Sky Broadband: Extras that make it so good

Jonathan Victoria • 16 Oct 2024

The keys that help deliver superior broadband with Sky.

Sky is often thought of for TV first then broadband, but that’s not to mean it doesn’t have something good to deliver in the latter department.

Sky Broadband is a proven provider that has approximately 6.215 million subscribers in the UK - which puts it in second for broadband market share in the nation.

So it is popular, and for good reason - it offers great broadband, plus a range of benefits that can help improve your experience. 

Here, we’re going to highlight those extras that you can benefit from, giving you the details so you can be best informed on what you can get to gain the best internet experience.

How good is Sky Broadband?

As already highlighted, millions of people in the UK already put their faith in Sky Broadband to deliver to their needs.

While they aren’t necessarily the cheapest provider out there, you do get good value for money when choosing Sky Broadband as they have great speeds on offer on a strong and reliable network.

Using the popular Openreach network, Sky is able to offer average download speeds ranging from 61Mbps standard fibre to hyperfast 930Mbps full fibre.

There are seven speed packages to choose from so there is scope to properly judge how much broadband you need and go for the package that closely matches said needs.

As a whole, Sky Broadband performs very well on many fronts, providing good performance for gaming and streaming in particular, something that is particularly important for those who also use Sky’s stream-based TV services.

Our Sky Broadband expert review takes a deeper look into answering the question of how good Sky Broadband is, but with this guide, we’re focusing on the extras and benefits that you can take advantage of to bring a superior internet experience.

Sky Broadband WiFi Max

Sky offers their broadband customers add-ons that allow you to boost your router's signal, and one such offering is WiFi Max.

Sky WiFi Max is an optional add-on you can get to your chosen Sky Broadband package that provides you with the Sky WiFi Max Hub, a newer router that has better capabilities than the standard router.

It boasts the latest WiFi 6 technology and WPA3 security/encryption, making it 8x faster than their standard hub and has advanced security.

WiFi Max works in tandem with Sky’s WiFi Guarantee (more on that later) to guarantee you get either:

• 10Mbps in every room or money back if you have Sky Superfast, Full Fibre 75 or Full Fibre 100
• 25Mbps in every room or money back if you have Sky Full Fibre 150, Full Fibre 300, Full Fibre 500 or Full Fibre Gigafast

If you find that you aren’t getting those speeds in every room, Sky can offer up to three Max Pod WiFi extenders to help boost the signal around your home, or you can have an engineer sent out to evaluate the setup in your home and advise the best place and practices for your hub.

Speaking of, with the WiFi Max add-on you’ll gain access to engineer visits at a time that suits you when you need them, even in the evenings and on weekends, and at no extra cost.

The My Sky app will also have unlocked features specifically for the WiFi Max Hub, with features such as parental controls and Advanced Security, with the latter acting as an extra layer of protection from cyber threats which can be activated via the app.

And for Sky Mobile customers, you can benefit from any broadband outages that were either unplanned, last more than 30 minutes, and happen between 7am and 11pm.

If this happens to you, you will be given 2GB of data added to your Sky Piggybank automatically, as Sky’s way of apologising for the inconvenience.

WiFi Max parental controls

Through the My Sky app, you’ll be able to control what the younger members of the household can access. The feature is designed to be easy to manage, keeping all devices on a profile so you can manage them anytime, anywhere.

You can schedule breaks at specific times to pause/turn off the WiFi, so you can have a proper family meal at breakfast, lunch and/or dinner or just have some internet-free time, but you can also pause it on any one specific device connected to a profile whenever you’d like.

You can create multiple profiles, either for a person, a room or however you want to group your devices. With each profile, you can manage the downtimes and pause all devices assigned as you please.

Sky Broadband Boost

Sky Broadband Boost is really an all-encompassing feature rather than a standalone one. While the name suggests it boosts your speeds, it in fact does not, instead providing guarantees to ensure you are getting the most out of your WiFi.

Boost isn’t widely available to all, that’s why WiFi Max is also available as the two are very similar in the guarantees and features that they offer, only WiFi Max also offers a physical hub upgrade.

