topic Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question. in Sky Q

Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MWMWMW77 — Fri, 26 May 2023 12:02:16 GMT

Hi, hoping someone might be able to help or point me in the right direction.

Issue is connecting a new mini box in my garden office - it is 100ft away from the house so can't do wirelessly, plus house is conrete construction so no signals go far!

What I currently have:

UHD box in lounge, ethernet cabled to unmanaged switch, ethernet cable then goes to my Virgin Business router. Works great.

Mini box in Kitchen, connected via wifi. Works great.

Mini box in Bedroom, connected via wifi. Works great.

In the office I have the new mini box, ethernet cabled to Victure wireless access point, ethernet cable going from Victure to Virgin Business router. When TV in office is turned on I have all the menu stuff showing, recordings showing etc, but no TV guide, no live TV and "technical fault" on screen.

In settings it shows as Network connected, box connected. When i had the 2 minis on in the house it gave the message that couldnt be viewed as 2 boxes already in use, so it knows its there!!!

Tried resetting mini box, restarting main box then restarting mini, still "technical fault".

Any ideas??

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

oldfella — Fri, 26 May 2023 12:28:43 GMT

Hi @MWMWMW77

With the Ethernet connected try a Network Reset on the mini found in mini Home - Settings - Setup - Network.
Highlight Status and then select Reset on the right hand side. Do not carry out out any WPS and just wait to see if the mini will connect.

If it does connect go immediately into the mini box hidden menu and turn off WiFi.

To enter hidden menu press Home and navigate down to Settings but do not select Settings.
With Settings highlighted press 0 0 1 Select.
Go to Network to turn off both bands of WiFi. Confirm before exit.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MWMWMW77 — Fri, 26 May 2023 14:36:56 GMT

Tried this and no luck yet.. same Technical Issues message...

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

oj01 — Fri, 26 May 2023 15:24:26 GMT

@MWMWMW77 Have you ruled out a box issue by switching it with one of the working Mini Boxes.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MWMWMW77 — Fri, 26 May 2023 17:47:50 GMT

Good idea. Will give it a go.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MWMWMW77 — Sun, 28 May 2023 14:19:22 GMT

Tried my kitchen mini box and same message.
have booked an engineers visit but will still try to fix beforehand!

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

oldfella — Sun, 28 May 2023 16:08:33 GMT

@MWMWMW77 wrote:

Tried my kitchen mini box and same message.
have booked an engineers visit but will still try to fix beforehand!

Hi @MWMWMW77

Have you tried connecting the Ethernet from your router direct into the Q mini (instead of connecting via your Access point).

You will need to carry out the Network reset on the mini again as described in my earlier post.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MWMWMW77 — Mon, 29 May 2023 14:31:58 GMT

@oldfella I have got it working - i have run everything through unmanaged switches, then etherneted off those back to my managed router etc - so the connection from Q box to mini effectively ends up unmanaged. That way seems to work across the board all round the house so happy days!

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

KScott — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 21:11:02 GMT

Hi, hopefully you are still tracking this thread as I have a very similar scenario.
today I had Full fibre to premises installed (not Sky) and want to know how and if I can connect all 5 of my sky boxes via Ethernet.

new router (eero pro 6 supplied by new fibre provider) only has 1 spare port. Can I connect this to a switch and then just plug all my sky still into the switch and it will all communicate with each other. If I turn off WiFi on sky equipment will to still stream tv over Ethernet to all the mini boxes? I under stand than turning off WiFi on sky boxes mean the only WiFi I will have will be from the eero 6 router however I plan on extending this with a access point also connected via Ethernet.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

Laing1 — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 10:24:55 GMT

@KScott wrote:

Hi, hopefully you are still tracking this thread as I have a very similar scenario.
today I had Full fibre to premises installed (not Sky) and want to know how and if I can connect all 5 of my sky boxes via Ethernet.

new router (eero pro 6 supplied by new fibre provider) only has 1 spare port. Can I connect this to a switch and then just plug all my sky still into the switch and it will all communicate with each other. If I turn off WiFi on sky equipment will to still stream tv over Ethernet to all the mini boxes? I under stand than turning off WiFi on sky boxes mean the only WiFi I will have will be from the eero 6 router however I plan on extending this with a access point also connected via Ethernet.

