Jul 11, 2009
BT Home Hub 2 Router Security “Feature”
I was wondering why my BT Home Hub 2.0 router would keep resetting/rebooting after about 3 minutes of a outbound activity. Benign things like uploading FTP files to my webserver. Infuriating, since my client was waiting for these files and it was looking like I’d have to courier DVDs across the ocean.
This had been happening for months and I started to get suspicious that it might be BT doing something sneaky like sending a reboot command to the router. After all, they update the firmware remotely and silently with out telling you. Who knows what else they can do?
I renewed my search for an answer a few days ago and came across this posting in a forum in which it’s reported that a British Telecom support person says that it’s a fault in the firmware (version 8.1.H.G) and should be fixed by the end of June (which it wasn’t). There’s also this posting in which it’s suggested that it was a security feature programmed into the firmware. To do what, exactly?
If it was, in fact, a security “feature” is crippling the router the best way to handle it? Who exactly is being protected by the unit indiscriminately rebooting itself? What’s the scenario in that programmer’s head that leads to the conclusion that killing my FTP transfers is the right thing to do? Although, this smacks of middle management incompetence not having the scope to understand the ramifications of their actions when they say “do this dumb thing.”
The “feature” apparently only kicks in when you’re doing uploading with no download traffic (as if this is a tell-tale sign of perfidy) so just go download something while you’re uploading and maybe it will work.
Hiya mate. Me and my girlfriend was also having this problem of our router rebooting itself after a few mins.
After the first incident I had to call BT which they said it must be the router so they sent out a replacement. After recieving the replacement we still suffered the same problem. I had to call them again and they said it must be another faulty router. Same thing again. I was sick and tired of this problem and having to constantly call BT to complain for 8 months..
My girlfriend enjoys doing tutorials on youtube and whenever she uploaded any files, **CLICK!** router reboots. No matter how many times she would try, it was the same thing.
Of course downloading and browsing the internet was no problem.
BT sent out an engineer to come check out the problem and even he was confused to why we was having this problem.. He called the broadband department and they did a line check and everything was aparently working fine. The ridiculous thing was the person on the other end of the fone said that it was probably because we must be misusing their product.
I believe he was basically saying that we was doing illegal activities!
Since when was uploading videos to youtube illegal? or misusing their equipment. Even the engineer laughed and was arguing over the phone about it.
Well basically nothing was done and we was told that we had to use the ethernet cable to upload anything. What a way to spend good money on shit that isnt even allowing us to do what we pay for.
Wireless is supposed to be wireless no?? No matter wether im uploading/downloading.. Almost 8 months paying to use a wireless router through ethernet cable. Thumbs up BT!
I do believe there was a firmware fault with the hub and BT couldnt do jack about it until they released a firmware to fix this. I think it maybe sorted now but i dont know. My girlfriend did try uploading a file earlier to youtube through wireless and it didnt cut out.
((8 months later)) Though it was only a 80mb file unlike her usual 700mb.