Sky max hub - reliable etc - your views?

[Daveyboy1234]

Hi,

im looking at getting the sky max hub. I have the SR203 currently and has been fine and working well for last year or two. However, recently got Sky full fibre and my Q devices are acting as hubs and slowing some devices down plus I max out at about 550 on my 900mbs connection so hoping the newer router may help a bit with wifi speeds. But I keep reading posts that people have issues with this router with drop outs or it being unreliable, just wanted to know if people are using this router for a while without issue etc?

also, if I upgrade, will I be asked to return my

current SR-203 router?

one final thing, for compatibility is it best to switch setting to WPA-2 instead of default as again read some people having issues with default settings. 

Thank you 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Daveyboy1234 wrote:

just wanted to know if people are using this router for a while without issue etc?

Lots, presumably, but by definition they aren't posting to a support forum.

also, if I upgrade, will I be asked to return my

current SR-203 router?

Yes

one final thing, for compatibility is it best to switch setting to WPA-2 instead of default as again read some people having issues with default settings. 

Older hardware which cannot handle WPA3-T is always going to have issues with using it ; )

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[Chrisee]

@Daveyboy1234 as you have Sky Q boxes I would not advise switching to the White Max hub as the two systems do not work together. While you can get Sky Q to work only the main Q box connects to the hub and Q minis and Q boosters connect to the 5GHz band from the main box. The Q boxes stop being available to connect your other devices meaning many customers find that they need to pay to get extenders to get the same speeds tgrough out their home.

Sky Q is an old system which uses a propietary mesh networking system which is not going to be updated as satellit TV in the UK has a.limited life as the satellites used useful life ends around 2030 and tgere are no published plans for them to be replaced. If you plan to switch to Sky's Stream service these units workwith the newer hub

In my experience having had both hubs are a tie in terms of stability and range. While the white hub would allow you to get up to 900Mb/s in the area the hub is placed to devices with WiFi6 or higher capability against the roughly 700Mb/s max your current hub can deliver the difference is likely to be only minimal in practice as fewxapps use more than 100Mb/s and many server owners limit bandwidth on downloads.

If you do need the pod extenders Sky supply as part of tge WiFi Max package these use a 5GHz signal for backhaul which can be an issue in older properties with solid walls. In general tghe Sky Max hub is a better fit for modern open plan properties or with plasterboard internal walls.

Re the wpa3 issue we are to,d Sky are changing the default on the white hubs to wpa2 as despite the promised backward compatability of wpa3-T in practiceca lot devices are not connecting 

[Daveyboy1234]

Thank you for the responses. 

in actual fact one of the reasons I wanted to get this is because of the issues sky q has with the fact it acts as a hotspot for other devices. So I have devices only connecting at 150-200 mbps instead of 600+ so I actually think this newer box could solve that issue as it doesn't do this anymore on this one does it. 

ah ok, so would it be better to just pop it on wpa2  for better stability if it doesn't default already? Is there a big security risk considering the older hub only uses wpa2 as standard?

If they want my old router back, would they email or something to advise and send pack for it to be returned etc? If so when does this usually occur?

thanks again 

[JimM1]

@Daveyboy1234 Have you tried turning the hotspot off on the Q to see what kind of signal you have, all boosting like the Q Mesh drop's the speed that's a fact off life with them and has been ever since you used!

[Spectre01]

Have you considered getting a 3rd party router such as ASUS?

When I had Sky FTTC I had a  Sky hub and WiFi booster but still wasn't getting a good connection with some devices, my music streamer particularly didn't like a mesh WiFi network.  I replaced the hub/booster with a ASUS RT-AX86U can got perfect WiFi throughout the house.

I've recently changed to Full Fibre with a different provider and, with one small change, was able to use the ASUS on the new fibre, so keeping all my settings.

There are probably better routers available now so it might be worth a look.

[Daveyboy1234]

Yes, well I've turned the mini off in bedroom as can't just turn the hotspots off if you have sky broadband and speeds at least doubled so know it's bottlenecking. When switched back on the issue occurs again. Never noticed before I got FTTP as speeds were only 50mbps but now I have the fast speeds it's noticeable that certain devices are not getting what they could and seems to be the Q boxes causing it. 

[Daveyboy1234]

I was thinking that could be option but I think for now as the new router doesn't really cost a lot then I think I'll give that a go as I live in a flat so speeds aren't too bad across the rooms. If I struggle with that then may well take that advice and try a 3rd party router. 

one thing that did seem strange that I read was that the newer routers cannot separate bands to 2.4 and 5ghz. Reason I use this on current router is because I found that 2.4 was slower and often devices would connect to that band instead of 5ghz. Has it been fixed with these routers to favour 5ghz if available? 

[JimM1]

@Daveyboy1234 NO, with the sky Max hubs you cannot split the bands it is just not allowed! Bad latching on the wrong frequency is down to the device trying to connect!

[Daveyboy1234]

Thanks for all the help 🙂