How To Set Up a BT Home Hub

No matter who you get broadband internet from, you won't be able to use it without the right equipment, which normally comes as part of your broadband deal. If you have just one PC you'll need a modem attached to it, or you can use a wireless modem/router to share your internet connection between many PCs.

It's no different for BT broadband customers, but if you sign up to Option 2 or Option 3 you'll get the new, updated BT Home Hub - a special bit of kit that lets you do more with your connection, all through one smart black box. So what does it do, and how do you set it up?

Group hub

As its name suggests, the Home Hub is designed to be at the centre of your home's network of computers and phones. It's a wireless modem/router, so it's always connected to the internet, sharing your broadband connection out to your computers and other gadgets. Like most other wireless routers, you can use it to build a network with cables or over Wi-Fi, but the Home Hub has some great extras that you won't find on an everyday router.

As you might expect from BT, the Home Hub is designed to make it easy to use the latest telephone technology in the home. There's a built-in DECT base station that works with the included cordless Hub Phone , so you can make or receive BT Broadband Talk calls as you walk around the house. If you don't want to use a cordless phone, though, there's a connector for plugging in a regular wired phone.

The Home Hub also lets you make cheap mobile calls via BT Fusion Mobile. Out and about, a BT Fusion Mobile phone works just like any other, but once within range of your Home Hub, it uses your broadband connection to provide you with cheaper calls, and superfast mobile internet access. As if all this wasn't enough, the Home Hub is also designed to be upgraded easily and automatically as your needs change, or as BT brings out new broadband services.

Set it up

With so many tricks up its sleeve, you'd probably expect the Home Hub to be tricky to install, but in fact it's a breeze. Simply unpack it and make sure that you've got the letter with your BT Broadband username (email) and password - if you don't have them, call us on 0845 600 7030. Position your hub away from things that might interfere with your wireless network - see our guide to setting up a wireless router for more details.

Insert one of the supplied microfilters into each of the phone sockets in your home and reconnect any phones into the filters' 'phone' socket. Now connect your Home Hub's 'broadband' socket to the 'DSL' socket on one of your microfilters using the supplied broadband cable (which has grey end-plugs). Plug the Home Hub's power adaptor into a wall socket, and connect the other end to the hub.

Within a few minutes of you switching on your hub, you should see its Broadband light turn green and stop flashing - if this doesn't happen, check your connections, but remember that your broadband may not go live until 8pm on your activation day.

Connect the dots

Once your hub's Broadband and Wireless lights are glowing green, you're ready to start linking up your computers in a home network. The easiest way to do this is to put the BT setup CD into your computer and work through our simple setup program, but you can connect your computers manually.

Even if you don't use the BT setup CD, it shouldn't be too hard to connect computers to your wireless network. In Windows XP or Vista a small bubble will appear in the bottom right of your screen letting you know that your computer has detected a Wi-Fi network. If it doesn't, double-click on the wireless icon at the bottom right of the screen, and select "View Wireless Networks".

Look for the name (sometimes called the SSID) of your BT Home Hub, which is printed on the back of the hub and on the wireless settings card. Once you see this in the list of wireless networks, double-click it - now all you should need to do to connect is to enter the wireless key, also printed on the Home Hub and the settings card.

It's just as easy to connect an Apple Mac. Just click the Wi-Fi icon in the top-right of the menu bar and choose your network name from the list. Again, you'll need to provide the wireless key printed on the hub and the settings card.

Buying BT Broadband but don't fancy setting up your own Home Hub? With BT Home IT Install , our engineers will visit your home, set up your router and give you a quick demonstration. The BT Home Install costs £50-65, and is available weekdays and Saturdays.

Sign up for BT Total Broadband