topic Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing in Sky Q

New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Dave-H — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 21:02:29 GMT

I had a new Sky q box installed a week ago and it is failing already, screen keeps going blank, load static type noise when changing channels and to top it all lost connection to wifi, spoke to engineer he couldnt do any thing with it.

Cheap and nasty equipment

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

PandJ2020 — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 21:09:33 GMT

@Dave-H wrote:
Cheap and nasty equipment

With millions of installs that would seem a tad harsh.

Not sure how other customers can help?

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Chodley — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 22:37:40 GMT

You had an engineer visit after you had these audio & video issues?

Or the installer couldn't fix the wifi and the other problems showed up later?

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 11:03:59 GMT

1 Sky Q box failed in October. (Worked fine for years)

2 Replacement failed (noisy hard drive/ frozen) at the start of December.

3. Third box failed after less than 2 weeks. (same issues)

Is there a faulty batch of hard drives in these boxes?

Sky; your equipment failures mean that you are not providing the service that I am paying a lot of money for!

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 12:37:02 GMT

1 Sky Q box failed in October. (Worked fine for years)

2 Replacement failed (noisy hard drive/ frozen) at the start of December.

3. Third box failed after less than 2 weeks. (same issues)

Is there a faulty batch of hard drives in these boxes?

Sky; your equipment failures mean that you are not providing the service that I am paying a lot of money for!

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 12:10:45 GMT

21 Dec, Sky engineers came and replaced the dish, etc, cables, and ran Ethernet cables from router to sky Q main and mini box. Within hours of their departure, main q box froze. It continues to freeze several times a day. Sky/open reach coming to instal full fibre to the house, but I can't see how this will cure the box freezing issue. When the box freezes we also loose the internet boost it should provide, so broadband is rubbish, Q boxes (4 so far) are hopeless, and we are paying a small fortune.

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Chodley — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 14:12:39 GMT

4 faulty boxes on the trot is astonishing

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 19:29:33 GMT

It seems unlikely that we should be unlucky enough to have so many faulty boxes, yet I can't think of any other explanation. There's nothing new in the house to interfere with the box, which is now hard wired ethernet cable to the router, and yet it still keeps freezing. All software has been updated, hard drive reset, standby status changed; everything we've tried has not worked. it is very frustrating, trying to watch a live sporting event and suddenly it freezes. Switch off and back on again gets things going again but it shouldn't be necessary to do that several times a day. How will fibre to my house make this better? It will cost me more.

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Laing1 — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 19:54:22 GMT

@Rothie+Norman wrote:

It seems unlikely that we should be unlucky enough to have so many faulty boxes, yet I can't think of any other explanation. There's nothing new in the house to interfere with the box, which is now hard wired ethernet cable to the router, and yet it still keeps freezing. All software has been updated, hard drive reset, standby status changed; everything we've tried has not worked. it is very frustrating, trying to watch a live sporting event and suddenly it freezes. Switch off and back on again gets things going again but it shouldn't be necessary to do that several times a day. How will fibre to my house make this better? It will cost me more.

@Rothie+Norman is the box plugged into a extension cable such as a 4 gang extension cable or anything like that as we have seen on the forum before prblems with some of them just a thought seeing as its unusual to have s many boxes

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Chodley — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 21:03:20 GMT

Ok so this will be a weird experiment but since live TV has no dependency on the internet, try having nothing switched on except the main Q box (no minis) and don't connect the ethernet - watch live TV and see if it happens then.

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 11:33:27 GMT

Thanks @Laing1

The box was plugged into a surge protecting extension. I have since replaced the power cables and plugged it directly into the wall socket; it still keeps freezing.

There's nothing new in the house that could interfere with the boxes. Now that they are connected to the router by cables I assume removes any wi-fi interference.

Are the boxes essentially computers? Hard disk, motherboard etc? They should be able to operate in normal household conditions without freezing. I have been with Sky almost since the beginning. If this can't be fixed, then I will have to take my custom elsewhere.

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Chodley — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 13:11:52 GMT

Did you see my post above?

Yes they are basically linux computers

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 13:46:28 GMT

@Chodley sorry I missed your previous post. I will give it a go and report back.

There was a period when I accidently sent a duff box away with the viewing card in it. For about 5 days we had no viewing card so just had basic TV through the box, and it didn't freeze. Once we received the new viewing card, the new box started frezing.

Why would a linux computer freeze?

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Chodley — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 18:34:24 GMT

They don't often. Usually related to hardware resources getting overloaded.

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

kathadam — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 19:51:36 GMT

i also have taken delivery of a new Sky Q box recently as the old one kept on freezing. Unfortunately the new box recieved less than a week ago now freezes too - so far today it has happened on 3 seperate occasions. It is difficult to find someone to discuss this with at Sky, i guess i will just have to order a new box!

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 16:36:53 GMT

@Chodley live TV through the box for several hours this morning with no issues. Now watching through an app, so we will wait and see...

Incidently, or not perhaps, our broadband is also prone to dropping out. New router installed a while ago made no difference. Full fibre due to be installed later this month; I see how this could improve the broadband, but I don't see how it would help the Sky Q freezing issue.

@kathadam good luck! We have had 4 boxes in 2 months, they all freeze. We've tried everything that has been suggested, still waiting for a proper explanation and solution. Hopefully your problem will be resolved faster. Sky Customer Services are an elusive bunch; it is almost like Sky don't want to employ enough people to deal with their customers' issues.

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Rothie+Norman — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:46:27 GMT

further to my previous messages (ad nauseum)...

Whilst on FaceTime call the internet connection dropped out. At the same time the Sky Q box froze (whilst watching through an app).

I understand that correlation does not equal causation, but this is too much of a coincidence. also, is the Q box causing the internet connection to fail, or is the sky router dropping internet causing the Q box to fail? Both have been replaced (router once, Q box 4 times).

Could something else cause both symptoms? What is the cure?

Re: New Sky q box installed a week ago and is failing

Chodley — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 17:56:59 GMT

Easy to test the theory. Disconnect the Q from the internet for a while and see if it happens again.