want to move off connect to IDNet

[Happy Surfer]

hello there all this is my first thread as a member to the idnetters forums and its about my sky connect broadband service.

I am actually having pretty much identical problem as the other member TMD's post.i am getting good speeds in the morning which is pointless as im not using it then and as the day goes on it deteriorates bit by bit then come peak time it goes horrendously low to 25-100k speeds sometimes and makes my play on xbox live impossible.

the question im asking is if i got my mac code off sky and give to idnet to migrate to them,do idnet sort out pacifying sky as i am in contract with them still? i noticed in TMD thread that one of you mentioned a company called ispa i think that sky are member of and that i can use them to get out of the contract as they are giving me a totally unacceptable service for the 17 quid i am paying,or does idnet do this all in the migration process?

many thanks if someone can help.

[Simon]

Hi, and welcome. 

No, IDNet would not deal with releasing you from a currently standing contract with another provider.

[David]

  Hi and good luck with Sky and your intended migration....

[Happy Surfer]

Thanks for your welcomes.

so how does it work? could i get the mac code have it ready and set up with idnet then ring sky and cancel the contract?

[David]

For what its worth.I got my mac code then ordered .be careful how you go about this though...give a minute and get a second opinion  

You need your mac code to complete your order

[Tacitus]

FWIW, my understanding is that SKY are obliged to give you a MAC code on request, and then have to pursue you through the Courts for any money outstanding.  What happens in practice is another matter. 

From your point of view it's going to depend on how much you are paying and how long the contract has to run, as to whether it's currently worth migrating.  Unless you can successfully argue that they are not supplying the service as advertised, then you would have to pay the balance of the contract. 

The thing about iDNet and, for that matter NewNet and Zen, is they are only one month contracts, so there is no lock in.  They let the quality of the service speak for itself.

[Simon]

I can't comment on the T&Cs of your Sky contract, but you need to get a MAC from them if you intend to migrate.  A MAC request automatically gives them notice that you are terminating the contract, but if you are still within the minimum contract term, then they may charge you an early release fee, or, in some cases, the full balance of the remaining contract, were you to fulfil it, i.e, if you still have 5 months to go, and it was £20 per month, they could charge the £100.

IDNet cannot get you out of the contract - you have to do that yourself.  What I am not certain of, is what happens in the event that you are not happy with the service you are currently receiving from Sky, and wish to challenge the terms of the contract on the basis of them not providing the promised service.  You will have to check their T&Cs very carefully, or speak to them about it.  There may be some other ex-Sky users here, who could comment more authoritatively, so you may want to hang on for a bit until one turns up.

[quandam]

scs

FWIW, I had 11 months to run on my contract with Sky Connect (total rubbish after 5pm ). My advice, is to obtain your MAC, sign up with IDNet (super by the way ) and then like I did and you may (MAY, MAY, MAY) be surprised at the outcome as I was I will say no more than that

I cannot guarantee that your outcome would be as advantageous as mine Give it a try and see what happens but be prepared to pay up and look big

[David]

I would  get something for that eye Q 

[quandam]

bpp

My eye aches due to my unexpected good luck

[David]

  Good for you Q 

[Happy Surfer]

thanks again for all your replys,everyone been really helpful.

well firstly i rang sky earlier and requested my mac code and the guy asked why and i said in simple terms i was pee'd off at not being able to play my games online without getting disconnected and cr*p speeds at night and he said that fine then he asked if it was just broandband i was unhappy with or was i unhappy with my tv and phone service but they fine i said.he then said to ring monday and they will give me the mac code over the phone then and in the post too(no chance of that happening soon,thanks royal mail ) so once i get it iwill get the idnet ball rolling.

second thing is will my sky saegem f@st 2504 router be compatible with idnet's service?.

