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F.A.Q.

BT Smart Hub 2 - Connection Issues (April 2021)

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 22, 2021
261 replies
54358 views

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

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.

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

Show previous replies

M

Man1c

Lyricist III

Update from BT complaints, acknowledging it’s a an issue with the firmware (yay). Priority 1 issue and should be fixed in the coming days. Only affects devices connected directly to the SH2 apparently and devices connected to the wifi discs would be unaffected. Was already looking to replace it myself with a Ubiquity UniFi Dream Machine.

Interesting regarding the discs.
Had ours off since the Smart Hub 2 arrived as hasn’t got around to it and then distracted by this whole charade.

Just connected the disc upstairs to the SH2 and straight away the 2 Ones upstairs connected to it and sure enough they show up in the Sonos App.

The downstairs speakers won’t connect to the disc as the SH2 is far stronger downstairs.

So maybe the issue is solely BT’s then.
Still. Why does the Ring camera work but the Sonos gear doesn’t. Strange.

Fingers crossed they come good sooner rather than later then now.

controlav

Lead Maestro

So maybe the issue is solely BT’s then.
Still. Why does the Ring camera work but the Sonos gear doesn’t. Strange.

Fingers crossed they come good sooner rather than later then now.

Of course this is solely BT’s issue. The fact your Ring works is not at all “strange” because it doesn’t do a device-device connection: the camera goes out to the internet. Their app on your phone goes out to the internet. Even BT don’t get device->internet wrong. Sonos needs device-to-device, on your local network, to function correctly, so when BT make some devices (5GHz) not connect to some other devices (2.4GHz) on the same damn network then Sonos’ whole network model breaks down.

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.

M

Mel Fey

Lyricist I

Hiya. Another fed up BT customer with SH2 and was unable to keep connected my new SONOS kit.
On Monday I raised a complaint with BT as suggested. I’ve just tried my Sonos and fingers crossed seems to be connecting!

The BT firmware hasn’t been update yet. If you’re connecting it’s likely because your smart phone has dropped on to the 2.4ghz frequency.

Oh!! I thought it was too good to be true!

M

Man1c

Lyricist III

So maybe the issue is solely BT’s then.
Still. Why does the Ring camera work but the Sonos gear doesn’t. Strange.

Fingers crossed they come good sooner rather than later then now.

Of course this is solely BT’s issue. The fact your Ring works is not at all “strange” because it doesn’t do a device-device connection: the camera goes out to the internet. Their app on your phone goes out to the internet. Even BT don’t get device->internet wrong. Sonos needs device-to-device, on your local network, to function correctly, so when BT make some devices (5GHz) not connect to some other devices (2.4GHz) on the same damn network then Sonos’ whole network model breaks down.

Cool. Like I’ve said. Im no tech head so if a device on 2.4ghz works with my phone but another device doesn’t then yes, to me it’s ‘strange’.

Device to device or device to internet means nothing to the vast majority of us and like me probably don’t even now whether that’s the case or not for a particular product.

So whilst it may be ‘obvious’ to you that these differences exist don’t assume we all understand those differences and how they play out in this instance.

Maybe Sonos could have added more explanation which wouldn’t then lead to people querying why some things work and some don’t when the conditions appear on the surface to be the same.

(As a side point though, I’d still be curious as to why Sonos use only 2.4ghz apart from that’s what hardware they have, more why that was chosen and not the ability to use both)

J

Joelnorris7

Lyricist I

So maybe the issue is solely BT’s then.
Still. Why does the Ring camera work but the Sonos gear doesn’t. Strange.

Fingers crossed they come good sooner rather than later then now.

Of course this is solely BT’s issue. The fact your Ring works is not at all “strange” because it doesn’t do a device-device connection: the camera goes out to the internet. Their app on your phone goes out to the internet. Even BT don’t get device->internet wrong. Sonos needs device-to-device, on your local network, to function correctly, so when BT make some devices (5GHz) not connect to some other devices (2.4GHz) on the same damn network then Sonos’ whole network model breaks down.

Cool. Like I’ve said. Im no tech head so if a device on 2.4ghz works with my phone but another device doesn’t then yes, to me it’s ‘strange’.

Device to device or device to internet means nothing to the vast majority of us and like me probably don’t even now whether that’s the case or not for a particular product.

So whilst it may be ‘obvious’ to you that these differences exist don’t assume we all understand those differences and how they play out in this instance.

Maybe Sonos could have added more explanation which wouldn’t then lead to people querying why some things work and some don’t when the conditions appear on the surface to be the same.

(As a side point though, I’d still be curious as to why Sonos use only 2.4ghz apart from that’s what hardware they have, more why that was chosen and not the ability to use both)

In simple terms the 2.4Ghz range is better over longer distances. 5GHZ is better over short distances. So for a whole home music streaming experience, 2.4Ghz is the right choice.

M

Man1c

Lyricist III

So maybe the issue is solely BT’s then.
Still. Why does the Ring camera work but the Sonos gear doesn’t. Strange.

Fingers crossed they come good sooner rather than later then now.

Of course this is solely BT’s issue. The fact your Ring works is not at all “strange” because it doesn’t do a device-device connection: the camera goes out to the internet. Their app on your phone goes out to the internet. Even BT don’t get device->internet wrong. Sonos needs device-to-device, on your local network, to function correctly, so when BT make some devices (5GHz) not connect to some other devices (2.4GHz) on the same damn network then Sonos’ whole network model breaks down.

Cool. Like I’ve said. Im no tech head so if a device on 2.4ghz works with my phone but another device doesn’t then yes, to me it’s ‘strange’.

Device to device or device to internet means nothing to the vast majority of us and like me probably don’t even now whether that’s the case or not for a particular product.

So whilst it may be ‘obvious’ to you that these differences exist don’t assume we all understand those differences and how they play out in this instance.

Maybe Sonos could have added more explanation which wouldn’t then lead to people querying why some things work and some don’t when the conditions appear on the surface to be the same.

(As a side point though, I’d still be curious as to why Sonos use only 2.4ghz apart from that’s what hardware they have, more why that was chosen and not the ability to use both)

In simple terms the 2.4Ghz range is better over longer distances. 5GHZ is better over short distances. So for a whole home music streaming experience, 2.4Ghz is the right choice.

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense on that regard.

I wonder then would it still not be of some benefit to have both the bands available but for the device to default to 2.4ghz with the 5ghz as a back up so to speak. Regardless I don’t want to sidetrack the discussion from the issue at hand and with any luck in the coming days those of us with the SH2 will all be sorted.

A

AerialRob

Contributor I

BT responded to my complaint yesterday but didn't appear to understand this particular issue and could only advise changing both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channel numbers .

This hasn't made any difference and today still getting “Unable to connect to Sonos” today on all three control devices 2 iPhones and 1 iPad.

M

mahonj

Trending Lyricist I

I have been having the same issue for about a week. Did the online chat with sonos and they talked me through changing some settings on th but home hub 2, but I have the same issue again today. Please can we get a resolution to fix it once and for all

G

ggdixon

Lyricist I

My Move has disconnected from my system for no apparent reason. I have tried to reconnect, then gave it a factory reset, and finally tried a sequential reboot of the whole system as suggested elsewhere on here.

None of it works.
I now have a Move which is on my system but will not register.

M

mahonj

Trending Lyricist I

I have the same issue, followed all the advice still not working

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Update - 11th June 2021:

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