Frequently Asked Questions
Sky-Fi’s speed plans are based upon the Netflix bandwidth recommendations for a given TV screen resolution to provide an excellent streaming experience.
Please visit our “Internet Plans” page for details on each internet plan we offer.
If you are still unsure and would like some help choosing the perfect internet plan, please feel free to contact our support team at 289-204-1110.
No. Sky-Fi Networks is contract-free.
We only require a 30-day written notice of your service cancellation request.
A 2.4 GHz connection travels farther and penetrates walls and furniture better, covering a larger area of your home, while 5 GHz frequencies provide faster speeds at shorter ranges, so they are better for specific rooms in the house.
You can find our guidelines for setting up a new router at home in our Troubleshooting section on this page.
Here is a downloadable PDF version of the guidelines.
Download PDF
We have yet to see a Wi-Fi extender or Mesh system without problems. We have used them ourselves, and they do not solve the problem. The best option is to run a cable from your existing router and add a second access point in the area of your house with weak Wi-Fi.
For more information on this, please contact support at 289-204-1110
To check your internet bandwidth at home, you can follow these steps:
Disconnect all devices
To accurately measure your internet speed, make sure to disconnect all devices except the one you’ll use for the speed test.
Connect to Ethernet
If possible, connect your device directly to your router using an Ethernet cable instead of using Wi-Fi. This will ensure that the speed test measures the full speed of your internet connection and isn’t affected by any limitations of your Wi-Fi setup.
Choose a reliable speed testing website
There are many websites that offer speed testing services, but not all of them are reliable. Some good options include Speedtest by Ookla (www.speedtest.net), Fast.com by Netflix, or Google’s speed test.
Run the test
Once you’ve chosen a speed testing website, run the test by clicking the ‘Start Test’ button. The test will measure your internet speed by sending and receiving data to and from the server.
Interpret the results
After the test is complete, you’ll see your download and upload speeds measured in Mbps (megabits per second). Compare your results to the internet plan you’re subscribed to. If you’re getting close to the advertised speed, then you’re likely getting the full speed plan.
However, if you’re consistently getting significantly lower speeds, you may need to troubleshoot or contact Sky-Fi support at 289-204-1110.
It’s important to remember that the speed test can only measure the bandwidth available to the device you’re running the test on. Other devices in your home may be using some of the bandwidth, which could affect the speed you see on the test. Additionally, if you’re using Wi-Fi, there may be limitations in your Wi-Fi setup that could affect your internet speed. For example, if you’re using an older router or if there are physical barriers (like walls) between your device and the router, you may experience slower speeds.
An easy way to think of internet bandwidth is to compare it to water pressure inside your house. If you are the only one home, you can go to any faucet and get great water pressure. However, if there are multiple people using water at the same time you will each experience diminished flow rates due to the drop in pressure. If this sounds like the problem that you are having then the solution is to either divvy up your usage between users on a schedule or to subscribe to a faster speed plan that can keep up with the demand of multiple devices connecting at the same time.
Poor Wi-Fi Reception
A poor Wi-Fi signal inside the house is another common thing that can slow down your internet traffic. If the connection is bad enough this can even slow down traffic for other devices due to the cycles wasted by rebroadcasting dropped packets. The solution is not to use devices in areas with weak signals or to improve the signal in those areas by placing more wireless access points around the house. Running a wire from the main router to each additional wireless access point is always preferred. Wireless Mesh Repeaters and Signal Boosters are more expensive and less efficient than running a wire, plus they tend to cause more problems than they solve.
Wi-Fi Interference
Internal Traffic Congestion
This could be from you using more and more of your available bandwidth, possibly at times completely saturating your link. It can also be internal traffic between devices inside the house, such as wireless backups. If so, simply schedule these activities for the middle of the night when you are not using your bandwidth.
Bad Weather
During bad weather, our wireless network switches to lower frequencies for better penetration through heavy rain/snow
Consumer-grade routers get locked up and unresponsive from time to time, especially when exposed to country-grade Hydro power surges and brownouts. Often, they just need to be rebooted by simply unplugging the power cable for a few seconds then plugging it back in.
After the reboot, try your connection once again. If there is still no connection try unplugging the power to your Sky-Fi receiver to reboot it (this is the power brick at the end of the cable that plugs into the “Internet” port of your router). Give it 2 minutes to power back up then test your connection once again.
