Quote:
Originally Posted by bobbygee
1 Sky are oversubscribed and their servers can't cope
2 They are not set up to for Macs
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@bobbygee - Sorry to say that you are wrong on both counts. Although your frustration is clear, I think that you have arrived at entirely the wrong conclusion. But all is not lost.
Sky's network is not oversubscribed - it is quite huge and supports not only individual consumers but businesses which cannot survive on underperforming networks. Sky invest heavily into their network as can be seen in their figures.
Macs will work wherever a PC will work. There is nothing in TCP/IP inetworking that will prevent one or the other from communicating. The whole point of such networks is to create a level playing field of communication. Sky themselves use a complete mishmash of different equipment across exactly the same network infrastructure.
For my part, I am running a Sky service at home with a blend of Mac and PC equipment, Mac and Sky routers with upwards of 9 separate hosts, and occasionally over 12. At no point do I experience your problems.
I can also add to that seven of my friends and colleagues who are on Sky with similar mixed PC and Mac hosts who are also problem-free. So what you are experiencing is very specific to your situation. And to be fair to you also, this does happen from time to time with Sky - and for that matter every single ISP. None of this is a perfect science.
So, lets think about how you can help yourself out of the mess that you find yourself in. You are certainly at the right place to get help from those in the know, those who have experienced what you have, and even a few Sky folk who kindly visit on here.
Firstly, what Sky router do you have? Is it one of the white Netgear phase 1 routers or one of the later black Netgear phase 2 or Sagem routers?
The Netgear phase 1 routers are notorious for their problems - the firmware is quite broken and variable results occur from perfect to unworkable. Sky have been working for some time with Netgear to get a version of the firmware that will address all of the issues. They are close, and this year (not sure when) we will see Sky perform a mass update of all the Netgear phase 1 routers over the wire. In their own beta trials of firmwares the signs are that they are completely on the right track - the repair results are very successful. So once Sky settle on the version to use they will perform the "push" of the new firmware. You could in this case ask Sky if they will replace your router with a phase 2 - they might if you can put your point across that the service is unusable as it stands right now.
It could, however, be that you are on a more recent Netgear phase 2 or Sagem router in which case there could be other issues at hand. Again the experience here will no doubt be of help to you.
It could simply be that the new wires at the exchange or Sky's DSLAM port itself have a fault. Then again, it could be Sky's settings on your line, in which case you need Sky to make adjustments to those.
It seems to me that, technical fault notwithstanding, you have not been able to properly engage with Sky's support teams. They are only human and it could be as much the specific CSs level of knowledge as your attitude to them on the phone (both count, believe me). If you start off frustrated it will come across and that has an affect on the overall call. Think about what you want to achieve before you call them - write it down even - and then go through the list with them on the phone. I do this myself when I'm particularly angry about something and it does help keep the conversation on an even keel (objective rather than subjective or emotive). Apologies if this sounds patronising, it is not intended, but the psychology of a phone call is as key as the technical fault itself.
Re: New Mac sign-up
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