Sky Q won’t connect to 4G router

[Braepark]

Hi

We previously had broadband with BT and only got speeds of 1mbps. I now have a Huawei 4G Pro 3 Router with and EE 4G sim. We now get 14-20 mbps.  I can connect my Xbox, phone and smart TV's to it. However the Sky Q box won't connect properly. 

I can connect to the router but it says there is no internet connection. 

we have an unlimited plan so data shouldn't be an issue. 

thanks. 

[Lisa-P1987]

The Q boxes won't connect to 4G mobile network BB unfortunately. 

[Chris+Hx]

@Lisa-P1987 
Why exactly is this?

Can you please provide a detailed explanation as to why Sky are restricting access from EE 4G specifically?

Under new regulations from Ofcom,  consumers are entitled to minimum broadband speeds..
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/broadband-uso-need-to-kno...

I have SKY & BT ADSL Broadband (both are appalling and sub 10Mbps).. as well as 2x EE 4G (30-40Mbps) connections!! 

Having submitted a request under the BT scheme (https://www.bt.com/broadband/USO) they are initially offering a 4G router as the solution.   Given EE are part of BT now - I fail to understand why Sky are discriminating against customers being forced to use more expensive providers.   I've read other thread citing the MTU size as an issue - but it would be useful to understand if this is legitimate - and how this issue can be addressed.

I look forward to your early reply.

Thanks
Chris Hx

[Rhonny]

@Chris+Hx

Sky aren't restricting anything. It's just that 4G routers don't tend to supply the consistent signal that Sky Q needs - 4G by its nature fluctuates considerably. You could try connecting Sky Q to the router by ethernet in case that works so the box is always getting the fastest connection possible. Might be worth a try. 

[Lisa-P1987]

As @Rhonny  mentioned 4G routers tend to be very unstable and the Q box needs a stable connection. 

The main box will work without an internet connection you will just have poor access to on demand and apps. 

This also means if you have a mini box, the mini will struggle to have a stable connection aswell as it relies on a strong 5GHz connection to work. 

As suggested, you could try using an ethernet cable to connect the main to the router. This might help. 

 

[Chodley]

Why does it need a super stable connection? All internet media streaming assumes fluctuations and lost packets. If all the other streaming services can work over 4G, I fail to see what makes SkyQ special.

The mini-Q connection has nothing to do with the broadband connection does it? You just connect it on its own mesh.

I had the same problem trying SkyQ tethered to my 4G phone.

@Braepark As for MTU size, I fixed netflix and disney+ on sky by changing the MTU on my router (BT fibre) but skyQ itself never needed an MTU change.

[Del-Kinloss]

Hi @Lisa-P1987, I live in an area where my landline broadband peaks at 2.4mbps and when I contacted BT re minimum service standard I was advised that 4G was the only available solution. I installed a Draytek 2862Ln with an EE data sim and a connection to my landline ADSL provider with the router set to load balance the connections. The router was connected to a Sky Booster and a Deco-M5 providing Mesh WiFi.

I now frequently get No Subscription errors when using On Demand. 

Sky need to remove the block on 4g broadband connections as it is obvious that it is affecting a number of Sky customers who are only trying to do the right thing. 

[bob1234]

When last I had an internet problem BT lent me a 4G router although that worked fine most of the time I did notice that often the latency went right up and although everything else worked Q dropped out.

It might be worth looking at the latency, not that you can do much about it.

[Chris+Hx]

This simply isn't true. 
4g routers are very stable.  The largest consumer of data on my network is my sky q box.  For the last month I've dropped both adsl connections from the configuration  - and it's worked flawlessly for 5 of us - 3 working from home using video conferencing for much of the day - and heavy volumes of netflix via the main sky a box everyday for 3 hours a day minimum.  
latency is currently around 37ms for the 4g connection which is more than acceptable

for live video conferencing - so I see no reason why this shouldn't be acceptable for downloading other on demand content.

[Chris+Hx]

@Del-Kinloss 

Couldn't  agree more. 
Sky need to stop making excuses and  get this unblocked. 

[Chodley]

Well is it blocked or not? Last two posts suggest not, though they disagree on the performance.

[Chrisee]

@Chodley whilst not recommended you can connect a Q box to a mobile WiFi router just like any other device. You need to connect to the 2.4GHz WiFi signal as the 5GHz one will not connect. If having trouble with a dualband SSID try separating the 2 WiFi bands. 

[Chodley]

Thanks. I've only ever tried tethering to a phone as a test/backup. Didn't work. Maybe the phones don't support 2.4GHz for that.

[Chrisee]

@Chodley tethering can work but is even more flaky - the engineers can use their phones to authorise boxes where there is no internet connection.

[Chodley]

It didn't even see the Wi-Fi SSID for me. Only tried once though.