Sky Broadband – Poor Speeds, Packet Loss & Router Setup Question

[LostOracle]

Hi all,

I’ve recently switched over from Plusnet to Sky and I’m having some disappointing results.

On Plusnet, my connection was rock solid at around 35 Mbps download / 5 Mbps upload using a Unifi Dream Router (UDR) – no issues whatsoever. The switch to Sky was seamless (I didn’t change any configuration on the UDR, and I haven’t used their own brand router).

Initially Sky seemed comparable, just slightly slower at 32 Mbps download. However, I’m now regularly seeing much worse results on Cloudflare’s speed test:

• ~15 Mbps download

• <1 Mbps upload

• Significant packet loss showing during tests

This is obviously a big drop from the guaranteed 50 Mbps I was told I should be getting.

My questions:

1. Router settings – Does Sky require specific connection parameters? (e.g. PPPoE username/password, DHCP, or MER with Option 61?) I’ve heard mixed things and I’m not sure whether this is necessary for my setup.

2. Testing limitations – I know Sky might claim they can’t test properly without me using their router, but I’d prefer to stick with the UDR if possible. Has anyone successfully run Sky on a Unifi setup, and if so, what configuration worked for you?

For context, I’ve got Openreach booked in this Tuesday as Sky say FTTP is now available, and the Openreach checker confirms it too. So I may soon be moving away from FTTC anyway – but in the meantime I’d like to know if my poor speeds and packet loss are just down to the configuration.

Any insights from those running Sky with third-party kit would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[JimM1]

@LostOracle When you get the FTTP connection do you still require the use off a landline phone connected to your Sky Hub? 

[LostOracle]

@JimM1 no we have been without a landline for sometime now so I don't feel its a requirement anymore.

[JimM1]

@LostOracle Then your Unifi Router should connect direct on the ONT with a Wan output to the Lan connection on the supplied ONT, Sky only support there Hubs connected! The rest is down to you!

[LostOracle]

@JimM1

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I appreciate the clarification, although my original question was more around the specific configuration requirements for using a Unifi Dream Router directly with Sky (Option 61, VLAN settings etc.).

That said, I’ve since swapped over to the Sky Hub for testing and unfortunately the speeds are still disappointing. I can’t currently run a line test as the portal only shows that I’ve got an engineer booked, so I suspect I’ll just have to wait until FTTP is installed and activated before I can make any meaningful progress.

It does seem quite difficult to get anywhere beyond the automated Sky ecosystem at the moment, which doesn’t make troubleshooting easy!

[LostOracle]

What the results suggest

• Download throughput is poor but not catastrophic; the real killer is upload + packet loss.
  • Sub-1 Mbps upload + 18% loss = likely a physical line fault or severe noise/interference.
• Latency/jitter spikes during upload tests further confirm line instability.
• Because the same issue is seen on the Sky Hub, this rules out my Unifi Dream Router configuration as the cause.
• It aligns with a faulty FTTC copper line segment, a port issue in the cabinet, or possibly congestion/packet drops at the Sky backhaul (but less likely given the packet loss percentage).

Impact on usage

• Video streaming: Rated Bad → buffering, poor resolution.
• Online gaming: Rated Bad → lag, rubber-banding.
• Video chatting: Rated Bad → dropouts, frozen screens.
• General browsing: Will feel sluggish but functional.
• Essentially, this performance is not fit for purpose. Anything real-time (Teams/Zoom, gaming, VoIP) will suffer.

Conclusion:
I suspect my line is severely degraded, with upload collapse and major packet loss. Since the same symptoms occur with Sky’s own hub, this is not my Unifi router config – it’s almost certainly a line fault. Waiting for FTTP install is the most pragmatic option, but if that’s delayed, I will need to push Sky to escalate to Openreach sooner which is easy said than done.

[JimM1]

@LostOracle What sky hub are you using currently connected on your fttc line? The sky hub's are able to show the stat's for line condition so will link below from the Tips section above!

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

How to read your Sky Hub statistics

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Broadband/Has-Sky-removed-the-Option-61-requirement-from-non-Sky-router...