F.A.Q.

BT Smart Hub 2 - Connection Issues (April 2021)

BT Smart Hub 2 - Connection Issues (April 2021)
James L.
Badge +17

Update - 11th June 2021:

BT have confirmed that the firmware update that contains a fix for this original issue has been rolled out to the majority of users. Therefore, we can consider this issue closed. 

If your BT Smart Hub 2 router is still running the affected firmware (V0.26.03.01286) then please get in touch with BT directly.

Anyone that still experiences issues on the latest firmware, please create a new topic or get in touch with Sonos Customer Care.

Update - 7th May 2021:

BT have issued a new statement:

“We’re aware that a very small number of customers are experiencing an issue with their BT Smart Hub 2 connecting with multiple streaming devices on their Wi-Fi network. Any customer who experiences this should get in touch with BT who will update their device remotely as soon as possible. BT will be rolling out an update to all devices later this month. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

 

Original post - 22nd April 2021:

Hey everyone,

 

We’re aware of an issue affecting Sonos users with BT Smart Hub 2 routers that causes problems with connecting to players in a wireless configuration. This is caused by a bug in the BT Smart Hub 2’s firmware (version V0.26.03.01286) which prevents devices on the 5GHz band from communicating with devices on the 2.4GHz band, and vice versa. Most of the affected users have iPhones running iOS version 14.4.2, but we have seen other types of controller, such as Android devices, affected by this issue as well.

 

The most consistent workaround we have discovered is to disable the 5GHz band on the BT Smart Hub 2. You can learn more about how to do this using these steps:

Please be aware, turning off 5GHz could affect the speed at which other devices connect through the network and should only be considered a temporary workaround.

 

Steps taken from a post on the BT Community.

 

1) Open a new web browser on a device connected to your Hub and type 192.168.1.254 in the address bar. This will open the Hub Manager.

​

 

 

2) Click Wireless. This will open the Wireless Settings page.

 

3) Select ‘Change settings’

​

 

4) Enter the Admin password. This is found on the back of the router and on the removable card. Click ‘OK’

​

 

5) Toggle 5GHz OFF

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6) Click 'Save'

​

 

7) Click 'Yes' at the warning prompt.

8) Wait for your devices to reconnect. You may need to reboot your Sonos devices by powering them down for 30 seconds and powering them back up.

​

 

Alternatively, some users have been able to work around the issue by wiring a player directly to the router, though this doesn’t work in every case. Systems that have a Sonos Move or Roam on them will also not be helped by this change, so disabling 5GHz would be best for those households.

 

 We recommend that you report this issue to BT with the following information:

 

“Devices connected to the 5GHz band are not able to communicate with devices connected to the 2.4GHz band and it appears the connections are being erroneously isolated.”

 

You don’t need to specifically mention Sonos devices when reporting this issue to BT as the information alone will be enough for them to recognize the issue you’re facing.
 

BT are indeed aware of this issue and are actively investigating and working to resolve it as quickly as possible. We’ll update this post with any further news as and when we receive it.

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261 replies

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @nomadski 

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Looking at the update date it was today, 12th May, so maybe they have removed the recent firmwares from the update process?

I think this is a safe bet.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
C

I’m also suffering this BT Hub 2 issue. Firmare wv0.26.03.01286-BT  

My iPhone will not connect although my iPad and MacBook are more reliable with the Sonos app. The phone (11 pro)  though has so many issues. The only thing I’ve not tried is the switching off of 5ghz. If I reboot everything it works for 24 hours and then all starts again. 

N
Userlevel 1
Badge +2

I’m also suffering this BT Hub 2 issue. Firmare wv0.26.03.01286-BT  

My iPhone will not connect although my iPad and MacBook are more reliable with the Sonos app. The phone (11 pro)  though has so many issues. The only thing I’ve not tried is the switching off of 5ghz. If I reboot everything it works for 24 hours and then all starts again. 

That was the firmware my router that got replaced was on. Your router may have similarly ‘refused’ the recent update. 
 

Short term - don’t bother with router reboots as it just comes back, turn off the 5ghz band which does work but will slow your WiFi devices somewhat. 
 

Proper fix - contact BT directly, tell them your router is suffering the same problem the bbc article mentioned and your WiFi devices are not talking to each other on both bands. They will either force an update or see that an update was sent but failed and send you out a new router. 
 

