Amazon Echo arrived in the UK on 28 September to much excitement. Those who pre-ordered the connected device took delivery and then discovered that it wouldn't work with one of the UK's largest internet services, as it failed to connect to BT's Home Hub.

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Pocket-lint

Setting up the Amazon Echo is a fairly simple process, with voice prompts from the Echo and guidance in the app taking you through the process of getting your Echo connected to the app, online and registered with Amazon. 

The problem, it seems, is that when the Echo talks to the BT Home Hub all the information is wrong and the registering process stalls. You'll know it happens because the progress bar in the app stops about half way and about 10 minutes later, the Echo will tell you it wasn't registered.

There is an easy fix however. It's slightly technical, but just a case of tapping in some numbers.

How to connect Amazon Echo to BT Home Hub

Open up Amazon Echo's normal setup process and follow the instructions. This means downloading and installing the app (Google Play or iTunes), or PRO TIP: a less fiddly option is to open up the browser version on your PC. Head here for quicker access: http://alexa.amazon.co.uk/ 

Pick your Wi-Fi network. Once you've got your PC or phone connected to the Echo, you have to sign it into your home Wi-Fi network. Locate your BT Home Hub and look for the option to "show advanced settings". how to make amazon echo connect to your bt home hub an easy fix image 2Click here to open the five boxes. IMPORTANT: If you've tried to connect previously and failed, you might have to click the option to "forget this network" before you'll be able open the advanced settings.

Manually enter your BT Home Hub details. This is where you solve the problem by manually supplying the information that the Echo and the BT Hub couldn't sort out themselves. Remember to add your Wi-Fi network password at the top.how to make amazon echo connect to your bt home hub an easy fix image 3 Then simply copy the details below into the corresponding boxes, and hit the connect button. 

  • IP Address 192.168.1.2
  • Router 192.168.1.254
  • Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
  • DNS 1 62.6.40.178
  • DNS 2 62.6.40.163

That's it, your £150 Echo is no longer a paperweight! The Echo should then connect and finish off its setup process. We've tried this with the latest BT Home Hub with no problems.

This is the solution that worked for us. There are others suggesting alternative steps, like separating the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz Wi-Fi bands, but we didn't find that necessary. Hopefully it will be just as simple for you.