Upgrade Foxtel IQ2 Cable to IQ4 Satellite

[PieNSauce]

I just thought I'd let the board in on a bit of a secret that some might find useful. If you have Foxtel by Telstra and have an IQ2 box and you call them to upgrade to IQ4 satellite, in most cases you will have to pay $125 for the box plus installation fees. I think that will set you back at least a few hundred dollars. That said, I stumbled upon a hack to get it for free. If you call and tell them that your service keeps dropping out since your area got NBN they will upgrade you for free. I've just placed my order! Be aware that additional boxes will incur the $125 upgrade fee.

Hope this info helps those who have avoided upgrading.

 

[Black_White]

I just thought I'd let the board in on a bit of a secret that some might find useful. If you have Foxtel by Telstra and have an IQ2 box and you call them to upgrade to IQ4 satellite, in most cases you will have to pay $125 for the box plus installation fees. I think that will set you back at least a few hundred dollars. That said, I stumbled upon a hack to get it for free. If you call and tell them that your service keeps dropping out since your area got NBN they will upgrade you for free. I've just placed my order! Be aware that additional boxes will incur the $125 upgrade fee.

Hope this info helps those who have avoided upgrading.

I just upgraded my IQ2 satellite to IQ4 satellite without paying a cent.
Just told them I had dropouts. Took 10 minutes on the phone talking to Foxtel and was able to “show” them the “dropouts” while they listened....
Didn’t hurt that I said it was easier for me to unsubscribe until the next free instillation offer.
And the upgrade from 2 to 4 is totally worth it. Better all round.

 

[Anzacday]

I just upgraded my IQ2 satellite to IQ4 satellite without paying a cent.
Just told them I had dropouts. Took 10 minutes on the phone talking to Foxtel and was able to “show” them the “dropouts” while they listened....
Didn’t hurt that I said it was easier for me to unsubscribe until the next free instillation offer.
And the upgrade from 2 to 4 is totally worth it. Better all round.

Well done.
Just forgot to say thanks to PieNSauce

 

[MagpieJoel]

Just tell them you are going to cancel and they will give you what you want.

 

[PieNSauce]

For what it's worth, I didn't have to make any threats nor did I have to prove drop-outs. I simply said that since NBN became available in my area, I had been experiencing drop-outs and pixellation. The support guy immediately told me that in order to fix it they would need to upgrade me to satellite Foxtel which I believe will ultimately be the only way to get Foxtel down the track other than their barely acceptable streaming internet service. When I asked if it included the IQ4 he said it would for the first box and that there would be zero cost. Pretty cool!

 

[neilk]

For what it's worth, I didn't have to make any threats nor did I have to prove drop-outs. I simply said that since NBN became available in my area, I had been experiencing drop-outs and pixellation. The support guy immediately told me that in order to fix it they would need to upgrade me to satellite Foxtel which I believe will ultimately be the only way to get Foxtel down the track other than their barely acceptable streaming internet service. When I asked if it included the IQ4 he said it would for the first box and that there would be zero cost. Pretty cool!

I'm assuming you have to add a satellite dish also?

 

[DogCoffee]

I'm assuming you have to add a satellite dish also?

Yeah that's why I couldn't get it - the won't put dishes on unit blocks. But I have high speed internet 60 MBPS so I'm going to go with Kayo - $25 a month.

 

[Black_White]

For what it's worth, I didn't have to make any threats nor did I have to prove drop-outs. I simply said that since NBN became available in my area, I had been experiencing drop-outs and pixellation. The support guy immediately told me that in order to fix it they would need to upgrade me to satellite Foxtel which I believe will ultimately be the only way to get Foxtel down the track other than their barely acceptable streaming internet service. When I asked if it included the IQ4 he said it would for the first box and that there would be zero cost. Pretty cool!

As far as I know, all Foxtel will be satellite based by 2020, so they were just getting in early with you.
Those of us already on satellite need to be a bit tricky to avoid the penalty payment.
https://eftm.com/2018/03/exclusive-foxtel-migrating-all-cable-tv-customers-to-satellite-47580

 

[Black_White]

Yeah that's why I couldn't get it - the won't put dishes on unit blocks. But I have high speed internet 60 MBPS so I'm going to go with Kayo - $25 a month.

Interesting concept.
Can I record and watch back my favourite Collingwood wins?

 

[DogCoffee]

Interesting concept.
Can I record and watch back my favourite Collingwood wins?

As far as I understand yes - not sure how long they will archive but it will be essentially like Netflix for sports

 

[PieNSauce]

I'm assuming you have to add a satellite dish also?

Correct, and they will do that installation for free too.

