sky+ installation question

[Adam K]

i'm having sky+ installed in my room on monday, i don't have a phoneline in here, only broadband. the nearest phone socket it over the other side of the house in our office.

what will the sky installer do about this?

he can't put an extension cable from here to there because we have wooden floors so there is nowhere to hide the cable.

 

[Daz]

He shouldn't install the box.
It's part of the contract to connect it to a phone line for 12 months

If he does, and it gets working, Sky will then be sending you some letters.. (not sure if it dials up to activate in the first instance)

Basically, you need a phone line connection for the box

 

[Andy A]

The best solution is to drill through the wall, then take the extension through the outside of the house.

Another alternative I have seen is an adaptor that uses your mains electricity to carry phones signals, sort of like a wireless extension

 

[Griff]

Part of the installation process is a "ring back" so you will need it connected to the phone by whatever method.

Whether you then remove this "method" is down to you but Sky will soon start firing letters in your direction if it's not connected to the phone like during the first 12 months.

 

[172blue]

The best solution is to drill through the wall, then take the extension through the outside of the house.

Another alternative I have seen is an adaptor that uses your mains electricity to carry phones signals, sort of like a wireless extension

I'd be interested in that device, any more details?

My Sky+ let me use a telephone extension lead that I had to connect it up ( that was his "job" done), what I did when he left the house etc etc. Then I just connect it up every couple of months, let the box do a ringback, et voila! No letters, no grief, no cable.

 

[172blue]

Griff, beat me to it ^^^!

 

[Andy A]

Here you go, i'm pretty sure this will work

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=97658&doy=18m6

 

[Da]

hmmm i wonder if you're with Sky BB could you use VOIP as your 'land line' connection?

 

[RSi Dave]

Do they send two cables to the box?

I know they use a quad LNB.

 

[sn00p]

I used these:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=401893

They have a switch for voice or data. The sky installer was happy with them and the callback worked without problem.

However, as you need them by monday you have a problem because the sky installer won't install if there is no access to a phone socket!

 

[Andy A]

Yes, they do send two cables to the box, ^^ thats the same sort of thing as I recommended, however maplins stores are all over so you may be able to get hold of one if you live near a maplins

 

[Adam K]

ok, i could trail an extension lead across the house while the installer is here and then tell him i am going to put it up through the loft when he is gone. do they supply any extension cable, or should i go buy a really long one today?

 

[Andy A]

Buy a really long one mate, go to tesco for this, I work at B&Q and they are a rip off there!!

Don't let the sky installers sell you it, they charge some ridiculous price per metre iirc

 

[_Kenny_]

The missus works for Sky and she's mentioned if you pay a fee (£25 iirc) they can still set it up without connecting it to a phone line. The may just be a standard box tho, I start sleeping when she goes into 'Sky mode'

 

[Dan Page]

The missus works for Sky and she's mentioned if you pay a fee (£25 iirc) they can still set it up without connecting it to a phone line. The may just be a standard box tho, I start sleeping when she goes into 'Sky mode'

That is just for standard mate, sky+ and HD both have to be connected 24/7, well so they say....

Wireless phone links are prob your best bet but the sky installers are paid to put it in although its a right b**ch when you got 10 installs to get done and you gotta start taking phone lines round the outside of the building lol.

 

[sn00p]

By any chance are is this a multiroom installation?

If so then it has to be connected to the same telephone line as the other box. They call home to make sure that the boxe are in the same house and that you're not pulling a fast one by splitting a subscription with a mate. It's in the T&C's that the box has to be connected 24/7, otherwise they'll start charging you a full subscription for the second card.

 

[Adam K]

i bought a 15m extension cord, cost me £6.50.

will trail it across the floor while the sky installer is here, and then when i get a chance i'll feed it up through the loft.

 

[Dan Page]

where are u from mate? could be me that comes and installs it

 

[Adam K]

where are u from mate? could be me that comes and installs it

lol, i doubt they would send you all the way to bucks.

