You should also have received a letter from Sky with your broadband activation date on it. Make sure that this is today's date, or in the past. You can also check your line status online - please see our help guide, How do I know when my Sky Broadband has gone live? Please note that your line may become active at any time up until midnight on the day of activation.
Once you've confirmed that your line has been activated, it's time to unpack your Sky Broadband wireless router and setup kit. Check that you have all the pieces from your box:
A Sky wireless router (the black box)
A vertical stand for the router
A yellow (Ethernet) cable
A grey cable
A power cord adapter
Microfilters
A card with your wireless network settings
A "Get Set" CD-ROM containing the software you need to set up Sky Broadband, a useful offline help guide and security software.
Most modern computers (laptops and desktops) meet the minimum specifications for using Sky Broadband. If you're using an older computer or operating system, you can check the basic requirements in our article, Sky Broadband compatibility. Before you start installing Sky Broadband, close any open applications (programs) and switch off any firewalls and antivirus software you may have running in the background (you can find out how to do this in our article, Temporarily Disable Your Firewall. You will need administrator rights to install new software on your computer.
Windows users
Check that you have administrator rights by right-clicking the Start icon. If you see the options "Open All Users" and "Explore All Users" in the menu that appears, you have administrator rights.
Mac users
The first user account created with the Mac operating system has administrative privileges, so if you were the first person to use your Mac "out of the box" then you probably have the rights you need to set up Sky Broadband and install software.
You can check this by activating the apple icon on the top toolbar and selecting System Preferences from the menu that appears. In the System Preferences menu, select Accounts in the System section. If you have administrative rights, you will see the word "Admin" below your user name. If your user account is labelled "Standard," you do not have administrative rights and will need to use a user name and password of a user who does.
We've provided a stand for setting your Sky wireless router in an upright position. This will improve ventilation around the router, which may make it last longer and be more reliable. If you prefer to lay the router down flat, please ensure that you place it on a hard surface, such as a desk or bookshelf.
Pull out of the master socket the lead from your telephone, or any other device connected to it, and insert a microfilter. Your master socket should look like the one pictured and will be the main phone point in your home.
Microfilters stop broadband signals interfering with other items that plug into your phone line, such as telephones, Sky TV boxes and fax machines. The microfilters are the small white boxes with a phone lead or connector on them in your Sky Broadband box.
Check each telephone socket around your home. Each socket that has a device connected to it, such as games consoles, Sky boxes and telephones, will require a microfilter. Unplug the cable from the telephone socket, insert a microfilter, then insert the cable into the slot on the microfilter marked 'phone.' It's important that a microfilter is the first thing plugged into each telephone socket - no other connectors, splitters or devices should be directly connected to a telephone socket - every one should be connected via a microfilter. You can order additional microfilters from Sky Customer Services (find our details on the Contact Us page).
Insert the telephone cable you removed from the master socket into the socket on the microfilter marked phone or bearing a telephone symbol. Your telephone is now connected to the phone line via the microfilter. This microfilter will also be used by your Sky Broadband connection. Pick up the phone receiver - you should hear the dial tone, which confirms that the connection has been made securely.
(A) Plug one end of the grey cable into the broadband socket on the back of your Sky wireless router. This socket may be grey, or black and labelled 'ADSL.' Plug the other end of the grey cable into the microfilter socket marked modem or showing an internet symbol.
The grey cable is long enough to allow you to choose where to place your router, which doesn't have to be right next to the master socket.
(B) Your telephone and wireless router should both be connected to the master socket, via the microfilter.
There are two yellow LAN ports on the back of your Sky wireless router. Put one end of your yellow ethernet cable into the yellow port nearest the reset button and power switch.
Plug the other end of the yellow ethernet cable into your computer's ethernet port. This will often be on the side of a laptop, as shown, or on the back of your desktop computer.
Insert the head on the opposite end of the black power cord from the plug into your Sky wireless router.
Connect the plug to an available wall socket and turn on the mains power.
Now you've set up your router, you're ready to go online wirelessly. Please follow the instructions in our help guide, Set up your Sky Broadband wireless connection.
Printable version
Setup Guide - PDF
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