Sky FTTP - orange voice light of doom!

Hi all.

Are there many Sky Broadband FTTP customers on here?

I was one but left as I, cancelled services due to house renovation and no requirement.

I'm at the point where I'm ready to connect up the Internet again, but am reluctant to go back to Sky FTTP as I used to get an issue where the voice light on the router would turn from green to orange (ONT lights all good) and I would lose connection which would not re-establish itself without manual intervention.

Only solution was a reboot of the router or ONT.

FTTP has always been touted as always on and reliable, but doesn't stand up, at least with Sky involved. I'm informed it's to do with Sky equipment on the servers and addressing, but as I need 24/7 (or as close as possible without having a business line), which ISP is the most reliable?

Do other ISP's on full fibre suffer similar issues?

I'm looking at Zen as a more stable provider.

Thanks all.

Openreach-based FTTP - with a good ISP - is a very, very reliable beast in my experience.

In the 5+ years we’ve had FTTP in Suffolk on various ISP from business like / priced Cerberus to pile them high TalkTalk the only thing that has killed our connection was a tree crashing through the lead-in - even then it still worked for a few days until the strain was too much and it snapped like a guitar string.

Just move to a decent provider.

Well, Sky would not be my first choice, but your experience looks more like a router or VOIP problem than a Sky issue.

They've been rolling out updated firmware to those with the issue but doesn't seem to be working as yet.

Been an issue for a few years it seems, related to hardware that needs replacing on Sky's network.

Not a quick fix but pretty disappointing it isn't closer to being sorted.

As long as you don't have voice services from sky, you do not need to use sky's supplied router. As dfscale said its likely to be a router issue.Mine's only gone down once - red light - for no reason. Others have been power cuts (we get a few a year - joys of the New Forest) and one planned maintenance session..

FTTP will be very stable. The issues you have faced are actually nothing to do with fttp!

Well it was happening regularly, I'm informed by persons who brought up the issue three years previously that it relates to hardware at Sky's end.

Surely if it was related to firmware or software a fix would have materialised already?

I'm not saying FTTP isn't stable, certainly far more than FTTC, I'm just disappointed that the issue is still ongoing.

It seems other ISP's don't have the same issue from my limited research, so Sky need to up their game. I have TV with them so would be good to have it all in one bill, but given security cameras, heating and lighting all being connected, I need it to be as reliable as possible when I'm out for example.

Wouldn't be quite as bad if the m connection could be re-established without having to power cycle the router or ONT.

In reply to a post by giggsy1977:

Well it was happening regularly, I'm informed by persons who brought up the issue three years previously that it relates to hardware at Sky's end.

Surely if it was related to firmware or software a fix would have materialised already?

whilst i stand by what i said, i believe what you have been told is true - (of sorts).

whilst the below is in regards to 3rd party routers, how you get auth'd depends on several factors as they have different kit


https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Broadband/Third-party-r...

Hi All,



So for our FTTx products (both FTTC and FTTP), we use IPoE instead of PPPoE.



For DHCPv6, nothing special is required, if you setup your CPE router for DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation (PD). About 80%~ of Openreach's network we can authenticate DHCPv6 natively, and then DHCPv4 can piggy back on that.



The remaining 20%, will need to be authenticated based on DHCPv4 (and then DHCPv6 can piggy back on that). For DHCPv4, we require Option 61 to be present, and this just allows us to identify that the DHCP message is coming from the Sky Hub rather than a laptop or client on your LAN.



This isn't actually called "MER", that's a misconception that often causes confusion online. Whilst there are some 3rd party devices that reference this in relation to Sky UK, the majority won't. You're better off just searching for what it actually is, and that's simply the ability to support custom DHCPv4 Option 61 or "Client-ID" values.



The good news is that with FTTP you're just looking for a regular router with ethernet ports, which opens up the market a lot more than those with VDSL2 interfaces.



Hope that helps get you online with your 3rd party router.

Somebody with more knowledge on this maybe can confirm, i suspect, with the sky hub, when it auths it may run into issues authing, it then doesn't try again or try enough times to re-auth, thus you will reboot to try again. So its probably a combination of sky router and sky auth. I was on NowBroadband for a while and I remember a few times being kicked off at around midnight and it could take several minutes for it to reauth.

It's certainly not given me confidence in going back to Sky.
I have a Ubiquiti router to set up when I'm back at home. Someone will be helping me with that for a fee.
I have access points wired in across the house with Cat6 so WiFi is not an issue, just the connection staying on 24/7 so I don't lose control of things in the house when I'm out.

Everything always seems more complicated with Sky than other ISP's!

I'm thinking BT or Zen, which cost a little more but seem to offer more reliability.

Vodafone or Plusnet are also options as they're cheaper and use Openreach network.

Keep hearing about CGNAT and believe it to be a bad thing. Do we know which ISP's use it?

Also look at Aquiss.. Static ipv4 and also ipv6.

What's the advantage of a static IP?

In reply to a post by giggsy1977:

What's the advantage of a static IP?

advantages,

No double nat like with cgnat
able to run services like vpns into your home network etc, access ip cameras with no need to use 3rd party services.

Others can probably ad a ton more

downsides
Because you have a static ip, your footprint is more public
Easier to be banned from services.

Thanks Taras.

I don't do a great deal online but a bigger public footprint doesn't sound good!

I have had Sky FTTP since April 2023 (prior to that, I had been on FTTC with Sky since 2013), Unfortunately, I have found FTTP to be less reliable than FTTC, as I never had the 'Orange Voice Light of Doom' with FTTC (my phone line was via a regular copper phone line before I switched over to FTTP.

The 'Orange Voice Light of Doom' issue happens at least once every 1 to 2 months (occasionally more frequently) & more often than not, happens overnight (I notice it when I get up in the morning), although I have known it to happen during the day too.

