topic Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub in Archive

Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 19:53:24 GMT

Good evening all. Apologies for the long winded title. I should know better as a former IT engineer.

My elderly parents have an absolutely dire broadband speed as part of their sky package. It is still on the old ADSL2 service. Whenever i have been visiting and have tested it it really doesnt get much better than 8mb if they are lucky. I've been telling my dad to demand a better service for some time, especially considering how long he has been with sky (i can remember us getting it around the same time apollo 13 premiered on sky movies). I actually get a better service from my own provider at a cheaper price.

I tried to arm him and my mother with as much information as possible before they called. Sadly they didn't get too far. The colleague on the phone talked far too quickly for them despite repeated requests to slow down. I also told them before hand that they should NOT require a new router as i was confident their next step up off the ADSL2 service wouldn't require it. The colleague on the phone told them they would require a new router. This would require a lot of work to get all their devices back online when i next visit. They can not do it on their own, (my dad still browses sky manually one channel at a time. doesnt understand the EPG).

I was a bit annoyed when i was damn certain they didn't need it to upgrade. Also the speed they were offered seemed overkill and the price wasnt even much better. Now after some guidance i managed to get the model number of the router from them, This was supplied of course by sky, not too long ago either. And you would THINK that sky would have a record of this?

so they have the Sky Q Hub, Mode: ER115. Now imagine my lack of surprise when i found out this device was not only ADLS2 compatible but compatible with VDSL the next step up? or FTTC as i knew it back in my tech days. And this is what i wanted them to be moved onto. So why on earth is the sky colleague telling my parents they need a new router when the one they have right now SHOULD be compatible?! And how do they not know from sky's records? Didn't they even think to ask my parents what they had?

So before i get them to ring back can someone please just confirm that their model is most certainly compatible with the VDSL/FTTC broadband product sky offers? Secondly I'm quite cross too because telling my parents they need new equipment when the liklihood they do not smacks of misleading a customer.

many thanks.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:04:41 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

The old sr102 is compatible with adsl and vdsl. However as it only has a single 2.4 wifi band is not suitable for vdsl. However if they are still on adsl the er115 will not make it faster it will just add the 5ghz wifi band.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

mae-3 — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:22:07 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

The Sky ER115 is fully compatible with FTTC, eg: VDSL and the faster service and they will most definitely see a difference in the speed when upgrading from ADSL2+ at 8Mbps downstream. There is no need for a new router if they wish to keep the Sky ER115 and they can keep all the settings the same for wireless.

The process is to upgrade the service and it will be offline usually for a couple of hours whilst the switchover to the new service takes place, eg: there usually isn't even a requirement to visit the premises because all the work is external at the cabinet.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:22:40 GMT

Thanks for the reply. I'm sorry but i find that reply confusing.

The wifi is not the issue here. They have quite basic devices around the house. Their internet access needs are basic. I don't see what rellevance their wifi network bands has to the speed of the broadband service on the line? I'm not worried about bottlenecks on the internal LAN.

I myself have plusnet VDSL. it maxes out at around 37ish mbs. i operate several devices on both 2.4ghz and 5ghz Through plusnets own router.

According to specs i have found the ER115 is VDSL compatible. and VDSL2 compatible. I just want them to be moved onto the next package up. which after some faffing around on skys awful account page for my father turns out to be "Superfast". They are currently on essentials. Why would sky invest in the ER115 branded specifically for SKY Q pushing video streaming all around the house and improved interoperablility with the whole service if it could not make the jump to VDLS?

They are not bothered about the speed boost sky offer or promises of wifi in every room. They just need to move up to the next service with the mimum of fuss or a dropout in service. And i cannot honestly see why if it is listed as being VDSL compatible they cannot do this.

I apologise as well if i sound defensive or upset, but they really do struggle with the modern world. And quite frankly all the stuff sky offers boggles their minds. It causes them stress not knowing what they are paying for or getting. And even i do not find it that clear. And i am 39!

just for clarity again the model they have is the ER115 not the SR102 you have brought up.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:24:50 GMT

@mae-3

Thank you this makes total sense to me. And exactly as i described to my parents i said it will at the least require work at the local exchange level.

