SkyQ Download Failed Item Unavailable

[grog+arson]

@Essexgolf Agree, this is the first time I've seen somebody on Sky Broadband say they are having the same issue, as you say, it now means all the comments about Sky Broadband being the way to go are clearly smoke and mirrors and potentially an attempt to get more customers!!

[Markh72]

We had an engineer come out today and he said they shouldn't have bothered as it's a known national problem that they are working on. He tried changing dns and did nothing. I find it interesting they know about it but deny it to most of us. Is this a way of getting out of compensation??

[terrigriffgrogg]

when i rang sky customer services yesterday the bloke I spoke to said straight away it was a known issue they were working on and went straight to the DNS workaround on the phone with me.

[Jimbo1Cam]

I am getting this issue. It started yesterday. I managed to dowload one programme, but the rest I got the message saying "item unavailable dowload failed". This is extremely annoying as I'm in the middle of Succession and can't get the next episode. Can we please have an update from Sky on what they are doing to sort the issue.

[sara1234567]

Changing the DNS setting to 8.8.8.8 (Google dns) rather than the BT router home network IP worked !! Now downloading after failing immediately most of the time.

This has been driving me mad like everyone else !

hopefully it will continue to work and for others 

keith

[sara1234567]

This is changing DNS manually on the Sky box network settings

[grog+arson]

@Jimbo1Cam Unfortunately, we are unlikely to get a response from Sky on here, it's mainly for customers to vent and hopefully pass on information that helps to work around the issue either temporarily or permanently.

[IHSIAN]

Changed DNS to 1.1.1.1 on Sky Q and all Sky mini boxes (4)  then powered them down. Turned them back on and checked that DNS was still 1.1.1.1. Downloads seem to be working, only time will tell

[deejay55]

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@sara1234567 wrote:

Changing the DNS setting to 8.8.8.8 (Google dns) rather than the BT router home network IP worked !! Now downloading after failing immediately most of the time.

This has been driving me mad like everyone else !

hopefully it will continue to work and for others 

keith

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@sarah1234567 - I have tried this on Sky's recommendation as a temporary workaround while they investigate.  Managed to download one OK but other attempts failed - hope you are having more luck!

[celliott]

This has gradually got worse over the last month. Even when it doesn't fail, the download is slow. Alternatively Prime or Netflix, 30 secs to download a full movie via fttp & WiFi 6 to phone. Ironically sky downloads to "sky go" app work every time albeit slower than the competition. If "sky go" works without DNS changes then why does the SkyQ box fail? Is Sky struggling with bandwidth? More and more people are switching to fttp. My box is slightly better with DNS change however still failing a lot, downloading eventually if I keep retrying. It doesn't seem to make a difference which definition is chosen. If a download makes it to 2% then appears to finish OK. My box is wired ethernet to the router so not a WiFi problem. I am a BT broadband customer, previously sky broadband with poor support. I have been with Sky for many years despite how expensive it is and despite many years of poor customer service. My wife will not let me change TV providers though. Hope this helps? By the way how ugly is Sky Glass on the wall haha

[Mmmmmwwew]

i have the same problem.

.vodafone broadband.

.nest wifi

good speeds 70mbps

but sky on demand downloads dont work

[grog+arson]

Hi @celliott if you are comfortable, it may be worth making the changes on your router as detailed in the post from @berniejn (page 59) just make sure that you note your router manufacturer DNS details before any changes are made.

The difference with this method is that you are using 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8 as the primary DNS and you can also enter the Sky address as the secondary DNS, whilst leaving the Sky box to default to the router.

[celliott]

@grog+arson Thank you for your advice. This has slightly reduced the number of download failures, but still intermittent. I have now additionally observed failures mid download. Each download fails with one of two reasons "Remote network problem" or "Item unavailable". 

[STEVENISLES48]

Come on sky , get this problem with downloads sorted. 

[Jimbo1Cam]

It's an absolute disgrace that Sky won't comment. They're worried if they admit it officially we'll all start demanding refunds for the loss of service. We should do that. They're quite happy to foist creeping increased charges on us with no right of reply. The least we deserve is an explanation of what they are doing to sort this out.