Connection problems - Sky Broadband

Brum Man

Brum Man

Brum Man

Soldato
Joined
30 Jan 2004
Posts
3,031
I've done a quick search for people having problems with Sky but can't really seem to find any answers the problem that I am having.

I got Sky BB around a week ago and have been having problems with the router dropping it's connection to either my computer, the internet of both since.

Basically what happpens is that when I first switch my computer on and use the connection everything is fine. However, if I go away for a while and come back I find that the connection keeps being dropped and it can't pick it back up again.

However, if I restart my computer upon it booting up again the connection is regained almost straight away. Can anyone lead me in the right direction of how to fix this?

How come it works fine once I reboot my computer, I'm unsure as to why that solves the problem but for example rebooting the router doensnt?

I had BT BB before and never had any problems with the connection with that router. As far as I know the socket it the main box.
 
Hi,

The fact a reboot resolves the issue local side suggests that it's a PC/Router issue, as opposed to anything line related.

Are you connected over wireless or Ethernet?

Which router model have they sent you?
 
Yeh that's what I was thinking but I thought I'd read somewhere something about the router connection dropping and resetting the connection. God knows, I'm rubbish at newtworking!

I'm connected via wireless. The router that they have sent me is the Netgear DG934G and I'm also using the Netgear wireless adapter that they sent also as my old card didn't seem to like WPA.

Apparently I have a connection strenth of 70%.
 
Some routers do indeed have a 'time out' whereby they will drop the connection after a period of idle time. I've just had a look at that router model though, and with it likely having Skys branded firmware I don't believe it will have an idle time out (as I can't find the setting for it)

Have you tried connecting over Ethernet to see whether you get the same issue?

Are you using Vista/XP/Mac? If you're using Vista, keep an eye out for the connection status icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen next to the clock, if this changes to 'Local Only' when you experience a drop out this is a different issue entirely.

You could also try downloading the latest drivers for your wireless network card.

Another option would be to use the hardware that you used when on BT instead of the Sky router (as long as it isn't ISP locked) to rule the router out!

The above should give you an idea whether the issue is PC/Router/Line/Wireless related, then I might be able to help further :)
 
Last edited:
I can't connet via ethernet unfortuantely as my desktop is about 10 meters away from the router. I suppose I could buy some cable but I'd rather not because it'll never get used again!

Also, I'm using XP.

OK I'll give using the BT router a try and also have a look and see if I can get the latest drivers for my card, the only problem is that I can never find anything on the US Robotics site!!
 
You could also try changing the wireless channel to see whether your network is picking up some interference.

Does your dekstop pick up any other wireless networks in the area?
 
No none.

It happened again earlier so I tried unlplugging the router for a while and then plugged it back in and that also seemed to work but it doesn't if you just switch it off.....
 
If you look at the router's web admin pages it will tell you the line status and whether it has dropped. Unless you've changed from the defaults, point your web browser at 192.168.0.1 and enter user and password ('admin' and 'sky' respectively). Have a look at the router status and logs pages and they will show if/when the adsl link went down.
Next time you have a problem with the internet try connecting to the sky router as above. If you can get to the admin pages then the wifi link is obviously working so have a look at the router status to see if ADSL link has dropped.
If you can't see the router admin pages then reboot the pc (only) and try again - if the router shows the adsl link as being up throughout then it points to a PC/wifi problem.
This isn't exactly a solution but should help narrow it down. If it is wifi related then try the channel change (also in the router admin pages) already suggested and also try repositioning the router / orienting the antenna to get best signal at the pc. Bound to be loads of guides out there and worth a go before mucking around with drivers. Good luck.

p.s. it's against sky's Ts&Cs to use a different router. It can be done but you need to find out the adsl login and password info...
 
Well it's definitely the wi-fi link as the internet connection doesn't drop, and I can't even log on to the router when the connection is down. A reboot of my computer fixes it every time.

I've tried changing the channel with no success, and also repositioning the router, antenna etc doesn't work either!

I'm running out of things to try :/
 
Troubleshooting wifi problems is starting to get off 'home ground' for me but a few more thoughts:
- the sky routers aren't apparently known for having a massive wifi range, and the firmware should auto-update, so there's probably not much you can do with it.

- can you move the router and pc closer for a while to see if a stronger signal fixes the problem? If it does you can get higher gain / directional antenna for using with the sky router (I've got one of these as my router is inside a metal patch panel cabinet and it works ok)

- assuming you've still got your old wireless router from your BT days you should still be able to use that for the wifi and see if it returns to what it was. You'd need to turn off the wifi on the sky router, and switch off DHCP on the 'BT' router, and then link them with a patch lead.

- failing that I'd be looking to see if there were any updated drivers for you wireless network card that might improve reliability, or trying a different card, or the ultimate fix of running a cable!

Good luck
 
I'll try moving the router closer if I can, perhaps get an extension cable and see if it works running off that.

I'm thinking that the dongle might not be that good as I don't see that it can act as a particularly good antenna being so small so may try getting a new one, but don't really want to throw too much money at it, especially as it should be free to set up and it's not my fault that they supply carp hardware!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom