SKY 3 year offer too good to be true? I'm severely tempted.

[Mike Reed]

Mike, could you post a link to that deal please, or even just a photo of the leaflet? My Virgin deal is due to balloon in a couple of weeks.

Shall photo it tomorrow in daylight; It's called Sky Essentials with a Sky+ box. Download speeds (?) not mentioned, except that they could be variable (understandable, I s'pose). Can I post a pic. on messages straight from my files?

Just bear in mind the sky broadband is ADSL and the virgin is cable. I know which I prefer.

Well, yes; cable is comforting ! However, it's not just 'a few extra quid per month; it's around £20. Our usage is basic; TV channels, record some, bb up to 30gig's a month (with wifi) + phone.

Mike, also check exactly what you mean by 30gig.

30 gig. capacity; how much we can use (have I got the wrong terminology?)

Sky are doing 145 Mbps fibre at the moment.

Do they use Virgin cable then? Wasn't aware they had their own and BT fibre just goes to the local box in most cases, I thought.

How long are you tied into a contract on that deal Mike?

18 months but price guaranteed 3 years (dunno how they do that, mind!), Virgin channels are not a lot more than Freeview,; anyway, we only watch fewer than 10 normal channels.

if sky essential only Average download speeds of 11Mbps.

Hmm! Must check with 'er indoors what we get now.

Sounds like they are offering the older technology Sky+ box. Nothing particularly wrong with that

Yup! Happy with basics.

Cheers folks.

 

[Rob998]

Thanks for that Mike, the average download speed is 11mbs, which won't cut it in this house, where we can often be streaming 3 different video services at once whilst simultaneously browsing the web, unfortunately. Must try to squeeze some extras out of Virgin instead...

 

[deebster]

From a quick check on uswitch £20pm+ is the going rate for fibre, so for a fiver extra you're getting the free calls via your landline, plus the Sky box.

If you already had a satellite dish then you could just use a Freesat box, get broadband from anyone and use a mobile for calls. If you don't have the dish yet then you could do worse than Sky, but rather than go direct to them via this offer (which is also on uSwitch so I presume is not a special one for selected recipients) go through one of the cashback sites and get the same deal.

I'm with Virgin for broadband only and whilst their customer service is shite the £100 cash back I got for signing up for 12 months meant it was by far the cheapest way I could get cable speeds.

 

[cutting42]

Mike, could you post a link to that deal please, or even just a photo of the leaflet? My Virgin deal is due to balloon in a couple of weeks.

https://www.sky.com/shop/essentials

 

[garyi]

Shall photo it tomorrow in daylight; It's called Sky Essentials with a Sky+ box. Download speeds (?) not mentioned, except that they could be variable (understandable, I s'pose). Can I post a pic. on messages straight from my files?


Well, yes; cable is comforting ! However, it's not just 'a few extra quid per month; it's around £20. Our usage is basic; TV channels, record some, bb up to 30gig's a month (with wifi) + phone.


30 gig. capacity; how much we can use (have I got the wrong terminology?)


Do they use Virgin cable then? Wasn't aware they had their own and BT fibre just goes to the local box in most cases, I thought.


18 months but price guaranteed 3 years (dunno how they do that, mind!), Virgin channels are not a lot more than Freeview,; anyway, we only watch fewer than 10 normal channels.


Hmm! Must check with 'er indoors what we get now.


Yup! Happy with basics.

Cheers folks.

Mike if you log into your virgin account you should be able to find what packages you are on with Virgin. All I am saying is compare like for like sky 'essentials' sounds like the bottom of the line I would imagine. However if you believe you are 30gig allowance with virgin for that price then frankly I would be onto retentions right now.

For comparison I pay virgin 43 quid a month for 360meg broadband unlimited, telephone, V6 box with basic TV. You have to phone them every year and have the crack with them, otherwise they'll happily charge you, from that respect they are all the same.

If as you say you have little need for broadband or tv, then yes get the cheapest you can find.

 

[Marchbanks]

Am hesitant to ditch Virgin but our recorder box is a joke (records stuff by itself...)

And then probably waits until you are out and plays it back to itself. Bastard.

 

[Mike Reed]

If as you say you have little need for broadband or tv, then yes get the cheapest you can find.

Not so, Gary. We have every need for both; just not into add-ons and complex interfaces.

get broadband from anyone and use a mobile for calls.

No mobile; I said our needs were basic. landline, bb and TV; that's it! I don't entirely live in the past, but am analogue in most thinking !

 

[doctorf]

My Sky Q is complete crap and the quicker I bin it, the better.
It relies on good WiFi and despite the Sky router and Sky booster, it just cannot get a decent signal around the house, despite some extra hard wiring.

 

[cutting42]

My Sky Q is complete crap and the quicker I bin it, the better.
It relies on good WiFi and despite the Sky router and Sky booster, it just cannot get a decent signal around the house, despite some extra hard wiring.

I believe there is a way to get the mini boxes hardwired. I have seen a YouTube guide but you need a Sky broadband. I have Virgin Media Broadband so cannot try it.

 

[MikeMA]

This must be the Sky deal a neighbour was complaining about. He was with BT but decided to go for the cheap Sky package. On the changeover date his BT phone and broadband were switched off. Over two weeks later he was still waiting for the Sky dish and phone line. Sky now say they can't give him a connection date, so he's cancelled the service. BT now want £70 to reconnect him, but can't give him a firm date and he may not get his old landline number back. I told him Sky were cheap for a reason. I wouldn't touch them with the proverbial bargepole.

