BT Complete Wi-Fi Plus for Business

What is BT Complete Wi-Fi Plus?

Most Wi-Fi complaints in small workplaces are not about the broadband speed. They are about the back office, the upstairs meeting room or the far end of the shop floor where the signal drops. Complete Wi-Fi Plus is BT's answer.

It uses Wi-Fi discs that communicate with your Smart Hub 3 to make a single mesh network across the building. BT describes a disc as a signal booster, but better: it is part of the same network, so there is one network name and password, and devices connect automatically to whichever disc or hub gives the strongest signal as people move around.

There are two versions. Complete Wi-Fi Plus works only with Smart Hub 3. The original Complete Wi-Fi uses BT's earlier discs with other BT Business Smart Hubs. Which one you can have depends on the hub your plan comes with.

Signs your workplace needs better Wi-Fi

Complete Wi-Fi Plus is worth considering if any of these sound familiar:

• Video calls freeze in some rooms but not others
• Staff move to the front of the building to send large files
• The card machine or booking tablet drops its connection at the far end of the shop
• People keep switching between the hub and an old extender with a different network name
• Upstairs rooms, a basement or a back office have one bar of signal or none

If the problem is the whole connection being slow, even right next to the hub, Wi-Fi discs will not fix it: that is a broadband speed question. Run a wired test first; see how to run a speed test and what speed your business needs.

Which plans include it?

On Standard Fibre with Essential or Enhanced the hub is Smart Hub 2, so the Wi-Fi add-on there is the original Complete Wi-Fi. If Wi-Fi coverage matters and you are on Standard Fibre, Pro is the way to get Smart Hub 3 and Complete Wi-Fi Plus together.

BT's Complete Wi-Fi Plus guarantee

BT backs Complete Wi-Fi Plus with a coverage guarantee. Under BT's terms:

• What is covered: the main building at your site. Outbuildings, extra sites and broadband faults are not covered.
• How long: 6 months from the service start date.
• If the signal is not strong enough: BT may send up to five extra Complete Wi-Fi Plus discs.
• Engineer visit: with two or more discs, you can ask for a BT engineer to visit to improve performance.
• If it still falls short on Pro: where Complete Wi-Fi Plus is a standard part of the Pro plan, you are entitled to end the broadband contract under the guarantee.
• If it still falls short as an add-on: you can cancel the add-on during the guarantee period and claim a refund of up to six months of its charges, and your broadband plan carries on.

In each case the discs must be returned to BT. The guarantee is BT's, and BT's terms at the time of your order apply. It is a useful safety net, but it works best when the building has been thought about before the discs arrive.

Complete Wi-Fi vs Complete Wi-Fi Plus

The details come from BT's guarantee terms, which apply at the time of your order. In both cases the discs remain BT's property.

Where to put the discs

BT's placement advice for its Wi-Fi discs:

1. Halfway, not at the dead spot. Place a disc roughly halfway between the hub and the area with poor coverage. A disc in the dead spot itself has little signal to pass on.
2. In the open. Keep discs out in the open and away from large metal objects, not in cupboards or behind furniture.
3. Check in the app. Use the BT Business app to check signal strength and adjust placement.
4. Remove old extenders. BT recommends removing existing Wi-Fi extenders, which can cause interference with the new network.

From our side, three questions help most when planning: how many floors are there, what are the walls made of, and where does the line come in? Stone walls, fire doors, lift shafts and metal shelving all absorb Wi-Fi. A long single-storey unit and a three-storey townhouse need different disc layouts.

Complete Wi-Fi Plus, Ultra access points or something else?

Complete Wi-Fi Plus suits most small offices, shops, salons and clinics in a single building. For other premises there are alternatives:

• Small premises that want managed access points and a security appliance: BT Ultra Broadband includes Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi 6 access points, up to three per site. BT positions Ultra for small business premises, and multiple floors or buildings need checking first. See Ultra Broadband Wi-Fi.
• Outbuildings, yards and second buildings: BT's guarantee covers the main building only, so these need planning separately.
• Multi-site or heavily used networks: a designed wireless network is the better route. Forever Group covers Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi on its Meraki Wi-Fi pages.

Our business Wi-Fi guide compares these options in more detail.

Setting up Complete Wi-Fi Plus

You need the Complete Wi-Fi Plus disc, a working Smart Hub 3 and the BT Business app. BT has a separate step-by-step guide for Complete Wi-Fi Plus discs and for the original Complete Wi-Fi discs, so follow the one for the product you have. The app helps you set up the discs, check coverage and manage the network.

If you would rather an engineer did it, BT's Expert Setup visit can include setting up Complete Wi-Fi. Inclusion depends on the plan and is confirmed at quote.

BT keeps ownership of the discs. If you leave BT Business or remove Complete Wi-Fi, BT says the discs need to be returned within 60 days to avoid charges.

Adding Complete Wi-Fi Plus through Forever Communications

We check which hub your address and plan would come with, talk through the layout of your building so the right number of discs is ordered, and compare adding Complete Wi-Fi Plus to Essential or Enhanced against moving to Pro. Pricing is confirmed at quote. Contact us about better Wi-Fi coverage on BT Business Broadband.