Sky Broadband - Use My Own Hardware

[H66]

Hello Sky Community,

Being doing a bit of "lurking" here, and have seen some of the quality of the posts :). Thought I'd post instead of going (again), through the support labyrinth..... 

We've got TV package (love it), also have "talk & broadband", on gigafast with the SR213 hub. Also have WiFi max, so they've ending up sending 1 booster, and an engineer has attended and kindly allowed us to have 2 more. The engineer was absolutely amazing on his visit, real top guy 🙂

We've got very little cellular coverage (semi rural), but recently got a local FTTC upgrade - woohoo! CityFibre have put in a FTTP line (through Sky).

The boosters are terrible, capped at 600mbps & they don't seem to "properly" mesh, so devices hang on till the bitter end to the main hub.

I've bought some nice kit (nighthawk RS300, good price as "used - as new" from Amazon. I've set this up and I'm using a new SSID for now (to prevent "downtime" for local users on the network lol). Still getting call dropouts and dead spots.

I'd like to see if replacing the SR213 and broadcasting 2 SSIDs (ie the same one as sky uses + another one for my work) would help?

DHCP 61 - need some form of code / setup?

Something... something... client identifier?

I don't want to upgrade to GIGAMAX+ to get decent hardware (they are offering £0 discounts even though I've got "right to exit").

I may be that getting the internet beamed down  FROM SPACE via starlink is easier than dealing with Sky. This is obviously absurd.

Also what's the best way to get an engineer a shout out / recognition on Sky...? I didn't get a feedback form sadly post visit 😞

[GD1]

@H66  To give recognition you can post in the Sned Tank To Sky Board  https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Send-Thanks-to-Sky/idb-p/sendthanks

[Chrisee]

@H66 if you have a City Fibre line your router will connect diectly to the ONT using DHCPv6 PD which requires no log in string which I believe your router offers. While Sky will not support third party hardware so you are on your own or use this forum if you get stuck. I agree with your view on the pod extenders which are WiFi5 and incidentally are the same when supplied with the Gigafast+ hub which itself offer WiFi7

A single wifi source will often struggle to deliver high speeds in every part of your home. It is possible to get third party mesh systems offering WiFi7 but these are not cheap. Personally my lowly Deco M4 system provides a stable signal (just as importsnt as speed) dropping to 150Mb/s in the furthest bedroom which is ample to stream video etc. 

[H66]

Just at an event today - I'll come back on this likely tomorrow.

Thanks (already) to both of you 🙂

[H66]

Apologies both, been busy working - and **still** trying to fix the issue.

Long message, apols.................................... v annoyed.................

Chrisee - I'm going to send back the Nightgear RS300 and get some "proper mesh kit", to my liking (or CAT6 the SoHO setup, and leave the "main network" alone). Chrisee, genuine question, having read your signature - why are you using the SR213? Or is it normally fine, i've just got thick internal walls? It appears you're using your own mesh, not the boosters, so that's somewhat helpful validation.

I've had a text from "Sky Resolutions" (the issue is NOT resolved), saying "we will call you in 15 mins". I was at a work event in London, therefore didn't read the text, and also couldn't answer even if I had read the text. Tried to call back through the helpdesk labyrinth (fun, fun, fun).

FYI when the IVR asks - "tell me why you are calling?". None of the following work "I am calling you back", "I am returning your call",  "Speak to Claire on the Sky Resolution", "Sky resolution team"😂). I hope this free consultancy is helpful for someone. Sky, if you need a commercial rate from me, please let me know 🙂

When I did manage to get through to a team (cancellations seemed easiest), they could not put me through to "Sky Resolutions", but they can put a note on my account for the resolutions team to call me back on a date and time of my choosing. I did ask how would the other team know that i've requested a callback at a certain date and time, and the agent said "they can check the notes". I asked what would happen if they didn't check the notes.  Callback "scheduled" for Friday 24/04/2026 @ 1500.

Did they call back? Answers on a postcard please. (dear reader, they did not).

My current options appear to be:

1. Get a desktop survey done
2. Get an engineer down from Liverpool with an ekahau
3. Some combo of "proper mesh" and/or CAT6 the SoHo setup
4. Start a protest outside of Sky HQ (?)
5. Invoke right to exit and move to a provider who offers better support, costs and hardware (and doesn't lock everything down to the nth degree)

Anyone got any bright ideas? (whilst im on hold to the Sky helpline)

[jamesn123]

@H66 

Could you explain a bit more on what exactly your issue is? I've read all your posts and at the moment I've been able to figure two complaints...

1. The pods are capped at 600mbps

2. Your devices are not roaming right away and are hanging on to your main Sky hub.

Regarding the points above, 600mbps is plenty fast enough for a single client to do practically anything and is well above your WiFi speed guarantee. And the roaming issue, while annoying, may not actually be resolvable because WiFi AP roaming is controlled by your device, not by the router/pods themselves. Typically a device wont roam until the very last second if its being actively used because it causes a slight disruption. Are all your devices struggling to roam or is it certain ones? If you lock them/put them in sleep do they then roam successfully?

[Chrisee]

@H66 I tried the WiFi Max packsge just after Sky launched the product and despite the best efforts of myself and a Sky engineer the performance with 2 hubs was poor so I reverted to using my Deco M4 set up. As i rejected WiFi Max Sky make you keep the SR213. In practice performance as a router is adequate while the Deco M4s give me a minimum of  150Mb/s in every room which is more than sufficent for my use case. 

One reason why a laptop will remain attached to the hub rather than a nearer pod could be because it prioritises a WiFi6 connection over a stronger WiFi5 signal. The probable explanation of why the performance of the SR213 pod combination can struggle in some homes is thst the units communicate via a closed 5GHz signal while my Deco units use both the 2.4 and 5GHz bsnds to comminicate. The Sky system is based on a system used in the US by Comcast which apparently works well in American homes but these dont have solid internal walls, radiators and the like that our himes have.

Expecting any mass market ISP like Sky to provide the equipment of the type you want is unrealistic so my advice would be to work out what you need and your budget. Getting gigabit speeds over WiFi in every room iis possible but you will need deep pockets. Apart from downloading large files most devices operate efficently with a 100Mb/s link. Factors such as jitter etc are as if not more important as bandwidth which is where a good WiFi mesh system scores. Also remember the manufacturers will be launching the best big thing in a year or so currently WiFi8 which looks promising is on its way making this year's permium WiFi7 kit look old.