Day 1 chaos

[SczooD]

Hey all,

Having recently returned to sky and recieved my new puck today for the sky stream I've had a bit of a nightmare so a little sceptical scared and wanted peoples honest thoughts.

To cut a long story short, I setup my new puck today pretty straight forward and thought ok looks cool! Then the screen starting randomly going black the puck switching itself off and freezing on menus after 3 phone calls that said think you got a dud puck unlucky I suppose but it does happen so I'm waiting for a new puck now I'm still in my cooling off period but please say it gets better? After that I'll be locked into a 2 year agreement. 

Have anyone had any issues like these? I've got fast internet so that's not the issue, we've come from flex TV from virgin (sorry not sure if allowed to say that eek!) but never no issues with there box in the last 3 years so really on the fence.

sorry long post but hope someone can inspire my confidence 🙏 

[BenJoBanjo]

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@SczooD wrote:

Hey all,

Having recently returned to sky and recieved my new puck today for the sky stream I've had a bit of a nightmare so a little sceptical scared and wanted peoples honest thoughts.

To cut a long story short, I setup my new puck today pretty straight forward and thought ok looks cool! Then the screen starting randomly going black the puck switching itself off and freezing on menus after 3 phone calls that said think you got a dud puck unlucky I suppose but it does happen so I'm waiting for a new puck now I'm still in my cooling off period but please say it gets better? After that I'll be locked into a 2 year agreement. 

Have anyone had any issues like these? I've got fast internet so that's not the issue, we've come from flex TV from virgin (sorry not sure if allowed to say that eek!) but never no issues with there box in the last 3 years so really on the fence.

sorry long post but hope someone can inspire my confidence 🙏 

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There's no definitive answer to your query. Sky Stream works very well for many people and not very well for others. It's impossible to say how well it will work for you until you try it (with a functioning puck). If you provide a fast and stable broadband connection then it should work, but again it can depend on the Sky server your puck connects to. 

If you find you cannot get a good enough service on your replacement puck then Sky have been very good at releasing people from long term contracts without penalty. They understand that there are many variables at play when it comes to Sky Stream, so if it doesn't work for you then you will be able to return it. 

[peter-marlow+1966]

What is your  broadband speed and  how  is  the puck connected ? An ethernet cable  is the best way  to  connect to  the  hub, wifi is not that stable  and also the more devices that  you have  connected  to  your  Internet  the weaker the wifi signal  will get to each one, and if you live in an old house  the walls can also block the  signal, 

[SczooD]

That's good to know about them releasing you earlier if issues definitely reassuring 😊 I'm gonna give the new replacement a go when it arrives as I don't think it's fair to mark it down based on something that was faulty 

[SczooD]

Hey,

Oh yes I should have said that we get 300mbps so surely should be plenty as I assume the puck needs around maybe 25-30 at a push I'd say? In terms of my router it's in the same room maybe 10ft away from the puck. 

I was going to connect via Ethernet but my work computer already connects that way so wouldn't be viable for this streaming box. My old TV from virgin worked flawlessly (over WiFi too) so let's see what the new puck does I'm really hoping this one was a dud and sky have been great via phone unlike that of virgin (useless) I probably should mention my broadband is with virgin to locked in still atm so was testing the waters with the sky 😊 

[HavencroftKev]

I do hope Stream works for you. Personally for me, I've had very few issues with it.

The issues I've had were at the beginning which were lip sync related, but that resolved.

I think the advice you been given is fair, when it works it's absolutely brilliant, but when it doesn't it's horrendous. 

I understand Sky are good at letting customers out of their contracts if it really doesn't work

I really like it, but it does get expensive. 

[HavencroftKev · Accepted solution]

One more point to mention... If you can connect using an ethernet cable I absolutely would, it just removes many of the variables that WiFi brings.

Also you said you pull broadband speeds of 300mbps, well that's all very well and good but what I found about Sky Stream is that it likes a stable connection.

Do a speed test and see how much it fluctuates.

When I was with Virgin Media I pulled speeds up to 800mbps, but in the same test the speeds would flucuate all over the place and even go as low as 50mbps.

I'm with Sky Broadband now and only get speeds of about 80mbps, but when I do a speed test now the speeds sit constantly at 78-80mbps. 

[lettice]

As @HavencroftKev  mentions.

Having a good local network broadband reach is key to Sky Stream.
Not just broadband speed to your house and router, but for your local network supply via wifi or ethernet, that can be affected in a busy household.

Best way to test is via a network speed test on each of your Pucks.
Launch Netflix on your pucks (you do not need to be logged into it, if you do not use netflix) and scroll down the left menu to Get help.
Choose Check Network.
Would suggest running the test a few times, over say a half hour period during tests.
What is your speed for each puck?

Also, it may be suffering from interference,, the puck much like a Sky Q box can for some customers suffer from this at times. More often seen as an intermittent blip.
Not always a cure, but the following may help to resolve;
Make sure you have a good 6-8 inches free on all sides of the puck.
Do not stack the puck on top of any other device.
Best not to sit it on a glass shelf. Wood is generally the best.
Make sure the puck is in the open, not tucked away in a cabinet or sat directly behind the TV.
Make sure you have no other devices that can cause interference closeby, like cordless phones, radiators, baby monitors, smart meter in home displays, microwaves and the like.
You should be using the Sky supplied hdmi cable or a high speed equivalent one.

Plus, change both your pucks to following recommended settings set in Settings>
Turn wifi OFF under Network if connected via ethernet.
Set Network standby mode to ON and Overnight power saving is OFF.

More information like the above on the Sky FAQ help pages link here; https://www.sky.com/help/home/sky-tv/sky-tv-stream/fixing-a-problem-sky-stream/fixing-sky-glass-sky-...