 

[PieNSauce]

As far as I know, all Foxtel will be satellite based by 2020, so they were just getting in early with you.
Those of us already on satellite need to be a bit tricky to avoid the penalty payment.
https://eftm.com/2018/03/exclusive-foxtel-migrating-all-cable-tv-customers-to-satellite-47580

Yes that was always my understanding too. The reality for Foxtel is that unless they can keep that fact quiet (which they appear to be trying to do), they will face an avalanche of people like me expecting a free upgrade. My original plan was to simply wait until they were forced to upgrade me until I heard other people were being upgraded for free. Make no mistake, they want people to pay for the upgrade if they can cajole them in the interim and I always assumed that the introduction of 4K TV was their weapon of choice. The word is getting out now so I think they will have a job on their hands to get people to pay.

As for Kayo, I considered that as an option but from what I'm reading it has some serious drawbacks like the lack of an integrated electronic program guide or Samsung Smart TV App and the inability to record programs. For me those few things made it a no go zone for now. That said, the fact that they are upgrading me without the need for me to recontract (as far as I know), means that if Kayo ever becomes a palatable option I will be able to cancel my subscription to foxtel at any time without penalty and that was what I was hoping for. I'm assuming that if I went to Telstra or Foxtel and simply asked for the upgrade, I would be forced to recontract for at least 12 months.

The other thing on my mind was my impending downgrade to NBN. I currently have cable internet which is fairly fast and my research suggests that Telstra along with a number of other ISP's under-provision their NBN bandwidth to the extent that they will not even be able to maintain my current internet speed. You can check out ISP's on Whirlpool. My research suggests that there are one or two ISP's out there who provision their offerings with adequate bandwidth and unless Telstra change their policies, I had planned to cancel my internet with Telstra and go to a better provisioned ISP. Once again, because they are upgrading me without the need to recontract, I will be free to contract with any ISP before my cable offering is withdrawn in August 2019.

It's all looking like working out pretty much as I'd hoped... so far!

 

[MagpieJoel]

Interesting concept.
Can I record and watch back my favourite Collingwood wins?

You can stream it on demand.

 

[MagpieJoel]

As for Kayo, I considered that as an option but from what I'm reading it has some serious drawbacks like the lack of an integrated electronic program guide or Samsung Smart TV App and the inability to record programs. For me those few things made it a no go zone for now.

* Smart TV apps will be available in next few months.
* No need to record, when you can watch 'on demand'.
* I think it needs an EPG. Hopefully one is in the works.

I will be free to contract with any ISP before my cable offering is withdrawn in August 2019.

Take a look at Aussie Broadband. Excellent provider.

 

[Black_White]

best thing about the IQ4?
A fta input enabling you to have all fta channels plus your subscribed Foxtel channels on the same box.
Just a pity you cannot “favourite” the Foxtel channels you are subscribed to, and need to scroll the whole list, even those locked out channels.
I understand Foxtel wanting you to know what you are “missing” out on, but very annoying.

 

[Black_White]

You can stream it on demand.

Prefer it to be on hard drive, to watch, stop, pick up where I left off.

 

[PieNSauce]

* Smart TV apps will be available in next few months.
* No need to record, when you can watch 'on demand'.
* I think it needs an EPG. Hopefully one is in the works.



Take a look at Aussie Broadband. Excellent provider.

Thanks for that. Aussie is definitely on my list but I'm in no hurry to downgrade at this stage. I will be monitoring ISP's and provisioning levels periodically between now and August when my cable will no longer be available. I won't be at all surprised if when that date gets close I am offered some pretty good deals. Time will tell.

 

[PieNSauce]

Prefer it to be on hard drive, to watch, stop, pick up where I left off.

This! At this stage, I can't be sure how much Kayo will give access to in terms of past matches and as I said, No EPG is a big bummer when you want to watch live sports. In fact, if I were to arrive home from being out in the middle of a live event, I'm not sure if I will be able to start watching from the beginning until after the game is over. Currently, if I record a game and arrive home in the middle of it I can watch it from the start. Small drawbacks I know but certainly worth considering.

 

[neilk]

Just got a free IQ4 after chatting to Telstra regarding imminent NBN connection. Same bundle I had previously but $10 cheaper!

 

[Black_White]

Yes that was always my understanding too. The reality for Foxtel is that unless they can keep that fact quiet (which they appear to be trying to do), they will face an avalanche of people like me expecting a free upgrade. My original plan was to simply wait until they were forced to upgrade me until I heard other people were being upgraded for free. Make no mistake, they want people to pay for the upgrade if they can cajole them in the interim and I always assumed that the introduction of 4K TV was their weapon of choice. The word is getting out now so I think they will have a job on their hands to get people to pay.

