Stream living aboard

[NeilJC]

My partner and I are moving aboard a narrowboat where we will have Starlink with a dual sim 5G backup, these will all be delviered by the one router which will switch between them automatically depending on which is fastest. So it will primarily use Starlink during the day and early evening however at some point we will bring the starlink terminal in overnight meaning we would be on 5G from about 10pm. Of course with living aboard comes a different physical location every week or so.

My question is, what mechanism does does the stream box use to determin you are in the same location as I understand it's linked to your home broadband? I want to be clear, I am not asking about GEO IP location to make sure it's in the UK, I understand how that works. Is the locaion of the Stream box linked to the IP range your ISP uses, the MAC address of the WAN port on your router, does it have a GPS chip in it?  Hoping someone from the Sky team can comment. 

[lettice]

On Stream, it checks via a number of options;

GPS checks from within the Stream device itself.

Regular checks on your SSID and broadband connection.

That all Sky Stream and/or glass devices are on the same account and working only at the same location.

The Stream will require a UK ip address range that Sky has allowed, so will not work with any form of 5g or Starlink service that will show up as a non UK location, when outside the UK.

Use of 5g broadband and Startlink within the UK will work fine, when it is at a fixed home location determined by some or all of the above.

[Exiled-in-HH]

Perhaps you'd better off using NOWTV for accessing Sky subscription channels and the other broadcaster's apps to access other channels... they don't have the same location restrictions as Sky Stream🤔

[lettice]

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@Exiled-in-HH wrote:

Perhaps you'd better off using NOWTV for accessing Sky subscription channels and the other broadcaster's apps to access other channels... they don't have the same location restrictions as Sky Stream🤔

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Below are the rules for NOW tv, using abroad, taken from the NOWtv article, link below;

Can I watch NOW outside the UK?

Roaming has now ended

As of 29 December 2020, you are no longer entitled to stream your NOW Membership in any EU countries.

This is because the UK is no longer part of the EU, and EU rules that mean paid online content services are available across all EU countries no longer apply. This affects lots of online video, music and entertainment services – not just NOW.

Sorry, but you can't take your NOW Membership with you when travelling outside the UK.

Going abroad?
Don't worry – you can still download shows and movies to your device before you travel, and watch offline outside the UK.

Can I add NOW Membership when I'm abroad?

You won’t be able to become a NOW Member or add a new NOW Membership from any other countries. NOW Membership must be purchased while in the UK.

Can I watch NOW in UK areas outside the British mainland?

You can stream NOW as usual in the UK areas below, with no restrictions or time limits:

• Northern Ireland
• Channel Islands
• Scottish Islands
• Isle of Man.

https://help.nowtv.com/article/can-i-watch-abroad

[Exiled-in-HH]

@lettice they are not going to be used abroad .... they are going to be used aboard😂

[lettice]

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@Exiled-in-HH wrote:

@lettice they are not going to be used abroad .... they are going to be used aboard😂

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Yes, hence why I included that last Uk area paragraph  in the article to give the overall picture of NOWtv use.

Its all and only a UK ip check with NOW TV, so should work ok.

[Exiled-in-HH]

Well are they going abroad or just want to access TV aboard😊

[Chrisee]

@NeilJC Sky will require a home street address from you to subscribe to Stream (they dont accept accommodation addresses AFAIK) and according to the terms of the contract you can only use the equipment at that home address. That appears to rule out use in a boat or van. Practically it may work but perhaps this subject is best not discussed further in Sky's own forum?

Sky have no signs of changing that requirement and yes the question has been asked. Now TV seems a far better fit for your use case. 

[TimmyBGood]

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@NeilJC wrote:

My question is, what mechanism does does the stream box use to determin you are in the same location as I understand it's linked to your home broadband? 

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Almost certainly by logging and comparing the public IP address(es) from which data requests are coming from.

Primarily this is intended to spot where Stream pucks associated with a single Whole Home subscription are being used at different addresses, because that's obviously a threat to Sky revenue.  Whether your suggested use model would trip this detection is unclear, but I'd think it might.

I seriously doubt a puck has GPS, and routers don't.