Re-taking Sky again with fibre in partners name-help/info? Phone not needed really.

DEBTMONKEY1A

:beer:

Hi all-have had tremendous issues with standard Sky broadband for nearly 5 years-everythings been done-new router, new cableing to house but speed ultra cr*p at 5.5mps (last one on the exchange does not help). This is all recorded by Sky & they are aware of the huge issues with the speed & 'Wifi dropping/buffering/sometimes no connection' (see details below) but can't find a solution to the signal dropping downstairs-again as mentioned EVERYTHING has been tried & not possible due to rented house to hard wire & drill through ceiling-connection when working not bad at 4.5-5 mps on wireless with Wi Fi dongle on main tower unit downstairs-so not too much loss but dropping out/loss of connection for a few secs/a few mins is VERY frustrating-especially if downloading or placing a bet online/ordering from Amazon/Ebay etc.

Fibre is now available AT LAST & would greatly help with buffering issues etc (even Netflix buffers sometimes!). 25gb download on fibre 'should' be 100% fine I think....Sky I'm sure would upgrade free if unlimited needed?

Just to say as well that my phone line rental is NOT increasing until end of contract-30/6/2017 & i can't give notice until 30/5.

Spoke to Sky about a month ago & they confirmed any new customer offers could be made in my partners name (if I cancel/give notice on 30/5) at same address.

I presently pay £47 PCM for Original TV bundle, sky talk (pay as you talk), including line rental & cra*ppy broadband unlimited. This is due to finish on 30 June so I can technically give notice from 30th May.

Connection is so poor on the standard broadband that fire stick buffers all the time, Netflix buffers some of the time, PC'S, tablets, mobiles etc often drop WI Fi for no reason or don't connect (this has been reported but EVERYTHING tried to no avail). This is intermittent & you can guess that when an error occurs by the time you call Sky Techical Team it's corrected itself lol (!).

On looking at new customer offers it's £41 a month inc. line rental, a £100 voucher, & broadband with Original TV bundle with a standard Sky box & 2 x free to air boxes upstairs.

I'm happy with a standard Sky box-don't need Q box (new router would be nice though not essential) & Original TV package. We only use the landline for my G/F to call family in France-so don't really need a landline or Sky Talk at all (though realise it's probably built into discounted prices!) but with the demise of many override numbers the one she uses is the same as the one reccomended on here for mobiles (forget the company but its a direct debit setup & 1p a minute-G/F only calls twice a week for 1 hr max a time).

My question to you good folks with experience ......(!). Do i go for disconnection & see what retentions offer...or go straight for cancel & re-book in partners name????

I don't need a new Sky box, instalation or a new router (although that'd be good but not essential) so ffrom Sky's point of view it's all set up.

So...REAL price of NEW deal with parter signing up & voucher allowed for is £33 a month including everything for 12 months then 6 months at £41.

Any idea of which way to jump?

I have asked about cancelling now (called a month ago approx)-but they said only the broadband/phone rental would be cancelled free of charge but to cancel TV as well would incur a fee.

Thanks all!

[Deleted User]

Your downstairs wifi isn't going to change by going for fibre, you need a wifi extender of some sort (built in to the Sky Q mini box btw).

"last one on the exchange does not help", it's not a case of not helping, that's the entire problem there. You'll still be (presumably) the last one on the exchange with fibre too although it should be a big improvement. Have the ran a fibre test for you to give a rough figure?

I'd at least ask retentions first as you'll never know otherwise.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi Colin-passed over in cyberspace as amended post slightly-have the 'square white box' extender for catch-up & have a Wi Fi Dongle for downstairs tower unit that I've been told is quite efficient for Wi Fi-only losing 1 mps connection. Nipping out now-back after 3pm-any further help would be great!

I have gone through to the 'disconnections/thinking of leaving Sky' on the phone but only offer as mentioned in amended post is to canx. broadband/phone free of charge but a fee to cancel original TV bundle as can't give notice until 30/5???

[Deleted User]

DEBTMONKEY1A wrote: »

Hi Colin-passed over in cyberspace as amended post slightly-have the 'square white box' extender for catch-up & have a Wi Fi Dongle for downstairs tower unit that I've been told is quite efficient for Wi Fi-only losing 1 mps connection. Nipping out now-back after 3pm-any further help would be great!

