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New Business Customer - tricky setup

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GarethRev
Member

March

Because my broadband use is mostly for my home-based work I was moved to business by BT. All good, some money saved.

 

I've kept my landline number but now my landline phone doesn't work at all. It is admittedly a very old analogue phone but it worked fine plugged into the BT home smart hub 2 and now I don't have anywhere to plug it into on the Business smart hub 3 and the line my analogue phone received from the home smart hub 2 died when my account transferred (I didn't know this was going to happen). For now I've set up redirect for the landline to my mobile via the BT Cloud voice app and it seems to work.

 

I've tried setting up the two bits of broadband gear I was sent today, a couple of days after activation of business service but my earliest available time to fiddle with stuff. I was sent a BT Business Smart Hub 3 and EE Smart Wifi box. I didn't get any explanation what the Smart Wifi box is but I surmised it is a range extender. "Great!" I thought, that'll replace my old TP-Link RE450 (which doesn't support WPA3). I can only get the EE Smart Wifi box to work if I connect it to my BT Business Smart Hub 3 by an ethernet cable. Setting it up using the WPS instructions in the box doesn't do anything. So, I can extend my range but only within the reach of my longest ethernet cable, until I figure out what to do.

 

So, what do I do? I didn't know I'd be sent a wireless range extender that needed a wire to work. I could wire it in, but that's hassle and expense. I didn't know my landline would still operate but be inaccessible for me unless. Do I need to buy a BT digital phone? I moved my plan to save money, not spend more of it on more gismos to make the money saving plan work (with less or no net saving in the end after I spend the extras).

 

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AlanM1
Administrator
Administrator

March

Hi there 👋 Thanks for the really detailed explanation — it makes it much easier to see what’s happened since your move to BT Business. A few key things change when switching from a residential setup, so here’s a breakdown of why things behaved the way they did and what you can do now.

📞 Your analogue landline stopped working

The BT Business Smart Hub 3 doesn’t include an analogue/ATA phone socket, unlike the BT Home Smart Hub 2 you had before — which is why your traditional phone no longer has anywhere to plug in after the upgrade. [community.bt.com]

Because BT Business runs on digital voice, you’ll need an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA) if you’d like to keep using your existing analogue handset.

👉 You can keep your current phone by using the Cloud Voice Express Analogue Phone Adapter (Cisco ATA 191/192):
https://business.bt.com/help/guides/getting-started-with-your-bt-business-products/set-up-cloud-voic...
[business.bt.com]

This recreates a traditional phone socket and plugs into the hub via Ethernet.

📡 EE Smart WiFi box — WPS pairing

The EE Smart WiFi unit should pair via WPS, but it can sometimes fail depending on timing or distance. The documented method is:

  1. Press WPS on the Business Smart Hub 3
  2. Press WPS on the EE Smart WiFi unit
  3. Wait for the pairing light to turn solid
    [business.bt.com]

If WPS doesn’t complete, the device still works normally via Ethernet, which is why it came online as soon as you wired it in. Your powerline‑adapter workaround to position it elsewhere is absolutely fine — if it’s stable, you’re good.

📱 Do you need to buy a BT digital phone?

Not unless you want to.
Your lowest‑cost path is simply:
➡️ Keep your analogue handset + add the ATA (link above).
A digital handset is optional, not required.

✅ Quick Summary

  • Analogue phones don’t work on the Smart Hub 3 because it has no ATA/phone socket. [community.bt.com]
  • Use the Cloud Voice Express ATA to keep your traditional handset. [business.bt.com]
  • EE Smart WiFi may fail WPS pairing but works fine via Ethernet. [business.bt.com]
  • Your powerline setup is a perfectly valid solution and safe to keep running.

🔗 If you need extra help

View solution in original post

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GarethRev
Member

March

Well, I seem to have built a system that works. I plundered through my attic and found an old set of tp-link 500Mbps power-line adapters and pressed them back into service. So, I have the EE Smart Wifi box working very nicely broadcasting the same wifi network name as my BT Business Smart hub 3. It all seems stable so that's that for the broadband.

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AlanM1
Administrator
Administrator

March

Hi there 👋 Thanks for the really detailed explanation — it makes it much easier to see what’s happened since your move to BT Business. A few key things change when switching from a residential setup, so here’s a breakdown of why things behaved the way they did and what you can do now.

📞 Your analogue landline stopped working

The BT Business Smart Hub 3 doesn’t include an analogue/ATA phone socket, unlike the BT Home Smart Hub 2 you had before — which is why your traditional phone no longer has anywhere to plug in after the upgrade. [community.bt.com]

Because BT Business runs on digital voice, you’ll need an Analogue Telephone Adapter (ATA) if you’d like to keep using your existing analogue handset.

👉 You can keep your current phone by using the Cloud Voice Express Analogue Phone Adapter (Cisco ATA 191/192):
https://business.bt.com/help/guides/getting-started-with-your-bt-business-products/set-up-cloud-voic...
[business.bt.com]

This recreates a traditional phone socket and plugs into the hub via Ethernet.

📡 EE Smart WiFi box — WPS pairing

The EE Smart WiFi unit should pair via WPS, but it can sometimes fail depending on timing or distance. The documented method is:

  1. Press WPS on the Business Smart Hub 3
  2. Press WPS on the EE Smart WiFi unit
  3. Wait for the pairing light to turn solid
    [business.bt.com]

If WPS doesn’t complete, the device still works normally via Ethernet, which is why it came online as soon as you wired it in. Your powerline‑adapter workaround to position it elsewhere is absolutely fine — if it’s stable, you’re good.

📱 Do you need to buy a BT digital phone?

Not unless you want to.
Your lowest‑cost path is simply:
➡️ Keep your analogue handset + add the ATA (link above).
A digital handset is optional, not required.

✅ Quick Summary

  • Analogue phones don’t work on the Smart Hub 3 because it has no ATA/phone socket. [community.bt.com]
  • Use the Cloud Voice Express ATA to keep your traditional handset. [business.bt.com]
  • EE Smart WiFi may fail WPS pairing but works fine via Ethernet. [business.bt.com]
  • Your powerline setup is a perfectly valid solution and safe to keep running.

🔗 If you need extra help

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GarethRev
Member
In response to AlanM1

March

Thank you so much for the reply Alan.

 

This is very helpful and clear.

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AlanM1
Administrator
Administrator

March

You’re very welcome — and honestly, this is exactly why our community exists. 💙
I’m so glad you’re part of it, and if you ever need more help or have more questions, just shout!



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