Want Sky, but it's too difficult!

[gbk71]

I'm trying to switch to Sky for TV and Broadband, but there are no engineers apparently.

Been trying all weekend online and the web page hangs every time it attempts to get an engineer appointment. I phoned Sky this morning and went through the whole package thing (again) and then she gets to the appointment and ....nothing. Checked all the way to December and nothing was available. During this time I actually received a broadband contract summary email, but eventually she said I would have to contact customer services. That was a joke, he was only interested in sellling me sky glass or skyq something, all I kept saying was that I wanted sky sports and broadband and that I couldn't get an engineer. Went round in circles for 10 minutes and I eventually just hung up. Couldn't handle it anymore.

So frustrating. Nothing it seems has actually been created because the process falls apart when there are no engineer appointments. No one at Sky seems interested.

[TimmyBGood]

@gbk71 

Presumably that's an installer appointment for Sky Q (satellite television)

While it would be unusual to have total unavailability, Sky has undoubtedly been downsizing its satellite dish workforce as the switch to streaming accelerates.

[gbk71]

Thanks for the reply.

I didn't realise Sky still used dishes, I assumed it was all streaming now. I could try and phone again but I'm worried I'll just get another sales pitch!

[DaveDrizen]

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@gbk71 wrote:

I'm trying to switch to Sky for TV and Broadband, but there are no engineers apparently.

Been trying all weekend online and the web page hangs every time it attempts to get an engineer appointment. I phoned Sky this morning and went through the whole package thing (again) and then she gets to the appointment and ....nothing. Checked all the way to December and nothing was available. During this time I actually received a broadband contract summary email, but eventually she said I would have to contact customer services. That was a joke, he was only interested in sellling me sky glass or skyq something, all I kept saying was that I wanted sky sports and broadband and that I couldn't get an engineer. Went round in circles for 10 minutes and I eventually just hung up. Couldn't handle it anymore.

So frustrating. Nothing it seems has actually been created because the process falls apart when there are no engineer appointments. No one at Sky seems interested.

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Is the engineer appointment for Sky Q  or broadband. If it's for Sky Q and you already have a broadband connection but just want  to change to Sky and you only realy want Sky sports  and you want it though Sky you could have sky stream as that is self install and dose not require engineer.

If you already have broadband and just want Sky sports you could carry on with your present broadband provider and buy  yourself a tv firestick and download the Now tv app that will give you Sky sports on it own,  if that all you want and is a lot cheper than a Sky subscription as with that you have to a entertainment subscription as well.

[TimmyBGood]

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@gbk71 wrote:

I didn't realise Sky still used dishes, I assumed it was all streaming now. 

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Sky Q is the current satellite television platform. 

Glass is the online-only television set and Stream is the online box to use with a non-Sky TV: neither of these have 'engineers' at all.

Broadband is typically installed by Openreach or CityFibre engineers.

[gbk71]

I currently have full fibre broadband at 500Mbps and the contract is just coming to an end. I pay £32pm for this which is due to go up slightly from next month. We also have Netflix which is something like £20pm. So a total of £52 for both. I would quite like sky sports now (kids are off to uni so I have more time!) and for £52pm I can get sky with sports, Netflix and 900Mbps broadband. Effectively similar/better than currently and sky sports "for free". Seems great. Only I can't get passed the broadband engineer visit. I assume the engineer visit is for the broadband anyway. I have the full fibre kit installed, so I was expecting to just connect the streaming puck thing to wifi and I'm sorted.

[gbk71]

Just been through the process again and with the package summary it says it's sky stream, and at the hanging point it says

"

Sky Broadband Installation

Free

An engineer will come to your home to install and activate your Broadband.

Finding earliest appointment

Loading

"

and then nothing else happens

[DaveDrizen]

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@gbk71 wrote:

I currently have full fibre broadband at 500Mbps and the contract is just coming to an end. I pay £32pm for this which is due to go up slightly from next month. We also have Netflix which is something like £20pm. So a total of £52 for both. I would quite like sky sports now (kids are off to uni so I have more time!) and for £52pm I can get sky with sports, Netflix and 900Mbps broadband. Effectively similar/better than currently and sky sports "for free". Seems great. Only I can't get passed the broadband engineer visit. I assume the engineer visit is for the broadband anyway. I have the full fibre kit installed, so I was expecting to just connect the streaming puck thing to wifi and I'm sorted.

