All Sky full fibre broadband customers are now supplied with the new Sky Max Hub at no extra cost, while those on part fibre plans get the Sky Broadband Hub.
Those in part fibre areas who take Sky Superfast can also upgrade to the Sky Max Hub at a cost of £3 per month, which also bundles their WiFi guarantee.
The Sky Max Hub supports WiFi 6, WPA3 security, 8 internal antennae, and mesh - to connect to additional WiFi Pods to boost coverage further around a home.
Sky Max Hub
Released in July 2023, the Sky Max Hub (SR213) is now available to all Sky full fibre broadband customers at no extra cost, and to Sky Superfast customers as part of the WiFi Max add-on.
The Sky Max Hub upgrades various aspects of its predecessor, the Sky Broadband Hub. It supports the latest WiFi 6 protocol (802.11ax), and also sees improvements to security, upgrading the WPA2 security version to WPA3.
It's worth noting both the Sky Stream box and Sky Glass TV support WiFi 6, and so customers with newer Sky TV platforms will see tangible benefits from upgrading to the Sky Max Hub.
WPA3 offers enhanced security for wireless networks, better protecting information transferred against password cracking and any possibility of decrypting traffic.
The Sky Max Hub also offers real-time device monitoring, with alerts sent and viewable on the MySky app, which has also been updated to support the new router features.
| Sky Max Hub | Sky Broadband Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | SR213 | SR203 |
| Release date | 2023 | 2019 |
| WiFi Protocol | WiFi 6 (802.11ax) | WiFi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Intelligent Mesh | Yes | Yes |
| Antennae | 8 | 8 |
| Ethernet | 4 | 4 |
| Security | WPA3 | WPA2 |
While the Sky Max Hub now comes as standard on all Sky full fibre broadband plans, those living in part fibre areas who take Sky Superfast can upgrade by paying an extra £3 per month for Sky WiFi Max.
Sky WiFi Max is the provider's new WiFi guarantee, replacing Sky Broadband Boost and promising minimum speeds over wireless of up to 25Mbps, and also bundles the Sky Max Hub for customers who don't receive it as standard.
Sky Broadband Hub
The Sky Broadband Hub (SR203) was released in September 2019 alongside the previous Sky Broadband Boost WiFi guarantee.
It's provided to all part fibre Sky broadband customers, including those taking Superfast 35, Superfast, and Ultrafast plans, whether they bundle Sky TV or not.
The Sky Broadband Hub offers dual-band wireless with 8 internal antennae in a small, sleek-looking black shell. It's a smaller design than equivalent routers from other providers, like the BT Smart Hub 2 or Virgin Media Hub 4.
It supports WiFi 5, or 802.11ac. While this is no longer the latest protocol, few devices have yet to integrate WiFi 6 and those that have will be backwards compatible with WiFi 5 anyway.
It offers a noticeable benefit in wireless coverage compared to its predecessor the Sky Q Hub (ER115), launched in 2018, which had only 5 internal antennae. In real tests we found the Sky Broadband Hub had much better wireless coverage than the previous Sky Q Hub.
| Sky Broadband Hub | Sky Q Hub | |
|---|---|---|
| Model | SR203 | ER115 |
| Release date | 2019 | 2018 |
| WiFi Protocol | WiFi 5 (802.11ac) | WiFi 5 (802.11ac) |
| Intelligent Mesh | Yes | No |
| Antennae | 8 | 5 |
| Ethernet | 4 | 4 |
| Security | WPA2 | WPA2 |
Previous Sky routers
Existing Sky broadband customers may have an older router. Prior to 2019 Sky offered two routers depending on whether the customer bundled Sky Q or not.
Sky Q Hub (ER115)
Sky standalone broadband customers were given the Sky Hub, while those who took Sky broadband with Sky Q were sent the newer Sky Q Hub.
Customers who have a Sky Q Hub can now request a router upgrade to the newer Sky Broadband Hub, which is a worthwhile owing to the better wireless performance of the Sky Broadband Hub.
Up until June 2024, NOW Broadband were still providing their customers with a rebranded version of the Sky Q Hub, called the NOW Hub Two.
The Sky Q Hub (and NOW Hub Two) supports dual-band WiFi 5, however as mentioned, only has 5 internal antennae which limits the wireless coverage and strength in comparison to newer models.
Likely due to the smaller size, the router saw a decrease in the number of Ethernet LAN ports available to just two.
Sky Hub (SR102)
The Sky Hub (SR102) is an even older device, first launched back in 2013, and unlikely to have many customers still using it. It supports WiFi 4 (802.11n) over single band 2.4GHz wireless.
Quite a boxy design, the Sky Hub houses four Ethernet LAN ports, and has just two internal antennae.
Any customers still using the Sky Hub would be recommended to upgrade to the Sky Broadband Hub. However, that could require taking out a new Sky broadband contract.
Find out more in our review of Sky broadband.
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