BT say I "need" to return their Home Hub 5. Do I?

JustAnotherSaver

I've been with BT for between 2-3 years now & have switched to Sky because it's cheaper.

Got an email from BT saying I "need" to send their Home Hub 5 back, although as i read it it doesn't sound like I "need" to at all, more like if i want to.


On the topic of which - what i would like to do is to sell it, gumtree, eBay, wherever. Even if i just get £5 for it. It's no good to me but i see that they sell.

So...

1) Do i have to return it or can i sell it?

2) If i can sell it then what do i do with it? There's the password card on the rear, but wont all my details be stored in there somewhere? What i'm getting at is how will it be of use to someone else if it's set for my home?

JJ_Egan

How long have you had the hub .The norm is you start a contract and once the contract is finished its your hub to keep .

kwikbreaks

You need to check the wording of the letter. Are they offering to dispose of it for you or are they asking for it back and mentioning a penalty if they don't get it? Either way they'd need to send a prepaid bag to return it in.

Oakdene

I left BT after 3 months because of their price increase & they sent me a blue bag asking me to return the hub for disposal. I held onto it for a couple of months to see if they would chase it but nothing came about so I gave it to my folks as they had an old one...

beansOnToast_3

If you were out of contract I reckon you can keep it. Saw this interesting thread on the BT support forums:
https://community.bt.com/t5/Connected-Devices-Other/Return-BT-Home-Hub-when-cancelling-services-with-BT-after/td-p/1619838

Seems to indicate that if you were in contract they'd charge you something whether you returned it or not. If you're out of contract you can keep it and if you send it back they will recycle it responsibly.

On your second question, the hubs come preset with a wifi and administration password but that doesn't really link it specifically to your home. Before you flog it make sure you reset it so that any information about your devices that have connected to it are removed from it's internal storage. There is a small reset button that you can press using a paperclip when the hub is switched on that will reset it back to "factory settings". See your manual for info on how to do this.

People sometimes buy a second cheap hub off ebay to use as an access point to extend the range of a network.

JustAnotherSaver

I've had it for over 2 years.

Regards a wifi extender - would it need to be hard wired to the current router to do that?

mac.d

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

I've been with BT for between 2-3 years now & have switched to Sky because it's cheaper.

OT but how are you finding Sky compared to BT? I'm considering making the same switch next month.

JustAnotherSaver

mac.d wrote: »

OT but how are you finding Sky compared to BT? I'm considering making the same switch next month.

My sky connection just went 'live' late last night so my only comment so far is that it works. It's slower but I don't notice that. 37 vs 52mb.

I have no real opinion so far other than the power cable for the sky hub is ridiculously short. So much so that I had to find an extension cable to be able to put it where the router goes.

In 12 months I'll see what BT deals & cash back incentives there are & then return to BT.

AndyPK

longer cable for you.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Power-Cord-UK-Plug-to-Figure-8-Fig-of-8-Lead-Cable-1m-/380328369317?hash=item588d565ca5:g:b24AAOSwxYxUue2E


or select exactly what length you need

and swap the fuse from the sky cable.

mac.d

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

My sky connection just went 'live' late last night so my only comment so far is that it works. It's slower but I don't notice that. 37 vs 52mb.

I have no real opinion so far other than the power cable for the sky hub is ridiculously short. So much so that I had to find an extension cable to be able to put it where the router goes.

In 12 months I'll see what BT deals & cash back incentives there are & then return to BT.

Ha, thanks anyway. At least it works I guess

beansOnToast_3

Regards a wifi extender - would it need to be hard wired to the current router to do that?

Yes, using an Ethernet cable or via one of those homeplug systems that plug into your power sockets (but not really worthwhile unless you already have a homeplug system lying around).