Sky Stream Crashes and Buffers!

[Harrison938]

Hi, 

I have searched this forum but I'm having no luck with finding the answer to my question. We have recently moved into our first property and we went for a full Sky Stream package along with Sky's top of the range Gigafast Internet. 

Our sky stream keeps buffering and cutting out more frequently than ever. We are running the pucks through the WiFi as the house is not big at all. Here is some information I can give you about our speeds etc: 

Netflix speed check: 78.38 MBPS 

Online speed check Download: 390.2 MBPS 

Online Speed check Upload: 102.8 MBPS 

I'm not a massive Internet geek or anything like that, but from what I've read these speeds should be absolutely fine to power sky stream? We have two pucks and they both do the exact same but our WiFi on our phones and other devices is absolutely fine. I'm confused whether the problem is with stream or with the WiFi? 

Any help would be really appreciated! 

(If you could also answer whether I should be getting better upload and download speeds from Gigafast that would be great also)

[Mister_Dalek]

@Harrison938 

Sky Stream pucks are very sensitive to network speed fluctuations. They work differently to other devices which use WiFi in that they require a constant fast & stable connection to Sky's servers, otherwise glitches will occur. 
The pucks are slave devices with little/no internal storage so everything happens on the server. Even a small fluctuation in speed can cause enough of a delay in data transmission that will disrupt your service. 
It sounds like your  'Gigafast' broadband is not functioning at the capacity it should be, judging by the figures you posted. You need to find the stats of what's arriving at the router which should be much higher. You then need to look at positioning of the router & make sure there is nothing to interfere with the WiFi signal. 
Once you've determined if the broadband is working at its best, then you can work out if you need to connect your pucks to the network via ethernet in order to bypass WiFi issues. This can be done directly or via powerline adapters. 

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Harrison938 wrote:

Hi, 

I have searched this forum but I'm having no luck with finding the answer to my question. We have recently moved into our first property and we went for a full Sky Stream package along with Sky's top of the range Gigafast Internet. 

Our sky stream keeps buffering and cutting out more frequently than ever. We are running the pucks through the WiFi as the house is not big at all. Here is some information I can give you about our speeds etc: 

Netflix speed check: 78.38 MBPS 

Online speed check Download: 390.2 MBPS 

Online Speed check Upload: 102.8 MBPS 

I'm not a massive Internet geek or anything like that, but from what I've read these speeds should be absolutely fine to power sky stream? We have two pucks and they both do the exact same but our WiFi on our phones and other devices is absolutely fine. I'm confused whether the problem is with stream or with the WiFi? 

Any help would be really appreciated! 

(If you could also answer whether I should be getting better upload and download speeds from Gigafast that would be great also)

---

It's possible the issue is related to WiFi interference which is making the WiFi connection the stream puck is getting a bit unstable ( which will cause issues for Sky stream as it requires a constant stable connection to Skys servers to function). I live in a smallish flat and had the same issue with my stream puck (I suspect living in a smaller property has actually increased the WiFi interface due to the number of electronic devices in a smaller space).

My suggestion would be to disable the WiFi on the sky stream puck and connect it via an Ethernet cable and see if this helps with your buffering issues. I know it resolved mine.

[Exiled-in-HH]

Use YouTube to access a high bitrate UHD/HDR demo and turn on nerd stats in YouTube settings ...

Is the connection speed steady?

Are there dropped frames?

[Harrison938]

Hi all, 

Thank you for coming back to me. 

My modem is plugged into the openreach box in my kitchen at the front of the house so to route ethernet cables will be a nightmare. Is there an alternative? Possibly putting WiFi boosters in the house? Like TP Link's? 

TIA 

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Harrison938 wrote:

Hi all, 

Thank you for coming back to me. 

My modem is plugged into the openreach box in my kitchen at the front of the house so to route ethernet cables will be a nightmare. Is there an alternative? Possibly putting WiFi boosters in the house? Like TP Link's? 

TIA 

---

You can use power line adapters to connect via Ethernet. You don't need even expensive power line adapters as the stream puck is capped at 100 mbps via Ethernet.

[Mister_Dalek]

---

@Harrison938 wrote:

Hi all, 

Thank you for coming back to me. 

My modem is plugged into the openreach box in my kitchen at the front of the house so to route ethernet cables will be a nightmare. Is there an alternative? Possibly putting WiFi boosters in the house? Like TP Link's? 

TIA 

---

Don't, what ever you do, buy any form of WiFi booster. They are usually pretty woeful and tend to only make things worse. 

Either invest in a decent WiFi Mesh system or as @MarkGoldsmith suggests, purchase some powerline adapters. These use the existing electrical wiring in your house to pass the broadband signal throughout your home. 

TPLink make some pretty good ones which I have used in the past: https://www.tp-link.com/uk/home-networking/powerline/