Random channels just go grey.

[Tippster]

Randomly I can lose picture on my Sky Stream Pucks, it's not every channel at the same time but noticeably channels that I'm trying to watch!

The channel just goes grey, I still have the sound but no picture & the only solution I've found is constantly having to switch the puck off at the wall (pull the power cable out) & waiting!

You may think it's not a major issue but when I mainly watch live sports, it's more than a little annoying to miss the action, especially when I'm paying extra in theory for the privilege of having the sports channels!

I've run the Sky tests on both pucks & it claims everything is fine!

Any idea or is this the price I pay for Sky's broadband not being adequate enough to run Sky Stream?

Thanks in advance 

Nick

[Stephen+Mourton]

@Tippster   You say you have tried all the tests, but what were they?,  It helps us to see if you have missed something.  Usually they would include a hard reset, a soft reset, and an apps refresh.  It is also worth remembering that sometimes it can be external matters.  For instance if you are not connected to your puck with an Ethernet cable does your router and puck have direct line of sight with each other without any obstacles in the way?  Also make sure there are no objects touching or near your puck and router and the router is not near a window or mirror.  These can all effect how the puck works.  

[Tippster]

Hi Stephen.

I've had the Sky Stream pucks for just over a month, so fairly new to everything, the tests I was alluding to were the tests that 'My Sky' run on the system.

As for the position of everything, & I live alone in a one bedroom bungalow (not a big property), my WiFi Hub is in the living room, where the puck in question is located, there is probably 10ft between them with no windows or doors between them or close to interfering with either.

While I have two pucks, neither are run at the same time & at most the only other thing being used at the same time as a puck is one mobile phone & very rarely a PC.

And the systems are switched off overnight.

After receiving the equipment & connecting it I noticed initial issues, upon calling Sky on a couple of occasions, when mentioning the issues I was having I was told straight away that my broadband wasn't up to the job required as the speeds the download speed wasn't fast enough to even run one puck! And it was explained that the more items I have connected to the broadband, the worse it would be & I was asked what equipment I had connected but I've never been offered any way of resolving the issue.

This TV issue initially resolved itself when I'd disconnect the puck & then reconnect but now it's not resolving the issue & I'm still having the issue.

While this current issue isn't the end of the world, I am paying for this service that clearly isn't up to the required standard.

[BenJoBanjo]

@Tippster 

What broadband speed are you paying for and what speed do you actually receive?

You need to check the speed the pucks are actually receiving. To do this, open the Netflix app, navigate to the get help menu and run a network check. Ideally you need a bare minimum of 25Mbps. 

[Tippster]

Hi Ben, 

Netflix suggests I'm getting 16.95mbps.

When checking the 'My Sky' App, it tells me I'm getting 25.6mb/s.

My contract says I should be getting this.....

Download speeds: Normally Available: 33.8Mbps; Max: 33.8Mbps; Min: 25.3Mbps

Upload speeds: Normally Available: 5.9Mbps; Max: 6.0Mbps; Min: 4.0Mbps

As mentioned previously, I've been by Sky's Customer Support (or whatever they are called?) that my broadband isn't fast enough to even run one puck (which was never mentioned to me before taking the services) & I was told that it was lucky that I had no CCTV or door cam as there would have been absolutely no way the system would have worked at all.

Which all seems mental to me, as mentioned above I live in a one bedroom bungalow on my own, so god knows how anyone with kids using numerous phones &/or gaming devices would have got on with this?!?

It seems like the system isn't fit for purpose.

[BenJoBanjo]

---

@Tippster wrote:

Hi Ben, 

Netflix suggests I'm getting 16.95mbps.

When checking the 'My Sky' App, it tells me I'm getting 25.6mb/s.

My contract says I should be getting this.....

