Ive had my fill of the plastic pile of excrement that is the Sky Hub router. Constant resets and dropouts when there is more than a couple of devices connected, or just pathetically slow speeds when we are supposed to receive 40meg. So im after a new router…unfortunately i dont know diddly about them. I want one that will ideally (and this lot could be a moon on a stick wishlist)do the following:

Tolerate a good number of devices connected simultaneously (we have 12 devices that connect to internet..PCs, tablets, Chromecasts, Nest cams etc, the usual parade).
Enable me to configure how much bandwidth each device can snaffle at once, or even prioritise certain conections, so for instance i could prioritise 4K Netflix over the sons online gaming session – this might not even exist, but i want it!
Give strong coverage throughout the house – the Sky Hub uses only 2.4GHz apparently, and it barely gets through 2 (admittedly rather thick) walls.. i believe newer technology is now available that gives better signal through walls?
Give good gaming performance for PCs and PS4.
Be easy to connect and setup to my Sky fibre connection.

I dont how much of this is pie in the sky, but any experts out there able to recommend a router that will match what i want? Size and ugliness doesnt matter

Sky wont give you the connection details, unless you pay extra per month to use your own router. 😕

Bandwidth – I found a few of the things that the lads had installed on laptops used a staggering amount of data, even when not playing! Mainly game related such as Steam (huuuuge date) and Roblox. Steam had a setting to reduce the amount of bandwith used/allocated within it.

Most decent routers will allow you to do what you want.

Most decent routers will allow you to do what you want.

+1 ….

There are some more expensive options but for most people I’d go with “on sale at.<insert here>…”

Pretty much every router is based on the same underlying software… (that does the actual routing bit) and it’s just a case of web interfaces to configure them.

Some are better than others… but it’s not something you do every day so not really worth spending more on.

If you have requirements like areas where you can’t get a good signal and need it etc. then it can be worth going for something easy to extend… (or you can add other options like mains transmision) and example being say you want to use Zwift in the shed at the bottom of the garden…

Well using Zwift at the back of the Garage is definitely one of the issues….

I’ve replaced my Sky one with an Asus Dark knight as i needed something reliable.

Due to the MER Auth Sky use to get you on the network you need to put the Merlin firmware on and find out the details by doing a packet capture from the old router and getting the DHCP ID.

I bought one of the new Sky Q hubs from eBay for £25 after reading good reviews. Saves all the fannying about trying to sort out your connection details.

Signal is a lot stronger than the POS old one – it’s dual band, 802.11ac and with gigabyte ethernet ports. Only downside is there’s only two ports, but a Netgear 8 port ethernet switch is only about £15.

Well using Zwift at the back of the Garage is definitely one of the issues….

I just use one of the “network over mains power” plugs for that.
It actually does Wifi but I don’t actually bother based on ” I plugged n a cable and it worked” and the Wifi key is really long (and written on the back of the plug) and I couldn’t be bothered when it was working anyway.

Give strong coverage throughout the house – the Sky Hub uses only 2.4GHz apparently, and it barely gets through 2 (admittedly rather thick) walls.. i believe newer technology is now available that gives better signal through walls?

Not really, 2.4GHz is what you should use if signal strength is the problem. The newer alternative is 5GHz which gives higher bandwidth but not as ‘strong’ a signal as 2.4GHz

As for recommendations, I have a http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/networking/network-routers-and-switches/routers/tp-link-archer-vr900-v2-wireless-modem-router-ac-1900-dual-band-10158005-pdt.html which works well (certainly lots better than the my ISP supplied, also means I don’t need a separate BT fibre terminator thingy).

I don’t think I needed to do any config apart from put in my ISP logon credentials (obviously I changed some other stuff like the admin password but I mean in terms of getting it connected to the Internet).

Vinnyeh, did the Sky Q router just work out of the box so to speak? Are you using Sky Q, or just their internet?

Stevextc – our electrics are decades old (the house was built 1906), the wiring doesnt seem to like Homeplugs one little bit.

Out of the box, just reset the router. Obviously theres a new network name and password.
We’re on sky fibre unlimited. Not signed up to sky q.

Stevextc – our electrics are decades old (the house was built 1906), the wiring doesnt seem to like Homeplugs one little bit.

The trick is if you can plug them into the same ring/spur.

Our house is similar … but the shed power comes from the kitchen spur (RCD spur) and through a bit of luck (perhaps even some planning) the router was already in the kitchen.

It doesn’t work reliably upstairs (separate spur from consumer unit) but works to the shed (even on an extension lead)

If you’ve already got them might well be worth just seeing if you can get them on the same circuit ???

First thing I’d be doing is getting onto Sky and asking for a replacement router (with an “oh, I’ll cancel my subscription then” lined up if they try to charge you for it).

First thing I’d be doing is getting onto Sky and asking for a replacement router (with an “oh, I’ll cancel my subscription then” lined up if they try to charge you for it).

Best thing I ever did* was cancelling Sky
I got sold to Sky as part of the people from O2 broadband that got sold as part of the people from Be .. phoned up and threatened to cancel and got a years Sky TV and half price internet for a year.

A month before the year cancelled and went elsewhere. (Which happened to be EE as the offered a deal with mobile .which I then cancelled after a year etc…)

Like everything else today** like energy supplier, insurance etc. loyalty seems to be penalised rather than rewarded.

*Ok except a long list of other best things
** Except another long list of stuff

Cougar, I’m actively considering ditching Sky anyway – my 60% off deal comes to an end in a few weeks as it is…from the last time i was ready to quit. Except for Twin Peaks, GoT and Westworld there is nothing else i watch on there that i cant get elsewhere (and lets face it, there are other ways of getting them as well). 99% of what i watch is either on BBC, Eurosport for the cycling, and Netflix or Amazon Prime. Im thinking of going for BT fibre for their (allegedly) much faster speeds, and their full package is still cheaper than my 60% off Sky deal at the moment.