i wanna go to sky

barjam_2

i've been debating for a couple of weeks now about going to sky, (broadband etc..)the package i want sounds perfect but had heard some bad reviews, but i just cant seem to find any recent reviews for sky, are people still having problems?, for the record i live in the north east, can someone shed any light on how things are going with sky at the minute

many thanks

TOBRUK

Hi barjam,
I have just gone through migration to sky and can only tell you about my experience. Like you I was worried and since December have been thinking shall I or shan't I - looking up different forums to see what others thought etc.

Well I finally took the plunge - I had sky tv already but for broadband and phone I was with ntl freedom, paying £24.99 for bb/phone a month and £15 a month for sky tv. I went for MID sky package £26 a month for tv,bb,phone - thus saving £13.99 a month.

I requested MAC code from ntlfreedom and received it within a day. On 1st March I ordered sky package (giving the MAC code) online. Three days later I received the router, and then received a letter from sky stating that the estimated connection date was 12th March (today) but to allow another 3 days because of high demand!

I was still nervous as I have never changed broadband before! Anyway, on Saturday morning I was on the internet with ntlfreedom and around 10.30am lost connection and when trying to connect it came up with failing to authenticate with ISP, or something like that. Oh no I thought, they have cut me off and I won't have a connection for at least 2 days. At that point I connected the sky router and the lights were flashing, then I clicked on my browser and found I was connected :j :j I could not belive it - 2 days before time and did not lose any time without internet.

So, I can't tell you it will be plain sailing, but mine was perfect and since I have switched, so far I have had no problems - no disconnecting at all, the router has been fine, I realise there is 10 day settling period to get speeds and that settled, but I honestly can't fault it. I have seen a difference in speed already and it is very smooth. I hope this helps you, but there is a website I visited for a few weeks and still do:

https://www.skyuser.co.uk

It is not a sky official site, it is full of helpfull advice, tutorials, and if you have a problem they are great for helping out.

barjam_2

right thats it decided to take the plunge... i'm busy getting through the details online (£10 credit that way;) ) gets to the part when it asks for the mac code, it wont recognise it:mad: :mad: saying its the wrong format so now waiting for aol to send another:mad: if it dont work again the next step will be to cancel aol outright and be without for a little while or however long it needs to be before i can go to another isp then sign up:mad:

rockabilly_spike

go here http://www.dslzoneuk.net/checker.php
it'll tell you how fast a connection your line can support.
I'min the NE34 area and my exchange is BOLDON. I can get a max of 2mbps so I stuck with Virgin media

asot

You get what you pay for to some extent and with Sky broadband that isn't very much. Seeming as you're coming from AOL who also have a poor reputation you probably won't notice the difference though.

Use http://www.thinkbroadband.com to compare providers.

TOBRUK

asot, I don't know what your experiences are with broadband but I can only say that although I was worried about changing I have no complaints about sky bb as yet - I may have been one of the lucky ones. As for what you get - I was with ntlfreedom at up to 2mb and now I am on MID sky package the up to 8mb speed. I have seen a difference already and the readings are pretty good.

Ntl freedom was reliable as far as connection was concerned but when I could get a faster connection and also save £13.99 a month it was worth it. As it is, it has worked out a treat.

rockabilly_spike

ADSL still depends on how far your house is from the exchange.
I coulda paid for 16mb and never ever got near it cos I was too far from the exchange, so I've stuck with Virgin who are now gonna be upping their speeds to 20mb and 50 in the future.

So you can only get what you pay for if you live near enough to the exchange with any ADSL connection

TOBRUK

I am about 2.06 kilometres from exchange, and on checking (which I did before ordering) it stated that my line is capable of 7 Mbps or above. It was the MID package I wanted, but it would have been a waste to think of going for MAX 16mb package as I can't imagine I would get anything near that speed.

My test results (speedtest.net) are pretty good and am extremely happy with:



If it stays like this I will be very happy, after just two days - obviously there is a llittle time for everything to settle and I am re booting the router everyday for 10 days as advised on https://www.skyuser.co.uk forum. The stats from router are also good.

penrhyn

The router reboot only applies if you are on the connect service, if you are on Mid which is the LLU service what you are getting wont change.
But if you have a look at your router stats and your receive noise margin is around 6 or 7db then speed improvement may be possible by checking your extension wiring, master socket etc.
Sorry just reread your post and see that your stats are good, so if you are syncing at 8190kbps that's as fast as it gets.

I found this info on DSL zone useful for extension wiring.
http://www.dslzoneuk.net/socket.php

barjam_2

i'm about 2.23km away from exchange.....


hubby phoned aol to complain about 2nd mac code as they sent the exact same one and they said they always have problems with sky so we would have to cancel outright... so going thru the process of canceling they offered up to 6mb for £9.99 for 12 months and a router for £25 but then he will credit us with the £25 so hubby decided to stick with that, but what i was thinking of doing is getting rid of the aol software but thats another query:rotfl: :rotfl:

His_Lordship

rockabilly_spike wrote: »

go here http://www.dslzoneuk.net/checker.php

Thanks for this link!