BT Digital Voice, Smart Hub 2, Netgear Orbi

arrallas

Having avoided it for a couple of years, BT now tell me that I am being "upgraded" to Digital Voice this week. I have BT FTTP, but have never used the BT Smart Hub2, preferring to use my Netgear Orbi RBK50. My home network works perfectly, with the usual array of connected smart devices, computers, printers, TVs and Synology NAS. I have read so much conflicting advice on how best to continue to use the Orbi setup with SH2, such as connecting the SH2 to the ONT, turning off wifi and setting it to modem mode. The Orbi is then connected to an ethernet port on the SH2. I wonder whether the Digital Voice would then work when my DECT landline phone is connected to the SH2,

If anyone has any direct experience of this kind of setup, I would love to hear from you! Thanks.  

Newcad

I switched to BT broadband and DV last year, it's FTTC not FTTP but that shouldn't make a difference once it gets to the SmartHub2.

The BT 'Advanced' DV phones connect wirelessly to the SH2 using their own signal and not the SH2 wifi.

There is also a green 'phone' conversion socket on the back of the SH2 for connection of an existing DECT base station or analogue phone equipment.
In effect that green socket takes the place of the old phone master socket, to send the signal down the internet rather than the phone line.
It's an RJ11/RJ14 socket on my SH2 so you may need a RJ11 to BT adapter if the old equipment has a phone jack. https://www.amazon.co.uk/rj11-bt-cable/s?k=rj11+to+bt+cable
If BT are switching you to DV then they may send you one anyway.

Is your desire to keep using your old router simply to avoid having to set up all your devices to the new one? If so then there is an easier way.

When I switched to BT I set up the new SH2 with the same SSID and password as my previous router (I'd previously changed those from the default ones to my own choice of wifi network name/password) - so my existing devices simply connected to the same network name/password as they always had without the need to set each device up with a new network name and password.
Doing it that way saves a lot of time having to change each device.

I'm not sure about your NAS, if it's currently wireless then as above, if it's plugged into the router then it should also plug into the SH2 but may need the network pathname setting up again?
(I don't have a NAS as such, but do have an external SSD plugged into the USB port of my SH2 and have mapped that as a network drive to my laptops, using the router IP/usb1 as the pathname).

arrallas

That's very helpful, thanks. I've just spoken to BT customer service and was told that they will send me a WPA adapter which should allow me to link the two systems. Time will tell! 

Newcad

Sounds interesting, if maybe a bit odd as 'WPA adapter' to me sounds like a wireless dongle, I wonder what they will be sending you?

I have no experience of linking 2 routers having never had cause to try, but I do have a project in mind where it might be useful to do. Just need to get round to having a play.

From a quickish read it's not that difficult to link 2 routers by cable. A bit of faffing about with IP settings to make sure that they don't clash, particularly if you leave both wifi's on and so have two wifi networks one from each router.

arrallas

Newcad said:

Sounds interesting, if maybe a bit odd as 'WPA adapter' to me sounds like a wireless dongle, I wonder what they will be sending you?

I have no experience of linking 2 routers having never had cause to try, but I do have a project in mind where it might be useful to do. Just need to get round to having a play.

From a quickish read it's not that difficult to link 2 routers by cable. A bit of faffing about with IP settings to make sure that they don't clash, particularly if you leave both wifi's on and so have two wifi networks one from each router.

It looks as if this is what they are sending https://www.bt.com/help/user-guides/phones/digital-voice/digital-voice-adapter

Newcad

Ah right, I was aware of those.
It's for an existing phone to plug into remote from the SH2.
(It's similar to a wireless extender, but for the DV signal not for wifi).

It's not for linking the 2 routers which is what I thought you were meaning.

flaneurs_lobster

There are long threads on this subject on the BT Community site. Once you dig through the guff about the imposition of DV being an infringement of people's human rights then the important bits of information are that:

If you want to use BT's DV service then you must have a SH2 connected.

The SH2 has to be the first bit of kit that's connected to the ONT. 

You would then need to chain your existing router onto the SH2 so that your existing setup is unchanged. This will necessitate changing settings on the SH2 (disabling WiFi and a bunch of other techy gubbins that I don't understand but I'm sure others do).

Good that your existing network continues as is, not good that you have to introduce an extra piece of kit doing far more than just enabling DV just to enable DV. 

arrallas

So far, everything is working after turning off wifi on the SH2 and putting the Orbi in AP mode. The NAS is not yet accessible, but I can work on that. 

arrallas

Restarted the NAS, everything now working as it should! 

Newcad

Good to hear that it sounds like it all went fairly smoothly for you.

Do you have any tips about the process, or things to watch out for, that may be useful to others?

arrallas

Newcad said:

Good to hear that it sounds like it all went fairly smoothly for you.

Do you have any tips about the process, or things to watch out for, that may be useful to others?

Don't listen to some of the advice from the BT helpline! The adapter still hasn't arrived, but I doubt that a wireless connection between the SH2 and the Orbi would work at all or as well as a simple ethernet connection. Otherwise just wifi off on the SH2 and configure Access Point mode on the Orbi via the dashboard.