The router to a happier home

Technology should be simple, effective and reliable. You shouldn’t need to take hours setting a gadget up, and if something goes wrong, it should be designed to try to fix itself without bothering you. So when it comes to home broadband, is there really such a magical device? Step forward BT Home Hub 3.

This is the latest broadband router from BT. It’s small and cute, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a toy – this router has exceptional range and signal strength, which is great news if your router and computer are rooms apart.

Ease of use comes as standard It’s easy to set up – if you have a recent computer with the right technology built in, called WPS, you don’t even need a password; you just press a button on your computer and one on the Home Hub, and a secure connection is created automatically. If your computer is older, though, the Home Hub has another way to make things simple: instead of printing the password on to a piece of paper you’ll lose, BT has labelled a plastic fob that slides into the router. Neat. The Home Hub also works with BT Vision, the easy-to-use TV recorder that has a Freeview tuner and brings you TV content over your broadband.

No other router does this But the big news with the Home Hub3 is that it does something no other broadband provider’s router does – it always looks for your best wireless channel, giving you the strongest connection available, thanks to Smart Wireless™. When you set up any router it automatically picks the clearest frequency.

Trouble is, it’s stuck with it. So if something else pops up that isn’t Wi-Fi friendly, it can cause problems. This is especially annoying if you’re in the middle of doing something on your laptop and it fails. There are so many demands on the air waves that it’s easy to find interference, which causes your broadband to stutter or fail. When a wireless product like a TV sender or baby monitor gets in the way, a router can find the obstacle too great and give up. It can’t switch to a different frequency until you switch it off and on again. But the Home Hub 3 can get round this by changing frequency of its own accord. So if interference arises, it can work around it. Problem solved.

You can even set it to switch off at night to save energy, so all in all you have a highly desirable broadband router.

For more information and to find out more, visit bt.com/homehub

Optimum signal strength

You can, of course, connect your computer to your Home Hub 3, but maybe you have a smartphone, or a tablet computer like an iPad, too. No problem.The Home Hub 3 is powerful enough to handle multiple devices and ensure they all work smoothly. The range is good enough to let you wander round the house with these gadgets and you should receive a reliable connection. And since the Home Hub 3 is fast as well as far reaching, you can download apps, music or movies in impressively short time.

Added Features

Free broadband on the go: if you subscribe to BT Broadband, you have access to 2.8 million Wi-Fi hotspots, so you can connect your Wi-Fi device like a smartphone or an iPad when you’re outside your home in lots of places in the UK for free.

BT Vision: this is BT’s TV service. It includes Freeview and access to lots of extra programming from favourite TV shows to kids and music channels and HD movies on demand. Plus, it includes BBC iPlayer. With BT Vision and Home Hub 3, you need never be stuck for something to watch again.

Future proofing: the BT Home Hub 3 has another trick up its sleeve: BT Infinity. This is the new super-fast fibre optic broadband network that’s being rolled out nationwide. BT Infinity is up to 40Mb broadband and enables you to get much more from your online experience. So, whether you’re big on social networking, gaming, streaming, uploading or downloading, it’s time to start multi-tasking and do it all at once... if you can handle it.