Failed downloads

[Oddie2004]

Unable to download FBI Most Wanted.S5EP8 from catchup.Keeps failing.Hope this is not a sign of things to come again.Rebooted box and router but no difference.Anyone else having similar problems.Thankyou.

[Annie+UK]

You could report this via email to viewerR@sky.uk (Viewer Relations Team)

[Jimbo1966]

Same problem here. Everything working yesterday (Monday 13th May) including the evening. Then after midnight (ie, on Tuesday 14th May), nothing will download properly. Wanted to DL and watch a programme from Sky History - but only got about 20 minutes of it (in SD) before the Sky+HD box refused to play any more of it.

I checked the Planner and download speed was virtually non-existent, despite my wi-fi speed being excellent - over 50 Mb per second. Tried downloads from various channels - BBC, Channel 5, Sky History.

Sky Customer Services talked me through a reboot of the box and the router, as well as a Planner rebuild, but no change. This box is now effectiely no longer a Sky+HD with box-sets, etc. All I can do  is use it for recording via the satellite.

I don't want Sky Q, Stream or Glass. After nearly 25 years, I see my relationship with Sky nearing its end.

Jimbo

[Oddie2004]

I spoke to Customer Services on WhatsApp.Their response was they are looking to migrate + customers to Q at no extra charge and there are no current download issues on catch up which is nonsense.Firstly I do not want Q as would need to buy a new tv and do not want Glass as it is useless so I will try again later and hopefully it will resolve itself as no problem with any other programmes.This has happened a few times in the past so hoping it will just be a minor blip this time.Until my +hd box stops working completely I will stick with what I have.

[Jimbo1966]

I have spoken to various Sky people on the phone today. No real help has been available (not the fault of the people to whom I spoke). The advice is "upgrade to Sky Q / Glass / Stream", none of which meet my requirements. 

This HAS to be a deliberate policy decision at Sky, part of the push to get everyone on Sky Q (or a streaming service).

I don't want any of those. I'd be better off just sticking with Freeview.

Jimbo

[Oddie2004]

Well strangely enough its working fine again so perhaps they tweeked something.They never admit if anything is wrong and then it miraculously starts working again.

[Jimbo1966]

If it's been fixed (at 15:45), it hasn't been properly fixed.

I managed to download one 50+ minute programme in SD (Sky History), but it took well over an hour and isn't quite finished yet. The download speed is less than real-time.

But fingers crossed...

[Oddie2004]

Just downloaded 18 episodes of Tokyo Vice on BBC  without an issue.Are you using anything that could be impacting your wifi speeds.I have Superfast which is fine for me but still takes between 3 -5 minutes to download each episode.Or upgrade your broadband speeds if that helps.

[Jimbo1966]

We have broadband speed of about 54 Mb a second, so should not be having a problem. But we do!  Awaiting a response  from Sky.

[Mark39]

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@Jimbo1966 wrote:

We have broadband speed of about 54 Mb a second, so should not be having a problem. But we do!  Awaiting a response  from Sky.

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I'm guessing that's your line speed. If it's connected via wifi your Sky box will be seeing less than that, and possibly significantly less, which is likely to be the problem if you're seeing long download times.

[Jimbo1966]

The Sky+HD box doesn't have a wi-fi reception facility.

It is connected via an ethernet cable.

We also have an Amazon Fire Stick, but that is connected via wi-fi.

There's also a free-standing smart TV which works via wi-fi.  I guess I ought to check whether the Fire Stick and the smart TV are streaming at a proper speed!

J

[Mark39]

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@Jimbo1966 wrote:

The Sky+HD box doesn't have a wi-fi reception facility.

It is connected via an ethernet cable.

We also have an Amazon Fire Stick, but that is connected via wi-fi.

There's also a free-standing smart TV which works via wi-fi.  I guess I ought to check whether the Fire Stick and the smart TV are streaming at a proper speed!

J

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It would do no harm to check, but you shouldn't have poor speed if your Sky box is connected Ted by ethernet cable.

[Oddie2004]

Just downloaded all episodes of Suits on BBC which is over 80 episodes without any failures in 2 hours so am not complaining at the moment.Seems like it was an intermittent catch up problem which has been resolved for the moment

[Jimbo1966]

Thanks for your response, Oddie2004.

As of last might, download speed was still excruciatingly slow at best and non-existent for some things.

But... this moring at 08:30, I downloaded this week's five episodes of "Brookside" from the STV section of "Sky Box Sets" without difficulty. I then tried a random 60 minute programme from Sky History and that downloaded quite quickly too.

So things do indeed seem to be back to normal, though the srcripted standard line from Sky seemed to be that the problem was an old and tired Sky+HD box and that everything would be returned to full working order by a free upgrade to Sky Q! I did try Sky Q a few years ago (pre-pandemic) but found its modern lack of facilities too limiting. 

Still all's well that ends well and for the moment, it has ended well!

Best wishes,

J

[Oddie2004]

I have found that by keeping downloads to below 50% on my box makes a big difference so do not have cinema and also if you are downloading in HD tends to take a lot longer and use a lot more space.