// BT SMART HUB PRINTER HELP
Printer won’t connect to your BT Smart Hub
You’ve just had a new BT hub, or your wifi printer has suddenly dropped off, and now nothing you try will get it back on the network. It’s one of the most common jobs we’re called about — and most of the time it comes down to a single quirk of how the BT Smart Hub handles its wifi. Here’s the honest fix order that actually works, in plain English, plus when it’s worth letting us just do it for you. Rated 4.9 on Google.
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/01 — THE QUICK ANSWER
The quick answer
If your printer won’t connect to your BT Smart Hub, the usual cause is simple: most home printers only use the 2.4GHz wifi band, but the Smart Hub broadcasts both 2.4GHz and 5GHz under a single network name — so the printer, or the phone you’re using to set it up, ends up caught on the wrong band. The reliable fix is to move the printer and your phone close to the Hub, sign in to the Hub Manager at 192.168.1.254, temporarily switch off the 5GHz band so only 2.4GHz is on the air, connect the printer, then switch 5GHz back on.
If the trouble started right after a new BT installation, there’s a second common cause: your new Hub almost certainly has a different wifi name and password to the old one, so your printer is quietly still trying the old details. Simply re-running the printer’s wireless setup with the new name and password fixes a surprising number of cases on its own.
The rest of this page walks through the full order we use — quick wins first, Hub settings second, and how to tell when the fault is actually the printer rather than the Hub.
At a glance
| Most common cause | Most home printers are 2.4GHz-only, but the Smart Hub broadcasts 2.4GHz and 5GHz under one name, so the printer gets caught on the wrong band. |
|---|---|
| DIY first step | Move the printer and your phone close to the Hub, restart the printer and re-enter the wifi details from the Hub’s card — a new Hub means a new name and password. |
| The Hub Manager trick | Sign in at 192.168.1.254, temporarily switch off the 5GHz band while the printer joins, then switch it back on afterwards. |
| Can it be fixed remotely? | Yes — we sort the Hub and printer together while you watch, on a no fix, no fee basis. |
| How long does it take? | Most problems on this page are fixed in one short remote session, usually the same day. |
| When to call us | If you’d rather not poke around in router settings, ring 01202 775566 (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5). |
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Skip the DIY — call 01202 775566 and we can be looking at your screen within minutes. You watch everything we do, and most problems on this page are fixed in one short remote session. (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm.)
/02 — WHY IT HAPPENS
Why your printer struggles with the Smart Hub
The BT Smart Hub 2 and the newer Smart Hub 3 are dual-band routers. They send out a 2.4GHz signal (slower but longer range, and better through walls) and a 5GHz signal (faster but shorter range) using the same wifi name and password. Your phone and laptop happily hop between the two, but a wireless printer usually can’t — the vast majority of home printers are 2.4GHz only.
That matters most during setup. When you use an app like HP Smart, Epson or Canon to add the printer, your phone talks to both the printer and the Hub at the same time. If your phone is sitting on the 5GHz band and the printer can only reach 2.4GHz, the app often reports that it can’t find the printer, or that the two aren’t on the same network.
Two things about the Hub make this worse. To juggle both bands under one name, it uses band steering, which quietly moves devices to whichever band it thinks is best — handy for phones, but it can nudge the phone you’re setting up onto 5GHz, away from a 2.4GHz-only printer. And Smart Setup, BT’s wizard that pops up in your browser when a new device joins, can interrupt the setup app midway. Neither is a fault; they simply don’t suit printers.
/03 — THE FIX, IN ORDER
The fix, in the right order
Work through these in order and stop as soon as the printer connects. Most jobs are solved by step three.
- Get close and restart. Move the printer and the phone or laptop you’re setting up with to within a few metres of the Hub. Switch the printer off and on so it starts a fresh search.
- Use the new wifi details. Check the network name and password on the card that came with your Hub (or on its base) and type them in carefully — printers are fussy about capital letters and the difference between the letter O and a zero.
- Give the printer a clear run at 2.4GHz. In the Hub Manager, temporarily switch the 5GHz band off so only the 2.4GHz network is on the air while the printer joins.
- Try WPS. If your printer has a WPS option, start it on the printer, then press and hold the WPS button on the side of the Hub until the light flashes — they pair without you typing a password.
- Turn everything back on. Once a test page prints, switch the 5GHz band back on.
If you’re setting the printer up from scratch, our plain-English guide to setting up a printer covers the driver and app side too.
/04 — HUB MANAGER SETTINGS
Hub Manager settings that actually help
You reach the Hub Manager by typing 192.168.1.254 into any web browser on a device that’s already connected to the Hub, then signing in with the admin password printed on the card or the base of the Hub — this is not your wifi password. Most of the settings below live under Advanced Settings then Wireless.
- Turn 5GHz off (temporarily). The quickest, most reliable trick: switch the 5GHz band off, connect the printer to the remaining 2.4GHz network, then switch 5GHz back on. Your other devices simply use 2.4GHz for a few minutes.
- Separate Bands. The Smart Hub 2 has a Separate Bands toggle. Turning it on lets you manage each band on its own and choose its channel — and on some firmware it’s how you reveal the individual on/off switch for 5GHz. On this model it keeps a single network name rather than giving the 2.4GHz band its own, so for simply connecting a printer, turning 5GHz off is usually quicker.
