Smart Hub 2 with Enhanced 4G Hybrid loosing the 4G speed after 2 weeks or on Hot days.

[JohnP3]

Hi,

At our remote workshop site  we have a SH2 running  ADSL on 2 miles of  60yr old phone cable, we are waiting for FTTC to become available.
When our customer gift shop  is open (once a week) the  5-6mbps download and 0.5 mbps upload is enough for  their card machine.   However we have CCTV and a security system that requires  an upload speed of >5mbps on demand, so we have enhanced  EE 4G hybrid.  So when  our security system wants  live CCTV then there is the  upload speed for this.
The  recent hot weather  has played havoc with our speeds and in cooler weather I have periodic drop out of the  enhanced  4G hybrid.  

Lets  answer the most obvious questions I have been asked.

• The router is located in a data cabinet out of direct sun light.
• The 4G hybrid box with it's external aerials is on a shelf close to a perspex window and not in direct sun light.
• They are located in a conveted stone barn/workshop at the gable end in a 1st floor rest/mess room.
• The  4G hybrid box always has 2 bars of 4G signal strength on its display (with a blue status).

From other support forums I have discovered that the SH2 periodically (every 14 days) does a  45 min power cycle.   I have the following questions:

• If put a mains timer on  the router and  4G hybrid that take them both down at  perhaps 6am for  30 mins  would this solve my 4G outage problem?
• Is this power cycle event controlled by BT  or is it built in to the SH2's firmware?
• If this is  BT  controlled event do we know  at what time & day of the week it normally occurs on?
• Is it the  SH2  instructing  the  4G hybrid  to establish  the 4G link with a local 4G mast on boot up or is  it the  4G hybrid that establishes  the link to the 4G mast then tells the  SH2?
• How long does the  4G  hybrid  try to  maitain  a 4G link  for before it times out when the  router is going through its  power  cycle?

I'm  sorry that some of these are  quite tricky  and need someone from the BT's  level 2 support to answer them.

JohnP

[BethM]

Hi JohnP3

I have consulted with our technical support team regarding this and have been advised that the automatic power cycle should only take a few minutes and take place in the early hours of the morning, same as when there is a firmware update pushed out. Is there any pattern to when you are seeing these prolonged outages?

[JohnP3]

Hi Beth

I see SAAF reboots reoccurring between 22:00- 05:00 have typical invervals of  14-16  or 35-40 days.
We had a lot during the heat wave.    I assume that SAAF reboots are automatic  and are associated with BT firmware  updates or other management.   

Is there  a published list when  these  will occur.  If I'm prewarned  then I can  schedule people to  do 9 am  reboots.  

Another 2 quick question is there  a way of  remotely testing  that the 4G hybrid is still talking  to  the router and supplying the  speed boost?

I'm thinking of putting  a remote access server on the  network that will allow me  to remotely login  and perform a daily speedtest.   If I do this,  is there a way of giving  reboot commands  to the 4G hybrid and the router?

[BethM]

Hi JohnP3

Most of the SAAF reboots are triggered only when hub uptime > 14 days. So if the hub gets rebooted due to any other reason within the interval, this reboot will get deferred for at least another 14 days. The Hub GUI page has the system uptime information which can be accessed from any LAN device remotely. Please do keep in mind that there will still be other rare reboot instances for reasons such as firmware upgrades.

With respect to validation of the hybrid talking to the router, the Hub admin GUI page has the Hybrid connect tile which has the 4G connection status. If you click on the tile, more information is available regarding the connection details.

As to the question of rebooting remotely, the GUI page has the option to trigger reboot on the hub. There is no option available to reboot the Hybrid remotely.