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New Bell Home Hub

74K views 33 replies 25 participants last post by  ExDilbert 
#1 ·
I just read the press release and went to the Bell website to get more info on the new Home Hub. I also had an online chat with a Bell rep. It was partially helpful but I still have unanswered questions.
1. Is it compatible with Fibe TV and does the new modem replace the existing Fibe TV hub?
2. Are there any technical specs available. I asked the online support person and he did not know.
3. British Telecom also has a product called Home Hub. Is it the same as Bell's product?
4. What kind and how many external connections are available for a hard drive?
Thanks, Ed
 
#2 ·
I saw the press release earlier - here it is:

Bell launches powerful newHome Hub for Fibe Internet customers

Here's the link to the Bell website:

http://www.bell.ca/Bell_Internet/Pr...URL_bestwifi_homehub_Acq_06132014_dh_on_qc_en

1. Is it compatible with Fibe TV and does the new modem replace the existing Fibe TV hub?
Yes - "Get the best Wi-Fi technology, included at no cost with any new subscription to Fibe TV."

2. Are there any technical specs available. I asked the online support person and he did not know.
It's a Sagemcom f@st 5250. It supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz (802.11ac) and has 3 antennas. Here's the FCC test info:

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...me=N&application_id=201307&fcc_id=VW3FAST5250

4. What kind and how many external connections are available for a hard drive?
I zoomed the picture on the Bell web site and it looks like it has 2 USB ports on the front, but I don't know if it's USB2 or USB3.
 
#4 ·
I just got off the phone with the Bell rep (who knew nothing about the product).. by the time we were done I think she learned more than I did...lol.

Anyway, I have 3 access points in my house but still sorta spotty now and then. What looks interesting to me is there appears to be a network management screen, which for me would be terrific. (I have been using Network Magic Pro 5.5, but it's no longer supported by Cisco and I'm unable to reinstall the damned thing on my new laptop).

My gut feeling is that $199 is pretty steep, esp. if they are providing it for free to new FIBE customers (???). I'm gonna wait until we get some reviews up before I take the leap. I'm also going to write Bell and tell them how I feel about the pricing structure. At the very least, I feel like they should allow me to amortize the cost over 24 months ($8 a month).
I'm really interested to see what people think about this unit!
 
#5 ·
I spoke to Bell online Chat about getting the new modem and was also not to thrilled about paying $199.99. The chat rep offered it at 99.99 and said for further discounts I should call the bell loyalty department. So I did, and after telling them I had called several times about having technical issues with my internet being inconsistent. They finally decided to allow me to get this new hub for free as they would mark it as a technical issue. I have to return my old hub.
I should be receiving the new hub either later this week or early next week.
I will post some feedback soon after that.
 
#8 ·
Motorola? I thought the access point was made by Arris? or so my friends access point has no mention of Motorola anywhere on it, and when I read the label it said Arris, as in the same company that makes cable modems, etc???
 
#13 · (Edited)
i've had the Home Hub 2000 for a couple days now. so far it's been great. no issues so far and the wifi range is superb. before this i had the sagemcom connection hub thing with wifi disabled and an airport extreme for the wireless. the range on the 2000 is equivalent or maybe even better than the airport extreme. the new web interface is much nicer. it also provides some useful info like which devices are using what percentage of bandwith and also has a wifi analyzer.

it's really only been a couple days though. when there's more people at the house all using wifi, netflix, etc i'll be able to get a better idea of how well the network holds up.
 
#14 ·
I’ve had the new Home Hub for about 1 month now. So far I am pretty satisfied with the device.
The main advantage for me is the addition of the 5ghz channels.
I live in a condo building and when I see a lot of wireless networks when I scan.
The home hub also has a built in channel sniffer which indicates which channels around me are being used.
In my case, pretty much all channels are being used in the 2.4ghz frequency. For 5ghz almost nothing was being used.
The user interface is much cleaner and easier to use then the older hub as well.
The two USB ports work well, I have two external portable hard drives plugged in and they always have had a stable connection.
They are both 2.0 USB ports.
I have not noticed much different in range since I live in a condo. It seems to be the same for me as the previous hub.
 
#15 · (Edited)
since i've had the Home Hub 2000 i've had it set to auto and had 2.4 and 5ghz wifi set on same ssid. i assumed it would be smart enough to manage the devices and know when one had 2.4 or 5 and when a device was in range or too far and make according changes. however i just realized none of my devices are connecting to the wifi on 5ghz and i do have devices that are 5ghz capable.

so i went into the settings and changed it to different ssid's for 2.4 and 5ghz but none of my devices see the ssid for the 5ghz. so i'm wondering if my devices are the problem or if the router doesnt realy have 5ghz enabled.

perhaps it doesn't do 5ghz N but rather only 5ghz AC because i don't have any AC compatible devices.

Update:
I've figured out that the Home Hub 2000 is not to blame. it's the fact that the VAP 2500 transmitter for the wireless receivers is so close it's causing interference. The moment i turn off the VAP 2500 it all works fine. guess i'll have to move it over a few feet.
 
