Sky Q Mini box info

[Davy+Neill]

Hello, i'm looking for info on how a Mini box gets its signal.

If i'm watching a different channel (say, BBC2) on the Mini Box other than what is being viewed on the Main Q box (say, BBC1) , is it fed (over wifi) from a tuner on the main box? Or is it using my internet connection to "stream".

Actually, that begs another question...does the main Q box also transmit on a WiFi channel ?

Thanks in anticipation

Davy

[Chodley · Accepted solution]

Wifi (or ethernet) from a tuner in the Q

[TimmyBGood]

---

@Davy+Neill wrote:

...does the main Q box also transmit on a WiFi channel ?

---

Yes: a main Q box has a wireless backhaul to Q Mini boxes (and any Q boosters), plus a WiFi 'hotspot' signal by default when Sky is the ISP and manually available for other ISPs.  It's also talking to the internet router over WiFi.

[Davy+Neill]

Thanks for the replies.

So, does the WiFi backhaul happen over a separate WiFi channel? If yes, is that channel changeable (as you can in a router?)

And...is it only the main Q box which acts as a hotspot? Or can the mini box act as a hotspot too?

(are there online manuals for these?)

[Chodley]

---

@Davy+Neill wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

So, does the WiFi backhaul happen over a separate WiFi channel? If yes, is that channel changeable (as you can in a router?)

And...is it only the main Q box which acts as a hotspot? Or can the mini box act as a hotspot too?

(are there online manuals for these?)

---

The mini:Q proprietary network is fixed at Ch36. I think that applies to extending wifi hotspot behaviour too. You can narrow it to 40MHz instead of 80.

The minis act as hotspots too.

No config to be done really, hence no manuals. I have wanted and requested a technical deepdive on how Q does its networking given we spend an inordinate amount of our time on here trying to help people fix issues with it, but don't see it ever happening.

[Davy+Neill]

Thank you to you both for your replies

Ch 36 is well out of the way for us mere mortals using standard 2.5 & 5 gig ranges

I look forward to  ditching my present extenders to compare speeds etc

Thanks again

Davy

[simon194]

---

@Davy+Neill wrote:

Thank you to you both for your replies

Ch 36 is well out of the way for us mere mortals using standard 2.5 & 5 gig ranges

I look forward to  ditching my present extenders to compare speeds etc

Thanks again

Davy

---

Actually Ch36 is the channel that practically every router in existance defaults to in the 5GHz band but as the range is shorter than the 2.4GHz band it's not so much of a problem.

[TimmyBGood]

@Davy+Neill 

More discussion here:

https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Broadband/5ghz-Channels/m-p/4195946 

[Chodley]

---

@Davy+Neill wrote:

Thank you to you both for your replies

Ch 36 is well out of the way for us mere mortals using standard 2.5 & 5 gig ranges

I look forward to  ditching my present extenders to compare speeds etc

Thanks again

Davy

---

2.4 😉

[Davy+Neill]

I sit corrected lol

[Chodley]

---

@Davy+Neill wrote:

I sit corrected lol

---

It's a funny one that, see it a lot and not sure why. Maybe it seems more mathematically elegant/intuitive that it would be half.

[TimmyBGood]

@Chodley 

Really interesting explanation of why it's 2.4Ghz rather than 2.5Ghz here:

https://www.wired.com/2010/09/wireless-explainer/ 

TLDNR: microwave ovens ; )