As for Kayo, I considered that as an option but from what I'm reading it has some serious drawbacks like the lack of an integrated electronic program guide or Samsung Smart TV App and the inability to record programs. For me those few things made it a no go zone for now. That said, the fact that they are upgrading me without the need for me to recontract (as far as I know), means that if Kayo ever becomes a palatable option I will be able to cancel my subscription to foxtel at any time without penalty and that was what I was hoping for. I'm assuming that if I went to Telstra or Foxtel and simply asked for the upgrade, I would be forced to recontract for at least 12 months.

The other thing on my mind was my impending downgrade to NBN. I currently have cable internet which is fairly fast and my research suggests that Telstra along with a number of other ISP's under-provision their NBN bandwidth to the extent that they will not even be able to maintain my current internet speed. You can check out ISP's on Whirlpool. My research suggests that there are one or two ISP's out there who provision their offerings with adequate bandwidth and unless Telstra change their policies, I had planned to cancel my internet with Telstra and go to a better provisioned ISP. Once again, because they are upgrading me without the need to recontract, I will be free to contract with any ISP before my cable offering is withdrawn in August 2019.

It's all looking like working out pretty much as I'd hoped... so far!

You’ll love IQ4.
And as far as your NBN goes, try Aussie Broadband.
They actually provision for their customer needs.
https://www.canstarblue.com.au/internet/aussie-broadband-accc-report/

 

[PieNSauce]

You’ll love IQ4.
And as far as your NBN goes, try Aussie Broadband.
They actually provision for their customer needs.
https://www.canstarblue.com.au/internet/aussie-broadband-accc-report/

I'm looking forward to seeing the new IQ4. One of my pet hates with the IQ2 has always been the pathetic implementation of an EPG. I used to run Windows Media Centre and while I could always see ways to improve its EPG, it left Foxtel for dead. As a simple example, I could set up an automatic recording based on a combination of factors such as category:sports + subcategory:AFL + keywords:any of "Collingwood", "Coll", "Pies", "Magpies" + type:Live. I never missed a live Collingwood match that way. The closest I could come to that with Foxtel was to record any football match. Pretty poor! What's more, I could actually read the EPG and understand what was on. The foxtel one is soo difficult to read. Anyway, I very much doubt that Foxtel has addressed these things adequately but hopefully it's at least readable now.

As far as Aussie goes, I am aware that they are one of the better provisioned providers and they are pretty much top of my list when the time comes. Thanks for the info.

 

[Black_White]

It is certainly readable. But I don’t th8nk they have the ability to pick a specific team to follow. At least not that I’ve found.
I program recordings through the iPad foxtel app. Much easier than using the EPG.

 

[Maggie5]

I'm looking forward to seeing the new IQ4. One of my pet hates with the IQ2 has always been the pathetic implementation of an EPG. I used to run Windows Media Centre and while I could always see ways to improve its EPG, it left Foxtel for dead. As a simple example, I could set up an automatic recording based on a combination of factors such as category:sports + subcategory:AFL + keywords:any of "Collingwood", "Coll", "Pies", "Magpies" + type:Live. I never missed a live Collingwood match that way. The closest I could come to that with Foxtel was to record any football match. Pretty poor! What's more, I could actually read the EPG and understand what was on. The foxtel one is soo difficult to read. Anyway, I very much doubt that Foxtel has addressed these things adequately but hopefully it's at least readable now.

As far as Aussie goes, I am aware that they are one of the better provisioned providers and they are pretty much top of my list when the time comes. Thanks for the info.

Actually one of the reasons I signed up with Optus Fetch (one channel $6.00 per month plus I get about 10 extra channels) was the fact that I could record all Collingwood games and other TV series.

With Fetch, you can nominate a team and scroll to all for the year. Also with normal TV shows, I can select current series or all series. I find it better than 'catch up' as I can watch all in the one place. Last year I recorded all Pie VFL and AFL games on 7 this way.

Any games not on 7 I get from our friendly @ MagpieBat.

 

[Black_White]

Actually one of the reasons I signed up with Optus Fetch (one channel $6.00 per month plus I get about 10 extra channels) was the fact that I could record all Collingwood games and other TV series.

With Fetch, you can nominate a team and scroll to all for the year. Also with normal TV shows, I can select current series or all series. I find it better than 'catch up' as I can watch all in the one place. Last year I recorded all Pie VFL and AFL games on 7 this way.

Any games not on 7 I get from our friendly @ MagpieBat.

I have Fetch as well. But not tied to Optus as when tied to an isp box will be locked and useless when you leave the isp.
I find it very useful, but now with the IQ4 now fitted with an external antenna input it may be surplus to requirements.
Especially with two channels being deleted from my pagage at the end of December.

 

[soreplums]

Do you need a satellite for IQ4 box?