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Sky Q & BT Smart Hub 2 Issues

biscuitbrew

Casual Member
Long time lurker... Finally posting for some advice as my own Google-Fu has found dead ends so far.

Has anyone got first hand experience with Sky Q & BT's Smart Hub 2 - particularly the recurring issue of the Sky Q &/Or Sky Q Mini box(es) dropping internet connection, and requiring internet reconfiguring each time this happens?

I was with Sky for donkeys years for internet and TV, but as I've worked from home for over 13 years I've always highly valued a stable internet connection - so when Openreach run fibre through our street I was all set to jump on a Sky FTTP connection. I waited and watched but even to this day Sky are still only doing FTTC connections in my area (guess we're one of the "small number of homes" mentioned here). I ended up jumping ship to BT for FTTP rather than continue to wait, and really couldn't be any happier with the stability and speed of the connection.

However (there's always a "but" isn't there...), the Sky Q equipment hasn't been too happy since I left Sky Broadband and therefore no longer have the Sky Q Hub. While the initial re-setup/config to the SH2 2 went fine I have been experiencing occasional (2+ times per month) drop-outs on the main Sky Q and/or the Mini boxes we have, where it'll complain my ISP is down and will flat refuse to reconnect until I reconfigure/connect the internet connection again in the main box.

My setup is simple:

BT Smart Hub 2
Sky Q Silver 2TB box (original box, haven't upgraded to the HDR box as yet)
2x Sky Q Mini

BT Smart Hub 2 and Sky Q Silver are in the living room just across the room from each other, currently connected over wifi (I have tried via CAT6 - Sky Q box would configure OK initially and drop the connection a few minutes later, wanting a full reset/reconfigure of the network settings again).

Mini boxes are both upstairs, one in the bedroom directly above the Sky Q Silver & BT Hub, and one in the room above and to the right. I've been very happy with the WiFi coverage of the SH2 so I've not got any wifi discs or any other extender(s) involved, just a "vanilla" setup for each piece of equipment. House is relatively new built (approx. 15 years), walls are paper thin...

Any help and advice is appreciated!
 
This has plagued my setup for ages. Haven't found a good answer but found a way to reduce it and when it drops it connects quickly again. Required items: 3x Power line Adapters. Have one plugged into the smart hub, one in the Main box and one in the mini. That way the q and mini can talk to each other but also access the internet via ethernet.
 
This is very much an issue with Sky's Q boxes - they work flawlessly with Sky routers.

You can generally mitigate most of the problems by using Channel 36 only (no idea why) for the boxes, but the most reliable thing is going to be as suggested above powerline adapters with the boxes in non-WiFi mode, or even better direct wired connections. If you google the secret menu remote code, you'll be able to disable WiFi for a better overall experience. The boxes blast out WiFi for daisy chaining devices (doesnt work anyway, causes wireless channel congestion for everything else instead).

I had a Q Mini box in a bedroom and even with the wired connection it wasn't amazing. When booting up the interface makes it seem like there's an issue but it's fine if you leave it a few minutes once it connects through.
 
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This is very much an issue with Sky's Q boxes - they work flawlessly with Sky routers.

You can generally mitigate most of the problems by using Channel 36 only (no idea why) for the boxes, but the most reliable thing is going to be as suggested above powerline adapters with the boxes in non-WiFi mode, or even better direct wired connections. If you google the secret menu remote code, you'll be able to disable WiFi for a better overall experience. The boxes blast out WiFi for daisy chaining devices (doesnt work anyway, causes wireless channel congestion for everything else instead).

I had a Q Mini box in a bedroom and even with the wired connection it wasn't amazing. When booting up the interface makes it seem like there's an issue but it's fine if you leave it a few minutes once it connects through.
The secret menu code is 001 *ok*. you have to scroll down the menu to settings, don’t go across to any options, then enter the code mentioned above and you will be in the secret menu.
 
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I highly recommend the BT ones too. I got some second hand cheap off of eBay and they’re what I used with Sky - they’re pretty reliable.
 
I’ve come across this with a few friends who have internet with providers other than Sky.

From what I remember if it isn’t a Sky Q router then the Q boxes only use 2.4GHz to communicate with the router and then use 5GHz between each Q box for the streaming side of things, I believe this is due to their mesh system with Q.

I’ve found that by hardwiring the Main Q box into the router can help with these issues, however worse case scenario is hardwiring all your Q equipment.
 
@CableGuy07 I’ve found it best since sky had proven themselves incapable of making usable WiFi kit that works with routers other than their own. If I try to connect my Sky Q box via WiFi 1 of a few things will happen: 1. It straight up doesn’t see my WiFi
2. It will sit on connecting for ages then time out. You then have to unplug and replug the box to get it to see any WiFi networks again.
3. It will connect then drop out after about 20 minutes.
Now what your about to read is the absolute worst. The mini box is NOT allowed to connect to anything other than sky WiFi so the main box has to create its own WiFi network to trick the mini into thinking its connected to a sky router. That alone sounds ok; sky have implemented it terribly. The mini will drop off and not work again till you push the reset button on the back, you will get out of the blue proximity errors and it’s just not worth the faff of getting it all to work via WiFi so many times I’ve wanted to watch something on the mini box because the main one is being used, I have just given up and gone for a walk instead (I know that’s probably better for me but you gotta watch a little Netflix in your life :P). Overall the power line adapters have worked wonders for me.
 
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As recommended above Ethernet connectivity is best.
Powerline are good but some have issues if the mini is on a different ring main or imaginative wiring (a possible reason why Sky abandoned the built in Powerline)
An alternative is to get yourself a good Mesh WIFI with Ethernet ports if the load will not affect your other uses.

In all these cases ensure WIFI is turned off on Sky Devices.

The issue is that the AirTies/Sky Mesh occupies either 2 or 4 of the lower 5Ghz bands. Unfortunately the Sky recommended default is 80Mhz Ch36 which is actually Ch42 and wipes out all four of the lower 20Mhz bands (36, 40, 44, 48).

This may not only impact your own WIFI connectivity but depending on the housing density can cause interference to/from other Sky or non Sky households. I personally don't use Sky kit but they remain a pain for WIFI issues. Competition on these frequencies (Sky or not) is bound to impact on a 5Ghz signal to a remote device.
 
I mentioned it as I have set up one which did work but understand it wouldn't work if the particular Mesh setup chosen didn't deliver the throughput required as the Sky boxes can be temperamental. In addition if there is a general issue for 5Ghz WIFI between the Sky box locations then multiple Mesh units (typically 3 to create a triangle) to get all-round cover and then a fourth at the mini location. All this of course depends on a detailed survey before purchases.

Even my main upstairs Mesh unit is via cable. I would always recommend cable first for fixed location devices and WIFI for portable device convenience regardless of WIFI developments.
 
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