I have gone through to the 'disconnections/thinking of leaving Sky' on the phone but only offer as mentioned in amended post is to canx. broadband/phone free of charge but a fee to cancel original TV bundle as can't give notice until 30/5???

Yes, the TV/BB/Landline rental are separate contracts. Is your BB/Landline set to reach minimum term on 30/06/17 (?) as well? if so you might be best off seeing it out until 30/05/17 and see if you can first get a good deal although the deal you mention may not be available then.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi Colin-crossed in Cyber Space as amended the original post a bit. Sky say 15mps minimum connection. I have the square 'catch up tv' box (assume it's an extender??)-plugged to back of Sky TV box downstairs. Also have a Wi Fi dongle (extender??!) for PC tower unit downstairs that connects at 4.5-5 mps-pretty good-only losing 1mps for wi fi. On calling 'retentions' a month ago (pressed 'thinking of leaving sky' on phone) all offered was landline/phone b& broadband to cancel free, TV would incur a fee if cancelled before 30/5 & would increase due to discounts tied in with line rental etc.

BTW-25gb download on fibre 'should' be 100% fine I think....Sky I'm sure would upgrade free if unlimited needed? Am off out now-back 3pm +-any further help/advice would be great!

[Deleted User]

DEBTMONKEY1A wrote: »

Hi Colin-crossed in Cyber Space as amended the original post a bit. Sky say 15mps minimum connection. I have the square 'catch up tv' box (assume it's an extender??)-plugged to back of Sky TV box downstairs. Also have a Wi Fi dongle (extender??!) for PC tower unit downstairs that connects at 4.5-5 mps-pretty good-only losing 1mps for wi fi. On calling 'retentions' a month ago (pressed 'thinking of leaving sky' on phone) all offered was landline/phone b& broadband to cancel free, TV would incur a fee if cancelled before 30/5 & would increase due to discounts tied in with line rental etc.

BTW-25gb download on fibre 'should' be 100% fine I think....Sky I'm sure would upgrade free if unlimited needed? Am off out now-back 3pm +-any further help/advice would be great!

I'm not sure what you've got plugged into the Sky box (unless you mean the router?) but the WiFi dongle is purely to connect your PC to the WiFi portion of the router.

This article explains about WiFi extenders and powerline extenders, I won't copy & paste as there's too much: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/network-wifi/how-improve-wi-fi-in-home-wi-fi-extenders-vs-powerline-adapters-3593058/

It's worth a read through so you can see your options for getting a decent signal throughout the house (subject to your connection speed at the router).

macman

You will need a new Sky hub unless you currently have the black one, which is FTTC enabled.
As above, Powerline adaptors are a simple solution to the wi-fi issue. If you can get 5.5MBps to the Sky box, that should be perfectly adequate to stream with.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi-thanks for taking the time to reply! Maybe the 'dropping out' is a router issue?? Powerline not an option as very old house & not enough plugs!

What are peoples opinions on partner taking over whn contract expires (relaise deals may be different but for newbies there always seems to be a deal!)...or should I try again NOW quoting the new offer rates??? Obviously I wouldn't get the £100 vcr but could try my luck at £33 a month (cost for newbie taking over or brand new customer with vcr ammount taken off). Or.....will that just be a waste of a phone call??? Don't really fancy swapping to Talk Talk as loads of horror stories re: customer service/quality & am not convinced by BT either. Off now for the evening but will be back 1st thing tomorrow am-any advice would be great.

teddysmum

macman wrote: »

You will need a new Sky hub unless you currently have the black one, which is FTTC enabled.
As above, Powerline adaptors are a simple solution to the wi-fi issue. If you can get 5.5MBps to the Sky box, that should be perfectly adequate to stream with.

We left Sky where wee were getting what was an excellent 6+ (as predictions for various ADSL suppliers were around 5), because of lack of a good deal and are now getting 4.8 if lucky and the occasional surprise 5.4 (for a couple of minutes), but even on this streaming and downloaded to the Sky box is fine, with even HD programmes available to watch within a minute.