[David]

Hi Sky It is my understanding that you should get your MAC within I think it is 5 days they have to issue so I believe I had this when I left Tiscali same promise but I received it much sooner by Email I also got it over the phone .Out of interest who or what department were you on to ?
When you telephone for your MAC code its usual for whoever to promise things and even your speed could suddenly improve,if they do dont rely on them staying that way 

I cant comment on your router if you can configure it yourself I wouldnt have thought there would be a problem but again best to wait for the experts here .
Good luck with it all...its worth doing believe me your service will soon be forgotten when you have migrated away,just beware of sudden unexplained imporovements 

[Simon]

So, just to clarify, they are allowing you to migrate your broadband away, but keep your TV and phone service with them, for no release fee, yes?

Someone will confirm this, but I believe the Sky router will probably be locked to Sky Broadband (and they may request it's return), but I believe they can be unlocked to work with another ISP - see this link.

If you decide to get a new router, you can buy a pre-configured Netgear from IDNet, or come back to us for other recommendations.  Some of us use the 2Wire 2700HGV BT Business Hub, which is easily unlocked, and usually available on eBay for under £20 delivered.

[Lance]

I think the router is fine if you can see the page to enter your broadband username and password. If you can't, then it will be locked to sky but firmware can be flashed to release it from sky's grip!

[Sebby]

There's nowhere to enter a username and password on Sky's firmware, as these are a product of the router's MAC address and serial number, and are generated on the fly, so to speak.

The Sky Netgears can be flashed, but I'm not certain about the Sagem - it should be possible.

[Happy Surfer]

just having a game earlier with my friend on world at war zombie mode,got all the top guns and all upgraded and all perks and suddenly it happened again my connection went stuttery then i was disconnected off xbox live,me and my friend just quit there,we spent over an hour on that game session only for the lousy connection to ruin it sky you are taking the mick!

firstly the way the guy at sky came across without saying it was they wasnt going to put up any resistance about the mac code and he gave the impression that as i am a tv and phone subscriber as well to them that they value me as a customer and dont wanna risk losing them parts as well so  that come monday i get mac code and set up with idnet and sky happily send me off to join them without kicking up a stink which i think is totally fair as i have been paying 17 quid for an anatrocious service that i mainly use at night time which is the worst time to use it anyway!

secondly on the router part i have actually had the router since dec 07 when i moved into my old address so surely they wouldnt want me to send back a router that is nearly 2 years old?, it has a username and password page that u can access the router through after putting 192.168.0.1 in the web address bar and all the features in the router are adjustable so hopefully that should be ok to use for idnet if not ill have a look at the 2wire router from bt that was mentioned, also wherebouts on idnet can i find the pre-configured netgear router?

everyones input is much appreciated

[Glenn]

Once you get a username and password, then you will get access to the customer area on their website and it can be found at https://www.idnet.net/secure/portal/shop/browse-router.jsp

[Ann]

Just because Sky give you your MAC it doesn't mean that they aren't then going to sting you for the leaving fee.  The two are not connected.  They are duty bound to give you the code, they are not duty bound to let you out of your contract.  Depending on how long you've got to go and how much they could sting you for, I'd make sure that you know what's what before going ahead if I were you.

[cavillas]

I would  get something for that eye Q 

How do you know that Q is indeed inteligent with an iq?

[quandam]

 

[Glenn]

How do you know that Q is indeed inteligent with an iq?

He must be, as all IDNet users are 

[cavillas]

Or is that I Q nice to meet you.

[Happy Surfer]

at the end of the day i have my rights as a customer and they broke their T&C so if they want to dig their heels in then i will respond in exact manner and involve ofcom and ispa,they arent giving me an acceptable service,if i wanted that service then i would have got a dongle.

last night was the last straw i spent over an hour on a game session only to be disconnected cos the conection throttled so much its a joke

[Ann]

Well as long as you've told them that it's a start.

[mynnydd]

sky,
bandwidth is not the main requirement for on-line gaming. Ping is more important.
Check out the 'high pings again' thread.
I am still with ID net BUT the gaming is random due to the fluctuating ping. Although I have bandwidth of 5 meg.
So be warned.

