What is Sky Wall to Wall Wi-Fi? Here’s what you need to know

Sky has launched its new Wall to Wall initiative for its broadband customers. This new guarantee is an attempt to provide Sky users with a consistent and fast service no matter where they are in their home.

If you struggle to get connected in rooms that are too far removed from your router, this new policy from Sky could make a world of difference and even get you money back on a month’s Wi-Fi costs.

The guarantee states that if customers don’t get at least 3Mbits/sec in every room of the house – after taking Sky’s online test – they’ll get money back on a month’s broadband subscription. Sounds pretty good, right? There are, of course, a few caveats to this Wall to Wall guarantee you should keep note of. Allow us to walk you through it.

Is 3Mbits/sec a lot?

Sky’s guarantee ensures that, if you’re a paying customer, you’ll get your money back if you don’t get at least 3Mbits/sec in every room of the house. But what does that actually mean?

The first thing to clear up is that Sky’s 3Mbits/sec guarantee refers to your Wi-Fi speeds, not your guaranteed broadband speed. Essentially, this is the speed of the connection between your phone or laptop and your Wi-Fi router. Your broadband speed is independent of this refers to the connection your internet service provider delivers to your house. 

Put this into context and it’s clear that a guarantee of 3Mbits/sec isn’t very much. It’s a fraction of even the average download speed for the lowest tier package (the “Superfast” 36Mbit/sec package) and is a bare minimum connection. It’s enough to browse the internet (slowly) and to send emails, but not fast enough to guarantee you’ll be able to watch Netflix in crisp Full HD. For that you need a minimum 5Mbits/sec to watch in 1080p and 15Mbits/sec for 4K.

Who is eligible for Sky Wall to Wall Wi-Fi?

If you’re an existing Sky broadband customer who has one of the Fibre or Full Fibre packages listed above, and you don’t have a Sky Broadband Boost with Wi-Fi Guarantee, you’re eligible. Wall to Wall covers customers on the Superfast 35 and Ultrafast Plus tiers as well.

Equally as important; you need to have an up-to-date Sky Broadband Hub. If you’re using the 2013 Sky Hub, or the 2016 Sky Q Hub, the guarantee doesn’t cover you. The latest Sky Broadband Hub should be available to customers through Sky’s existing Wi-Fi guarantee, so reach out to them to arrange a new one if you don’t have it already.

If you can’t get 3Mbits/sec in every room of your property, Sky will give you money back for one month’s broadband subscription. That includes any offers you might be benefiting from, but excludes any Sky Talk subscription or call changes. In addition, you need to be more than 14 days into your contract term with Sky, as the first few weeks of any new broadband service can result in fluctuating speeds.

Where does this leave Sky Broadband Boost?

Sky Broadband Boost was a pre-existing add-on for Sky Broadband customers that offered a lot of the same benefits as Wall to Wall, but you have to pay extra for it. Boost also nets you daily checks on your phone line and engineer visits at your convenience without the £15 discount for weekend and evening visits. If you’re paying for Broadband Boost right now, you don’t get to benefit from Wall to Wall as well, mostly because you’re covered already.

In this way, pre-existing customers may be paying for Boost’s Wall to Wall benefits and now don’t need to. If you want to check out the full details of Broadband Boost and determine if it’s still right for you, or see if it’s something you’d like to add to your package, click here.

READ NEXT: Sky Broadband review

Do I need to sign up?

Nope, if you’re an in-contract customer with Sky broadband, you’re already covered by this guarantee. Take note below of how you can claim money back.

What does Sky mean when it says “every room” of the house?

For the Wall to Wall guarantee, Sky includes all main rooms of your home, which they say can be up to 5 bedrooms and 12 rooms in total. Garages also count, so long as they aren’t accessed by going outside of the property. Converted loft rooms are covered too, but it needs to have a fixed staircase and be furnished and fully floor-boarded. Conservatories count as well, so the guarantee is pretty all-encompassing.

On the flipside, exterior buildings like sheds, annexes and the like are not covered by the guarantee. Generally, follow the rule that if you have to leave the house to get to where you want the connection, it won’t be covered.

Is 3Mbits/sec a lot?

Sky says on its website that the average download speeds of its broadband customers is 59Mbits/sec, while Ofcom claims that the average UK download speed in 2021 was closer to 50Mbits/sec. However, these speeds are largely situational. If you aren’t in a fibre area yet or fibre cabling doesn’t come directly into your building, your speed could be drastically lower than that. Speeds can also depend on your area’s infrastructure. If only Openreach has installed the fibre cable in your area, you’ll have different optimum providers than if, say, City Fibre has. To check what speeds Sky can offer you in your area, click here. Although 3Mbits/sec isn’t a whole lot, this guarantee certainly gives people in more remote areas some reassurance for their money.

For reference, Sky has 3 main Fibre packages. The average download speed for the lowest tier package, called “Superfast”, is 36Mbit/sec. The higher tiers, named “Ultrafast” and “Gigafast” have average download speeds of 145 and 900Mbits/sec respectively.

How do I go about claiming money back?

Now the important bit. If it so happens that you can’t achieve the minimum speeds for whatever reason, try these online troubleshooting options. Let’s say those don’t work, and none of the dedicated experts at Sky can help you hit the threshold of 3Mbits/sec when you get in touch with them. In that case, Sky will credit your account with the cost of one month of your broadband subscription, and it will show on your next bill.

Take note: if you’re using Wi-Fi extenders, boosters or a router in your home that hasn’t been provided by Sky, you won’t be able to claim money back. So, if you’re going to use a range-extender or booster, make sure it’s made by Sky in order to still be eligible for Wall to Wall.

Further, if your account is blocked due to an unpaid bill, or you’ve already claimed money back through the same contract term for the same address, you also won’t be able to get your costs back. It seems as though claiming one month back per contract at one address is the limit should your speed problems persist.