Troubleshooting problems with Guest Wi-Fi

If you've just set up Guest Wi-Fi guests will need to wait a couple of minutes for Guest Wi-Fi to start up. When it’s available, guests should be able to choose BT_Guest_Wi-Fi from the list of wi-fi networks on their device.

BT_Guest_Wi-Fi appears as the SSID but can’t guests can’t get online

Go to your Hub Manager and make sure Public Wi-Fi active says Yes.

BT_Wi-Fi appears as the SSID instead of BT_Guest_Wi-Fi

Make sure you’ve selected Guest Wi-Fi as your Public Wi-Fi - there are two types to choose from. Switching on Guest Wi-Fi in the Hub Manager automatically switches off BT Wi-Fi. This normally takes just minutes but can take up to 24 hours.

You already have people using Guest Wi-Fi successfully

Up to 13 people can connect with Guest Wi-Fi at the same time so you may have reached the user limit. When somebody stops using Guest Wi-Fi, someone else will be able to start.

Sometimes devices have bugs stopping them from connecting successfully. Restarting a device can solve this.

A guest previously used Guest Wi-Fi but can't this time

Guest Wi-Fi has no passwords to worry about, but it means that returning guests aren't remembered automatically. Your guest just needs to choose BT_Guest_Wi-Fi from the wi-fi networks and open a web browser to get online again.

None of your guests can connect

Best to start over. Go to your Hub Manager, switch off Guest Wi-Fi and then switch it on again. Make sure Public wi-fi is active - you'll need this to be on for Guest Wi-Fi to work. If Guest Wi-Fi still isn't working, try restarting your Smart Hub.

Still not working?

If these steps haven't helped you can report a fault and we'll investigate for you.

Give it about 10 minutes and everything should be working. Switching on Guest Wi-Fi for the first time involves a fair bit of action behind the scenes to reconfigure your hub. Very occasionally Hub Manager slows down or stops responding. It won’t take long for everything to be back up and running.

In the meantime, check the available wi-fi networks on another device. When you see BT_Guest_Wi-Fi appear everything has updated successfully. Just refresh your Hub Manager or return to the home screen.

If things still aren't working after 10 minutes, try restarting your hub.

And if that’s not put things right, you can report a fault and we'll investigate for you.

It’s likely that Guest Wi-Fi hasn't fully started up yet - you may just need to wait a little longer. It usually takes only a few minutes but can take up to 24 hours.

In the meantime, these tips may speed things up:

• Ask your guest to open a new web browser on their device - this may be all it takes for the correct Get online page to appear.
• In your Hub Manager, make sure Public Wi-fi active is set to Yes.
• Make sure you’re connected to Guest Wi-Fi and not BT Wi-Fi in your Hub Manager.
• Restart your Smart Hub.
• Set up Guest Wi-Fi again - or switch off Guest Wi-Fi and then switch it on again in your Hub Manager.
• Ask your guest to restart their device.

If you've allowed time for Guest Wi-Fi to fully update on your Smart Hub (ideally overnight) and you're still having problems, you can report a fault and we'll investigate for you.

The connection dropped suddenly

This probably isn't a Guest Wi-Fi issue, or even a BT issue - it’s just one of those things that can happen using wi-fi anywhere around the world from any provider.

If your guests lose connection, they can simply open a new web browser. When the Guest Wi-Fi landing page appears, clicking get online will get them free wi-fi again.

Your guests haven’t used Guest Wi-Fi for a while

Guest Wi-Fi recognises if a device is idle - and can disconnect if it hasn't been used for 10-15 minutes. Your guest just needs to open a new web browser and click get online from the landing page to start using Guest Wi-Fi again. If they don't see the landing page, the maximum number of users may be online already.

Sometimes a very small number of devices can react weirdly if they try to reconnect to Guest Wi-Fi after being inactive. A quick fix is to turn on flight mode and then off again. Restarting the device can also help.

Don’t panic - unsecured network is just another name for public network. Any public wi-fi is classified as an unsecured network. Rest assured, when you set up Guest Wi-Fi for your guests, you're keeping your own private network safe and secure.

Your business has priority with 80% of your available speed. So, at times Guest Wi-Fi may only run on 20% of your available speed.

If lots of people are streaming at the same time especially when your private network is busy, Guest Wi-Fi may run slowly.

One quick tip, ask your guests to use Guest Wi-Fi closer to your hub – it usually speeds things up for them.

Think of your wi-fi connection as a doorway. It’s quick and easy for one person to get through. More than one person and it’s a bit of a squeeze and things slow down. In terms of wi-fi, the bigger the bandwidth, the faster the service.

If you’re concerned about your wi-fi speeds, we’ve tips on how to improve your business wi-fi.

If things are frequently slowing down when Guest Wi-Fi is being used it may be because you have older, low-speed copper lines. Here are two ways we can help with that:

• Find out about Infinity.
• Find out about BTnet Leased Lines.