Problems With Sky

[granny grump]

I was having problems recording and deleting programmes. We tried rebooting but it didn't help. I phoned Sky and the try to fix it over the phone - still no good. He then said that we had had the Sky + box for almost 5 years and they normally only lasted for 2 or 3. He offered us a Sky Q box and after wangling a fairly good deal and bearing in mind that we couldn't Record and had trouble deleting we have agreed to go with it. Now guess what - Granddadg rebooted the box again and now it is working perfectly well. Can Sky 'interfere' with a box remotely so that it malfunctions or is there really a problem?

[Togo]

If your internet connection to the box goes down you cannot record or watch back up programmes. If you are connected with the little sky wifi adaptor it has to be showing two white lights to enable all functions to operate. Sometimes after a Sky upgrade to the box that wifi connection gets broken and has to be re established. I do it with the wps function on the Sky adaptor and the wifi hub.

[bhg481]

I don't think Sky would deliberately make your box malfunction but they do update the box software remotely without any input from you, so it could be that an update went wrong or the new sftware had a bug.
I think Togo is getting mixed up with your internet connection (if you get your internet from Sky). To the best of my knowledge Sky internet comes over a BT line and is nothing to do with the TV signal.

[Togo]

No bhg. If your Sky box has no phone whether ethernet or wifi connection the catch up, record, box office, etc. functions will not operate. I know because we have the sky wifi connector which sometimes drops out after an update rendering the facilities unusable until I establish wifi connection again. We have BT wifi.

[bhg481]

Togo - are you saying that if you don't have an internet connection you can't record on a Sky TV box?

[Togo]

It is not an internet connection but it does have to be "connected" to your land line. I have a wifi connector because I did not want an ethernet cable running round the lounge. No catch up or on demand without it.

https://www.avforums.com/threads/on-demand-catchup-service-has-gone.1745259/

[Togo]

Sky + BTW. They keep offering us the Q box but I am led to believe that it is a bit convoluted and makes channel searching a bit of a beggar. I have our second box feeding my tv in the kitchen without a phone connection and cannot record or use the active facility. It is not a problem for me as I watch the sport whilst on line on my surface pro...…..sometimes whilst on here. :))I have tried the wifi connector from the lounge on my sky box and it does work ok. If I wanted the facility in the kitchen I can buy a second wifi connector. May do it for the Rugby World cup in the summer.

[bhg481]

What a strange system - I assumed that all Sky TV came via the dish, including catch-up. Surely recording programmes comes directly via the dish, though? In other words, isn't the box like my Virgin TV box - it untangles the signal from the incoming fibre, sends some of the signal to the recording bit of the box and passes the rest on to the TV.

[Togo]

Just checked...….the Sky on demand and catch up does indeed require internet facility.

[bhg481]

But recording doesn't require internet? Which is the bit granny was having problems with.

[Togo]

Not just sky that needs internet for catch up. Freeview boxes do as well. Some boxes will also work with 3G/4G network connections I think.

[Togo]

Depends on what she was recording. Catch up records it to the box.

[Togo]

When you have downloaded a catch up programme it is saved in the "planner" on a Sky+ system until you delete it. I sometimes catch up Gold Rush on the main box if I have missed it. I just set it running switch off the tv, go out, and play it back when I get back in.

[bhg481]

I must say I rarely watch catch-up - we have the ability to record about 8 programmes at once so it only becomes necessary if I've forgotten to set something up.

[granny grump]

Thank you all for your help Sky has been working fine since GrandadG rebooted the box