topic Re: Port Forwarding Hell in Broadband

Port Forwarding Hell

Anonymous — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:02:22 GMT

The scroll bar is so small it could be about 200 devices long and possibly longer.

I have a guest house, but I just see so many flaws that have been overlooked when a developer would've been making this hard in software.

Why is there no option to search either by IP address or host name? Why must I scroll down a list and look at everything?

Everything gets labelled as generic devices even different iPhones or get labelled as Apple iPhone so if I have 10 iPhones in the house for example I couldn't even pick my one for certain. Even when I touch an option, it doesn't go onto show me further information so I could slowly check 200+ IP addresses.

A search function should've been easy to implement, I know somebody is going to say that I am a complex user or I'm trying to put forward a Linux Server, but surely a simple search function would have solved problems and it's much easier to implement compared to every other part of this hardware and software or firmware.

I factory reset my entire sky Hub, so that all of my old off-line devices plus online ones were just reset so my list was smaller. But for some reason I'm only forced to port forward on the sky app which is the only router in my life that I've ever dealt with which makes me do this. But they're not under that this entire list which is in the screenshot is still there so it must be hosted somewhere else. This host name list it's still just as long, even though when I look at the web GUI it's an even shorter list since reset. But I can't really use another router due to having the 5 GB up and 5 GB down.

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Anonymous — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:06:38 GMT

Oh and on the app AND web gui, you can't delete or clear old offline devices

What gives? Seriously?

Used siri to voice dictate my OP if spelling mistakes

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

JimM1 — Sun, 15 Mar 2026 22:26:41 GMT

@Anonymous And you are using that kind off Home sky Router in a Business controlled environment!

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Chrisee — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:52:24 GMT

@Anonymous do you have a domestic Sky Broadband account or one from Sky Business?

This forum supports Sky's domestic services which contractually are limited to use for private use for the account holders household which seems to exclude use in a guest house. The hub's are not designed for the use case in a commercial guest house which may explain the design limitations you mention. Simply it is assumed you know what devices your family members use. Sky's Business division uses different hubs and you should raise your issue with the business division.

In theory you could use a third party router which could support the services you require but given on the domestic service you are apparently in breach of the contract it would be unwise to give further advice.

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:58:50 GMT

its my private house, where I share rooms on airbnb, I live here and its a 4 bedroom

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 11:59:44 GMT

When I say 200 devices, this is history of anyone thats ever connected ever in lifetime, not 200 at once

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

JimM1 — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 12:04:15 GMT

@Anonymous And that is what a Home Broadband Hub does, if you are not getting it and open up access to all then it's wide open to what ever happens and you are fully resposible for everything, once a device connect's and leaves it stay's for ever, your sky Hub is NOT designed for a guest network control!

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Sharcuk — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:13:14 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
its my private house, where I share rooms on airbnb, I live here and its a 4 bedroom

How is this any different to a guest house, sounds like business use to me?

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:58:39 GMT

Port forwarding is a normal residental feature.

When you have kids with devices, raspebrry pi servers doing automations tasks, iphones, ipads, xboxs, pcs, android phones, smart equipment. The same issue persists

You can divert subject all you want but the issue with there being a list of devices, that is unremovable even with a format, and not being able to just simply put an LAN IP to port forward, still exists as a problem.

Somebody trying to port forward to a minecraft server, on a generic computer name that won't update in the sky app, is still an issue.

You're pointing at another non-issue.

You're obsessing over guests, when it's not a guest issue, I'm having a personal port forwarding problem.

I Airbnb less than 90 days per year, so my mortgage and council don't even need to know or care when I told them to check.

Your logic is flawed.

How about a helpful answer in relation to the port forwarding issue for ONE single (my) device that I'm looking for a solution to rather than obsessing over a non-issue that you don't even fully understand?

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

JimM1 — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:16:18 GMT

@Anonymous Are you still using the gigafast+ sky hub and cannot make PF work?

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:19:00 GMT

I got it resolved but a slow way, I had to back out to another menu, touch things one by one, turns out it was a generic name, it was the name of my motherboard.

Looked up the mac address, IP and hostname and kept note, then went back to PF section and did it that way, still think the UI should be updated and there should be a search function/ability to just type an IP like all my old ISP given routers could but it was sorted

Re: Port Forwarding Hell

JimM1 — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 18:24:38 GMT

@Anonymous All the features that you get with a third party hub that supports way better, you have a tied down/locked down ISP hub that they wish you not to be doing anything with! At least you worked it all out.👍👌

Why did you delete your account?