SKY Q - have i made a huge mistake?!

Do you wish you never upgraded to SKY Q?


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    85
  • Poll closed .

steve33shoreham

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Hi peeps,


I’m after general opinions and possible solutions as I think I have made a huge mistake in upgrading from SKY HD, which was faultlessly RF distributed to the other TVs in the house, to SKY Q with an intermittently connecting mini box!


Sky offered me a good deal to upgrade so the upside was being able to watch in both HD and on more than one channel on different TV’s.


It was only installed yesterday so I am wondering if it has to ‘bed in’ but over the last 24 hours the mini box has struggled to consistently connect (via a Sky Booster halfway) and stream.


Main box is hard wired to the router so the connection isn’t an issue at that end, it just seems to be from the Booster to the mini box.


Second problem, because the minibox wasn’t connecting properly this morning I was streaming from Netflix direct on the TV app and got an ‘insufficient bandwidth’ error, which I have never had before. (I also had Sonos beam connectivity issues first thing this morning too which may or may not be linked).


I am wondering if this is because the Sky Q is interfering with my Linksys Velop Mesh network, or is it an issue with my BT Hub 6 router, as it was faultless before.


On the plus side, I think the main box is very slick, the UHD content is great and the mini box when working, is fantastic too…..


However, with the old system although only one channel can be viewed throughout, the connection was flawless and because it was viewed from a distance, the analogue picture wasn’t that much of an issue and it was a watchable picture. (just not up close!)


TLDR summary

1) How have others solved connectivity issues to mini boxes? Powelines?

2) Would the Sky Q give me bandwidth issues either on my mesh network or on the BT Hub 6 router?

3) Do you wish you never upgraded to SKY Q?
 
I've read a couple of comments about leaving WiFi on your main Sky Q Box switched on even when you have it connected via ethernet as it sets up its own peer-to-peer WiFi network with Sky Q Mini Boxes. Not sure if this is/was true, but might be worth a go.

Other option is to connect the mini using Ethernet; you could try just running a cable to the Mini to see if it works before worrying too much about hiding it. Powerline might work; there was an option in the Sky Q menus to enable it, not sure if it's still there or if it works / does anything useful.

It is possible that your BT Homehub is getting maxed out with other WiFi or Ethernet traffic or is unable to provide / manage Quality of Service (QoS) to favour your Sky Q Mini Box. Have you tried turning off other devices that might be (ab)using the network? Computers, Games consoles, Tablets, other Streaming Boxes, ...

You could try using a different router, I believe that TP-Link routers have a good reputation.
 
I've read a couple of comments about leaving WiFi on your main Sky Q Box switched on even when you have it connected via ethernet as it sets up its own peer-to-peer WiFi network with Sky Q Mini Boxes. Not sure if this is/was true, but might be worth a go. I will check this tonight thank you.

Other option is to connect the mini using Ethernet; you could try just running a cable to the Mini to see if it works before worrying too much about hiding it. Powerline might work; there was an option in the Sky Q menus to enable it, not sure if it's still there or if it works / does anything useful. I will check this out as i have some unused powerline adapters before i set up a Mesh network, but i did read there are potential issues, one of which was the reliability as i had issues hence the switch to a mesh. Cable run not possible as recently decorated unfortunately.

It is possible that your BT Homehub is getting maxed out with other WiFi or Ethernet traffic or is unable to provide / manage Quality of Service (QoS) to favour your Sky Q Mini Box. Have you tried turning off other devices that might be (ab)using the network? Computers, Games consoles, Tablets, other Streaming Boxes, ... It was and has been fine, just seems to be too much of a coincidence having issues after the Q install.

You could try using a different router, I believe that TP-Link routers have a good reputation. The BT Hub 6 has quite good reviews which i why i bought it when offered from BT, but if it is part of the problem i was thinking of the Linksys one as it integrates with the current mesh,

Thank you for your concise reply. A couple of those i will try and have responded in bold in the quote above.
 
I had the same problem the mini box dropping out, when first installed. I have a large house and had two boosters fitted, didn’t work. The only way to solve my problem was to hard wire the mini to to router. Sky Q now great!
 
Unfortunately the run from router to minibox isn't possible, plus I planned to get another mini box to the bedroom so would need 2 runs which i have no way of hiding.

My mesh network, which i understand is what Sky Q is, had no issues streaming in the same room so it is annoying that Sky Q has them.

I am wondering whether moving the Booster around might help, currently it is closer to the main box than the Mini.

Either that, or the powerline option if possible or maybe a my own wireless access point.

Failing that, i am considering reverting back to Sky HD and RF, as there must be a cooling off period.
 
Sky Q working OK for me with the BT Hub and a sonos system. The main box is not hardwired and neither is the mini.
The Hub is in the loft, Mini in one of the bedrooms and the main box in the living room.
I would also suggest rebooting the BT Hub.
 
