BT Smart Hub 2 WiFi Router Review – Is It Any Good?

If you’re considering buying BT or Plusnet Broadband, you might be wondering whether their Smart Hub 2 router is any good.

We’ve used the Smart Hub 2 for a number of years now, and today, we’ve reviewed this router, to show you how it performs.

Below, we’ve assessed this router based on its speeds and WiFi signal, admin settings and options, value for money with BT Broadband, and more.

But before we begin, if you’re considering buying BT Broadband, use this hidden page on their website to see their best deals, which often come with a BT Reward Card.

Contents

• Router overview
• Setup process
• Settings & options
• WiFi coverage
• Speed tests
• Value for money
• Alternatives
• Verdict: should you join BT Broadband?

Router overview

The Smart Hub 2 is a WiFi router currently included on all BT Broadband plans.

It offers dual band 2.4 and 5GHz WiFi, and has four gigabit Ethernet ports. One of these ports is a WAN port, meaning it is used to connect to the internet on full fibre connections.

There is also a DSL broadband port and phone socket for BT Digital Voice customers, as well as a USB port.

The Smart Hub 2 is compatible with a range of different BT Broadband hardware add-ons, including BT Hybrid Connect (4G backup), BT Complete Wi-Fi Discs, and other BT WiFi extenders.

This is about a medium-sized router, compared to most others on the market, at about 26cm wide. It’s not too tall, or too wide, making it easy to find a good spot for it.

It’s also worth mentioning, there is a Plusnet-branded version of the Smart Hub 2, which is delivered to new Plusnet customers on their broadband deals.

The routers are the exact same hardware-wise, except that the phone port is disabled on the Plusnet Hub 2. We have tested both, and found no performance difference between the two routers.

However, it is worth mentioning, the Plusnet Hub 2 has different firmware, meaning you can set up custom DNS as well as bridge mode on their version of this router.

Setup process

Getting set up with the Smart Hub 2 is a simple plug-and-play process.

If you’re switching to BT Full Fibre broadband for the first time, an engineer visit will likely be necessary, and when they come over, the technician should set up the router for you.

But if you need to install the Smart Hub 2 yourself, here’s what you need to do.

First, plug the router into your internet port.

If you’re using full fibre, you want to connect the supplied WAN cable from the red-labelled WAN port on the router to the Ethernet socket on your Openreach modem/ONT – this is a small white box, normally installed near the front of your house.

If you’re using ADSL or fibre to the cabinet (FTTC) broadband, you want to connect the included DSL cable from the grey broadband socket on the router to the phone or broadband socket on the wall in your house.

• If the master socket on your wall has two ports, plug the Smart Hub 2 into its broadband socket.
• If the master socket only has one port, you want to plug the Smart Hub 2 into the one available, but first plug the DSL cable into the included DSL filter, then plug the DSL filter into the wall.

Now, all you need to do is plug the router into power, and press the power button on the back.

The circular status light on the front of the router will illuminate green when starting up, flash orange when connecting to the internet, and turn blue when online and working correctly.

At this point, you can connect to the internet using the WiFi login details printed on the back of the router.

You can pull out the plastic card with the WiFi details on it from the router, which is very helpful if you need to log in on a range of different devices around the house.

Settings & options

There is a decent range of settings and options available in the admin interface of the BT Smart Hub 2, including:

• Viewing current connected devices on the network.
• Changing basic DHCP server settings.
• Turning on port clamping.
• Turning on dynamic DNS.
• Configuring wireless network settings and BT WiFi discs.
• Setting up port forwarding.
• Changing basic firewall, UPnP and DMZ settings.
• Configuring IPv6 and pinholes.
• Backing up and restoring router settings.

However, this is a bit of an older router, so there are some limitations to the Hub 2. You can’t:

• Set custom DNS on a router level.
• Set up a VPN on the router.
• Update or install firmware.
• Disable band steering (must use combined 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi).
• Set up Quality of Service (QoS) settings.
• Set up bridge mode.
• Set up granular parental controls.

It is worth mentioning, the firewall and port forwarding settings are quite basic compared to many other routers. The Smart Hub 2 is also difficult to use with most third-party mesh WiFi solutions.

Certain settings, such as setting up access controls, must be configured in the My BT app, which we don’t like – we would prefer to be able to control everything from a single interface.

However, this router doesn’t rely as much on the app as its successor, the Smart Hub Plus, available on EE’s broadband deals.

WiFi coverage

One of the biggest downsides to this router is its WiFi coverage.

Compared to other WiFi routers on offer from other broadband providers, the Smart Hub 2 uses a quite outdated WiFi standard – WiFi 5, instead of WiFi 6, 6E, or 7.

We tested this router in a two-storey, four bedroom house, and found that the WiFi speeds would drop off upstairs, quite considerably, and also a bit towards the back of the house.

The only places we generally receive the full speeds over WiFi are downstairs, on the same level as the router.

