BT Wi-Fi Security Controls

What is BT Wi-Fi Security Controls?

Wi-Fi Security Controls is a security feature built into BT's Smart Hub 3 for customers on BT Business Broadband Pro. BT launched it in May 2024 and includes it as standard with Pro, so there is no separate licence to buy or renew.

The idea is simple. Most small businesses have one Wi-Fi network shared by staff laptops, phones, a card machine, a printer, a smart TV in the meeting room and whatever visitors bring. Wi-Fi Security Controls lets you see those devices, decide which ones are allowed on, and set different rules for different groups of them, from your phone.

It sits on top of the network-level Content Controls and Web Protect that come with every BT Business Broadband plan. The difference is control: those two features apply one set of rules to the whole connection, while Wi-Fi Security Controls works device by device and group by group.

What Wi-Fi Security Controls can do

BT describes the feature in six parts. In plain terms:

• Device identification: the app shows what is connected, with details such as the device's brand, operating system, IP addresses and which network it is on, rather than a list of anonymous addresses.
• Access control: you decide who and what can join. New devices can be held back until you approve them, and you can forget a device so it has to reconnect.
• Groups and a default profile: devices go into groups you create (staff, shared kit, business-hours only) and each group gets its own rules. Anything not yet assigned sits in the default profile.
• Scheduled and instant blocks: set the days and times a group cannot get online, or use BT's "block access to network now" option for an hour, two hours, until morning or a custom time.
• Website filtering: light, moderate or strict preset filters, a custom filter built from BT's category list, and blocks on named websites. Filters can run at all times or on a schedule.
• Device threat protection and a dashboard: BT detects and blocks threats such as malware and phishing sites, and the dashboard shows what has been blocked today and over the last 7 and 30 days.

BT gives examples of how the preset filters differ. The light filter blocks categories such as drugs, hate and self-harm, and alcohol and tobacco, but leaves gambling, media streaming and games alone. Moderate blocks more categories, and strict blocks every category BT treats as potentially harmful or inappropriate. If you need something in between, the custom filter lets you pick categories, and you can add extra categories to a preset.

Wi-Fi Security Controls vs Content Controls and Web Protect

Based on BT's own comparison, this is where the Pro feature goes further than the network security included with every plan:

So if all you want is a warning before someone opens a dangerous website and a category filter for the whole office, Content Controls and Web Protect may be enough, and they are included on every plan. If you want to know what is on your network and treat the till, the staff laptops and the guest devices differently, that is what Wi-Fi Security Controls adds.

Limits worth knowing before you buy

We would rather you knew these up front than found them after installation:

• Pro only. BT makes it exclusive to Pro. It cannot be added to Essential or Enhanced.
• Websites, not apps. BT states that it filters websites and cannot block apps, so a filter will not stop an app on a phone that talks to its own servers.
• Smart Hub 3 and BT's hub only. It runs on Smart Hub 3. BT says that if you use your own router, or put a hub into modem-only mode, you cannot use the Wi-Fi security features.
• Set-up happens on site. BT says the device you use must be connected to the hub before you can turn the controls on, so the first set-up is done at the premises.
• Turning it off wipes your settings. If Wi-Fi Security Controls stays off for 15 minutes, BT says your groups, settings and schedules are lost.
• It is not endpoint security. It protects devices while they use your network. Laptops that leave the building still need their own protection; see our broadband security guide.

You can opt out of Wi-Fi Security Controls when the Pro order is placed, for example if a third-party firewall already does this job. Tell us at quote stage and we will set the order up accordingly.

How to set up Wi-Fi Security Controls

BT sends activation instructions with the order confirmation. The steps in BT's activation guide run roughly like this:

1. Get the latest BT Business app from the App Store or Google Play, then log in with your BT Business account or register for one.
2. Set up the new Smart Hub 3 if it has just arrived: the app shows a banner for the new hub, and you scan its QR code or enter the details from the label underneath. Name the network and change the Wi-Fi password when asked.
3. Connect your phone to the hub's Wi-Fi, then go to Manage your networks, choose the Pro connection and open Wi-Fi Security.
4. Turn Wi-Fi Security Controls on. A default profile with default settings is created the first time.
5. Create your groups and move devices into them, then add content filters, website blocks and access schedules to each group.

A practical tip: plan your groups before installation day. A small office might use four: staff devices, shared equipment such as printers and screens, payment or booking devices that should not be filtered, and devices that only need access during business hours. Getting that list together first makes the set-up quick, and it is something we are happy to talk through with you when we quote.

Who gets the most from it

Wi-Fi Security Controls earns its place where several kinds of device share one network:

• Shops, cafes and salons where a card machine, a booking tablet and staff phones share the connection. See broadband for retail and broadband for hospitality.
• Practices and clinics that want staff devices filtered and on a schedule, separate from reception kit. See broadband for dental practices and clinics.
• Professional offices that want to see every device on the network and approve new ones before they join. See broadband for accountants and solicitors.
• Home-based businesses where family devices and work devices share one hub. See business broadband at home.

Visitors should not be on the business network at all: password-free guest Wi-Fi is included on every plan and keeps them separate. If you need a full next-generation firewall, intrusion prevention and managed access points rather than hub-based controls, compare Pro with BT Ultra Broadband in our Ultra vs Pro comparison.

Getting Wi-Fi Security Controls through Forever Communications

We check whether Full Fibre or Standard Fibre is available at your address (Pro is not sold on copper), confirm the Pro speed tiers on offer, help you plan device groups and filters, and place the order. After installation we can help with set-up questions in the app.

Pricing for Pro depends on the access type, speed and contract length, so ask us for a quote. Contact us to talk about Wi-Fi Security Controls on BT Business Broadband Pro.