New Sky card causing problems with broadband?

We recently installed a new Sky card and have had intermittent problems with our broadband ever since (works for hours, then off for a while, sometimes runs slowly). We have thoroughly checked everything - new router from Eclipse, changed filters etc. BT have done line test. We have made enquiries in the neighbourhood and have come across 5 people who have also had broadband issues, following installation of new Sky card. How widespread is this - any other experiences?

In reply to a post by JLIndsay:

We have made enquiries in the neighbourhood and have come across 5 people who have also had broadband issues, following installation of new Sky card. How widespread is this - any other experiences?

Unlikely but perhaps the new card is causing your box to call Sky more often. Sky boxes have a reputation for interfering with broadband. If you're outside the 12-month contract disconnect it from the line. See if that helps. You only need to have the box connected to the telephone if:

* You are within the initial 12-month contract.
* You are viewing account information.
* You are ordering something (and even then you can order up to you card's credit limit).

Edited by Andrue (Wed 26-Aug-09 11:31:24)

In reply to a post by Andrue:

In reply to a post by JLIndsay:

We have made enquiries in the neighbourhood and have come across 5 people who have also had broadband issues, following installation of new Sky card. How widespread is this - any other experiences?

Unlikely but perhaps the new card is causing your box to call Sky more often. Sky boxes have a reputation for interfering with broadband. If you're outside the 12-month contract disconnect it from the line. See if that helps. You only need to have the box connected to the telephone if:

* You are within the initial 12-month contract.
* You are viewing account information.
* You are ordering something (and even then you can order up to you card's credit limit).

Or have multi room, though people have said that Sky have never contacted them even though the boxes are supposed to be plugged in as per T&C's.

In reply to a post by Rockh:

In reply to a post by Andrue:

In reply to a post by JLIndsay:

We have made enquiries in the neighbourhood and have come across 5 people who have also had broadband issues, following installation of new Sky card. How widespread is this - any other experiences?

Unlikely but perhaps the new card is causing your box to call Sky more often. Sky boxes have a reputation for interfering with broadband. If you're outside the 12-month contract disconnect it from the line. See if that helps. You only need to have the box connected to the telephone if:

* You are within the initial 12-month contract.
* You are viewing account information.
* You are ordering something (and even then you can order up to you card's credit limit).

Or have multi room, though people have said that Sky have never contacted them even though the boxes are supposed to be plugged in as per T&C's.

Ah yes, I forgot that.

Thanks - I'm interested in what you say about the reputation for interfering with broadband. In fact, we disconnected the phone line from the Sky box after the initial problems but still have the fault. We think the Sky card triggered a fault which has not yet been rectified. It doesn't help that we are resisting a call out to a BT engineer because we may be charged £180 - our b/b supplier being Eclipse, not BT.

Sky boxes are known to create a lot of RF noise that causes problems for broadband, even more so when they are connected to the phone line.

Can you live without the box for a while to test the broadband with box completely unplugged from the mains ?

That way you will know for sure if it is the box or not causing the problem.

Chances are that your telephone wiring is picking up interference generated by the sky box or something else and this is causing you problems. Might be time to look at your telephone wiring and consider installing a filtered faceplate.

In reply to a post by JLIndsay:

Thanks - I'm interested in what you say about the reputation for interfering with broadband. In fact, we disconnected the phone line from the Sky box after the initial problems but still have the fault. We think the Sky card triggered a fault which has not yet been rectified. It doesn't help that we are resisting a call out to a BT engineer because we may be charged £180 - our b/b supplier being Eclipse, not BT.

With the box disconnected from the phone it's very hard to see how the card could be causing any problems. It's a passive device powered by the box. Box emmisions ought to be the same give or take very, very minor changes due to slightly different logic paths that the boxes CPU are taking during decryption. I'd be amazed if it was possible to detect the difference with measuring equipment let alone interfere with ADSL.

But...it's Sky. With their hardware anything is possible

Edited by Andrue (Wed 26-Aug-09 21:00:30)

In reply to a post by Andrue:

But...it's Sky. With their hardware anything is possible

Sky's hardware is rather more reliable than BT's, in my experience.

Just in case anyone is interested in the outcome - BT Openreach turned out last week and detected RF interference in the street which was affecting our broadband and also one of the neighbours. Finally tracked it down to a family who had been away on holiday for a fortnight and who had - guess what - installed a new Sky card just before they went away. Their Sky box had been merrily blasting us all with interference. When they got back and turned it off (it wasn't working, anyway), our problem disappeared. So now we are waiting for them to have a new Sky box delivered tomorrow which (fingers crossed) won't zap us again. I find it incredible that this havoc can (apparently) be wreaked by Sky - but I guess that BT will take up the matter with them!

Nothing more that Openreach can do than identify the source and ask for it to be disconnected