Sky Broadband Home Internet Restrictions

Jacksmum23

Hi I wonder if anyone can help.  We have 3 teenagers who game all night long until the small hours after we have gone to bed!  We have Sky Broadband but cannot figure out how to control the times of when it shuts off.  After some research we found there was an app called Sky Buddy but this has recently been withdrawn.  My question is can you purchase anything from anywhere that would allow up to control the shut down and start up times of the router?  Thanks

shiraz99

Does your router have parental controls, if so most will allow some form of scheduling. You'd probably also want to change the password for the router as I'd imagine, your teenage offspring would likely find it very easy to reset things back again.

Jacksmum23

hi Shiraz99 I don't think it does.  Was wondering if anyone else had Sky and could advise?

shiraz99

Jacksmum23 said:

hi Shiraz99 I don't think it does.  Was wondering if anyone else had Sky and could advise?

Have you logged in to the router and checked? What Sky router do you have?

RogerBareford

Jacksmum23 said:

Hi I wonder if anyone can help.  We have 3 teenagers who game all night long until the small hours after we have gone to bed!  We have Sky Broadband but cannot figure out how to control the times of when it shuts off.  After some research we found there was an app called Sky Buddy but this has recently been withdrawn.  My question is can you purchase anything from anywhere that would allow up to control the shut down and start up times of the router?  Thanks

This needs a parenting solution not a technical solution!.

Tell them that they are not allowed to game past X time. If they continue to do it then there needs to be consequences such as games consoles being taken away for X amount of time and each time they do it the longer they get taken away. You need to exert your authority and get them to listen to you.

If you need to ask a question like this on a money saving forum then you arn't tech savy enough to keep up with three teenagers. No matter what you do it will be easy enough for them to get around and continue misbehaving that's why you need to lay down the rules with consequences if they don't follow them.

Neil_Jones

Jacksmum23 said:

Hi I wonder if anyone can help.  We have 3 teenagers who game all night long until the small hours after we have gone to bed!  We have Sky Broadband but cannot figure out how to control the times of when it shuts off.  After some research we found there was an app called Sky Buddy but this has recently been withdrawn.  My question is can you purchase anything from anywhere that would allow up to control the shut down and start up times of the router?  Thanks

I'll tell you now any technica/technological solution you put in place the kids will bypass it in half the time it takes you to set it up.

Even if you have an automated solution on the software of the router to power it off, all little Johnny will do is reset the router, which will scrap the lot and you'll be back where you were.

Martin_the_Unjust

1. Cancel your broadband; or

2. Unplug router and put it away in your bedroom when you go to bed,

Although RogerBareford gave the correct answer.

MatyMoo

How about using a timer plug for the router?

I use one for my Christmas lights so they come on at dusk, off at midnight but it can be used to go on or off every 15 minutes!

onomatopoeia99

If the kids aren't doing what they're told now then almost anything you do won't work as they will bypass it.  You would need a hardware solution in terms of a firewall device you control, combined with physical security of it and the router, by which I mean having it locked in a cupboard so they cannot reset it or move the wires around.

Beyond the scope of explaining here, you should employ someone to sort it out.

matelodave

My daughter had this problem, but my grandson found that he could reset the router and change the password.

She solved it by taking the router to work with her and only allowing it to be used when she was around. She would also disconnect it and take to bed with her. My younger daughter takes her kids phones away from them when they go to bed and they don't get them back until they are ready for school.

Their schools are also strict insofar that anyone caught using a phone on school premises during the day has it confiscated and it only gets returned to a parent on Friday afternoon of that week.

Parents soon take a bit more notice when they have to go to the school to pick the phone up. All parents and kids sign an agreement regarding school rules, so they can't complain of victimisation or bullying because they've agreed to it.

It has the desired effect of limiting their abuse of the privilege and bring them back into the real world where parents and schools have control rather than the kids.

Put your foot down with a firm hand and make the kids adhere to the rules, and let them know there are consequences or sanctions for disobedience, making sure that you do actually implement the consequences. rather than letting them off. You know it makes sense.

Vincero

Putting the router in a lockable cabinet with a timer switch on the end of an extension should do the job....

Unless they get clever and buy another router... But probably unlikely.

To be honest, if they are friendly with neighbour kids they might be able to blag the passcode for next doors WiFi, or tether to a 4G/5G connection from their phone.