 

[Dan Page]

nope, wont be me then lol...

 

[dunganick]

you will need to run a fixed cable to the unit, you can run it unplugged although you get billed extra for it (sky are con artists) and you wont be able to do updates etc....

The £25 as mentioned is only the case on sky. Sky + and HD require a cable.

Just run a temp cable, will cost you less than £10, then worry about doing it properly another time.

 

[Dan Page]

The software updates come through the dish, not the phone line pal.

 

[rustybolt]

load of crap, ive had SKY installed down stairs for over a year, and ive NEVER EVER plugged into the phone line except when it was first installed when the guy ran it into an extension i laid out for him from the hallway.

AS soon as he had left i wound it back up and never plugged it in since.

ive had no letters, no complaints and no problems so what you guys on about extra costs for?

 

[Daz]

ive had no letters, no complaints and no problems so what you guys on about extra costs for?

Sky get very upset and send some letters saying you've broke their terms and conditions..
You got Sky+/HD?

 

[Adam K]

i'm lazy, so i'm just gonna buy a voip box and connect it to my switch in my room, then put the sky+ box straight into that as it sits right next to the switch anyway.

why the hell they can't just put an ethernet card in the sky+ box i really don't know.

 

[Chrisjk]

im with russ, although i did get a letter from sky bout 2/3 weeks after installation cos i didnt have the cable in, left it in for a couple of days then its been unplugged and fine ever since. Plus on our main box it kept connceting to the interactive services without us knowing and us getting billed for it, able has been out of that 1 for 3 years plus iirc

 

[Griff]

why the hell they can't just put an ethernet card in the sky+ box i really don't know.

There is one.. They just don't use it.

 

[Dan Page]

Not every single person who doesn't connect there boxes to the phone lines get the letter. I have a plus box downstairs and two standards upstairs, had them all for ages and never had a letter or anything.

But on the other hand, loadsa my customers do get the letters, its just how lucky you are lol.

 

[sn00p]

i'm lazy, so i'm just gonna buy a voip box and connect it to my switch in my room, then put the sky+ box straight into that as it sits right next to the switch anyway.

why the hell they can't just put an ethernet card in the sky+ box i really don't know.

You'll have to be very choosy with your choice of codec as you require a analgoue data over it.

Is this the only box or is it multiroom?

 

[Adam K]

it's the only box.

the dect wireless sender/reciever is a nice idea, but £80 is quite pricey for something that i effectively don't even want to have.

i was thinking of getting this...

http://www.rlsupplies.co.uk/products/product.asp?id=201721

it claims to have reliable fax transmission, so a modem should work fine over it too in theory.

 

[Adam K]

they have come, installed, and gone.

 

[sn00p]

What box did you get then? When ours was being installed I was fearing seeing the words amstrad on the back, luckily it wasn't!

 

[SimonD]

Part of the installation process is a "ring back" so you will need it connected to the phone by whatever method.

Whether you then remove this "method" is down to you but Sky will soon start firing letters in your direction if it's not connected to the phone like during the first 12 months.

When we had Sky+ installed the bloke made such a mess of getting the cables from the dish to the box that when he got his drill out and said something about drilling through the wall to the phone point I said no way! Instead I told him just to leave me a long cable and I'd fix it in permanently. I left the cable trailing for a week or so and then unplugged it. I never got a letter from them but I know people who have. Luck maybe?

 

[Adam K]

What box did you get then? When ours was being installed I was fearing seeing the words amstrad on the back, luckily it wasn't!

got a thomson.

is this good or bad?

it says 80gb on the side of the box.

i know they have 160gb ones now.

 

[sn00p]

What box did you get then? When ours was being installed I was fearing seeing the words amstrad on the back, luckily it wasn't!

got a thomson.

is this good or bad?

it says 80gb on the side of the box.

i know they have 160gb ones now.

All the new ones are 160GB, but half of it is allocated to sky anytime so you only get a usable 80GB yourself.