If you can get Boost, though, it might be worth the extra each month for the added stability of broadband throughout your home, plus help when you need it.

As we say, Boost and WiFi Max are very similar in what they offer. With Boost, you’ll get some of the same features as with WiFi Max, like free engineer visits whenever you’d like, and 2GB mobile data added to your Sky Piggybank for Sky Mobile customers.

You’ll also benefit from a similar WiFi guarantee that states you’ll get at least 3Mbps in every room, or Sky will give you your money back for one month’s broadband subscription including Boost.

You’ll also have the option of an engineer visit to check your setup or be given a new router, possibly even upgrading to the Max Hub if needed. Yo can even cancel Boost if you’d like in the case that you aren’t getting 3Mbps in every room without paying an early termination charge.

Daily line checks

There is one thing that sets Boost apart from WiFi Max, though, and that’s daily checks on your broadband line.

Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you’ll have an engineer coming out to check on your broadband connection every day to make sure everything is alright.

The daily checks kick in after your broadband has been operational for a couple of weeks and completed its stabilisation period. After this time, daily background checks will be run on your line that is designed to look for any potential issues outside of your property.

It does this to ensure you’re staying connected It looks for issues on the line, not specifically in your home, so if it finds an issue, a test will be run and an engineer will be sent out to investigate, and if they find a fault, they’ll look to fix it elsewhere on the line so you won’t be disturbed or have to stay in for them (unless the fault is with the connection in your home).

The tests are run at less high usage times, between 12am and 5am, so as to not disturb your connection at peak times. You’ll get a text only if Sky has to send an engineer to investigate and then another when the fault is fixed.

Daily line checks will, unsurprisingly, happen every day, although you will be excluded from them if:

• You joined Sky Broadband or changed your package in the last 28 days (the stabilisation period)
• There are widespread outages in your area
• A potential fault had been investigated through the daily checks process in the last 28 days
• You’ve reported a broadband problem in the last 14 days

Sky Broadband WiFi Guarantee

The Sky Broadband WiFi Guarantee has been mentioned a few times already, so now let’s expand on it.

The WiFi Guarantee brings you stability and a piece of mind knowing that Sky is looking out for you, ensuring you are provided with broadband throughout your home at all times.

The WiFi Guarantee is part of the benefits of Boost. What you get with it is a promise of at least 3Mbps WiFi in every room or your money back.

When Sky say every room, they do mean it rather literally - at least for standard homes. The WiFi Guarantee includes:

• All main rooms in your home (living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens etc.)
• A garage that is accessed without having to go outside
• A converted loft room that has a fixed staircase and is full boarded and furnished
• Conservatories

It does not include any exterior buildings such as a shed or small cabin on your property, a garage without direct house access, or unconverted lofts.

If you find that any room that falls under the listed category is not getting the guaranteed 3Mbps at least, you can check Sky’s service checker to see if there are any faults, and if so you can take the appropriate action.

The appropriate action can be claiming your money back, as well as getting an engineer out to sort any issues or advise you on the best setup/getting extenders from Sky to help the harder-to-reach rooms.

Sky Broadband Wall-to-Wall Guarantee

Sky Broadband’s Wall-to-Wall Guarantee applies to all broadband packages and customers who aren’t paying for Boost or WiFi Max.

You are covered with this guarantee at no extra cost if:

• You have a fibre or full fibre Sky Broadband package and are in contract
• Your broadband has been active for more than 14 days
• You have a Sky Broadband Hub

Like with the Sky Broadband Boost WiFi Guarantee, you’re promised at least 3Mbps WiFi in every room of your house (under the same regulations as stated in the above section) or you can claim back one month’s broadband subscription.

Do note that money back won’t apply if; you’re using extenders, boosters or routers that are different to the ones provided by Sky; if you’ve claimed money back at the same address within your contract; or if your account has been blocked due to an unpaid bill.

Sky Broadband Enhanced Wall-to-Wall Guarantee

Sky Broadband’s Enhanced Wall-to-Wall Guarantee basically does exactly what it says on the tin -  it is the standard Wall-to-Wall Guarantee, only enhanced.

