Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
Some customers of mobile and broadband ISP EE (BT), specifically those on their top 1.6Gbps speed full fibre (FTTP) package via Openreach’s UK network, appear to be experiencing some repeated connectivity problems with the provider’s latest Wi-Fi 7 capable Smart Hub Pro router (slower packages get the different Smart Hub Plus device).
At present EE’s premium 1.6Gbps broadband package doesn’t have a huge number of subscribers, but some of those who are taking the service have recently been complaining about sporadic but frequent connectivity drops. So far as we can tell, these appear to be related to how the Smart Hub Pro handles the provider’s Domain Name Servers (DNS).
As one of those impacted by the problem told ISPreview: “The short story is that it looks like EE have a firmware issue causing the hub to regularly drop out. From most users perspectives, they will see a DNS error occasionally when browsing, but in reality the hub throws a full wobbly every 30 mins or so (it is variable), causing latency or even packets to completely drop.”
The issue also appears to have been covered in a lengthy thread on EE’s Community Forum, which notes that the problem goes away when customers use a different third-party router. According to feedback from EE’s support team, the provider did “put through some temporary changes to some devices” on Tuesday, which seemed to provide an initial improvement, although some of those affected report that the issue has since fully returned.
An EE spokesperson told ISPreview:
“We’re aware of a small number of customers who are reporting brief interruptions to their connectivity when using our latest Smart Hub Pro. Our engineers are working with those impacted and will promptly implement any fixes should they be required.”
Sadly, the Smart Hub Pro doesn’t allow customers to set third-party DNS servers as an alternative, but even if it did, then doing so might not resolve the problem. Customers report that there is no difference between using the router as the resolver or using a third-party (e.g. Google Public DNS, Cloudflare, OpenDNS and Quad9 etc.) and it makes no difference if they use ‘DNS over HTTPS’ or ‘DNS over TLS’ either. In addition, disabling IPv6 has no impact.
So far as we can tell, the issue appears as if it may have been introduced in a recent Firmware update, since it doesn’t occur on Smart Hub Pro’s that seem to be running an older software version and this changes as soon as the latest version is applied. Some tentative feedback from EE’s testing also indicates that the problem may be somehow linked to the device’s WiFi Optimisation feature, since the issue seems to go away when that is disabled from EE’s side.
In the meantime, the odd customer has informed us that, after ISPreview got involved, EE offered them a bill credit and the option to exit their current contract without penalty, if they so desired. Interestingly, some of EE’s staff still seem to describe their 1.6Gbps package as more of a “trial” product, which is not how it’s advertised (i.e. it could be a reference to the router or how their 1.6Gbps package is not underpinned by BT Wholesale).
The hope is that a permeant solution to this bug will be found sooner, rather than later.