But the guy on the phone told them they would need a new router this is what is upsetting me as it is clearly wrong!

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

mae-3 — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:28:11 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

They have absolutely been advised incorrectly, unfortunately. It is how you describe no need to do anything with the exception of upgrading the service to VDSL2 (FTTC). Everything remands the same on the premises and no settings need to be changed or equipment at all.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:33:34 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

Having 2 wifi bands doesn't just affect lan networking it also enables faster devices and slower devices to have seperate bandwidths that better handle up to 80Mbps going back and forth across the wan. Its up to you and surely a factual description of the difference between having only one 2.4 band and a dual band router can't be too taxing to comprehend .

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

mae-3 — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:34:21 GMT

@cookiemonsteruk

The Sky ER115 is dual-band wireless.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:36:29 GMT

@mae-3

I got the impression they had the sr102 and now getting er115 because of an upgrade to superfast

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

mae-3 — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:37:08 GMT

@cookiemonsteruk

The OP parents do have the ER115.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:38:23 GMT

@cookiemonsteruk I think you will find i clearly stated that they have the ER115 in my original post.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:42:15 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

@mae-3

So they have been mislead into paying extra £5 pm for broadband boost to get the sr203 .

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:44:25 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

I think you will find i clearly stated that they have the ER115 in my original post.

My bad, 10 hours of parsing thru meandering sentences

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:47:49 GMT

is that my meandering sentances or others? 😉😂

I did actually want to edit my original post and also add a TLDR tag at the bottom. But this stupid forum will not allow me to edit it because it thinks i am a new user for some reason.

Are we all in argeement though that the Model router they have, they Sky Q Hub ER115 is VDSL compatible and should be quite capable of handling an upgrade to the next tier of service up which is "superfast"?

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

mae-3 — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:48:11 GMT

@cookiemonsteruk & @YorkshirePudding

Absolutely, Sky is attempting to sell an additional service, eg: Sky boost at an additional £5 in addition to the Sky superfast service which the OP parents do not need the Sky boost service at all like most people. The FTTC/VDSL2 service will run wonderfully in most premises on the ER115 dual-band wireless router with a notable speed increase across both wired and wireless devices for that faster service.

And more importantly, the OP parents don't need to change anything if they remain with the same equipment which is fully compatible with Sky superfast FTTC/VDSL2 and they will see a notable increase in speed which is what they want, eg: its an easy upgrade for everyone including the OP.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:49:30 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

Absolutely mislead. The er115 is more than adequate

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:53:51 GMT

@cookiemonsteruk @mae-3

i should clarifiy that no one has sold them or tried to sell them any tacked on speed boost or wifi gurantees. That was just me pre-rambling trying to head off anyone suggesting they get it as an extra. Apologies, just me being very defensive of two technophobic 70 year olds. I am a little cross at them being told they would neednew equipment when i was damn certain they did not.

You should listen to our tech support calls. I swear one day my mother will launch a missile at someone while just trying to send a photo via whatsapp.

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 20:56:27 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

To be forewarned is to be fore armed 👍

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

cookiemonsteruk — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 21:09:41 GMT

@YorkshirePudding

My gripe, not with sky at least from my own point of view , is combining tech support with sales with an eye on profit margin/sales bonuses

Re: Helping parents upgrade broadband - but told to replace sky q hub

YorkshirePudding — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 17:12:19 GMT

Just to test the water i deided to ask sky help on twitter what they thought and they also said it would be fine with the existing router.

I asked why their colleague gave my parents the wrong information they said "it could be they may have needed a new router if their landline calls would be going over the internet"

just more unecessary confusion. this is quite poor from sky. They have a "normal" landline and want to carry on using it. Now you don't need to tell me the old telephone network infrastructure has more or less been replaced with VOIP. But there is no need to start dragging internet calls into this. Something i have not even seen offfered!