[Happy Surfer]

i appreciate the info mynnydd but its not just my gaming its the whole internet experience,youtube vids taking forever to load,slow page loads its all terrible in honesty,its sh*t full stop so just to get a stable and decent connection would be bliss compared to the dross that is connect.

bandwith and ping are just as important as each other,u cant live with one and not the other and connect doesnt have either.

[Lance]

Plus the problem with pings should be resolved with the new hostlink coming in Thursday. Once tested, lines will be moved over from the old centrals.

[Happy Surfer]

just little update,rang sky today and got mac code  placed order with idnet and got email straight through saying i should be connected nov 2nd by 6pm 

[David]

  Good news and hope it all goes smoothly for you Sky 

Just to add my two pennies worth....with the issue of speeds etc this is not exclusive (at times)to Idnet I believe when BT get their act together and start doing what they get paid for any ISP issues will be resolved,then again and I have limited knowledge this is an evolving service and in my insignificant opinion its still early days and it is through some painful experiences I have come to this conclusion.

I think you made a good choice 

[Simon]

Good move, SCS, hope it all goes well. 

[Rik]

just little update,rang sky today and got mac code  placed order with idnet and got email straight through saying i should be connected nov 2nd by 6pm 

You won't regret it. That's three years to the day after I joined and I certainly haven't.

[davej99]

Had a visit from an old friend who hooked up his laptop to my router and did his Sky email late afternoon, Saturday. My laptop was running IDNET email same time. I was skipping along as fast as a page could render and he was in treacle, waiting 10-15 seconds for each action to complete. Same line, exchange contention, IDNET gateway, etc. I therefore think Sky has a congestion problem and IDNET does not.

(Off-topic moment: Have you been away, Rik? Are you OK?)

[Rik]

I've been in hospital for almost two weeks, Dave, atrial fibrillation, pneumonia, heart attack and pulmonary oedema.

[davej99]

Very sorry to hear that, Rik. You are clearly tough to be back so soon. I'll raise a wee goldie to your continued recovery.

[Rik]

Thanks, Dave. The full story is here, if you want all the details:

http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=16820.msg398686#msg398686

[Happy Surfer]

looking forward to getting my idnet connection  just got a couple of questions tho, oh and idnet have been brilliant on support already so far 

first thing is email says that i should be connected by tomorrow 6pm so does that mean it could be on before that or is tomorrow the day they flick the on switch so to speak?

the next thing is once on, does the sky connection disconnect or will that remain usable until i get it cancelled?

and lastly my internet usage is on a secondary socket in living room as the master socket is in the hallway by the front door,will i be able to train the connection ok when its first connected or will i need to do it on the master socket then move across to the secondary once training completed?

[Rik]

It often happens in the small hours, but temporarily you'll be able to connect to either ISP. IDNet will email you when BT tell them the migration is complete, but I'd try the IDNet login in you router first thing.

Yes, you need to make sure Sky understand you have cancelled, a used MAC is supposed to do that, but trust no-one.

Stay where you are, let us have your router stats, then move to the test socket, if you have one, and get the stats again. DON'T re-sync more than 10 times an hour.

[davej99]

my internet usage is on a secondary socket in living room as the master socket is in the hallway by the front door,will i be able to train the connection ok when its first connected or will i need to do it on the master socket then move across to the secondary once training completed?

When I first connected to broadband, like you, I used a secondary house extention and it worked OK. Some time later, I fitted an ADSL Nation primary filtered faceplate, which offers the ability to run a dedicated hard-wired twisted extention (cat5 if you can find it) just for the broadband, which I fed to a dedicated secondary secondary faceplate as close to the modem/router as possible. What this did was separate the broadband connection from the phone circuit as soon as it entered the house reducing noise pick-up. Adding an extra twisted cable is a lot of fiddling about and there are easier alternatives if the DIY is too much. In my case the effect was to reduce (improve) the incoming attenuation by 1dB (3dB is double the signal) and to reduce the noise by 3db daytime and over 6dB at night. That was enough over time to just achieve a maximum profile. Rik's masterly FAQ deals with faceplates and other stuff and will help you squeeze best performance. The added benefit of installing the best faceplates and wiring best wiring you can get is if there are problems you can avoid problems caused in the house or by dodgy extentions.