@KScott what you are planning should work when you get a switch make sure it's an unmanaged switch as managed switches don't play well with Sky Q boxes all Q boxes will need to be etherneted back to the router you can turn wifi off on all boxes

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

Leahmason — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 15:06:21 GMT

It don't work don't no if box or remote won't come on the green light

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

Chodley — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 15:35:03 GMT

@Leahmason wrote:
It don't work don't no if box or remote won't come on the green light

Did you reply to the wrong thread?

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MJNew — Sun, 11 Feb 2024 03:23:07 GMT

Hope you are still tracking this thread.

I want to do something similar, so thanks for the tip to connect everything via ethernet through an unmanaged switch.

I notice you say you can (should?) turn off the wifi on the sky Q (main & Mini) boxes. I;d prefer to leave these on if possible to extend the wifi of the router further around the house using those sky TV boxes.

Do you see an issue with leaving wifi turned ON on the SKY Q TV boxes?

Thx in advance.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

KScott — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 22:32:15 GMT

If you leave WiFi turned on with the mini boxes they may try and use WiFi to stream the live tv and recordings.

what I do know is what is working in my set up.

Fibre router connected to Sky UHD box via WiFi as they are in same room. UHD box then connected to unmanaged switch which has 8 cat 5 ports and another 4 with power over eathernet. All mini boxes has WiFi turned off and are wired back to switch. My WiFi network is done using power over Ethernet access points wired back to switch PoE ports. All working well.
*costs wise:*

box of cat 5e cable.
20 x cat 5 plugs and crimp tool

2x unmannaged switches (1 has PoE)

install made easier as I live in converted bungalow with access to each room ceiling void through attic crawl spaces so add to materials a lot of time and sweat running cables through attic back to the switch

best advice I can give is buy 300m box of cable and try setting it up running cables loose through house. One you have proven it all works in each room as you like then go for install. You maybe want to look into power line eathernet adapters if running new cable is problematical.

note to self: If I ever rewire a house, run 2 x cat 6 cables through to every room and feed them all to a central location near phone line or fibre point of access.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

Chodley — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 22:44:30 GMT

Yep. Leaving wifi on seems to encourage the sky boxes to forget they've got an eth connection

Better to buy a wifi mesh for general purpose use.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

KScott — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 22:55:17 GMT

Totally agree. I am now using 3 x TP-link PoE access points placed around the house which are actually positioned better than where my mini boxes are to give best coverage throughout property including garden.

Bonus of running cat5 not only stable sky tv but also hardwired smart TVs and now PS5 connected directly to 100GB fibre. 👍😃👍

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

Chodley — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 22:58:53 GMT

@KScott wrote:
Totally agree. I am now using 3 x TP-link PoE access points placed around the house which are actually positioned better than where my mini boxes are to give best coverage throughout property including garden.

Bonus of running cat5 not only stable sky tv but also hardwired smart TVs and now PS5 connected directly to 100GB fibre. 👍😃👍

100Gb fibre?!

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

KScott — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 23:10:34 GMT

Sorry. Should of said 1000mbs not 100gbs.

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

KScott — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 23:13:27 GMT

TBH even though I pay for 900+MBs I only get near that connected directly to my router. Most the time it's nearer 500mbs such as through tablet or phone. But 20 x faster than what I was getting through sky

Re: Connecting Mini Box via ethernet question.

MJNew — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:08:10 GMT

@KScott @Chodley

Thanks both for extremely helpful & detailed explanations.

Our house is also single story converted barn, with good loft crawlspace. As a barn it has some thick walls, but thin(ish) ceilings; just plasterboard insulation & loft boards.

Based on your advice & experience above, the plan would be to run phone line into loft "cabinet" alongside Sky router and 2 x hubs.

Then for TV ...

A - connect main Sky Q box to router by WiFi ( should be possible given proximity in property)

B - connect main Sky Q back to unmanaged switch #1 in loft cabinet by cat6

C - connect remaining Sky Minis (WiFi off) to unmanaged switch #1 by cat6

Note: no cat 6 connections direct to Sky router for TV stuff.

Q1 - for Tv setup above. Any recommendations for the unmanaged switch/hub?

Then for extending WiFi around house & garage ....

D - connect Sky Router to 1 x unmanaged PoE (?) switch with cat6

E - connect from PoE switch multiple cat6 cables to various points around house / garage for WiFi mesh access points.

Q2 - what type of switch/hub & access points recommended to create mesh network?

Q3 - to save on cat6 cable runs, is it possible to simply connect everything via a single unmanaged switch & connect Sky Minis to mesh network access points by Ethernet (presuming the APs have a spare Ethernet port)??

anything else I've overlooked?

Much appreciated 👍