • Home Hub Chat: Home Hub Forum
  • Help with wireless? Wi-fi Networking Advice

Listen to the FrequencyCast UK online radio show
FrequencyCast Podcast IconPODCAST FEATURE: The "Unofficial Guide to the Home Hub" is a free downloadable audio file, helping with many setup and config issues.
Listen to the show online, or download it to your MP3 player.

Listen to Home Hub Guide | What is FrequencyCast? | Add us to iTunes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  

About FileSaveAs

Our team has been serving the online community since 2002. We offer a mix of tech information & answers to common questions.

Recent Comments

  • Neil John Aplin on Forum – Not Available
  • Shrimp on iTunes Library Updater killed by iTunes 11
  • adr on iTunes Library Updater killed by iTunes 11
  • Sinead MacCaughey on Tip for Faster Mobile Broadband
  • Jon on Disabling the mobile version of a website on an iPhone

Home | Site Info | Terms & Privacy Policy | Glossary | Contact FileSaveAs | Copyright © 2024 FileSaveAs >>

Powered by PressBook WordPress theme

This site uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalised ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to our use of cookies, however you can select "Cookie Settings" to control your consent. View Terms & Privacy Policy
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
CookieLawInfoConsent1 yearRecords the default button state of the corresponding category & the status of CCPA. It works only in coordination with the primary cookie.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_gasessionThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. For details of this cookie, go to <a href="https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites">Google's Privacy & Terms site</a>
_gat_gtag_UA_*1 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users. For details of this cookie, go to <a href="https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites">Google's Privacy & Terms site</a>
_gat_gtag_UA_226762_36sessionSet by Google to distinguish users. For details of this cookie, go to <a href="https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites">Google's Privacy & Terms site</a>
_gidsessionInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. For details of this cookie, go to <a href="https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites">Google's Privacy & Terms site</a>
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo
Go to mobile version