Improving Wifi from the Sky router

[Burwood]

seveb said:

This is exactly the sort of issue you get with an ISP router. Try a different WiFi AP which connects to the ISP router and disable WiFi on the router.

Can you explain; do i plus the AP router into the Sky Router?

Edited by Burwood on Sunday 19th August 18:41

Edited by Burwood on Sunday 19th August 19:11

[Burwood]

seveb said:

This is exactly the sort of issue you get with an ISP router. Try a different WiFi AP which connects to the ISP router and disable WiFi on the router.

why don't i just replace the Sky Router with a very good third party router?

From my very basic understanding, to set up a decent AP you MUST run new cables into the zone you want to boost, yes? These cables run from therein socket where the BB comes into the property? Right now I can't be bothered with that. I don't have an issue with WIFI range, upstairs(when it's working) so should i just get the best router i can? TIA

Edited by Burwood on Sunday 19th August 19:11

[Bikerjon]

Burwood said:

why don't i just replace the Sky Router with a very good third party router?

Edited by Burwood on Sunday 19th August 19:11

Because you can't. It's against Sky's t's&c's and even if you ignore this you still have to find out your broadband login/password, which they wont give you.

I personally don't like being "locked-in" when it comes to routers, but the upside is that you should in theory be able to ask them to diagnose and fix it for you as you are using the equipment that they issue/specify.

[Mr2Mike]

Bikerjon said:

Because you can't. It's against Sky's t's&c's and even if you ignore this you still have to find out your broadband login/password, which they wont give you.

It's against the T&Cs but considerable numbers of Sky customers have ignored them for a long time in order to be able to use a half decent router, and Sky know this. Safely store the original router, and in the event of a broadband issue swap it over. Not only will this help in diagnosing if the problem is the router, you can then call support if it's not.

Extracting the username and password is a piece of cake, there is a utility to do this and lots of support on the Skyuser forum. The main hassle is plugging the router into a pc via an ethernet cable. The new router will need to support "Option 61", again plenty of advice available on suitable models. As I said above, I've been running the Netgear D7000 for a 18 months or so.

I can totally understand Sky not wanting to support hundreds of different routers, but it would be nice if they left that choice to the customer i.e. if you want support, use our router otherwise you are on your own.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Monday 20th August 19:32

[pmanson]

tenohfive said:

TartanPaint said:

If it's the wifi that's the problem, add a separate access point. The favourite option in similar threads is generally this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-...

I use one, and I love it.

I think you mean this one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-...
The LR one is a bit overkill for most people and I couldn't find a compelling reason to go for the LR over the standard Lite.

In the OP's shoes though I'd be looking at just replacing (or putting into modem mode) the existing router and replacing the whole router. The Unifi AP is very good but it's not as plug and play as the likes of Asus/Netgear/TP Link routers, it really needs to be wall or ceiling mounted (and the cable hidden) so you've got a bit less flexibility in terms of location.

I'm not knocking the Unifi AP but for a bog standard consumer looking for an upgrade on an ISP supplied router I'm not convinced enterprise grade gear is necessary.

OP, the router you've linked looks fine to me. I don't know what the rules are around using the provided router but frankly unless Sky can actually tell (and care) I'd replace it in a heartbeat, just chuck it in the loft and return it when your contract ends.

Do the Unify AP's require a PC to be running at all times?

[pmanson]

tenohfive said:

TartanPaint said:

If it's the wifi that's the problem, add a separate access point. The favourite option in similar threads is generally this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-...

I use one, and I love it.

I think you mean this one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ubiquiti-Networks-UAP-AC-...
The LR one is a bit overkill for most people and I couldn't find a compelling reason to go for the LR over the standard Lite.

In the OP's shoes though I'd be looking at just replacing (or putting into modem mode) the existing router and replacing the whole router. The Unifi AP is very good but it's not as plug and play as the likes of Asus/Netgear/TP Link routers, it really needs to be wall or ceiling mounted (and the cable hidden) so you've got a bit less flexibility in terms of location.

I'm not knocking the Unifi AP but for a bog standard consumer looking for an upgrade on an ISP supplied router I'm not convinced enterprise grade gear is necessary.

OP, the router you've linked looks fine to me. I don't know what the rules are around using the provided router but frankly unless Sky can actually tell (and care) I'd replace it in a heartbeat, just chuck it in the loft and return it when your contract ends.

Do the Ubiquiti AP's require a PC to be running at all times?

[Bikerjon]

pmanson said:

Do the Ubiquiti AP's require a PC to be running at all times?

No. You only need it for the initial setup. Alternatively you could use their app for a more basic setup rather than use the full controller software.