- Smart Setup. BT’s Smart Setup wizard has its own section in the Hub Manager, separate from the wireless settings. It’s a browser pop-up for setting up BT extras rather than the thing blocking your printer, but if it keeps interrupting you can switch it off there while you work.
- Channel. If 2.4GHz is congested, moving off the automatic Smart Scan channel can help in a busy block of flats.
Changes save straight away and won’t affect your broadband.
/05 — WHEN IT’S THE PRINTER
When it’s the printer, not the Hub
Sometimes the Hub is innocent. It’s worth suspecting the printer if it can’t see any wifi network in its list, if its wireless light stays off or red, or if it connects fine for a day and then drops off on its own. Those point to the printer’s own wifi radio, its firmware, or a power-saving setting rather than anything on the BT side.
A few printer-side things to check:
- Wake it up. Some printers drop wifi in deep sleep. In the printer’s settings, turn off aggressive power-saving or ‘sleep’ wifi options.
- Update the firmware. Older printer firmware often struggles with modern routers; a firmware update from the maker’s app frequently steadies a flaky connection.
- Reset the printer’s network. Most printers have a ‘restore network settings’ or ‘wireless setup wizard’ option that clears out old, half-remembered details.
If your printer connects but keeps dropping off every few days, that’s a slightly different problem — our guide on why your printer keeps disconnecting goes through the causes and permanent fixes in detail.
/06 — LET US SORT IT
Let 365 Techies sort it for you
If you’d rather not poke around in router settings, this is exactly the kind of thing we fix remotely, usually the same day. With your permission we connect securely, sort the Hub settings and the printer together while you watch, and test a page before we finish — and it’s no fix, no fee.
We’re 365 Techies, a family-run team that’s been helping people with exactly this since 1995, based in Kinson, Bournemouth with a 4.9-star Google rating. Most printer jobs are done remotely across the UK, and if it turns out the printer needs hands-on attention we cover home visits across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Dorset.
Give us a ring on 01202 775566 (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5), text us on 07520 615332, or book remote help and we’ll get your printing back. If your whole setup could do with a tidy-up while we’re there, our printer support and home network pages explain how we can help.
// RELATED
Related help: why does my printer keep disconnecting, how to set up a printer, printer support, home network setup, wifi help and broadband help. Different setup? See our guides for Sky routers, EE Smart Hubs, printers that stopped working after moving house and printers that vanished after a Windows update.
FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Why won’t my printer find the BT Smart Hub wifi at all?
Nearly always because your printer only uses the 2.4GHz band while the Hub also broadcasts 5GHz under the same name, and the printer (or the phone setting it up) is caught on the wrong band. Move both close to the Hub and, in the Hub Manager, briefly switch the 5GHz band off so the printer has a clear run at 2.4GHz.
How do I turn off the 5GHz band on a BT Smart Hub 2?
Type 192.168.1.254 into a browser on a connected device, sign in with the admin password on the Hub, and go to Advanced Settings then Wireless. There you can switch the 5GHz band off — the exact labels vary a little by firmware, and on some versions you turn on Separate Bands first to reveal the per-band switches. Connect the printer to the remaining 2.4GHz network, then switch 5GHz back on afterwards.
Could a guest network on my BT Hub be blocking the printer?
Not on a standard Smart Hub 2 — it doesn’t have a guest network at all, so that can’t be the cause. If you use BT Complete Wi-Fi or Whole Home discs, those can run a separate guest network with device isolation, and a printer on the guest network won’t be reachable from your computer. Put both on your main network.
Where is the WPS button on the BT Smart Hub 2?
It’s a small button on the side of the Hub. Press and hold it until the light starts flashing, then start WPS on the printer within about two minutes and they pair without a password. WPS is on by default; if nothing happens, check it hasn’t been switched off under Advanced Settings then Wireless in the Hub Manager.
Do I need to split the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands permanently?
Usually no. Temporarily turning 5GHz off during setup is enough for most people, and you can turn it straight back on afterwards. The Smart Hub 2 does have a Separate Bands option that lets you set the channel for each band, but on this model it keeps a single network name rather than giving the 2.4GHz band its own — so treat turning 5GHz off as the simpler, reliable route.
My printer worked before I got the new BT hub — why did it stop?
Because a new Hub comes with a new wifi name and password, and your printer is still trying the old ones — it has no way to update itself. Re-run the printer’s wireless setup and enter the new details from the card that came with the Hub, and it should reconnect.
Can you just connect the printer for me?
Yes — it’s one of our most common little jobs. With your permission we log in remotely, sort the Hub and the printer together, and test a page before we finish, on a no fix, no fee basis. If it needs hands-on help we visit across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Dorset. Call 01202 775566.
Is it always the Hub’s fault?
No. If the printer can’t see any wifi network, its wireless light is off, or it drops off on its own after connecting, the fault is more likely the printer’s radio, firmware or a sleep setting than the BT Hub. Our guide on printers that keep disconnecting covers those cases.
Printer still refusing to talk to your BT Hub?
We’ll connect it for you remotely, usually the same day, or come to you across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch and Dorset. No fix, no fee.
01202 775566 · help@365techies.co.uk · MON–FRI 9AM–5PM