 

[garyi]

I think the OP should just use the offer to beat up virgin for the latest set top box and better deal and remove the limit. (Granted the sky interface is a bit nicer, but both are so far behind other options who cares)

 

[Mike Reed]

told him Sky were cheap for a reason.

Hmmm! Noted, Mike. I couldn't cope with cock-ups on installation.

I think the OP should just use the offer to beat up virgin

Of course; each time I have to get an alternative quote or I'm haggling without ammunition. Guess most find themselves in this position but it's difficult and frustrating conversing in Mumbai English.

 

[doctorf]

I believe there is a way to get the mini boxes hardwired. I have seen a YouTube guide but you need a Sky broadband. I have Virgin Media Broadband so cannot try it.

Hardwiring defeats the object and I really do not want wires all over the house. It’s a big, old, stone built house so not really conducive to hardwiring.

 

[garyi]

Hmmm! Noted, Mike. I couldn't cope with cock-ups on installation.


Of course; each time I have to get an alternative quote or I'm haggling without ammunition. Guess most find themselves in this position but it's difficult and frustrating conversing in Mumbai English.

In my experience retentions usually come from Scotland and they are usually a bit of a larf and know the score. Ask for retentions as soon as you get through to someone. They will buckle like a deck of cards. If your box for tv is like a dvd player long and short then its the old one you want then newer one, tell them politely your tv box is a pile of crap and what will they do about it.

To be fair I love playing this game each year, I put a date in my digital diary to call them one month before each year contract end haha.

 

[cutting42]

Hardwiring defeats the object and I really do not want wires all over the house. It’s a big, old, stone built house so not really conducive to hardwiring.

Not conducive to wireless either it seems.

It is a weakness of the system although I have 3 mini boxes and the Sky booster and no real issues. My study is the furthest away from the booster and very occasionally it craps out but only briefly and then works fine.

 

[Tony Lockhart]

(Granted the sky interface is a bit nicer, but both are so far behind other options who cares)

What are the other options?
Humax digi boxes are terrible things now, especially the Freesat clunkers. BT? Never used it fully, but the more distance between me and BT the better.

 

[AudioAl]

I ditched Virgin after 10+ years as I was told its going up to £42.50 a month , Now with Plusnet at £28.50 , Service has been excelent no problems at all ( So far )

 

[canonman]

My Sky Q is complete crap and the quicker I bin it, the better.
It relies on good WiFi and despite the Sky router and Sky booster, it just cannot get a decent signal around the house, despite some extra hard wiring.

Really? The current service offering for broadband guarantees wifi accessibility anywhere in the house.

Our walls are really thick too but an engineer came down with their latest gizmo (£5K each!) to plot wifi signal strength in every room. Showed me the coverage map. They use it to find out where to place (unlimited) boosters anywhere they are needed, show you the before and after mapping and now it's faultless. No rush, stayed until the engineer was happy with the result.

Earlier the week, I got a text message from them saying they had detected a problem with the line, arranged an engineer appointment to sort it without me even realising there's a problem! Arrived next day, found a problem and just great.

Sky service s outstanding. BT and Virgin can't even spell it.

As for Sky Q, it is just fabulous. Great interface, seamless multi channel recording, great picture quality on 4K and HD. Going back to BT would be like rediscovering VHS.

 

[Woodface]

Sky are very good to be fair

 

[doctorf]

Really? The current service offering for broadband guarantees wifi accessibility anywhere in the house.

Our walls are really thick too but an engineer came down with their latest gizmo (£5K each!) to plot wifi signal strength in every room. Showed me the coverage map. They use it to find out where to place (unlimited) boosters anywhere they are needed, show you the before and after mapping and now it's faultless. No rush, stayed until the engineer was happy with the result.

Earlier the week, I got a text message from them saying they had detected a problem with the line, arranged an engineer appointment to sort it without me even realising there's a problem! Arrived next day, found a problem and just great.

Sky service s outstanding. BT and Virgin can't even spell it.

As for Sky Q, it is just fabulous. Great interface, seamless multi channel recording, great picture quality on 4K and HD. Going back to BT would be like rediscovering VHS.

That’s very interesting.
It started with 3 visits to fit a new dish, with me having to tell them each time after the first that they would need 14 rung ladders!
They have returned twice since and have used their expensive machines to map the WiFi. Each time the signal has been ok but not great. On the second visit they hardwired a booster into the hall to improve WiFi coverage, yet a mini box only 10 feet away has difficulty staying connected.
The other mini box in a bedroom is directly above the other mini box in the lounge, yet cannot stay properly connected.
I think the whole problem stems from having the main Sky box in the cellar, which is where I watch the 4K tv. I am reluctant to hardwire it because I cannot hide the wiring.
All the engineers say that only one wireless Sky booster is advisable in the system and I have confirmed this by adding another which screwed things up even more. I’ve even stopped using an Airport Express in case that was interfering but with no improvement.
Im a bit stuck because my long drive is not something that I want Virgin to make a mess of, and no one seems to have a good word about them anyway!
I’ve been in Spain for a while and have decided to deal with Sky on my return next week.