SkyQ Download Failed Item Unavailable

[Jeds]

I called again to check for any update, but got the usual checklist, & home visit script. I'm not a climate activist by any stretch of the imagination, but it does seem odd to me that a 'Net Zero Carbon' ambition company has a policy to book home visits when they must know by now that it makes no difference at all. There's no point in wasting both of our times, so I declined this.

However, I also asked if there was any compensation option, & was told that catch-up was a 'free' service, so nothing would be available. So I asked where in my contract it says this is a free 'add-on' service, & could they provide me with this. I then got told that as there was so many contracts, & they are so big (yes, we know that...feel our pain) that they would take some time to do this, but they will let me know. I won't hold my breath, but at least it's got it off my chest...& that yes, checking long wordy contracts can be as much a pain for Sky as they can be for their customers.

Of course, they won't reply, or send anything...but will call them every day to check if they've found where it explicitly says Catch-up is indeed a free service.

Having said all that, the customer services reps have been pretty helpful as much as they can be, & it's clearly not their fault...but the more people complain about this, the higher up the Sky priority list this issue may go. But we'll see...

[Discombobulated3]

Yes, we started having this problem with our old HD+ box, coincidentally the same day that we upgraded to Sky Q and changed our package, adding Cinema back in and knocking HD on the head. 

Sky Q installed yest, now not only same download failures as on HD+ box, but with added no subscription nonsense. 

[LGUser]

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@drennans wrote:

New contributor to this community, but having read all 19 pages, tried every fix possible that has been provided here, I still have exactly the same issues as previously posted by others. Decided to take a different approach this morning as calling Sky is clearly not working, so I have written formally to several media outlets and provided links to these comments on this forum. Sky need to take responsibility for their services, they have not done that so far, they have not offered any form of compensation as far as I can see, and no input on this forum of note, clearly they have an issue they don't want to admit to publicly, so perhaps having others in a wider context discuss and question it may move things along, let's wait and see.

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Can you be sure that it is Sky's problem and not BT's problem? I cannot be sure who's problem it isand thus I wouldnot be spreading around that it's Sky's fault.

What would you do if it came to light that it was BT's fault?

[LGUser]

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@nanniemck wrote:

BT Business Smart Hub - Type A

i am also connected to Sky Router which was installed by Sky to bypass issues

i am no longer able to download programs 

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You left out the firmware version.

[Michelle2904]

Having this issue too. Getting very frustrating.

[Discombobulated3]

@Ian+Wheeler Sky engineer did this on our new Q box yest, has not resolved. 

As download success is intermittent, and often only happens after numerous attempts, the 8888 thing (and any other "fixes") may not be having any real effect at all, it might just be doing its intermittent thing and making it look as though it's worked - lots of threads saying various "fixes" worked initially before things going back to square one.

You could try downloading at silly o'clock - I've found that by 11pm or later, downloads seem to work as they should, Haven't investigated whether the subscription thing is temporarily resolved in the same way yet as was too knackered to wait up and try last night, but def more download success in general on my HD+ box. (Which implies bandwidth difficulties, relieved when busy peak-time net traffic drops off as ppl go to bed for the night.) 

Seems to me that maybe Sky, maybe BT, maybe whichever other bb provider, has updated something at their end which  has essentially changed the architecture of their firmware and  is proving incompatible with the architecture of the other party's firmware - it's happened before, e.g., when Apple upgraded to iOS 13 and almost every website was rendered incompatible. Huge uproar, it got fixed fairly fast, AND they owned up to it (eventually, even if several CS bods seemed oblivious to the issue). 

Whilst BT are trying to be logical in saying that it can't be a bb issue if we can still download on tablets, PCs, phones, via Sky Go, they don't seem to be aware that Sky Go very prob has an entirely different architecture to that of the TV interface. It's poss that Sky Go continues to work because it hasn't been updated in a similar way to the Sky boxes, whether those are HD+ or Q seems irrelevant as it's happening on both. 

[MarkPJ2303]

Not much we can do in contract. Just cancel on renewal.  This is the type of issue that companies need to earn your businsss. Bin them off 

[Amberoo]

We have got the same issue. Noticed it a few days ago (and also have some of the images on Sky Movies showing as grey pixels). We have a Sky + box with BT Fibre. Recorded and live tv recordings all ok just can't download box set or catch up items. Have reset several times. Signal strengths are all fine. BT Smart Hub 2

[Amberoo]

Forgot to add. Catch up BBC, C4 work fine just not Sky channels which makes me think it's an issue at Sky's end.

[Goooner1]

Exactly. If it was a BT issue, BT must have some great software that detects what you're trying to download and only blocks out Sky content 😂

[SS123456x]

When I called Sky they said they would give a refund once the issue has been resolved, for those told otehrwise you need to challenge it, looking at my package is does not say On demand is a freebie, is specifically states is part of the package, therefore we are getting a reduced service. Sky Go (which does work!) is included at no cost so that is afreebie.

Sky Signature

Enjoy 300+ channels, including our Sky documentary channels, as well as Sky Box Sets on demand for hours of entertainment.

Just to clarify, DNS is used to resolve names to IP addresses, companies such as SKY have to publish to the other public DNS their IP to name information which should then propagate , the workaround that works sometimes is using an alternate DNS on the SKY box itself means this is not working as it should. It could be the box itself has an firmware issue with DNS but its unlikely.

However given the workaround does not work all the time, it means this either SKY are broadcasting this information incorrectly publicly or have a corruption in the database, or more likely is not just a DNS issue but an issue with connections to SKY's networks\infrastructure, perhaps a capacity issue on the part of their internet links or systems which serve SKY content, which would all explain why it works fine for users on SKY's own BB and not at peak times external.

Given SKY Go seems to work OK, would indicate it gets content through a different route,

SKY Q Q180.000.16.00L (5f5ezi8)

Connected wireless (also tried wired) via a SkyBooster2 BusyBox v1.17.2 \ EE120 \ Firmware Version 2.22.3008.R

This is hardwaired straight into BT Smart Hub Type-A Firmware version: SG4B1000E020 \  26-Mar-2020

I'm on BT FTTP

[chewy35]

Same here - unable to download on demand content without "download failed" error message, up until two days ago it was all working just fine.

[LGUser]

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@MarkPJ2303 wrote:

Not much we can do in contract. Just cancel on renewal.  This is the type of issue that companies need to earn your businsss. Bin them off 

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Will you feel silly if you cancel Sky and find out it's BT's fault. Why not cancel BT and move to SKy Brodband?

[Goooner1]

Will you feels silly if/when it turns out to be Sky's fault?

To answer your question if Sky could give me 900 down, 120 up at a similar or better price, I'd certainly consider it. 

Was with Sky broadband for several years until they couldn't offer me FTTP but BT could. 

I don't care who's fault it turns out to be, so long as it's fixed. Sooner rather than later. 

[danskydan]

It surely cant be a BT issue. I can download anything that is BBC/ITV without fail but it consistently fails if it is anything on Sky channels (Atlantic/Movies/Witness) etc.