thinking of using NOW broadband

[Fireguy4403]

I am considering NOW broadband however I am unsure due to a number of factors,

How good is the Router provided, stability signal etc.. I currently live in a 1 beroom flat

 more importantly Is it easy to resolve issues should a technical problem occur?

What is customer service generally like?

I currently have Broadband with SKY and my renewal offer is pants to be honest the one thing that prevents me from signing up with NOW ,is customer service, I have to say that most broadband providers have awful reviews but NOW broadband is so much worse.

Any advice the community can offer would be so appreciated

Thankyou

Regards

Bob

[schnapps]

Hi @Fireguy4403 

Unfortunately you will get different opinions from different people depending on their experiences.

Myself and two other family members are happy with their service for 3 years plus, but we had no initial setup problems (all self install) or wifi dropouts or Broadband outages.

Others will have different experiences and opinions though.

Can you keep the Sky Router or do you have to hand it back to Sky ?

If you can keep the Sky Router what version do you have, where depending on the model number the wifi signal performance might be improved, plus again depending on the model may have four Ethernet ports compared to the two supplied on the NOW Hub 2 Router.

[Fireguy4403]

Really appreciate the prompt reply and useful advice.
Not sure if I have to return the router as yet, I am still considering my
options regarding cancelling , I do have the latest router from Sky I
believe.
Anyhoo thankyou once agin
Regards
Bob

[schnapps]

Hi @Fireguy4403 

Don't let my post sway you either way.

If you have the Sky SR203 Router then that will work with NOW and should have a better wifi performance interms of signal range when compared to the NOW Hub 2.

The Sky SR203 also has the benefit of four Ethernet ports compared to the two on the NOW Hub 2.

My NOW Hub 2 works fine for me in my home setup environment, but other users constantly complain of poor wifi coverage from it.

[Fireguy4403]

Good afternoon,

I do indeed have the SR203 router, will need to ring sky to see if I have to return it.

I really appreciate your advice and I totally understand it is my decision, my hesitaton lies with the fact I have been a SKY customer for 18 years and as such have always had a good renewal package, however this time round no real deal offered.

Thanks again for your help I will let you know if I make the change.

Regards

Bob.

[Fireguy4403]

Thankyou for your advice.

[redchiz1]

I helped to organise NOW broadband for my elderly father-in-law just over a year back, largely because it offered far and away the best value for his needs. I did find that the Hub needed a bit of tweaking to improve its WiFi performance, but once done that was fine. The only occasion he has had a problem was when the phoneline went down which was courtesy of a fault with Openreach. Customer services could not have been more helpful once we had explained that he was a vulnerable customer and expedited an engineer fix within 24 hours. 

[Fireguy4403]

Thanks for the help.

[chilli2]

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@Fireguy4403 wrote:

I am considering NOW broadband however I am unsure due to a number of factors,

1: How good is the Router provided, stability signal etc.. I currently live in a 1 bedroom flat

2:  more importantly Is it easy to resolve issues should a technical problem occur?

3: What is customer service generally like?

I currently have Broadband with SKY and my renewal offer is pants to be honest the one thing that prevents me from signing up with NOW ,is customer service, I have to say that most broadband providers have awful reviews but NOW broadband is so much worse.

Any advice the community can offer would be so appreciated

Thankyou

Regards

Bob

---

In an attempt to answer a few questions

1: How good is the router, in my opinion is extremely poor with weak wifi which in turn results in poor speeds / quality etc, the ethernet also is not all that good and it struggles with multiple devices , however things arent that bad, as you can use your own device which should improve things drastically.

 In a one bedroom flat however the Now router may be OK .

 I'm of the opinion that most ISP supplied routers are not that great - unless you are at the high ( expensive) end of the market , and there is some mileage in gaining a little knowledge and satisfaction  in setting up your own kit/equipment

 If the Now router works, then great, if not then its not a problem

2: more importantly Is it easy to resolve issues should a technical problem occur?

 How often have you had to contact your previous/current  ISP? and what technical issues have you had? If its home issues such as wifi configuration then i have had no issues - going down the figuring it out myself route- for issues outside then it will be a case of contacting Now who will then arrange Openreach to fix the issue .

 As far as i know Openreach have a standard service agreement where all ISPs ( aka communication Providers / CPs) are treated the same, be that BT retail, EE, Plusnet, Talk talk and so on , ISPs can also pay openreach a  little more for a "gold plated " service - however you will pay more for service from these ISPs ( such as andrews &  arnold ettc) or/and you will need a business account.

 So far i have not had any issues with Now, and very few with my previous ISP

So Now works fine for me, I'm happy with it, its a budget ISP with no frills  - my only concern is when the time comes to renew my contract or move on but that is still some time away

My only dealing with eh call centre was to activate 1571 answerphone ( an extra £1/month) and this was done with no issues - although as far as i  know they are not UK based

I signed up via a cashback site ( top cashback - others are available) which took about 6 months to get the cashback from (£100) which was a nice bonus and helped to reduce the overall cost

[Fireguy4403]

Many thanks for the useful advice.

[schnapps · Accepted solution]

The NOW Broadband Team are based in Londonderry Northern Ireland last time I contacted them a year or two back.

Perhaps under high volume of telephone traffic some of the calls are maybe transferred to an overseas call centre to see if they can help before passing back to Londonderry (pure speculation on my part).