new router, not working with Sky

jdvhsully

Yesterday we brought a new desk top, as our previous one was second hand and over 7 years old.
We have a laptop and notebook that work wirelessly in the lounge but the main router is in the study (back of house- main phone line in lounge) cabled to the desk top.
In PC World we explained the we wanted the whole house wireless and was told we would need a more modern/powerful router than that sent by Sky. He said that we could change the router, and if it didn't work, call Sky and let them know we had a new router and they would link it to our account and everything would be okay.
It didn't work, called Sky who said that they only use their router and over 1.5 hours they tried to get their router to work wirelessly etc by moving between the lounge and study. Ultimately saying we need a new router and they will call us today to arrange this with their technical dept. Despite everything the new destop would not pick up the Sky router wirelessly.:mad:
Can we use the new router from PC World, or do I take it back for a refund and wait for Sky's new router?
To make the internet work today we have had to plug the Sky router into the desk top so it is not running wirelessly.

Any advice would be helpful- but please keep it very simple:rotfl:

Many thanks

Dave

richard734

Which router did you buy?
have you managed to get your userid/password out of sky?
To get those, try https://www.cm9.net/skypass/

I dont like the Sky routers, my own preference is for Belkin kit, but that is personal choice. I would replace the Sky one.

I know you said you bought a new desktop, but is it wireless capable? most desktops are not....

GRM

The Sky router has a unique Sky username and password stored inside it. The reason the other router wouldn't connect to Sky was because it did not have the correct username and password.

There are ways to extract the username and password from the Sky router so that you can enter them into a different router. Be aware that this is not allowed according to the letter of Sky's Terms and Conditions. I've used a non-Sky router with Sky for 2 years without any issues.

The method to extract the username/password depends on which Sky router you have - Sky have used a number of different manufacturers and models. I used https://www.cm9.net/skypass/ but I think that only covers older Sky routers. http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/extracting-sky-router-passwords/ has details for other Sky routers.

jdvhsully

Thanks for the prompt replies.

PC World suggested and we brought a Netgear Wireless N 150 Modem Router and adapter. They knew that we wanted the desk top to be wireless so I assume that it is wireless enabled- how do I check, or shall I call them and ask?

If we get the codes from Sky (Sagem modem) how do we change to the new router?

Many thanks

Dave

macman

All new ADSL modem/routers are wireless.
If your desktop PC is next to the router, it's completely pointless using wireless to link them-use an ethernet cable.
Most desktop PC's are not wireless enabled anyway, so you'd need to instal a wireless PCI card or use a USB wireless adaptor (latter not recommended).
Unfortunately, asking PCW for any technical help is a complete waste of time, they won't have a clue. If you can get a refund (which may not be possible if you purchased in store) then go to an independent PC shop who will be able to give you proper support.
Sky will not supply the log in info, you'll need to hack the existing router to extract them, if you are set on using a non-Sky router. You then you log into the router's web interface to enter the details.
If you do get it working, bear in mind that Sky will not support it should you have any ongoing problems.

GunJack

part of sky's t&c is you use their routers, and why it's such a pain to extract use/pwords from them.

You do not say what wifi capabilities the new desktop has - internal wifi card, USB adapter, what??? If the pc had no wifi capability, it's no wonder you couldn't get it to connect to the router.

Return the router you bought from pcw, you were mis-sold it based on duff technical (in the loosest sense of the word) advice so DEMAND a refund.

GRM

jdvhsully wrote: »

Thanks for the prompt replies.

PC World suggested and we brought a Netgear Wireless N 150 Modem Router and adapter. They knew that we wanted the desk top to be wireless so I assume that it is wireless enabled- how do I check, or shall I call them and ask?

My emphasis. Did PC World sell you a router AND an adapter (maybe bundled together)? If so they probably expected you to use the adapter in the desktop to make it wireless.

If we get the codes from Sky (Sagem modem) how do we change to the new router?

Follow the instructions provided with the Netgear on how to set it up.

tibbyuk

Just for clarification, is the issue that you want the desktop to be wireless, so you can setup the new PC in another part of the house? Otherwise it is definitely more worthwhile using a network cable to connect to the modem.

To help solve this, could you just clearly explain the steps you have taken, i.e. :
- Installed the adapter on your new desktop
- Connected to wireless network but had an exclamation mark
- OR couldn't see the network.

It could be a case that the signal isn't powerful enough if you have the PC in another part of the house to the router, but if it is next to it this will not be the issue.

If it is the signal, you can always log onto the router and change the wireless broadcast channel to something less occupied. You can find out using an online tool with your laptop called "meraki wifi stumbler" (sorry can't post links yet, so google it). But you can cross this bridge when it comes to it.

jdvhsully

Thank you for all your help.

Hopefully I can answer some of the questions-

The router and adapter were sold together and the USB adapter is going to make the desktop wireless (though I did want it wireless enabled and assumed because we talked about it being wireless this is how it would come). The adapter is currently in the desktop and the computer said its working- but its not talking to the Sky box.

The main phone line into the house is in the lounge and the desktop is in the study at the back of the house, so currently we run a cable from the phone socket, along the hall, through the kitchen and utility area to the back of the house. The Sky modem is on the study desk and was/is cabled into the new desktop. However we want to get rid of the cable, hence for a wireless desktop.

Sky tech dept are due to phone us this afternoon, having spent 1.5 hours yesterday evening with customer services trying to get us wireless with their modem, and say that we need to upgrade to a newer modem with them.

Should we do that, accept that because of the distance between phone and study we have to have a cabled desktop and return the PCW modem to the shop?

Should we ask Sky for a wireless adapter to work with their box?

Should we take the new desktop back and ask for it to be wireless enabled, so that we don't use an adapter?

We can get wireless on the notebook and laptop in the lounge even when the modem is in the study (not sure if that is relevent):rotfl:

jdvhsully

to tibbyuk-

thanks for the suggestion of changing the channel- is this hard to do? (Sky yesterday moved us from auto to channel 11 and to 56g performance- whatever that is)

regarding the steps taken-paid PCW to set everything up having taken their advice!!!!
plugged the new router in and called Sky as it did not work (PCW told us to do this if it did not work and they would link the new router to their system) then spent a long time with Sky trying to get their modem to work as they could not access any codes to enable us to change modem.

Not sure if that makes sense, as you can guess, by us listening to PCW we are not techie.

tibbyuk

Wireless adapters can sometimes be tricky I've found, you're better of with an internally installed adapter.

If you want an internal wireless N card, it is relatively simple to do. If you aren't comfortable getting in the PC to do it, I would ask a local PC shop to do it for you. Shouldn't cost you too much as the parts are cheap and it's a 15min job.

I would accept the new box, as it will likely upgrade you to Wireless N, which will provide you with better coverage, which if this is free, is definitely worth it.

Out of interest, do you have a phone line in the study? As you could plug the router in your office, running from a phone line in there. This way you won't have the wires going across the house.

EDIT: You just got a post in before I submitted, I would definitely step away from PCW, as in my opinion they aren't the best at helping or offering unbiased advice. A local PC shop will be much better at helping you. Or if you have friends with a techie son, ask him to help you install a wireless N card and pay him £20 for the trouble or something?

To clarify, I would:
- Get a refund from PCW, as you will put yourself in a more difficult situation if you try and upgrade your router yourselves if you are non-technical.
- Accept the Sky router upgrade
- Try getting the wireless card installed instead by a friend/local PC show instead of the USB one.