Sky Broadband - Part 2

[ralph wiggum]

Originally Posted by Bapapapa

Ethernet port looks like - these

"network adapter connector" could very well be it, but if not you can buy a slot in card for less than a tenner which will do the job.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that is the one, thanks

[kirok1]

Is the Sky standard router a wireless one?
Have just switched from BT due to crap service and speed having dropped by more than half since they 'upgraded' my line.
Even in the event that nothing changes it's still significantly less than BT have been tapping me for...

[Alan b]

It is a wireless one and although I have the original netgear one it is very good as it has yet to let me down.

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Sky

[mjb1975]

I got a black Sagem wireless router - looks a bit like a small black HD box. Quite cool!

[ralph wiggum]

Up until recently, whenever I was downloading large files I was downloading at about 750 KB/sec (according to Firefox's own downloader), but recently it starts off at that speed but very quickly drops to anywhere between 75 & 150 KB/sec. I'm on Sky Max & try to only download during off peak times. Has anyone else had these problems?

[Bocco]

Originally Posted by ralph wiggum

Up until recently, whenever I was downloading large files I was downloading at about 750 KB/sec (according to Firefox's own downloader), but recently it starts off at that speed but very quickly drops to anywhere between 75 & 150 KB/sec. I'm on Sky Max & try to only download during off peak times. Has anyone else had these problems?

How much have you downloaded in the last month or so mate? If you exceeded their fair usage policy then they might have throttled your connection?

My brother can only download at 1mb speeds for 30 days because he exceeded the BT "fair usage" policy of 100gb per month recently so that is why I suggested this might be the case for you too?

[ralph wiggum]

Originally Posted by Bocco

How much have you downloaded in the last month or so mate? If you exceeded their fair usage policy then they might have throttled your connection?

My brother can only download at 1mb speeds for 30 days because he exceeded the BT "fair usage" policy of 100gb per month recently so that is why I suggested this might be the case for you too?

Ah, could be, I have downloaded loads. I thought as long as I only downloaded at off peak times I'd be OK - guess not. Would I be likely to get good speeds again after a few days/weeks of inactivity or would it be permanently low now?

[Bocco]

Originally Posted by ralph wiggum

Ah, could be, I have downloaded loads. I thought as long as I only downloaded at off peak times I'd be OK - guess not. Would I be likely to get good speeds again after a few days/weeks of inactivity or would it be permanently low now?

Well after reading the sky t&cs it appears they don't actually have an upper limit to the amount you can download at off peak hours so it must be some other reason mate.

Maybe someone leaching your connection? If using p2p software maybe change the port settings?

[ralph wiggum]

Originally Posted by Bocco

If using p2p software maybe change the port settings?

No, I'm not using anything like that. Maybe worth trying new cables before contacting Sky?
Thanks for the help.

[Herbal]

Sky do not touch any speeds if you are on Max connection. What router do you have? If you have a spare one (non sky) you could try getting your username/password from your router just to see if its the router.

[ralph wiggum]

Originally Posted by Herbal

Sky do not touch any speeds if you are on Max connection. What router do you have? If you have a spare one (non sky) you could try getting your username/password from your router just to see if its the router.

It's the one Sky sent me (Netgear). I don't have another one, this is the first one I've ever had, so I don't have a spare.

[Bocco]

Originally Posted by ralph wiggum

It's the one Sky sent me (Netgear). I don't have another one, this is the first one I've ever had, so I don't have a spare.

Do a speed test with one of the speed checkers, just type it into google. If that shows that your connection is working properly then try downloading something like itunes as it will more than likely use your full bandwidth to test if it is downloading at full speed.

I don't know what type of traffic shaping sky max uses if any (maybe someone who uses sky could confirm this), what is it you are trying to download may I ask? It might be that it is traffic managed by sky although I would think that unlikely as you said you are downloading in off-peak hours...

Another thing to try is maybe turning off your firewall and downloading whatever it was you were originally downloading just incase it is blocking it somehow?

[ralph wiggum]

It's mainly video clips (no, nothing dodgy before you ask! ). Speedtest.net comes back at 5.97mb/s & Broadband Speedchecker comes back at 5768 kbps. I'll try itunes later. Cheers

[Alan b]

Originally Posted by Bocco

I don't know what type of traffic shaping sky max uses if any (maybe someone who uses sky could confirm this),

Sky do not traffic shape on their max product.

[Bravoman]

So what's the general consensus on Sky? USwitch seem to rate them but no one else does...My GF works from home so needs a reliable supplier. I would sooner use O2 but they are slightly more expensive

[mjb1975]

I've had Sky BB Max for over 2 years in two different homes and it's been absolutely rock solid. First set up took a while to get active but once it did, it's been great.

Abolsutely no worries about usage either - has a fair usage policy but no-one seems to have fallen foul of it. Also, no traffic shaping in peak times either.

So a real from me.

[Bravoman]

Originally Posted by mjb1975

I've had Sky BB Max for over 2 years in two different homes and it's been absolutely rock solid. First set up took a while to get active but once it did, it's been great.

Abolsutely no worries about usage either - has a fair usage policy but no-one seems to have fallen foul of it. Also, no traffic shaping in peak times either.

So a real from me.

Thanks mate, sounds good. Do you use Sky's router or one of your own?

I've seen so many bad reviews (except on USwitch) that I'm not really sure what to do...after the fight I had to get a MAC code from AOL I want to go somewhere!!!

[mjb1975]

The one Sky gave me. Have read about people using their own but it seems quite a palluvah! Have a little black Sagem router (looks like a little Sky HD box!). Does the job - it's downstairs plugged into the master phone socket and I surf/download via WiFi upstairs pretty much at full throttle.

[Alan b]

Another vote for Sky here as they are rock solid for me. Be aware that they are starting to change their products with the Everyday product being discounted come September and the price for Max being £7.50 if you take Sky Talk or £12.50 if you do not. These prices start 1 June I believe and existing Everyday customers will be moved over to Max in September unless they do it themselves or quit before then.

[SOUNDSTYLE]

Is anyone upgrading their broadband package from 1st June with the launch of their new products?

I'm currently on Sky BB Everyday (10Mb) but seem to go over the 10GB usage every month even though Sky haven't sent me any letters saying so.

Looking forward to upgrading to their Unlimited Broadband product (up to 20Mb) with unlimited usage but just hope my connection will still be rock solid.