How to solve an issue with On Demand downloads

[JulieK1967]

We've been having a problem with the On Demand for weeks, we get this message when attempting to  download off the Catch up section.  Sometimes it happens immediately but sometimes we get to 10% downloaded then it stops and this message comes up. 

"To receive the full On Demand service please visit sky.com/tvondemand" 

I always download in SD not HD and from channels we are entitled to such as Film 4, Sky Atlantic, More 4, RTE Player, Virgin Media player etc. We're in the Republic of Ireland. 

Occasionally something  does download successfully, a film of Film 4 for example, so I assumed it was maybe our slow internet connection but last week Three upgraded our area to 4G so instead of a measly 4 mbps we're getting 80 mbps. Problem solved I thought, sadly not.

Last night I followed the online instructions in the SKY help pages re turning the router & SKY box off & back on in the correct order waiting 4 mins for the box to initialise. My husband managed to download & watch one episode of "Your Honor" off Sky Atlantic afterwards. I was delighted thinking that the problem was fixed but when I tried to download the second episode the error message is back. 

We also can't download the movie SKY gave us as a VIP freebie. It's in the purchased section but we can't download even 1% of it  😞 

My husband is ready to throw the SKY box out the window & go with a different provider, the whole thing is making me very stressed but I am sure this issue is fixable & I love the ability to pause & rewind live TV. 

Please can anyone shed any light as to why we are having such issues with the On Demand service and what can be done to rectify this. 

Thank you. 

[JulieK1967]

Sorry I've put this in the wrong section, we have Sky+ not Sky Q.  Newbie here lol 

[pjhaahl · Accepted solution]

Sometimes there are issues with Sky and 4g Internet services due to the way the leasing of IP addresses works on those services. 

[TimmyBGood]

@JulieK1967 

There are multiple posts regarding issues with on-demand over celluar connections in Eire in the Q forum, and as @pjhaahl indicates these are just as likely to apply to Sky+

[JulieK1967]

Thanks. Is there any way around this issue or do we just have to put up with it?  Will connecting the router to my Sky box with an ethernet cable work make any difference or not. 

I read a response in the forum yesterday from a Sky employee, something about inputting the sky viewing card number again somewhere but I can't find that topic thread now 😞 

[pjhaahl]

@JulieK1967  Well its just a thought, but I wonder if using a VPN might work as that might then present a stable IP address long enough for the servers to dish up the content. Just a theory mind you

[JulieK1967]

@pjhaahl   I've no clue how to do that, sounds quite technical but will look into it. Thanks 

[Hubertus]

I have the same problem - my Sky box (I think Pace) used to use my full broadband bandwith for on demand downloads but for weeks now these downloads only use about 1 to 2 mbps of my available bandwith and take for days.

[Hubertus]

Forgot to mention two bits which where above mentioned as problems but which would not be the cause for me - I have a static/fixed IP address so it never changes on the internet and I am on a normal landline based broadband connection so mobile internet should not be the culprit either.

[JulieK1967]

@pjhaahl  I contacted Three my internet provider via online chat and they did something to the router remotely, I thought that had solved the problem as I was able to download 42% of "Your Honor" episode 2 but then it stopped & I'm back to square one. Very disappointing & frustrating.