It is available only to those who opted/could get Sky WiFi Max, and acts pretty much identically to the standard guarantee available with Boost, with the major exception being the promise of better speeds.

Since you opted for the WiFi Max add-on, you should have the Max Hub, which will provide a better, stronger connection. As such, the Enhanced Wall-to-Wall Guarantee will promise that you’ll get at least:

• 10Mbps in every room if you have Sky Broadband Superfast, Full Fibre 75 or Full Fubre 100
• 25Mbps in every room if you have Sky Broadband Full Fibre 150, Full Fibre 300, Full Fibre 500 or Full Fibre Gigafast

The guarantee kicks in automatically 14 days after your Sky Broadband and WiFi Max are activated. An engineer may come in to help setup your hub in the best way possible to ensure full connection throughout your home. 

If you find you aren’t getting the guaranteed speeds, you can claim one month’s broadband subscription back, plus Sky might also send you some Sky Max Pods to help expand the coverage.

Sky Broadband Speed Guarantee

Many providers offer a speed guarantee on their broadband packages and Sky is no different.

Sky’s Speed Guarantee ensures that you receive the speeds that you’re paying for, allowing you the opportunity to claim money back on your monthly bill or change your package if you fall below the Speed Guarantee parameters.

When you sign up with Sky Broadband, you will be told the average speeds you should expect from your package. These speeds may not be the exact same as those that are advertised, but they should be close to them.

Whatever the average speed is, you will also be told your Guaranteed Minimum Download Speed (GMDS), which is where the Speed Guarantee comes in.

Should you find that your speed falls below your stated GMDS for three days in a row in a 30-day span, you will be provided with some options to be compensated for the disruption.

This compensation comes in the form of money back, with you receiving credit to the value of one month’s broadband subscription. You’ll also have the choice to either:

• Change your broadband package with no upfront fees; or
• Cancel your broadband contract early with no early termination charges

You will only be allowed to claim money back once within your contract, and you must use Sky’s Service Checker to check your broadband speed to your hub to see if the speeds are falling below your GMDS for the stated time period.

Sky Broadband Shield

Internet safety is imperative these days, so to look out for their customers, Sky Broadband Shield is on offer - and by that, we don’t mean as an add-on.

Sky Broadband Shield is only available to Sky Broadband customers and comes as standard with any package.

It is a very handy tool that is designed to keep you and those connected to your broadband safe from the dangers that lurk online.

It includes advanced protection that helps to track, identify and prevent malware-infested sites, phishing, and viruses, as well as Safe Search, which allows you to set up a safety filter for those with younger members in the household to keep them from seeing things you’d rather they didn’t see - mainly explicit content on search engine results and lack of access to flagged sites.

Sky Broadband Shield works on any device connected to your broadband, protecting all members of the household and any guests that visit on any device, including mobiles, tablets, laptops/PCs or game consoles.

The tool is available through My Sky, so you can control it online or via the My Sky app on your mobile or tablet. It is automatically turned on when you join Sky Broadband, so be sure to set the parameters how you’d like them.

There are three age range settings to choose between - PG, 13 or 18. You can also customise your settings, such as blocking or allowing specific websites or categories. You can also set it to switch on and off from the 18 age range during specific times you choose.

Do note that the settings will be the same across all devices. You are not able to pick and choose which devices have specific access.

Extras on extras

Those are the main extras you can get either automatically with Sky Broadband or as an add-on. But there are two other features we wanted to point out which mainly highlight the benefits of Sky Broadband.

Award-winning broadband

Sky has won multiple awards as a broadband provider, showing exactly why they are one of the nation's favourite brands.

In fact, most recently, they were awarded Uswitch’s Most Popular Broadband Provider 2024’ at the Uswitch telecom awards.

On top of that, they have won numerous times for ‘Best Customer Service’ from multiple different outlets, including Choose and Cable.co.uk.

24/7 switching support

Switching broadband providers can be a pain, but Sky likes to make things a lot easier for their customers by offering 24/7 switching support.

Once you’ve chosen your Sky Broadband plan, they’ll handle the rest, confirming your new activation date and contacting your current provider that you’re leaving.