The only cosmetic change is a blue stripe across the front of the router rather than a black one. Lights, all the buttons and ports are positioned in actually same way. BT Infinity customers can get their hands on a Home Hub for free, when upgrading to an Infinity package or re-contracting.
The Home Hub 5 is a consolidated VDSL modem and router. If that means nothing to you then in simple terms, it contradicts the need for a Home Hub router and a separate Open-reach network box for fiber optic broadband.
HH (Home Hub) 5 has dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, but now has the latest 802.11ac technology and 3×3 MIMO. Smart wireless means the Hub 5 will select which channel to use automatically, even though you can go into the settings and manually choose this if you wish.
The 4 ethernet ports on the back of the Hub 5 are now all Gigabit speed rather than just the one. This is good news for users who are plugging multiple devices into their existing router. By upgrading to a Home Hub 5 does not mean that your internet speeds will get any better. There was no difference in our tests using speed-test with Infinity 2 in ping and upload but, it was seen a small boost in download only a few Mbps though.
So far there is no major reason to upgrade to the Home Hub 5. It looks fundamentally the same and is easy to plug in, but the router has a number of internal upgrades which might make it worth your while.
Specifications
- Radio bands: 2.4 & 5 GHz
- Antennae: 3 internal
- WAN port: 1xgigabit
- LAN port: 4xgigabit
- Model: BT Home Hub 5
- Wireless protocols: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- USB: 1 x USB 2.0
Decision
The Home Hub 5 may look almost identical to the previous model, but a number of characteristics make this a good upgrade for BT Broadband customers.
