Sky Q Slow downloads

[drodgers]

I've recently had M250 broadband installed which is giving me consistent speed tests above 270Mb, the Hub 3 is in modem mode. The only speed issue I'm having is on a wired Sky Q box when trying to download either catch up or a movie, typically I'm seeing a 2Mb top speed making downloads a very long time. If I switch my router to my BT FttC I get normal download speeds, the BT & VM connections both use the same firewall and DNS settings.

There are topics on the Sky forums of slow speeds with non Sky Broadband and particularly VirginMedia, has anyone experienced and solved this or does Sky Q generally work no problem? My BT FttC contract ends next week, I'd rather stay on VM but at the moment I can't see a solution.

[Client62 · Accepted solution]

We have a Hub 3 in Router mode (i.e. default VM DNS), our Sky catch up program download speed is fine.

When you switch between VM & BT ISP, has the entire network of kit following the VM Hub been power cycled  to ensure all the kit including the SKY Q have made clean transition from BT to VM ?

[drodgers]

Thanks for the confirmation it works fine in router mode, I'll give that a try, I'll also try setting the DNS to the VM servers.

[Client62]

You don't mention which DNS your router is handing out, but it would need to be a Public DNS such as Google DNS or OpenDNS etc if the same DNS settings are required to work for both a BT connection and a VM connection.

Gateway IPs would also differ from BT to VM.

[drodgers]

Thanks, Yes I'm using public DNS (1.1.1.1 & 8.8.8.8) and its an auto failover config, the device IP,DNS and gateway IP to SKY remains the same regardless of routing to ISP as its the Netgate that directs the traffic, now I know that it should work directly from the VM Router I can experiment. The sky box doesnt help  as its definitely got some quirks where some options only work if you have Sky Broadband like 5Ghz WiFi.

[drodgers]

I've set the DNS on the VLAN for the SKY equipment & TVs to be VM 194.168.4.100 rather than 1.1.1.1 and we are operating at full speed, not sure why that should make a difference but it's a fix. Many thanks @Client62

[Client62]

Good to have progressed.
I also would have expected a Public DNS or ISP's DNS to be equal in this situation.

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @drodgers 

Thank you so much for your post and a big thank you to Client62 for all of their help here so far. 

I just wanted to check in and see if this issue had been resolved for you? 

[drodgers]

Unfortunately it’s inconsistent, I have days when the downloads are fine around 10Mb and then later just over 1Mb. I monitor with ThinkBroadband and seeing significant dropped packets and high latency when downloading UHD films, there are also periods of 100% no service. Today I flicked back to Plusnet which is performing perfectly and I’m really considering switching back as I’ve exhausted all options on VM. 

[Megan_L]

Hi Drodgers, 

Thanks for using the Community Forums to get this issue with your slow download speeds looked into, I am sorry if this has been causing some frustration 😥 

I understand you're experiencing slow speeds over your connection which is affecting your Sky Q service. 

Can I just get you to confirm that you're using WIFI to connect your Sky Q or an ethernet cable?

If you're using WIFI, is there a chance you could connect it via Ethernet cable at all? This is the quickest and most reliable method to get the best speeds out of your Hub.

If a cable is not appropriate due to the distance between your TV and Hub, could you tell me whether you've looked into using WIFI Pods? 

These pods can improve WIFI speeds if they're under 20mbps and will help spread WIFI around your home more affectively, eliminating WIFI dead spots. 

Take a look at our Connect App to do a scan of your home and find out what your WIFI set up is like 😁 

Please let us know what you think and what you find out!

Thanks,

Megan_L