SKY gigafast keep losing internet

[luckyvictor]

Since I switched to SKY gigafast for 2 months, I had no had a single day with full and smooth broadband experience. 

Background:

Small 2 bedrooms house, SKY max hub put in upstairs bedroom, 7 or 8 devices connected, including, ipad, iphone, android phone, macbook, personal windows pc, company windows pc with VPN, google chromecast on TV.

Experience:

In terms of speed, it is actually good, but i kept disconnecting from it, so the broadband pretty useless

1. Often drop off in my TEAMS meeting during work

2. Random disconnected when streaming video

3. Roblox disconnected during gaming

4. Cant even go on google.com, dictionary.com, atomlearning.com (my son's study)

5. Google chromecast disconnected (it is a device that I dont move around, never had this experience with BT broadband)

Problem:

1. Intermittent connectivity issue, i.e when i sit on my sofa, the reception can change from 4 bars to 1 bar (no internet) then back to 4 bars, it can last for up to 2 minutes.

2. Intermittent internet capability issue, i.e even though i have strong 4 bars signal, I suddenly can not have any internet activity. This may take up to 20mins to self recover, but if i turn off the wifi from my phone and reconnect it, the problem resolves in 1 min. (I believe something just reset by this)

3. Some website can not be accessed, i.e all of the sudden, I can not go on google.com, m.youtube.com, tradingview.com, it either say connection take too long or time out, or it says the connection is not private, but at the same time, i can browse other websites, so not all of the internet activities are affected.

Solution taken:

1. Replacement of the Sky Max hub

2. Make sure WPA2 is set for security

3. And I am not paying for a branded router or mesh router myself for this rubbish service. If SKY cant fix it, I just switch

SKY technical team is not very supportive on this and I am tired of having this ridiculously bad internet service. I just want to give it the last try. 

[luckyvictor]

and of course, i have done the below tests, already show good

https://www.sky.com/servicechecker

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/broadband-diagnostic-start

[JimM1]

@luckyvictor Are you 100% wireless wi-fi connected to the sky Max hub or anything wired that is working always, does the light on the hub change at all, trying to establish if wan is gone completely or just a poor wireless wi-fi signal!

This link providers information about the coloured lights on the various hubs
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/hub-lights-explained-start

[luckyvictor]

thanks for your reply.

Everything in the house are wirlessly connected, even my laptop/macbook as they dont ethernet port anymore, so cant really do such test.

[JimM1]

@luckyvictor What about the lights as you do not say! Sky Max hub and if also connected via a FF ONT, then both the devices matter to what is going on!

For the laptop matt hafner has an excellent software called wi-fi Analyzer as a free download via the windows store, some restrictions on the Free version though, and if android phone Netspot works real well to let you see what is going on wireless and easier to move about when checking.

Sky Max is just not up and at it for some homes, so you do need to go look at what is going on! Or as you say move, but whole lot of procedures to do with sky if you need to go penalty free!

[luckyvictor]

The light shows white on the Max hub and green on the unit on the wall.

I also want to explain more on the problems:

1. For problem 1, it is fair to say that the connectivity depends on the exact location of the devices in the house, but it is difficult to believe that the SKY hub can not handle the coverage for just a 2 bedroom house, especially compared to the experience I had with BT, which I had asbolutely no issue of connectivity. 

2. For problem 2, the internet capablity issue, it is like connecting to a Wifi created by your wifi print, you can connect it strongely but it doesn't provide you internet access! This problem however does not affect all the devices at the exact same time, it could be me seeing offline from my youtube app, then a while later my son got disconnected from his Roblox. I never see all the devices lost internet access at the same time, usually 1 to 3 devices.

3. Like I explained, this mintue I couldn't go to google.com from my browser, reporting time out or private connection, at the exact same minute, using the exact same browser, just open another tab, I can go to a car website (autocatalogarchive.com). Not sue how this can happen randomly, but looks like somethings in DNS has messed up, and the time I disconnect from wifi from my device and connect immediately, the problem resolves itself.

All these makes me suspect SKY has some random traffic restrictions behind, or glitch in software level. 

[JimM1]

@luckyvictor Have sent you a PM, and below once you read that!

Sky Max change settings link.
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/change-wifi-max-hub-settings-a

[JimM1]

@luckyvictor All the sky Max info for you linked below!

getting sky max and how to get the pod's
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/sky-wifi-max
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/enhanced-wall-to-wall-wifi-guarantee

[JimM1]

@luckyvictor If you have a wi-fi analyzer on your mobile or PC take a look at wher your aky Max is operating in for both the bands power level and channel operation, do it close to your hub about 3 to 6 feet away, and then in the area where you are having issues, Netspot for android mobile is good, let's you see all the info and what you are attached to, as i say do not use a sky Max so you will have to see what and write your findings down or screen capture what is going on!

The sky Max just may not be most suitable for operating, and cannot compare it realy against a BT Router! Below also some sky guidance as a just in case!

https://www.sky.com/help/broadband/my-broadband-speed/improving-wi-fi-signal-to-my-devices/articles/...

[MBaggers82]

I have the exact same issue, getting 2.6gb to hub, we have an engineer coming on Wednesday, we already have one pod, we have 6 pucks and lots of devices but was expecting better, instagram buffers, won't load internet pages, the only time it's perfect is when your next to hub, when I test speed from couch which is 7 meters from hub it's 300mb with a plasterboard wall in the way,  but it's still glitchy to my phone, was told to turn of certain settings like the sky security but should have to, switched from vodaphone pro 2 because vidafine are useless but didn't have random buffering or drop outs 

[JimM1]

@MBaggers82 May also be worth having a look on your account and see what the Broadband Shield product is set at! Not many off the new sky Gigafast + wi-fi7 hubs out and about Forum wise, so will take some fine analysis on your side but sure people will be willing to chip in with advice if needed!, 

[MBaggers82]

Definitely, I have had to turn that off as was advised it can slow speeds, will see what the engineer says. 

[luckyvictor]

Sky customer support is very useless, as well as the technical team.

They have now put my case into priority, I have got email regarding this (big surprise!!!) HOWEVER, they made the first call to me in a SUNDAY (the 2nd Nov) morning 12:00, I missed it and they NEVER BOTHER TO TRY AGAIN! they then sent me email and said would call me back on 7th Nov (my case is in priority and I had to wait 5 days, can't imagine the people who are not in priority), but obviously it didn't happen!!! And yesterday another team called me just to make another call appointment for me, which is 12th Nov.

Its just a joke, being in the priority I received such customer services.

Btw, I wonder whether you may have problem like all of the sudden you can't load any webpage or can't even use go to Google.com

[luckyvictor]

This is what I experience in a random time everyday, if I do nothing, it may take a long time to "recover", if I turn off my phone's WiFi and turn on again to connect to this sky WiFi, the problem resolved.

This problem shall have nothing to do with the strength of WiFi signal. I never had this problem with any broadband until sky.