Updated Sky Broadband has rolled out a firmware update which is bricking users’ broadband hubs if they are not set to use the ISP's default choice of domain name server.

Sky customer support has been offering contradictory information to users and offering either a roll-back or a firmware fix but this is expected to up to a week.

The company's own support forums have threads from exasperated users struggling to get their service back. There is frustration at the lack of clear information as well as the lack of testing before the firmware was rolled out.

The Reg was contacted by a Sky subscriber who wants to remain anonymous. They lost internet access on Friday morning and were told it was due to a firmware update which went out overnight on Thursday. Initial promises of a fix within 72 hours were then amended to between three and eight days.

Our reader said:

I was advised that Sky had uploaded a firmware update to my hub overnight which caused issues for anyone who might have set up a third party DNS server on their Sky Hub rather than using the default DNS server. This means that I now had a pretty stroppy brick instead of a useful broadband hub. In fact, it was so bad that I couldn't even log into the Hub itself to fix the problem or factory reset it). What Sky did was to release some very poorly tested code to the public meaning that they have effectively broken my internet service, through no fault of mine. I rang back this morning to be told that I need to give them between 3 and 8 days to get back with a fix (the extra time is to allow them to investigate further). I guess their "let's just back it out" plan didn't work how they expected…

Some users on the forum speculated the roll-out relates to the government's 15 July deadline for age restrictions on adult content, but this has not been confirmed by Sky.

We've contacted Sky's press office and will update if we hear back from them. ®

Updated to add

Following publication, a Sky spokesman contacted The Reg with a statement:

“Our latest firmware update is designed to support new, exciting features coming to Sky Broadband soon. If customers wish to continue using a third party DNS server, they can request a roll-back to the previous firmware which can take up to 7 days however customers will still be able to access the internet using Sky DNS servers throughout this time.”