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Yes the engineer would be for broadband and Sky stream is self install. It up to you but if you can't get presumably a open reach engineer till December, it want to keep your present broadband provider till then even though it might be slightly more for a couple of months you could probably run Sky stream on your existing broadband  set up if it is speed is adequate. Sky stream dosnt actually need sky broadband to work as I as long as you have a adequate speed it works with any broadband provider.

[TimmyBGood]

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@gbk71 wrote:

I currently have full fibre broadband at 500Mbps and the contract is just coming to an end. 

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If you already have an Openreach FTTP connection then there's no need for an installer visit unless there's also CityFibre in the area, in which case Sky will insist on that being provisioned.

[DaveDrizen]

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@gbk71 wrote:

I currently have full fibre broadband at 500Mbps and the contract is just coming to an end. I pay £32pm for this which is due to go up slightly from next month. We also have Netflix which is something like £20pm. So a total of £52 for both. I would quite like sky sports now (kids are off to uni so I have more time!) and for £52pm I can get sky with sports, Netflix and 900Mbps broadband. Effectively similar/better than currently and sky sports "for free". Seems great. Only I can't get passed the broadband engineer visit. I assume the engineer visit is for the broadband anyway. I have the full fibre kit installed, so I was expecting to just connect the streaming puck thing to wifi and I'm sorted.

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Who is you present broodband provider if was virgin who have there own cable system a  open reach or city fiber engineer would nee install the cable and box . But it onyvone else is usually a matter of  switching providers that will come down the same  open reach or city  fiber  cable. If is you present service is coming down open reach system and Sky service would  normal down there cable, why are Sky making things so difficult by insisting a another installation is required. So if it city fiber they are going to come along and dig another trench in the path for ther cable and another  put another box on you wall and drill another hole in you property wall to insert the cable, when the present set up would take Sky broadband, ridiculous.

[TimmyBGood]

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@DaveDrizen wrote:

 If is you present service is coming down open reach system and Sky service would  normal down there cable, why are Sky making things so difficult by insisting a another installation is required. So if it city fiber they are going to come along and dig another trench in the path for ther cable and another  put another box on you wall and drill another hole in you property wall to insert the cable, when the present set up would take Sky broadband, ridiculous.

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This appears to be a side-effect of the carriage deal between CityFibre and Sky Broadband: presumably the agreement is that CityFibre always get the contract even where there's already an Openreach FTTP circuit.

[gbk71]

Thanks for all the replies.

I think it's now been resolved. I found a number for broadband technical help and I explained the problem. He said he couldn't help because I didn't have a problem with an existing sky connection, but he put me through to another sales person. I did think "here we go again" but he insisted he could get me sorted, and it was all rather painless after that. He gave me a date for the 27th August and I've got all the emails and text messages about everything. I do wonder what the engineer is going to do. I have full fibre that was installed by Lit Fibre and have a box on the outside of the house and all the gubbins on the inside attached to my router. I half expect he'll turn up and say "oh, you've already got everything installed"! We'll see. Lit Fibre were taken over by Zen Internet about 7 or 8 months ago and I wonder if there's been a breakdown in communication and Sky don't realise what I've already got installed and think it's a new installation, although I did tell them.

[TimmyBGood]

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@gbk71 wrote:

 I have full fibre that was installed by Lit Fibre and have a box on the outside of the house and all the gubbins on the inside attached to my router. I half expect he'll turn up and say "oh, you've already got everything installed"! 

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If that's an altnet laying its own fibre then Sky cannot use it: their carriage deals are with Openreach and CityFibre only.

Edit: a look online suggests that while the Lit Fibre customer base has indeed been transferred to Zen, the private optical network installed by Lit to some 200,000 properties was previously sold to CityFibre.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2025/12/isp-zen-internet-acquire-lit-fibres-uk-consumer-broadb... 

Hopefully that means your appointment is just to swap the current Lit ONT for a CityFibre model, rather than to plumb in a whole new optical circuit from either CityFibre or Openreach.

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/05/cityfibre-completes-uk-fibre-broadband-acquisition-of-...