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Yep, that’s correct (different MAC ID, different assigned DHCP address); I wouldn’t expect anything different to that. I may have misunderstood, I thought you had the device showing up as 192.168.1.XXX on ethernet, 192.168.2.XXX on wifi, but instead what you should see would be 192.168.1.XXX on ethernet, 192.168.1.YYY on wifi; that would be normal and is what BT seem to be suggesting.
On re-reading what you wrote, I think I just misunderstood what you were experiencing!
As you were…
Faust – 6 hours ago »
I have spoken to BT about this issue and it’s perfectly normal behaviour. There is only one router handling DCHP and that’s the Smarthub.
Right, that makes far more sense. Do the discs share a single IP address or does each disk have its own IP address?
Martin Liddle – 4 hours ago »
Faust – 6 hours ago »
I have spoken to BT about this issue and it’s perfectly normal behaviour. There is only one router handling DCHP and that’s the Smarthub.
Right, that makes far more sense. Do the discs share a single IP address or does each disk have its own IP address?
Each disk has its own IP address but they all share the same SSID and password which is how they hand off from one disk to another as I walk round. I can see it happen in real time on my phone and it’s this that always ensure I get a strong consistent connection.
larkim – 6 hours ago »
Yep, that’s correct (different MAC ID, different assigned DHCP address); I wouldn’t expect anything different to that. I may have misunderstood, I thought you had the device showing up as 192.168.1.XXX on ethernet, 192.168.2.XXX on wifi, but instead what you should see would be 192.168.1.XXX on ethernet, 192.168.1.YYY on wifi; that would be normal and is what BT seem to be suggesting.
On re-reading what you wrote, I think I just misunderstood what you were experiencing!
As you were…
Yes, for example it could read 1.231 for Ethernet and 1.232 for WiFi – just one digit apart.
Well just to add to this long and insightful series of posts. I was having trouble connecting my Aura to the internet via ethernet. On reading one of the posts I tried making a direct connection rather than via the new ethernet hub I’d installed. L0-and-behold, it worked first time. Thanks to the poster who mentioned bypassing the hub.
Culler – 1 day ago »
Well just to add to this long and insightful series of posts. I was having trouble connecting my Aura to the internet via ethernet. On reading one of the posts I tried making a direct connection rather than via the new ethernet hub I’d installed. L0-and-behold, it worked first time. Thanks to the poster who mentioned bypassing the hub.
Providing it’s an unmanaged network switch in theory this shouldn’t affect an Ethernet connection and yet with certain setups it clearly does. I’m clean out of theories.
Faust – 1 hour ago »
Providing it’s an unmanaged network switch in theory this shouldn’t affect an Ethernet connection and yet with certain setups it clearly does. I’m clean out of theories.
I don’t think that is entirely correct; an unmanaged network switch still has to negotiate various parameters with each connection via a handshake and I have very occasionally seen problems caused by this. Substituting a different brand of switch as usually fixed the problem for me.
Martin Liddle – 17 hours ago »
Faust – 1 hour ago »
Providing it’s an unmanaged network switch in theory this shouldn’t affect an Ethernet connection and yet with certain setups it clearly does. I’m clean out of theories.
I don’t think that is entirely correct; an unmanaged network switch still has to negotiate various parameters with each connection via a handshake and I have very occasionally seen problems caused by this. Substituting a different brand of switch as usually fixed the problem for me.
I have tried two different brands, TP-Link and. Netgear both without success. However, the added complication with the Aura is that it doesn’t play well with the connected mesh WiFi acting as router. Fortunately the Aura does work very well using WiFi.
“the connected mesh WiFi acting as router” – what do you mean by that? I thought the router remained the BT Home Hub and the wifi discs were just access points?
larkim – 36 mins ago »
“the connected mesh WiFi acting as router” – what do you mean by that? I thought the router remained the BT Home Hub and the wifi discs were just access points?
Nope, the master disk connects to the router by Ethernet. This then becomes the router for all the WiFi traffic. The main routers WiFi should be disabled with the main router effectively becoming a gateway device plus it still handles DCHP etc. This is one of the issues with many of the other mesh systems which are primarily made for the US market e.g. Google Nest WiFi. These also act as the router but require that they are used with either a modem only or a router that can be placed into “Bridge Mode”. Most UK supplied ISP combined router/modems can’t and because the purchaser hasn’t done their research they end up with Double NAT problems. BT Wholehome is one of the few systems that will work with any router/modem.
Faust – 6 mins ago »
Nope, the master disk connects to the router by Ethernet. This then becomes the router for all the WiFi traffic.
How can a device with only a local IP address be a router? I am happy to accept that all the WiFi traffic will be passing through the master disk but I struggle to see how it can be functioning as a router.
Martin Liddle – 20 mins ago »
Faust – 6 mins ago »
Nope, the master disk connects to the router by Ethernet. This then becomes the router for all the WiFi traffic.
How can a device with only a local IP address be a router? I am happy to accept that all the WiFi traffic will be passing through the master disk but I struggle to see how it can be functioning as a router.
I have already stated the original router still handles DCHP. For more technical information you will need to speak to BT’s technical division. They will speak to customers and are usually very helpful.
This is how one review describes Wholehome – Although BT Whole Home Wi-Fi offers dual-band connectivity – each disc is effectively a 4×4 MIMO 802.11ac router offering speeds of up to 1,733Mbits/sec over 5GHz and 800Mbits/sec over 2.4GHz – it doesn’t surface two separate networks in the way a normal wireless router would.
Instead, the system uses a technique known as band-steering to assess each connected device and hook it up to the most appropriate frequency band and to the disc offering the strongest connection. It’s a system that does genuinely seem to work.
As said previously that is the issue with some of the other systems i.e. their disks take over all router functions which is an issue if you can’t use bridge mode or have a separate modem. BT solves the issue by keeping DCHP and NAT with the original router.
I think that all means that the wifi disks are NOT acting as routers in any way shape or form. They are access points, which have some clever mesh tech behind them to create a single SSID that is perceived as a single device to the client (more or less; there are some complex protocols in there).
“each disc is effectively a … router” doesn’t really mean “each disc is a router”. That looks more like marketing gobbledegook which ignores what they really are.
Anyway, it’s a pedantic point at best (on my part).
I have to say, though, mesh systems are brilliant. I get my full 60Mbps download throughout my house, even in areas where I’d struggled to get signals before, and the only time I ever get bandwidth issues is if my degree-studying son tries to download technical files from his uni of several Gb of data at time; and even then I can throttle his connection.
Best pre-lockdown investment I made, my Deco M4 system!!
Faust – 2 hours ago »
BT solves the issue by keeping DCHP and NAT with the original router.
I am pretty sure that the original router is doing DHCP, NAT and routing. I agree with larkim that its a pedantic point but your insistence that the master disk was doing routing made me wonder if I understood the configuration properly.
Martin Liddle – 4 hours ago »
Faust – 2 hours ago »
BT solves the issue by keeping DCHP and NAT with the original router.
I am pretty sure that the original router is doing DHCP, NAT and routing. I agree with larkim that its a pedantic point but your insistence that the master disk was doing routing made me wonder if I understood the configuration properly.
I have always maintained the BT HH still performs DCHP and NAT duties. It’s not my insistence but BT who claim the master disk takes over the routing for all WiFi devices.
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