Powerline/Homeplug Issues with Homehub 5

Question

Hello all,
Having an intensely annoying intermittent issue with Powerline adapters & HH5.
Set up is:
BT Broadband Extender flex connected to HH5 upstairs with a BT Wifi Home Hotspot downstairs (just to increase wifi coverage)
TP Link TL-PA211 Powerline adapter also connected to HH5 upstairs with 2 other TL-PA211s downstairs (1 for Sky demand & 1 for PS3...different rooms)
They have all worked at same time!......but
Intermittently - the PS3 TL-PA211 will stop working & then "re-connect" of its own doing later & the Wifi Hotspot will stop working (no data light either upstairs or downstairs) & then spring into life of its own accord eg. last night it did it overnight!
I have done no end of pairing & unpairing ritruals & full resets to the point where I think I might need a new stair carpet.
I'm now beginning to think there might be an issue with the homehub?
I'm aware of its "smart" capabilities & switching etc.......is there any setting that I need to look at or a re-boot or refresh or anything?
Thanks in advance all!

Answer 1

Would agree with gk406. 
Firstly - leave the hub alone.
When you set up a home network system, despite 'out of the box solutions' coming with two adaptors, one to wire via ethernet to the router and another to position wherever, if you connect both systems directly to the router it can cause compatability issues, as both will fight for control of the 'satellite' adaptors to the point they don't know which one to communicate through, so they end up not doing anything. I am guessing the odd disconnections/reconnections is due to Sky taking control of the system - checking for updates etc in the middle of the night, then relinquishing control once having carried out its checks so the other device can reconnect...
Pick one system to use (shouldn't really matter if both 200mb or 500mb systems- though I have a mixture of both so have the 500mb adaptor plugged into the router) though I am thinking the TP Link as they are the most prevalent in your system, and unplug the other. Connect one device (of the chosen system) via ethernet to the router, connect its paired mates and ensure all works as advertised and the boxes you have connected to it can get online. I would check the Skybox under its own settings to confirm it is connected - they can sometime refuse to connect and need to be powered down and back up to let them see the network.  You could also take a note of its IP address to make sure you can see it on the network, then trial download something from On Demand to verify all is OK. If TP Link comes with any software to monitor the adaptors make sure all is up and running.  I guess at this point you could leave the BT system off, to make sure you don't get any odd disconnections overnight.
Once that is verified, connect only one of the other BT devices and check it connects up to the network, and that you can connect to it.
For this step, to save both your legs and carpet, I suggest you do this upstairs next to your router. I tend to get all my powerline adaptors in one room with the router and a laptop, then set them up on a power brick - purely to make sure they all connect to the network and that I can connect to them using the laptop - THEN distribute them around the house, verifying each one in turn connects OK before I move to the next.
Obviously you could do this the other way around, by plugging the BT adaptor into the router and your BT hotspot adaptor downstairs, then just using the two TP adaptors for your sky and PS3 - there shouldn't be any reason for it not too work.
Hope that helps - apologies for length!