If that still doesn’t work, please get in touch with us through our support page.
If you have a dead spot in your house, where you would like to have more coverage, you could consider another cable run and a second wireless access point.
When planning Wi-Fi coverage, it’s best to think of sound travelling from a speaker. You would get sound coverage throughout the house with one big speaker, but you would have a much better listening experience with several smaller speakers with the volume set to medium. Wi-Fi is very similar.
If you are experiencing issues with connecting to the internet on a specific device, please first try connecting to the internet on another device, either a phone, tablet, or TV.
If the internet is working on some devices but not others, then there is nothing wrong with your internet service; the issue is either the specific device or your in-home network.
You could reboot your router by unplugging it for a few seconds, then try again after 60 seconds.
You could also try “forgetting” and reconnecting to the Wi-Fi network in your device settings.
Streaming from legitimate providers such as Netflix and YouTube is different from streaming from illegal sources that allow access to pirated content.
Legitimate providers have high-quality, reliable servers and content delivery networks designed to handle large amounts of traffic, resulting in a smoother streaming experience. They also have dedicated teams to ensure that their platforms run efficiently and are protected from security breaches.
On the other hand, pirated content is often hosted on lower-quality servers and networks primarily designed to avoid law enforcement rather than optimize the streaming experience. This results in slower loading times, buffering, and other issues. Unlike legitimate providers, these servers are also often not maintained, meaning they may be more susceptible to performance issues, hacking, and other security breaches.
Moreover, pirated content is not regulated and may contain malware or malicious software that can harm your device or steal your personal information. These risks can further contribute to a poor streaming experience or even lead to permanent damage to your device.
Here are some options to improve Wi-Fi signals in and around the home:
Move the router
Place your router in a central location, away from walls, metal objects, and other appliances that can interfere with the signal. Possibly on a higher shelf or on top of furniture to improve the signal range.
Upgrade your router
Consider upgrading to a more modern dual-band router with a stronger signal and greater bandwidth capacity.
Extend your wireless network
Install additional wireless access points that are hard-wired back to your router. Do this for each area that has a weak signal. Put each access point on a unique wireless channel and adjust its power level to cover the desired area.
Avoid Wi-Fi extenders, boosters, and mesh networks, as these often create complications and interference issues and are less effective and more expensive than the hard-wired option mentioned above.
Change the channel
Check your router’s settings and switch to a less crowded channel to improve the signal. For the 5 GHz band use the indoor channels, between 32-48.
Reduce indoor interference
Try to keep devices, such as microwaves, cordless phones, and baby monitors, away from the router or switch to 5GHz Wi-Fi, which is less susceptible to interference.
Upgrade your devices
Consider upgrading your devices to ensure they can take advantage of newer Wi-Fi technologies.
By implementing these options, you can improve the Wi-Fi signal inside your home and enjoy faster, more reliable internet connectivity.
Here are some tips for troubleshooting buffering issues:
Content provider
If the content provider is experiencing technical difficulties or has an overloaded server, this can affect your streaming experience.
Solution: Try streaming from another major content provider to see if that helps.
Internet Service Provider
If your household attempts to consume more bandwidth than your speed plan provides, everything will slow down, and your content stream will experience buffering and degraded picture quality.
Solution: Try upgrading your speed plan to a faster one or turn off other devices inside the house when you are streaming.
Router and Wi-Fi signal
If your router is old or not powerful enough to handle the data, or if your Wi-Fi signal is weak or disrupted, this can affect your streaming experience.
Solution: Move your router and TV closer to each other or run an ethernet cable between them so that the TV or streaming appliance is hard-wired.
Streaming appliance
If your streaming appliance is outdated or has a weak connection to your network, this can also affect your streaming experience. They can also overheat with extended use.
Solution: Make sure it is well-ventilated and, if possible, hard-wired to the router. Be sure to keep its firmware updated. Try streaming to a different device, such as a laptop or tablet, to see if the problem persists.
No, not for residential customers. Sky-Fi does not recommend nor permit this, as opening ports on a consumer grade router is like leaving the door to your house wide open. Anybody can walk in, 24/7.
If you wish to migrate from a residential service to a business one with a static IP address, open ports, and hosting rights, we would be happy to provide a quote and assist you in selecting, configuring, managing, and monitoring your firewall.
You can cancel your service any time by providing us with a 30-day written notice to support@sky-fi.ca or by calling our support team at 289-204-1110.