· None of the above quite fits
· None of these quite match
· Nothing is actually wrong. I'm thinking of changing Internet providers after being with sky for the last ten years, which has become extremely expensive, and I'm wondering if there are any implications regarding my Roon account
· No VPN, sky router, sky Q box
Are you using ARC?
Yes I am and wouldprefer not to lose this facility.
And with port forwarding or with Tailscale? If port forwarding, you obviously have to ensure that your new ISP supports port forwarding. Or switch to Tailscale.
This is the only thing I can think of where the ISP makes a difference, assuming that your new ISP is a good one and not a crappy one.
What device are you running your Roon server on? (PC, MAC, Nucleus, etc?)
Just some things to consider:
Is your WAN IP static or Dynamic?
Is the Roon server device set-up for DHCP or Static IP on your local netwrok? If you move to new ISP your speed and IP address range will likely change.
And as above are you using Roon ARC? Does your current ISP use CG NAT? This may affect your ability to easily transition to the new ISP (may need to fix port forwarding or use Tail scale?)
Yes, a mainstream provider ( BT internet) who own the line that Sky uses. Everything will be the same speed or better. ( Obviously, it will be BT router and Wi-Fi hub).
Depending on the router, of course. I have my own router, so an ISP change would have zero effect, but when using an ISP router these are important points to consider.
I don’t know if they support port forwarding and you didn’t answer the question if you use ARC with port forwarding or with Tailscale, so this is something you may want to take care of.
Sorry, i missed the first part of your question. I’m usinga high speed i7 NUC in a fanless case with a similar spec to the Nucleus.
And are you using ROCK, and if so do you have a Tailscale option to enable in the ROCK’s web admin UI? This is only an option on ROCK if it’s a fairly recent installation that was performed in UEFI mode (using RoonOS 2.x)
Set up for DHCP not a static address.
According to google search BT Internet does not typically use CG NAT on residential broadband. YMMV…
Then this at least should automatically reconfigure itself when you get a different router
Sorry you’re talking to non technical person. You have to talk in a language I can understand. (Sorry)
But surely if you installed ROCK on the NUC, you would know if you did it? Or, alternatively, if you installed Windows or Linux for the Roon Server?
And did you have to enable Tailscale for ARC to work, or did it “just work”, in which case Roon configured port forwarding automatically, meaning that your current ISP supports port forwarding and you either have to make sure that your new one does, too (or alternatively switch to Tailscale, which may be simple depending on what you installed on the NUC, or more involved if your NUC runs an older ROCK installation, in which case you wouldn’t see a Tailscale button in ROCK’s web admin UI).
Please state exactly what you don’t understand in the above, otherwise it’s hard wo explain it.
Yes, sorry I’m not that technical. However, yes rock was installed by myself on the NUC and it configured itself without asking if I wanted other software configurations. Roon Arc works perfectly regardless where I’m located (currently installed of my Android Phone). Roon also works faultlessly, installed on Ipad Pro, Microsoft Surface Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra.
My original question about changing ISP and router was really just a concern as to what issues I might encounter. In my mind, the Sky router is a basic piece of crap and surely a decent router must be better and will do everything the Sky kit can do, and more.
Hi @Peter_Boyse and thank you for your post.
We’d be happy to answer your question.
There are really three factors to consider for Roon when choosing an ISP.
First, speed and throughput. Almost all contemporary ISPs in your geographic region will offer sufficient speed for streaming high-resolution tracks from Qobuz/Tidal/KKBOX through Roon, or using Live Radio. However, some ISP offer combined modem/router hardware units with their residential packages, and those residential routers might have built-in settings that can inhibit Roon’s ability to sustain a long-term connection to upstream services or to devices on your local network.
From anecdotal reports on this forum, Sky routers tend to have some built-in multicast and traffic management features that can, put simply, refuse to play nice with Roon. Many users will get around this problem by installing their own router in addition to the Sky box and using that router for their actual local network. This is something that either other helpful Roon users, possibly Sky support, and certainly our team can assist with if you’re having trouble configuring the network. The particular router will depend on the physical features of your space and how many devices you need to connect via ethernet/WiFi. Our general recommendations are here:
Secondly, you’ll need to consider whether your ISP will permit port forwarding. In this sense, you’re probably safe, since Sky generally assigns IPv4 addresses directly. You can always ask them directly if you allow port forwarding, but we don’t recall a large volume of reports about Sky CG-NAT here.
Lastly, there’s cost. This appears to be something you’ve considered already from your first post, but do keep in mind that some ISPs will charge fees for port forwarding if they have implemented CG-NAT. It’s worth asking Sky support directly what their options are if you need NAT traversal.
Tailscale should always work, regardless of your ISP.
Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!
Ok, sounds as if you will be fine with ARC using port forwarding with Sky as well
Many thanks for your valued support. I will most certainly take the advice given and do my homework prior to selecting a new ISP.
Thank you.
If it helps I use BT internet which I had before subscribing to Roon. I have a Nucleus One (since early 2025) and it works pretty much flawlessly (touch wood) with the BT router and my MacBook Air M2. The only “problems” that I’ve had have been solved either by quitting and restarting Roon on the Mac, restarting the Mac itself or performing an hard restart on the Nucleus. BT does support port forwarding and I have used ARC with very few problems (the only time it didn’t work was in an institutional system with some kind of firewall). I also have Roon installed on my ipad Air. I’m am also not computer savvy which is why I got the Nucleus. A pricier solution but basically plug-n-play.