TalkTalk Router not working with BT discs... again...

[JeffT]

Over the summer I had this issue where a firmware update to the TalkTalk Wifi Hub router caused my BT mesh system to fail. As described in these posts it was resolved (eventually) by another firmware update on the router:
https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Broadband/BTWhole-home-mesh-not-working-after-update-to-firmware...
https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Broadband/BT-Whole-Home-WiFi-Premium-mesh-not-working-after-TT-H...

Yesterday I was upgraded to full fibre and given a new TalkTalk Wifi Hub 2 router which comes with the firmware fault as standard. So my mesh system is now bricked again with the same problem. The BT discs won't work but everything else does (as long as it is within range or wired). I left it overnight to see whether there would be a firmware update to fix it but sadly not.

Is there a solution for this, I have tried the support online chat and after being passed about for 3 hours the final person said that the BT discs are "not compatible with this router". I don't really believe that they understood the issue though.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for the update. You could try and if the FW does change again then we can manually change it back for you again.

Thanks

Michelle

[JeffT]

Yes, thank you, I see the firmware rolled back from version SG4K100174 to SG4K100136 on my newer router and the discs are now working again. Is it worth me repeating the setup of everything or will the system update itself and cause the fault again?

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Jeff,

Our Devices Manager has now made a change and has asked if you'd mind retesting please to see if this is now working?

Thanks

Michelle

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Jeff,

I've escalated this straight over now and will post an update as soon as he comes back to me.

Thanks

Michelle

[JeffT]

I am sure it would be useful for your other customers with BT mesh system to fix this at some point yes!

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi Jeff,

Thank you. I'm really sorry to hear this. Are you still ok for us to raise this for investigation in the meantime and I'll pass this straight over?

Thanks

Michelle

[JeffT]

I have done so, however having looked up my firmware version I noticed that this is the same version that was reported with this same fault back in July on one of the links, so I will be switching provider to resolve this issue more quickly.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi JeffT,

I'll need to raise this over to our Devices Manager. Please can you add your name and home telephone/ or account number to your Community Profile. Please do not post any personal information on the Community.

Thanks

Michelle

[JeffT]

Yes, this post describes the issue at great depth. It is something to do with the local DNS setup on the router which is stopping the BT discs from communicating using btwhole.home as an address.

https://community.talktalk.co.uk/t5/Broadband/BTWhole-home-mesh-not-working-after-update-to-firmware...

[Chris-TalkTalk]

So just to confirm, devices can't communicate with each other on the LAN side, it's not just that they can't connect to the Internet?

Chris

[JeffT]

From what I can gather on the original issue (see the posts I linked initially) the problem is caused by the router not registering btwhole.home to the master disc ip address - some issue with local DNS. Therefore my discs do not communicate with each other and the setup does not function. The master disc is connected to the talktalk wifi hub 2 via ethernet and I don't know whether an ethernet connection works on the master disc as I do not have any portable devices with an ethernet socket (they have vanished from laptops these days).

[Chris-TalkTalk]

Hi Jeff,

When you say the mesh system is bricked, is there no internet connection if you connect a device to the Ethernet port on one of the discs?

Chris

[JeffT]

The firmware on the Wifi Hub that is fixed is SG4K100136. The previous version had the fault (Jun-Aug 2023) I don't have the number.

The firmware on the Wifi Hub 2 that has the fault (out-of-the-box literally) is SG4K100174.

[Debbie-TalkTalk]

Hi JeffT

Please can you send me a Private Message with the serial number from the back of this router, I can then look into this further.

Thanks

[JeffT]

Hello Michelle,

The WifiHub2 with the problem has not had a firmware update - it is new to me this week with the upgrade to full fibre. 

My previous router - a WifiHub - which I was using up until this week had the same problem over the summer with a firmware update that broke it some time in June and a subsequent firmware fix in August.

I am happy to try a different router but I do not want to try a Wifi Hub / Wifi Hub 2 these keep causing this problem.

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Morning JeffT,

Thanks for confirming. This is a strange one as the firmware hasn't recently changed. Would you like us to send a replacement router for testing purposes to rule this out?

Thanks

Michelle

[JeffT]

Thanks for the reply, it is:

TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub 2
version SG4K100174

[Michelle-TalkTalk]

Hi JeffT,

I'm sorry to hear this. Can I just confirm, what version of firmware is currently on the Wifi Hub 2 router please?

Thanks

Michelle