Doesn’t cost anything and they provide a return label for you to post old router back to them.
 

Takes about 3 days for new router to arrive. 

M

I’ve had this problem and it now seems to be resolved 🤞

ive just upgraded to S2 because I’ve just got a Roam..

I wanted to then set up a separate S1 system for my play 5 gen1

on completing, one minute it would work then the next minute it wouldn’t.. roam and move would disappear on some iOS devices but be visible on others..

anyway did as suggested and spoke to BT.. They said they have made some changes and I would have to now reboot the smart hub 2.. they didn’t actually say what they have done..?

Anyway all is working as it should do at the moment 🤞just to confirm during this process I’ve not touched any of the speakers.. hub was just rebooted and once it came on I opened both apps and all was as it should be 👍

I am so glad I found this on here otherwise I’d still be messing about now trying all sorts of different things!

🤞all is ok come morning 😬

Hi Nick,

just to clarify did BT update your firmware or did you just disable tye 5ghz?

Cheers

Matt

L
Userlevel 1
Badge +4

My router was updated this week & all seems ok at present. The Sonos speakers have been working quite well the last few days….

 

I don’t want to tempt fate, but hopefully the latest firmware update has done the trick for me….🤞

 

The new firmware is v0.26.04.04227-BT…. 🤞

M

My router was updated this week & all seems ok at present. The Sonos speakers have been working quite well the last few days….

 

I don’t want to tempt fate, but hopefully the latest firmware update has done the trick for me….🤞

 

The new firmware is v0.26.04.04227-BT…. 🤞

Thanks Leigh,

i was on the phone earlier to them and they said the end of the month. My issue appears to be the mesh conflicting with BT routers Wi-fi. 

L
Userlevel 1
Badge +4

An update on the latest firmware update, is that it’s no better for me….🤦‍♂️
 

My Arc/Sub/SL combination have been switching on & off all night.

 

The only way I could get the to work again, was rebooting the router, yet again….🤬

 

I’ve given up for tonight…. I’ll give BT another call tomorrow….

B

Just had a long E-chat with BT support.  They acknowledge the issue (albeit hinting it’s a Sonos generated problem).  They say the new update that resolves the problem will be ready by the end of May!

M

Just had a long E-chat with BT support.  They acknowledge the issue (albeit hinting it’s a Sonos generated problem).  They say the new update that resolves the problem will be ready by the end of May!

Yes, that’s what I was advised, but luckily I no longer have issues. 

C

My firmware has been updated to v0.26.04.04227-BT

All seems to be working fine for now. 

J

Hi, all, interesting, I’ve been struggling with this as well, continually disconnecting and reconnecting my Bt hub, I’ve now disconnected the 5Ghz (switched it off) as per the above and it seems to be back on my phone and iPad, hopefully if Bt fix the issue someone will let us all know.

 

regards, johnny boy

G

Yeah I just gave up and went out and bought an Eero . Best decision I've made in a long time! 

J

Yeah I just gave up and went out and bought an Eero . Best decision I've made in a long time! 

Yeh, I’ve switched the 5Ghz back on my Bt hub, and am now using Alexa, sad really, 

M
Userlevel 1
Badge

Well things have become even worse for me. 

 

Can no longer connect to the Sonos speakers at all now other than by Alexa directly on the Ones or using Alexa on the Echos to control the Symfonisks, but ultimately its limited control compared to using Airplay for me and my general usage. 

 

(Is it related to the Sonos App (iOS) update version 13.1 with the ever helpful “Bug fixes and improved performance”)

 

Anyway...

Just spent 45 minutes on phone with BT and mentioned the firmware update several times including routing the actual number as detailed in the thread but got nowhere in that regard so am currently still running V0.26.03.01286

 

How do you get through to someone who can action the update?

 

Only thing I got was another WiFi Disc is being sent out free of charge so that I can try plugging the speakers in directly and leaving them like that. Also booked an engineer to visit later in month but feel thats fruitless and stated as much but obviously they have a procedure to follow and in fairness the operative was trying to help.

If BT are being open about this issue they are keeping it hidden from those that can potentially help as they couldn't find anything on the update. 

Not impressed really. For us its a rock solid service but this has really let them down. 

J

What cracks me up is the fact they they, that is, Sonos and the likes of BT want us to use there products but leave you dangling over the cliff of frustration not knowing which way to jump, I’m so fed up of it all I feel like dumping the lot and going back to hard wired.