I have never once turned off/restarted the ONT since I have had FTTP. Lights on the ONT have only ever been green. When I get the 'Orange Voice Light of Doom', I just restart the Sky Router, which is always sufficient to get me back up and running.

Hope that there will one day be a permanent fix. If I did not need the voice service (and requirement to keep my legacy tel number), I would invest in a 3rd party router.

Same NGA. My FTTC was more stable than the FTTP I had with them. Same issue as you have.
Restarting the router, as with yourself, solved the issue, but I have to be there to do that as it is unable to establish a connection without the reboot.

Doesn't seem to happen with other ISP's, very Sky specific, but if they haven't sorted it after 3 years, I'm not sure they're that bothered to!

Think BT is winning so far. Try them for 12 months and go from there.

In reply to a post by giggsy1977:

Think BT is winning so far. Try them for 12 months and go from there.

I think you'll be hard pushed to get a contract less than 24 months out of BT these days. And even with Black Friday just around the corner, whatever deal you sign up to will increase by £3 per month in April 2025 and another £3 per month in April 2026.

I second the choice of Aquiss: 12 month contract with first 6 months half price, and excellent responsive customer support. You do have to factor in the cost of buying a decent router if you don't have one, but they provide lists including models they recommend (and hence can more easily support).

I'm on the 330/50 service, which is the sweet spot in their pricing at £45 per month; if I dropped to 160/30 I'd only save £3 per month.

Don't worry about the "public footprint" from a static IP address, unless you are an online troll

In reply to a post by candlerb:

I second the choice of Aquiss: 12 month contract with first 6 months half price, and excellent responsive customer support. You do have to factor in the cost of buying a decent router if you don't have one, but they provide lists including models they recommend (and hence can more easily support).

I'm on the 330/50 service, which is the sweet spot in their pricing at £45 per month; if I dropped to 160/30 I'd only save £3 per month.

Totally agree and i've already mentioned them this thread, i believe from memory.

In reply to a post by candlerb:

Don't worry about the "public footprint" from a static IP address, unless you are an online troll

the footprint as i called it, is still there via cookies etc regardless of static or dynamic ip (cgnat or not), its just easier to assicate you to activities on that ip. For most people it will make no difference to what type of ip they are given.

Edited by Taras (Mon 11-Nov-24 09:50:59)

Some contributors apparently haven’t looked at the BT website recently, 12 and 24 month options are available, and are prominently displayed, however the price differential is unappealing, 500Mb as an example , £35 on a 24 month term , £46 on a 12 month term , this isn’t limited to FTTP , so it’s not a case of struggling to find a 12 month deal , but would anyone want to pay the premium for that flexibility ?

Never had an issue with Sky on FTTP while I was with them, only moved so I could get a good price reset after many years, went for Plusnet and have been very happy.

Worth noting the pricing structure of some ISPs may be good value for the first contract period but some of the financial benefits they offer are not available in the second contract period so be aware of that.

There are a lot of broadband connoisseurs on this forum who pay more for their broadband than a regular joe, this may be because of their very special requirements but please don't be distracted by that.

I do acknowledge and appreciate the people on here with considerably more knowledge than myself, hence asking a the question.

My use of the Internet is likely the same as most people, nothing extraordinary, I don't game very often online, although that may change down the line.

I'm sure one of the 'everyman' ISP's will suffice, as long as it stays connected!

I don't like the idea of a 12 month, contract at, inflated prices, but will look, for 18 months (if they still exist) with the likes of Plusnet or Vodafone if Zen and Aquiss are a little higher tier than I need. 🙂

If you decide to go for one of the mass market ISPs don't forget to check if you can get some money back through a cashback website.

Never be scared to ask, especially here, we are a friendly bunch.. There isn't any questions that aren't dumb or stupid etc.

Thanks Taras.

Either BT, Plusnet or Vodafone for 24 months (so have to choose wisely!).

Probably the 150mbps package. BT lure you in with a free 'boost' to 500mbps for the first month!

I'm sure any of the above three will do and I likely won't have the issues I had with Sky.

Interesting that the minimum guaranteed speeds they offer differ a little.

Do we know if one of the above three is better in that regard? Thanks.

Plusnet (owned by BT) is still a sound budget choice; I was with them for many years, but not since 2019. The 150M service is plenty for most households, and starts at £26 per month, rising to £32 per month by the end of the contract. As others have said, check via cashback sites.

Vodafone is similarly cheap but has a reputation for appalling customer service, and a record of OFCOM complaints that backs that up, although apparently not currently the worst. If you don't have any problems with the service then it will work fine, but if you have a service issue or billing issue, expect a world of pain.

If it matters to you, BT and Vodafone can both provide a digital voice service; Plusnet don't.

Thanks @candlerb - shall avoid Vodafone then!
Don't need a voice line so whichever is cheaper looks to be the way to go between Plusnet and BT.

Don't expect there is much difference between them?!

In reply to a post by giggsy1977:

Thanks @candlerb - shall avoid Vodafone then!

I'll echo the comment on Vodafone. I was with them for 5 years and while the service was generally extremely reliable, on the odd occasion where I needed to talk to their customer services, the experience was so astonishingly bad as to make me consider leaving regardless of how good the technical service was. Looking back, it was comically, hilariously bad although at the time it drove me absolutely insane!

Amusingly, the one thing they actually handled very competently was the end-of-service cease process, which was completely problem-free. Generally, my experience of such companies is that the retentions team is normally made up of their most competent people as, at the end of the day, they want to convince you to stay with them, so perhaps this explains it.

I suspect a poll of Vodafone customer dissatisfaction would, in reality, be a poll of how often they'd had to contact their technical support line...