My constantly 'evolving' system at home tends to rely on a couple of Devolo or TP-Link HomePlug Powerline Extenders (connected to my BT HomeHub) - which have worked fine with a SKY Q Mini box when required.

Joe
 
My constantly 'evolving' system at home tends to rely on a couple of Devolo or TP-Link HomePlug Powerline Extenders (connected to my BT HomeHub) - which have worked fine with a SKY Q Mini box when required.

Joe

I still have my TP Link powerlines so i will give that a go if the reboot doesn't help.

PS: will the mini-box automatically configure as it thinks its hard wired or will it need setting up again for an Ethernet connection?
 
Hi peeps,


I’m after general opinions and possible solutions as I think I have made a huge mistake in upgrading from SKY HD, which was faultlessly RF distributed to the other TVs in the house, to SKY Q with an intermittently connecting mini box!


Sky offered me a good deal to upgrade so the upside was being able to watch in both HD and on more than one channel on different TV’s.


It was only installed yesterday so I am wondering if it has to ‘bed in’ but over the last 24 hours the mini box has struggled to consistently connect (via a Sky Booster halfway) and stream.


Main box is hard wired to the router so the connection isn’t an issue at that end, it just seems to be from the Booster to the mini box.

I don’t have Sky Q, however I always run Cat 5 Ethernet to anywhere in my home that requires a reliable, high bandwidth connection. There are too many unknown factors with Wi-Fi - something could change tomorrow and cause channel interference even if it works today.

Perhaps others have more tolerance to unreliable connectivity, but I have to know it’s reliable all the time.

Probably because I’ve worked in IT for 30 years and have lots of experience with Wi-Fi, I therefore just expect it to be problematic and always run cables for critical connections. Removes all the unknown factors and makes troubleshooting far easier.

It’s surprisingly easy to drill through brick and run cables neatly along the external walls.


Regards,

James.
 
Unfortunately the run from router to minibox isn't possible, plus I planned to get another mini box to the bedroom so would need 2 runs which i have no way of hiding.

My mesh network, which i understand is what Sky Q is, had no issues streaming in the same room so it is annoying that Sky Q has them.

I am wondering whether moving the Booster around might help, currently it is closer to the main box than the Mini.

Either that, or the powerline option if possible or maybe a my own wireless access point.

Failing that, i am considering reverting back to Sky HD and RF, as there must be a cooling off period.
I had the same problem as we also live in a large old house. Our broadband is with BT. Complained to Sky who sent out an engineer who spent quite a bit of time moving through the house with an instrument that found the ideal spot to put the Sky extender box. Once he moved the extender box our signal is spot on! The Sky engineer was brilliant! He said he wasn't leaving the house until the problem was solved and it was!! Hopefully you get a good engineer!
 
Thanks James, if i ever do a significant build again i will definitely hard wire some Cat 5/6 cables around the house as it does appear the only way to ensure a reliable connection.

Whilst i agree with you, I am suspicious that there is now an issue with the Wifi and my other half has just confirmed it is still happening.

However, i have just brainstormed and its possible i have contributed to the wifi issue as i have positioned the minibox on the rear of the TV for neatness. It is possible that i have covered wherever the wifi receiver is located in TV, or just contributing interference!

When i get home i plan to:

1) Re-position the minibox away from the TV
2) Reboot the BT router
3) Test both the mini box and wifi
4) No improvement = move the booster closer to the minibox.
5) last resort use the powelines!

Thanks for all the tips fellas and if anyone else has any tips it would be much appreciated!
 
I had the same problem as we also live in a large old house. Our broadband is with BT. Complained to Sky who sent out an engineer who spent quite a bit of time moving through the house with an instrument that found the ideal spot to put the Sky extender box. Once he moved the extender box our signal is spot on! The Sky engineer was brilliant! He said he wasn't leaving the house until the problem was solved and it was!! Hopefully you get a good engineer!

Failing the above I will do this, to be fair on the installer it was working fine once she installed the booster. Just not half hour afterwards!

I do wonder if its worth positioning the booster in the bedroom above rather than half way on the ground floor.

Reason being the way my 3 mesh nodes connect, the kitchen node (where the mini box is positioned) connects to the bedroom node almost directly above, rather than the lounge node connected at the opposite end of the house directly connected to the router, (where the main Q box is).
 
I'm tempted by the move to sky ultimate box set / netflix at £25 a month as they are putting me up to full price (good timing).

I only have the one oldschool sky HD box at the moment so apart from a new Q box are there any other changes with Q? I already pay for netflix so that is another win.

does sky GO still work the same with Q? Anything else I may regret apart from the £20 privilege for them to swap out the boxes?

Thanks, Matt.
 
Hi peeps,


I’m after general opinions and possible solutions as I think I have made a huge mistake in upgrading from SKY HD, which was faultlessly RF distributed to the other TVs in the house, to SKY Q with an intermittently connecting mini box!