#16 · (Edited)
OldBanker

Like Ananaks and Avmsam, I have had Home Hub 2000 about a month and my experience has been similar. I have MacAir and based on results from Wireless Diagnostics I set channels to 2 and 40 rather than auto. I did try unsuccessfully to set up Airport Extreme as primary router and turn off wireless on HH , following instructions elsewhere on the web. I might add that I was successful in doing so with the SagemCom 2864 but suspect this is prevented in the HH. I also tried AE in bridge mode ,but the results as reported by Wireless Diagnostics were slightly poorer than those of HH direct, which have been surprisingly very good at longer range and , at short distance over 5gHz, were excellent.:):)
 
#17 ·
To get the Home Hub 2000 for an existing customer would a Bell Tech still have to come down to the home to replace the existing modem or can Bell send the new one and the Customer has to be responsible to return their old existing modem. It would be a good idea for an existing customer to either get it free or pay a rental fee for 2 years. I already had to have my connection hub modem replaced with a refurbished one, and cannot trust it because it is not new.
 
#19 ·
Would HH 2000 improve the signal strength?
My house is ca. 1.8 km from the Bell street hub. Last February I had Bell technician to instal Fibe TV/Internet using a pair bonding technique and he determined that it was not viable since my line(s) were not connected with Lucent 7330 SLAM.
Recently I talked to Bell tech and he stated that with the new HH 2000 I would not have a problem to receive Fibe TV and 25/10 internet speed. I am very skeptical about that.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
#29 ·
at 1.8 K PBOND would not work for giving Fibe TV AND 25Meg internet. Unless there has been a 7330 installed closer since then. If they were able to get it at all your internet probably would be closer to 5Meg. (I work for Bell and verify service availability based on address or phone numbers) I would be able to give you a true expectation of your projected speed. I am NOT sales.
 
#20 ·
I am in the process right now of getting the HH 2000 installed. On Monday they determined that my 1.1 km distance would be ok but not "the best it could be". The Technician gave me an option of proceeding with the install of deferring for 4 days until they could prepare "Paid Bonding" which would provide a more "optimal" solution.
It is my understanding that the new HH 2000 is the first modem to be able to take advantage of "Pair Bonding" as it has two RJ 11 Phone Jacks so they can attach "two pairs of connection wires" to this new modem.
So I guess I am saying that perhaps it would be worth another try with the new Modem that Bell has put out.
 
#21 ·
DavidHH: Could you please share the outcome of your new installation. In my case I am still very skeptical, since I cannot see how the new HH 2000 could affect the signal quality/strength; the distance from the street hub to my house is the same, as well as the Cu-wire quality (I believe no improvement in the infrastructure was made).
 
#22 ·
New update on my Fibe TV installation.
Bell Fibe office called me and advised they are not doing any Pair Bonding right now as they have put a hold on all Pair Bonding in the GTHA. The Technicians need to be trained and certified on it and my guess is that Bell is reevaluating on how to approach this without investing a ton of Technician Training Time and also using more of their Infrastructure i.e. Pair Bonding involves Bell using two different lines to service you, so that is an increased drain the number of Ports/Lines at the Distribution Centre.

Anyway to make a long story short I decided to give Bell Fibe a try with 15/10 Internet Speed as that is slightly better than my calbe company supplies me today (16/2). I have had it turned on since Friday and so far I am pretty pleased with the whole setup. To start I am not using my Apple Extreme Router as it is a 2nd Generation and only did 802.11n and only at 2.4 GHz. The Bell Modem does 802.11ac and at both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. So I am very satisfied with the coverage and speed of the modem.
I have a lot of devices in my house and am running two Gigabit Switches off the modem one is an 8 Port and the other is a 5 Port. I love using Ethernet Connections whenever I can, you cannot beat hard wire over Wireless.
The TV recivers seem fine. It is great not having a Cable running to the Remote Receivers. I have the main PVR Receiver and have two "wireless" Satellite Receivers which can share the main PVR - rather cool.

In Summary my only complaint was how Bell managed my request for 25/10 and then could not fulfill the work order. In Bell's usual fashion the communication was very lacking and I ended up waiting for a second service call when I should not have.
I did get some compensation on my monthly charges to accomodate the whole incident.

Anyway, that is all for now. As I explore this service I will try to remember to update this thread.

DavidH
 
#23 ·
I have had a Connection Hub with my Fibe TV/Internet for the past few years. As the unit is in the basement at the front of the house I had trouble getting a good wifi signal in the backyard or bedrooms at the back of the house. I bought an extender to go at the back of the house which until recently has been great so I could switch to it when needed.

Now, the extender is very moody so I'm considering upgrading to the Bell Home Hub 2000. Can anyone comment on the range? Is it better than the old Connection Hub? I understand it is faster and has great management tools but not sure if 'range' is better.

THANKS!
 
#24 ·
Wireless repeaters are of dubious value for a couple of reasons. (First off, they are subject to the same range issues as any other wireless device.) Using a second router as a wired access point near the back of the house would be the best solution. Unless the basement is totally finished, it shouldn't be too difficult to wire up.
 
#27 ·
Have had the 1000 Home Hub for several weeks without any problems. Set up the DLNA yesterday. Works great. Still have difficulty understanding how it all works.....using DLink wireless extender via the electrical system to the living room some distance away. Streaming Picture and Audio quality perfect on the 65 inch tv Have Bell Fibe 25 that provides excellent coverage and speed at 25+ throughout the unit. So far. So good.
 
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