Forum Discussion

scarletp's avatar
scarletp
Superfast
4 months ago

Sky Q cannot maintain a steady internet connection

Our Sky Q has recently been very sluggish and we are asked to wait whilst the circle turns and turns trying to respond to our selections. It sometimes says there is no internet connection but then it appears to have connected - but only until the next time we need to make another selection.  It seems strange that it is intermittant.  In the end we did reset the network and all appeared to be set up properly.  It didn't last so I am at a loss what to try.  

I did reboot my Hub 3 at the start.  The light on the hub is a pale lemon but I believe that is nothing to be concerned about.

Have tried browsing other similar posts on here for answers but most are old.  I did find this solution below from 2 years ago and wonder IF it's worth me trying this?  

"Solution, change your Sky DNS to 1.1.1.1 and like magic it worked. 

  • Settings - Status - Network Connection - Network Setup - Advanced Settings - IP Settings - Set Manually - DNS Server - 1.1.1.1 - Confirm - back. "

 

Thank you

9 Replies

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    4 months ago

    Try a wired connection as a temp test. I don’t think manually setting the DNS to use Cloudflare’s DNS on the Sky box will help connectivity. 

  • Matthew_ML's avatar
    Matthew_ML
    Icon for Forum Team rankForum Team
    4 months ago

    Hey scarletp, thank you for reaching out and we are so sorry to hear about this connection issues.

    We are happy to hear this has been resolved, how has it been? 

    • scarletp's avatar
      scarletp
      Superfast
      4 months ago

      Hello Matthew_L

      Sorry for the delay in responding but I don't receive email reminders any more when I have replies so I must look into that. 

      Am afraid to say that the initial problem is no better.  The solution regarding altering the DNS in Sky settings which I mentioned in my post was the one which had worked for me 2 years ago. 

      I was not keen to tamper with Sky again without checking other users' thoughts beforehand.

      I did decide to give the old solution another try and altered the DNS to 1.1.1.1 but it was not successful this time. I have since entered 8.8.8.8  but again, no luck.  I made a note of the numbers which were already in Sky so I can reinstate them if necessary.

      The Sky message which keeps popping up is as follows:

      There is a problem connecting to your broadband router.  

      Status      Not connected

      Network name     shows my correct VM name as on hub 3

      Connection to broadband router     x   

      Connection to internet      x                      

      I have reset the router a few times in Sky but after the initial success when the connection shows 2 ticks it soon goes back to x x 

      We are able to use Sky but obviously it's a nuisance and restricts us somewhat.

      We've had no connection problems for 2 + years and have not moved the hub at all. Nothing has changed so that adds to my puzzle. The hub is at the front of the house and the TV with Sky Q is at the back of the house so there are two interior walls separating them.  Wi-fi is used by 2 mobiles all around the house and also my laptop is connected by wi-fi and is in use all day with no problems so I cannot accept there is an issue with Virgin Media.

      I have looked at the hub 3's settings via the laptop. I am now wondering if there is anything I should alter in there such as GHz/channel?  It is driving me crazy but I do not have the confidence or tech knowledge to change things without checking first. 

      I appreciate any thoughts you can suggest.    

       

      • Client62's avatar
        Client62
        Alessandro Volta
        4 months ago

        What is described comes across as being a poor Wi-Fi signal for the Sky Q.
        Has anything changed in the VM broadband system ? 

        I am also reluctant to change the Network Settings from Automatic on the Sky Q as this appears to set the Sky Q to a Static IP which brings other issues like an IP clash into view.

  • Client62's avatar
    Client62
    Alessandro Volta
    4 months ago

    Make sure VM Parental Controls are Disabled in the VM Online Account,
    when Enabled these have been reported to prevent the Sky Q from working.

    We have a Sky Q connected to a Hub 3 via Powerline Extenders,
    this works without any connectivity issues.

  • Adduxi's avatar
    Adduxi
    Very Insightful Person
    4 months ago
    scarletp wrote:

    I have looked at the hub 3's settings via the laptop. I am now wondering if there is anything I should alter in there such as GHz/channel?

    If you have Pods, you need to leave the Wifi settings as they are.  If you don't have Pods you can manually set these as needed.  You will need to use a Wifi scanner to see what Wifi channels are the least congested and avoid these if possible.  2.4Ghz channels are 1, 6 and 11.  For 5Ghz try and avoid setting DFS channels as these are slow to start broadcasting.  They have to check for Radar in the area.  2.4Ghz has range but slower speeds, 5Ghz is faster but lacking range and wall penetration.  See below for setting the Wifi manually.  Note if using the VM connect app, remove it as it will reset the Hub back to "out of the box" settings.

    You will also have to reconnect all your Wifi devices to use the appropriate new SSID name.

    •    Access your Hub by navigating to 192.168.0.1
    •    Login with the default login info (on base of Hub) unless you've already updated it.
    •    Go to Advanced Settings > Wireless > Security
    •    Disable the Smart Optimisation on the wifi bands.
    •    Under Wireless Frequency 2.4GHz change the Wifi Network Name (SSID), suggest append _2 to the end.
    •    Repeat for the Wireless Frequency 5GHz, suggest append _5 to the end and click on Apply changes
    •    Try to avoid spaces and periods in the SSID names as they can cause issues with certain devices.

    • scarletp's avatar
      scarletp
      Superfast
      4 months ago

      Thank you Adduxi

      I am now feeling beaten as have spent so much time on this and my mind is about to combust.  I envy your obvious understanding and interest in such things as years ago I would have felt more able to be on your wavelength but now all I feel is terror.  Aging is unkind. 

      I have kept your insightful advice but presently it is beyond me. 

      Have a good day.

      • Adduxi's avatar
        Adduxi
        Very Insightful Person
        4 months ago

        It may be better to use Powerline Adapters.  These just plug into your power sockets and allow the use of an Ethernet cable connection, so that negates any WiFi issues.  So one beside the Hub with a cable from it to the Hub.  The other one beside the Sky Q and a cable from it to the Sky Q box.  It’s all pretty much plug and play.