Download speeds: Normally Available: 33.8Mbps; Max: 33.8Mbps; Min: 25.3Mbps

Upload speeds: Normally Available: 5.9Mbps; Max: 6.0Mbps; Min: 4.0Mbps

As mentioned previously, I've been by Sky's Customer Support (or whatever they are called?) that my broadband isn't fast enough to even run one puck (which was never mentioned to me before taking the services) & I was told that it was lucky that I had no CCTV or door cam as there would have been absolutely no way the system would have worked at all.

Which all seems mental to me, as mentioned above I live in a one bedroom bungalow on my own, so god knows how anyone with kids using numerous phones &/or gaming devices would have got on with this?!?

It seems like the system isn't fit for purpose.

---

The Netflix speed is what your puck is actually receiving and yes, that's too slow to run Sky Stream reliably.

Sky recommend a minimum of 25Mbps so they were pushing their luck when they sold it to you with a broadband minimum speed of 25.3Mbps. 

Have you tried connecting via ethernet and turning off WiFi? That will at least give you the best chance of getting as fast a speed as possible from your router to the puck. Your MySky reading shows you're getting 25.6Mbps at the router which might be just enough to run a puck, but it leaves you no headroom whatsoever. 

Sky really should be more upfront when they're selling this thing, particularly to those with broadband on the slow side. 

[Tippster]

Hi Ben

No, I haven't tried using an Ethernet cable as it would mean running a cable across the room.

My reward for not having enough Broadband speed when I called to complain was I got £28 in Sky Store vouchers!

I have called around to other broadband providers & they could only offer me a similar speed although EE said that in about a year or so they could offer a much higher speed!

My reaction was but why would I bother in switching to you now, to only have the same issue & just to be complaining to EE instead of Sky?

He then realised that I was right!

But you're 100% correct, had I known that there would have been issues I would have stayed with Virgin & even Sky's Customer Service representative said similar when I called with the issues.

It seems like with all other businesses, all they are interested in is getting people's money, at whatever cost but the chances are, unless this gets rectified then I'll be off elsewhere as clearly what they've provided isn't fit for purpose!

Thanks for clarifying things for me.

[Chrisee]

@Tippster you can check if Openreach have plans to run full fibre to your property here https://www.openreach.com/fibre-checker that would sort your current issue. You are currently at the end of at least a mile of copper phone line which limits the speed any isp using that line can offer. 25Mb/s is a bare minimum for watching in UHD with live sports being the most challenging switching to watching in HD should work though.

If you were with Virgin Media for both broadband and tv then you could ask Sky to release you from thr broadband contract and go back to Virgin for that as Sky Stream works with any decent broadband supplier.I suspect if you complain officially Sky will do that see How to make a Sky complaint | Sky Help | Sky.com

[Tippster]

Thanks for your response Chrisee,

I'm only trying to watch in HD anyway so it's not like I'm trying to push the limits of the system, I'd hate to think how bad it would be if I was using more devices on this system?!?

As for going back to Virgin, I don't think that'll be an option, I've had issues with them trying to short change me with the settlement of my account balance & despite getting them to agree they were in the wrong, a month later I discovered that they'd decided to change their mind again after they sent me a check for a lesser amount than agreed! So another hour was spent on a call with them!

And it seems like all providers are currently offering similar sort of speeds, so I may as well stay arguing with Sky until a provider finds a solution to the problem & then I'll look at where I am.

[lettice]

As mentioned above, you are going to struggle to run a reliable Sky Stream with your current broadband speeds.

It will work, but you will see constant freezing and lockups.

As well as Openreach offerings from the likes of Sky and EE and Virgin, have you checked if there is an altnet in your area supplying a fibre broadband connection.

A quick and easy check is the Ofcom checker that will list the Openreach offerings from the likes of Sky and EE, as well as Virgin.

The links to the altnets will be listed on the Networks in your area line lower down that page.

https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/broadband-coverage

[Hunter2660]

I think your best bet would be leaving Stream and going with Sky's Now service. As it's not dependent on a server based system, as Stream is, then it will be far more stable with the speeds your currently getting. It's app based and if you haven't got a Smart TV, then something like a Firestick will do the job for you.