[davej99]

When I first connected to broadband, like you, I used a secondary house extention and it worked OK. Some time later, I fitted an ADSL Nation primary filtered faceplate, which offers the ability to run a dedicated hard-wired twisted extention (cat5 if you can find it) just for the broadband, which I fed to a dedicated secondary secondary faceplate as close to the modem/router as possible. What this did was separate the broadband connection from the phone circuit as soon as it entered the house reducing noise pick-up. Adding an extra twisted cable is a lot of fiddling about and there are easier alternatives if the DIY is too much. In my case the effect was to reduce (improve) the incoming attenuation by 1dB (3dB is double the signal) and to reduce the noise by 3db daytime and over 6dB at night. That was enough over time to just achieve a maximum profile. Rik's masterly FAQ deals with faceplates and other stuff and will help you squeeze best performance. The benefit of installing the best faceplates and wiring you can get is if there are problems you can avoid those caused in the house or by dodgy extentions.

[Happy Surfer]

thanks to rik for the awnsers and to dave for the tips i will see how i get on speed wise once training is done and see bout makethe internal wiring as good as possible,will let ya know how things develop over next week

[davej99]

Sorry, did not mean to quote myself! please agnore

[Rik]

I do it all the time, Dave.

[Simon]

Yes, and we ignore him. 

[Rik]

[Glenn]

Yes, and we ignore him. 

Who?

[Simon]

[Happy Surfer]

had confirmation mail at 3 this morning to say welcome to idnet braondband  connection is awesome so far  i know it first day only and not peak time but still it brilliant,had a quick go on zombies 4 player in world at war and speed was between 3-4 bars(4 being max) and i wasnt even the host(never had 4 bars without being host) while other players were on 2-3 so happy days there.

i had to borrow a friends white netgear wireless router for now as i couldnt access the settings in my sagem one as sky had it locked down,will tryand find the sagem firmware for it to flash if not i will get same model of the netgear one iam using.

will keep ya updated on connection and how things are speed-wise and what it settles on after training period but so far a big  ti idnet for awesome support and to the idnetters for their invaluable u have given 

[Rik]

Welcome to happy land. 

[Lance]

Welcome! 

[JohnH]

Welcome.   All being well, you'll have to change your name on this forum.  

[Simon]

That's very true, or at least add 'ex-' to the front of it.  

[Happy Surfer]

thanks for the welcomes,i cant seem to be able to change my username?

also on the the bt speedtester what do i put in the login section instead of @skydsl?

thanks all 

[Glenn]

PM the admin team with what you would like your new username to be, we can then change it.

With regards to the BT speedtest, use the same login details, that you use for your router to connect to IDNet.

[Happy Surfer]

got my new username

on the bt speedtester site tho couldnt manage to do the test,when i done it with sky it was the router mac in the first box then @skydsl in the second,can anyone confirm what is needed for idnet login?

[Simon]

Depends what your IDNet router log in is.  Mine, for example, is IDNet.gw5.

[Simon]

Sorry, by router, I mean account.

[Rik]

Essentially, if your router logs in as user@idnet.gw5, you put user in the first box and idnet.gw5 in the second.

[Simon]

That too. 

[Rik]

 

[Glenn]

Thats wat I said above 

[Rik]

Just operating in triplicate, Glenn.

[Happy Surfer]

just thought id share my new bt speedtester results, one is in the morning at 11:15 and the second is 10 minutes ago 



[attachment deleted by admin]

[Sebby]

Looking good. You could perhaps do slightly better - it might only need an MTU/RWIN tweak.

[Rik]

I'm jealous, of course.

[davej99]

Essentially, if your router logs in as user@idnet.gw5, you put user in the first box and idnet.gw5 in the second.

I carried on as before puting the whole user name in the first (*) box and ignored the second. It seemes to work. Do you think that is wrong Rik?

[Rik]

In theory, but if it works, why argue, Dave?