G

I called BT on 17 May to report it.  I noticed today my software has been updated today to v0.26.04.04227.

 

Problem seems solved.  I am rather happy, as my Sonos 3 is now connected for the first time in about a month.

M
Userlevel 1
Badge

I called BT on 17 May to report it.  I noticed today my software has been updated today to v0.26.04.04227.

 

Problem seems solved.  I am rather happy, as my Sonos 3 is now connected for the first time in about a month.

Likewise. 
 

Received an email late last night telling me my case has been resolved/closed but on checking the reference number it doesn’t exist in the system as I can see it. 
 

Checked the hub this morning and showing v0.26.04.04227 now.

 

So either I wasted my time on the phone yesterday and should have just waited or after the call it was picked up by someone else who actioned the update or whatever needed to be done. 
Either way everything currently working as it should. Let’s hope it stays that way now. 
 

Will leave it a week before cancelling the engineer that was booked to ‘check everything’

controlav
Userlevel 7
Badge +23

What cracks me up is the fact they they, that is, Sonos and the likes of BT want us to use there products but leave you dangling over the cliff of frustration not knowing which way to jump, I’m so fed up of it all I feel like dumping the lot and going back to hard wired.


Hard-wired may not help as your mobile device still needs wireless, and if your router interferes with inter-device communication between wired/wireless then your problems will remain. You need a router that does not interfere with local network traffic if you want Sonos to work reliably.

Oh and Sonos are not leaving you dangling anywhere: this is 100% BT’s problem.

Author of the leading independent Sonos app for Windows, the only Sonos app for Xbox, and a Sonos app for iOS
J

I reported the issue a few weeks ago to BT - only solution they had was to switch off 5Ghz connection and wait for a fix and or update. They did this remotely i.e. switched off 5Ghz. Yesterday I reset my BT Smart Hub (I have done this umpteen times recently) and noticed in doing this the Hub was updated to firmware version v 0.26.04.04227. That’s new I thought - so restarted 5Ghz connection myself. Sonos worked like a dream. 24 hours later and (say it quietly) Sonos is still working perfectly. Early days perhaps but recently Sonos only worked on 5 Ghz for a few hours at a time before crashing. Anyway, it seems to be working now. I appreciate everyone’s situation is different. I’ll keep you posted on progress. 

M
Userlevel 1
Badge

Received the new firmware v 0.26.04.04227 yesterday and results are mixed.  iPad seems ok, the Sonos app works.  iPhone seems a bit more intermittent, works sometimes, not others. which is better than it never working with the previous firmware.  Airplay to the Sonos is still very broken, disconnects after a few minutes

D
Badge

I recently started having the same issue with a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X and an AC Lite setup. Are you aware of this?

N
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

I recently started having the same issue with a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X and an AC Lite setup. Are you aware of this?

You might be better starting a new topic and leave this thread specifically for BT Smart Hub 2 comments. 

S

I reported this to BT last week and they remotely upgraded firmware to v0.26.04.04227-BT

Switched 5ghz back on and initially worked like a charm.  However after 24 hours back to same problem - can’t see Sonos, plus various other devices using 2.4ghz can’t be seen by items on 5ghz.  Only option is to switch off 5ghz.  Hopefully new firmware being launched by BT fixes this quickly as very very frustrated right now.

Sonosjunkie
Userlevel 5
Badge +12

Glad I stumbled across this thread. I have the same router, but had not noticed any issues with Sonos (probably not noticed as I use Boost and Sonosnet) But had been having problems with a HP wireless printer which was resolved by disabling the 2.4Ghz network. I’ve noticed that the router has since updated to the v0.26.04.04227-BT firmware mentioned. I’ll test to see if that has resolved the issue. 

Lounge: 5.1 Arc HT (2x Subs and 2xP5 rears) with LGOLED77CX. Kitchen: 2xOneW, 2xP3w with SubW. Bedroom: 2xP1s. Office/Studio: 2xP5w. Snug 2xP1s. Garage: 2xOneW. Also 3x Moves.
M
Userlevel 1
Badge

So, my comment 5 posts ago was a bit premature^ after only just having received the update, 4 days later and everything now works, all the time.  The new firmware does fix the issue but there may be some short term issues before it settles down.

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