[pmanson]

Bikerjon said:

No. You only need it for the initial setup. Alternatively you could use their app for a more basic setup rather than use the full controller software.

Thanks Jon. Good to know

[devnull]

Mr2Mike said:

Bikerjon said:

Because you can't. It's against Sky's t's&c's and even if you ignore this you still have to find out your broadband login/password, which they wont give you.

It's against the T&Cs but considerable numbers of Sky customers have ignored them for a long time in order to be able to use a half decent router, and Sky know this. Safely store the original router, and in the event of a broadband issue swap it over. Not only will this help in diagnosing if the problem is the router, you can then call support if it's not.

Extracting the username and password is a piece of cake, there is a utility to do this and lots of support on the Skyuser forum. The main hassle is plugging the router into a pc via an ethernet cable. The new router will need to support "Option 61", again plenty of advice available on suitable models. As I said above, I've been running the Netgear D7000 for a 18 months or so.

I can totally understand Sky not wanting to support hundreds of different routers, but it would be nice if they left that choice to the customer i.e. if you want support, use our router otherwise you are on your own.

Edited by Mr2Mike on Monday 20th August 19:32

This is the correct answer.

When I had sky, they did make you use your own router for a while, and they would occasionally block me. Once they had acquired a few companies and a few thousand non sky routers, they started to relax the rules and after a while, I never had any bother.

[tenohfive]

Burwood said:

seveb said:

This is exactly the sort of issue you get with an ISP router. Try a different WiFi AP which connects to the ISP router and disable WiFi on the router.

why don't i just replace the Sky Router with a very good third party router?

From my very basic understanding, to set up a decent AP you MUST run new cables into the zone you want to boost, yes? These cables run from therein socket where the BB comes into the property? Right now I can't be bothered with that. I don't have an issue with WIFI range, upstairs(when it's working) so should i just get the best router i can? TIA

Edited by Burwood on Sunday 19th August 19:11

I think there's a bit of confusion here. And I'm no expert so don't shoot me down in flames if I'm misinterpreting the comments above - my only personal experience is with Virgin, who work a bit differently - so I may not have fully grasped things.

Your Sky router is cable modem - handling the physical connection from house to the cable in the street - and a router, giving your home network it's name and password, managing traffic, creating an access point for wireless devices to connect to.

You can use an aftermarket router or Access Point connected to your Sky router, disable the wifi on the Sky router and tell the AP or aftermarket to handle the wifi traffic.

Personally though I'd rather use an aftermarket router as the main router. Either turn the ISP router into a modem only (I don't believe this is possible with Sky - with Virgin you can put it into modem only mode) or remove it. Switch it off, box it up and stick it in the loft. Then get a decent aftermarket router with a cable modem built in. I gather there is some work needed with Sky but there's no doubt in my mind - it's what I'd do, even if it meant blindly following a walkthrough workaround. I doubt Sky care.

Just to confuse things, there are dedicated Access Points (AP's) such as the Unifi AC Lite posted above. The classic case use for these is to extend the range of your wireless network. Whilst most can work simply as a repeater/extender - connecting by wireless to your main router, and watering down the connection but spreading it further - it's not how most would use them, and personally I think it's a bad idea. The classic use for them is to physically connect them by ethernet cable to your main router, so it's got a solid fast data speed. (You can use a powerline adapter in some scenario's to avoid running ethernet across the house.) It then acts as a beacon for devices to lock onto.

FWIW some houses are fine with the basic ISP modem. The majority of the rest can get whole house coverage by a half decent (i.e. not that expensive) aftermarket router. A few do need one or several wireless AP's, and for them to work most effectively an AP needs a physical connection to the main router by either running ethernet inside or along the outside of the building (or via a powerline adapter - works in some places.) But that's unusual, and for most houses a half decent aftermarket router is all that's needed.

I know it's not really an issue here but it took me very little time to work out via Youtube and Google how to run ethernet around the house internally and externally and leave it tidy and unnoticeable. It cost me about £10 for the tools and external CAT6 UTP ethernet cable isn't expensive.

Edited by tenohfive on Tuesday 21st August 18:51

[Derek Smith]

There's a comparative review on routers in one of the monthly mags. PC Pro possibly? I read it at WHSmith.

BT home hub got a good review.

[gmaz]

So... to follow up...I bought the tp-link AC1200 and connected it to the Sky router. Setup was pretty easy.

The range doesn't seem to be much better but we don't get drop-outs as often causing netflix to buffer in the furthest TVs from the router.

5G is good, and if i run speedtest.net I get the same speed over wifi as I do from a cable. With the Sky router it could be substantially less.

To improve the range I also got one of these socket extenders - https://www.screwfix.com/p/british-general-2g-13a-... This works pretty well too.