Big Tech Question’s first rule of technology: anything that describes itself as ‘smart’ is invariably dumber than a Hollyoaks Christmas special. Such is the case with the BT Home Hub’s Smart Setup Wizard – a hugely annoying, unavoidable setup screen that pops up on every new device added to your home network.
The Smart Setup Wizard is designed to make connecting to your new router easy, which is fine if you’re the first person setting up a brand new router. The problem is that the wizard appears for everyone who connects to the network unless you specifically tell it not to. So when friends come over and ask if they can hook on to your Wi-Fi, they’re presented with several screens asking them if they want to set up parental controls and what not. Unless you’ve got particularly mischievous friends or Mary Whitehouse staying over, they don’t.
So how do you switch off this irritant?
How to turn off BT Home Hub Smart Setup
Open the web browser on any device, preferably a PC or laptop, and type 192.168.1.254 into the address bar. This will give you access to the BT Home Hub’s settings screen. Click the Settings tab, at which point you’ll be asked to enter your admin password. If you’ve not changed it previously, it will be printed on the little plastic card in the back of the device. (If you’ve lost the password card, click here to find out how to retrieve the admin password.)
Now click Advanced Settings, then Continue to Advanced Settings and then Home Network. Finally, click the Smart Setup tab and, where it says Enable Smart Setup, check the No box. Make sure you press Apply to save the settings.
Devices will now be able to connect to your home network without being asked 20 questions.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can finally turn the wretched thing off!