Sky offered me a good deal to upgrade so the upside was being able to watch in both HD and on more than one channel on different TV’s.


It was only installed yesterday so I am wondering if it has to ‘bed in’ but over the last 24 hours the mini box has struggled to consistently connect (via a Sky Booster halfway) and stream.


Main box is hard wired to the router so the connection isn’t an issue at that end, it just seems to be from the Booster to the mini box.


Second problem, because the minibox wasn’t connecting properly this morning I was streaming from Netflix direct on the TV app and got an ‘insufficient bandwidth’ error, which I have never had before. (I also had Sonos beam connectivity issues first thing this morning too which may or may not be linked).


I am wondering if this is because the Sky Q is interfering with my Linksys Velop Mesh network, or is it an issue with my BT Hub 6 router, as it was faultless before.


On the plus side, I think the main box is very slick, the UHD content is great and the mini box when working, is fantastic too…..


However, with the old system although only one channel can be viewed throughout, the connection was flawless and because it was viewed from a distance, the analogue picture wasn’t that much of an issue and it was a watchable picture. (just not up close!)


TLDR summary

1) How have others solved connectivity issues to mini boxes? Powelines?

2) Would the Sky Q give me bandwidth issues either on my mesh network or on the BT Hub 6 router?

3) Do you wish you never upgraded to SKY Q?
 
Try this,go to BT Hub advanced settings,scroll to bottom and change wireless mode to Mode2.
This solved a drop out issue for me,i know it`s not the same problem but worth a try.
 
I'm tempted by the move to sky ultimate box set / netflix at £25 a month as they are putting me up to full price (good timing).

I only have the one oldschool sky HD box at the moment so apart from a new Q box are there any other changes with Q? I already pay for netflix so that is another win.

does sky GO still work the same with Q? Anything else I may regret apart from the £20 privilege for them to swap out the boxes?

Thanks, Matt.

The ability to record more than 2 programmes at the same time.
Sky Go works exactly the same.
 
That's trunking is actually quite nice :thumbsup:

Last night i did as follows with some success but there the connection to the minibox still has issues, albeit a nit more consistent as it was more stuttering than complete disconnection form the main box.

1) Re-position the minibox away from the TV - no difference
2) Reboot the BT router - streaming to TV restored and back to being faultless with no bandwidth error messages.
3) Test both the mini box and wifi. - Mesh wifi good, mini box still bad.
4) No improvement = move the booster closer to the minibox. - Move this from the lounge near the main box, into the kitchen where the mini is located. As said it has improved but still with some stuttering and buffering.

I'm going to try and set up the TP link powerlines tonight, they are in place, connected and ready but i believe you need to change some settings for these to work?

Thanks
for the tips peeps and I will keep you posted :clap:
 
Glad you are getting somewhere with it.
 
I never " upgraded " as I didn't have Sky+ HD in the first place.
However I recently upgraded to the 2TB UHD box + Mini and think it's great.
I do hardwire my Mini which could be why it's so stable.
 
I've got Sky Q with 3 mini boxes. I've previously tried it with their mesh system with a booster when we only needed 1 mini and it was unreliable. Using powerline or ethernet is fine. One of ours actually works fine connected via switch to a TP Deco too. I would recommend turning off all of the in-built mesh wifi in the engineering menu.

One issue I have with Sky Q right now is that the mechanism to detect how many minis are watching TV is flaky - as the box can only support 2 at the same time. If you play spotify on it for example, it won't disconnect until you reset the box.

The other issue I have is that the quality of Sky Cinema content on a 55" TV via a mini box seems poor compared to in-built Netflix, Blu-Rays and even other TV content.
 
3) Test both the mini box and wifi. - Mesh wifi good, mini box still bad.

The problem you now have is you have multiple wireless networks so you might end up with them competing for channels (and possibly your neighbours as well).

Have you got any wireless scanner tools on your phone as they will tell you what's where the channel and the strength.

In terms of booster you need it to be a bit like a Venn diagram with three circles, too far away from the router and you won't get a good connection. Likewise too far from mini and you will struggle again. Particularly if it's competing with other wireless networks
 
Got Sky Q & a mini & they are hardwired

However I have found that from time to time the Q Box seems to "swamp" the network & all other devices connected grind to a halt or stop connecting to the internet
Bizarrely, I found the best way to see if there is an issue is to look at my Logitech Harmony Hub and if the light on it is red there is an network problem

Resolved by going into the Sky q network settings & fixing the problem there - I can't remember the exact option I choose but it was probably something along the lines of refreshing the connection - worked for me; rebooting sometimes worked but not always
 
Sky Q uses (or at least did do) jumbo frames for the network packets. For unmanaged switches this normally works fine. However for managed switches where jumbo frame support is off by default you would see this swamping of the network.
 

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