We experience no WiFi dead zones with the Smart Hub 2, but the speeds are not great, once you begin to move away from the router.

With other WiFi 6 routers, we can get good wireless signal throughout the house, nearing the full speeds available from our connection, and even get WiFi into the back garden, which isn’t the case with the Smart Hub 2.

We’ve discussed some other routers that offer better WiFi than the Smart Hub 2 later in this article.

Our latency with this router stays relatively low, but we found that our ping on a wireless connection could be quite variable, ranging from 15 to 25ms, especially at distance from the router.

For ping-sensitive games, we need to plug into the router using a powerline adapter to ensure our latency remains consistent. The WiFi is not suitable for ping-sensitive online gaming.

Speed tests

We tested the Smart Hub 2 on BT Full Fibre 100, which comes with a 150 Mbps download speed, and a 30 Mbps upload speed.

Over Ethernet, we have no problems getting the full speeds on offer from our connection from this router, which is good.

• Download speed: 151.14Mbps
• Upload speed: 30.83Mbps
• Latency: 10ms

Over WiFi, it is quite common for our download speeds to drop off quite considerably, once you move five or so metres away from the router.

This speed test was taken upstairs, relatively close to where the router is installed near the front door, but behind a brick internal wall.

• Download speed: 72.63Mbps
• Upload speed: 30.93Mbps
• Latency: 15ms

The Smart Hub 2, with its gigabit Ethernet ports, is more than capable of delivering good Ethernet speeds on BT Broadband, even with their fastest 900 Mbps broadband plan.

However, it’s let down by its WiFi signal, which is prone to dropping off, especially after passing through obstacles.

Value for money

Although this router does have its downsides, does it still offer good value for money when included with BT Broadband?

BT Broadband is not the cheapest, however they can be a lot more competitive if you view the deals on this page, which come with a reward card, unlike the ones on the main part of their website.

The thing is, EE Broadband normally costs about the same as BT’s deals at the moment.

EE offers essentially the exact same service, but with a better WiFi router, and more contract flexibility – you can choose a 12 month agreement, instead of having to commit for 24 months, if you prefer.

Also, BT sometimes charges quite a high upfront cost on their broadband plans. Most other providers have ditched setup fees these days, especially on their 24 month contracts.

So, given how the Smart Hub 2 performs, and its lack of customisation options, we think it doesn’t offer great value for money with BT Broadband at the moment.

Alternatives

If you want to stick with BT, their sub-brand, EE, offers better routers than BT itself at the moment.

• Their Smart Hub Pro comes with WiFi 7 (one of the only routers in the UK to do so), available by default on their 1.6 Gbps plans, or on other deals if you don’t mind paying for an upgrade later on in the checkout process on their website.
• Their Smart Hub Plus router comes with WiFi 6, and is available on their cheapest deals as well.

Click here to see what router EE is offering on each of their deals at the moment.

The downside to EE’s routers is, certain settings are still locked, like on the Smart Hub 2 – although they both perform a lot better from a WiFi point of view.

If you’re looking for a router with more customisation options, as well as better WiFi, we’d also recommend looking at either of Vodafone Broadband’s routers.

• Their Ultra Hub offers WiFi 6E, and normally comes with a signal booster, sold on Pro II plans.
• Their Power Hub is also quite a good bit of kit, available on their regular plans, and still comes with WiFi 6.

Both of Vodafone’s routers have a better range of settings available compared to BT Broadband’s router. For example, you can do things like set up custom DNS servers at a router level.

Click here to see what routers Vodafone is offering on their broadband deals at the moment.

Verdict: should you join BT Broadband?

Overall, we rate the Smart Hub 2 2.7 out of 5.

This router is quite limited in terms of settings, and doesn’t offer the best WiFi signal.

While it is easy to set up, and has a good number of Ethernet ports, the Smart Hub 2 is quite outdated at this point, especially in terms of signal and speeds. This is mostly because it uses WiFi 5 – quite an outdated standard in this day and age.

And given what BT Broadband is charging at the moment, it doesn’t offer the best value for money.

Remember, use this page on the BT website to find the best deals they’re offering on broadband at the moment.

And if you want a more modern router, with WiFi 6, we recommend the EE Smart Hub Plus, which you can get with EE Broadband.

About the author

Tom Paton

Tom is the founder of Broadband Savvy. He has more than five years’ experience writing broadband tutorials, reviewing routers and internet service providers, and explaining broadband-related concepts. Tom is experienced as a writer, and also produces videos for the Broadband Savvy YouTube channel.

He currently specialises in writing content for Broadband Savvy designed to help people understand broadband jargon and terminology, increase their download and upload speeds, and improve their Wi-Fi connectivity. Tom also occasionally contributes to buyer’s guides and review articles on Broadband Savvy, utilising his knowledge of the broadband market in the UK.

When he’s not writing about broadband, you’ll find him walking his dog (Rex) or playing agar.io.