New apartment doesn't support Sky Q

[Iverson03]

I recently moved to a new apartment. When I moved in, a Sky engineer came to setup Sky Q. He said that everything was fine but when I came back to check I realized that only a limited number of channels were working. For a lot of them there was no signal. I asked the property management to investigate and they came back to me telling me that the building was not supporting Sky Q (I didn't understand everything as the explanation was quite technical but my understanding is that there were some changes in protocols between Sky Q and the previous generation, my building can support the older versions but not Sky Q). 

Can someone tell me if there is a way to fix that issue and to receive Sky ? 

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Daniel0210]

@Iverson03 

If the communal dish can only support Sky+ and Sky+ HD boxes then you may need to consider Sky Glass or Stream depending on your Broadband strengths but research both fully first. 

[Godfrey]

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@Iverson03 wrote:

I recently moved to a new apartment. When I moved in, a Sky engineer came to setup Sky Q. He said that everything was fine but when I came back to check I realized that only a limited number of channels were working. For a lot of them there was no signal. I asked the property management to investigate and they came back to me telling me that the building was not supporting Sky Q 

Can someone tell me if there is a way to fix that issue and to receive Sky ? 

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Without a crystal ball it is difficult to know if your Sky engineer was a fully trained Multiple Development Unit (MDU) engineer, who should have initially scanned all of the 58 satellite transponder signals emerging from the wall mounted media plate in your flat in 'Legacy Universal LNB' mode, and then in 'SCR' mode, in order to check that the communal Integrated Reception System was capable of supporting your Sky Q receiver without modification before they proclaimed that 'Every thing was FINE'

Had they discovered that the present communal IRS installation was not presently served by a dSCR multiswitch then, with the permission of your landlord, if the signal levels and quality were adequate it should have been possible to check if your communal IRS installation was correctly earthed and able to support them installing a Unitron dCSS-422 Sky Q Plug-In adaptor for you in the central distribution cabinet that serves your flat.

So, I am left wondering if your Sky Q installation engineer was a fully trained Sky MDU engineer, or if your landlord was not prepared to allow Sky to install their Unitron dCSS-422 adaptors, or if the communal IRS installation was not correctly earthed, or if the Modulation Error Ratio (MER) quality of every satellite transponder signal was not achieving a measured MER reading of at least 11 dB.

I have been advised this afternoon that fully trained Sky MDU engineers still have the Unitron dCSS-422 adaptor available for them to install in situations like this

Alas, without a crystal ball it is impossible to know what steps your Sky engineer actually took before they pronounced that 'Everything was FINE'.

It might be worth initially asking your landlord if they are willing to allow a fully trained Sky MDU engineer to install a Unitron dCSS-422 Sky Q Plug-In adaptor in the central IRS distribution cabinet that serves your flat.

Godfrey.

[Iverson03]

@Godfrey thank you for your reply.

So your answer is a bit too technical for me but for what it is worth I checked in the little TV cabinet in my flat and there is a unitron dCSS-422 adaptor (I can attach a picture but it is writen on it so I think there is little doubt it is the adaptor you are talking about). So the engineer was probably trained. I assume the issue is coming from something else and there is no easy way for me to get the problem fixed ? Am I right ? In that case the only solution would be to move to sky stream (I don't want sky glass) ? I would definitely prefer to stay with Sky Q as from what I have read Sky stream comes with a number of disadvantages but I don't see any other solution.

[Godfrey]

@Iverson03  A photograph would help establish how this adaptor is being powered.

Godfrey.

[Iverson03]

@Godfrey sure, this is the adaptor I have in the TV cabinet :

[nigea99]

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@Iverson03 wrote:

@Godfrey sure, this is the adaptor I have in the TV cabinet :

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As this the adapter doesn't appear to have any PSU connected to the DC input 

I will pre-empt @Godfrey 's reply and ask do you have a power supply  in your apartment near your box also connected to one of your Satellite feed wall connections ?

Edit : And if so is it  switched on/connected OK ?

[Iverson03]

Thanks @nigea99 . By box you mean Sky Q or this adaptor ? Sky Q is connected to one of the Satellite feed wall connections. The adaptor is connected to a box (I attached the picture below). Also if it helps, the led at the bottom of the adaptor is blinking (green). The one above is not. What is quite surprising to me is that some channels are working so it is not like nothing is working.

[nigea99]

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@Iverson03 wrote:

Thanks @nigea99 . By box you mean Sky Q or this adaptor ? Sky Q is connected to one of the Satellite feed wall connections. The adaptor is connected to a box (I attached the picture below). Also if it helps, the led at the bottom of the adaptor is blinking (green). The one above is not. What is quite surprising to me is that some channels are working so it is not like nothing is working.

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hi @Iverson03 

I did mean nearby your SKY Q box - the Unitron adapter does not seen to have a direct power supply  so I think it will need it via the Satellite coax feed .

A SKY Q box can  supply power but this is usually just enough for a LNB rather than an adapter which I think needs more power

[Iverson03]

Ah I see. In that case no. Only the Sky Q box is connected to one of the Satellite feed wall connections.

[nigea99]

@Iverson03 

Just a quick question from me (which is based purely on my guesswork & not on knowledge):

Can you try fully powering off your SKY Box & wait >30s and then power back up - after doing so do you get more channels at that point ?

[Godfrey]

@Iverson03   It would appear that the previous tenant probably took the 'Power Inserter' with them when they moved.

A Sky Q receiver cannot support long term powering of a Unitron dCSS-422 Sky Q Plug-In adaptor and it should preferably be powered locally by its own 20v 3A power supply, or if that proves to not be possibly, it will have to be remotely powered by a 'Power Inserter' in the residents flat.

Godfrey.

[Godfrey]

@Iverson03 

A typical method of remote powering the adaptor;

[Iverson03]

@nigea99 I just tried but unfortunately no luck

@Godfrey thanks. I didn't notice and when the engineers from the building management came, they didn't mention it to me. The cabinet is quite small and there are already quite a lot of cables (which might be a reason why it wasn't done in the first place). If you think it could explain why I am not receiving all channels then it is something that should definitely be tried before considering switching to Sky stream.

[Godfrey]

@Iverson03   The Unitron dCSS-422 has to be powered either locally or remotely, so I suggest you inform Sky that you require an MDU trained engineer to restore the original method, or devise a new method, of powering this device.

Godfrey.