The coslink cable connects relatively firmly to the TV output but trying to get it to stay in the sky q box is terrible! It just kina sits there with nothing holding it. As soon as I move the box or a curtain flashes past the cable it's knocked out. The engineer set it up.
Its working ok but annoying when it just slips out! (Fnar)
Anyone have any ideas on how to secure it? I've tried all angles.

Why are you trying to connect a Sky Q box optical output to a TV optical output? Complete and total waste of time. An output always connects to an input. There is no point connecting two outputs or two inputs together as nothing will pass between them.

No sorry, I currently have the sky box connected to my Sony surround amp via the optical cable. I mentioned the tv to indicate the cable was good. So my problem is, the optical out of the sky q box won't hold the coslink securely.

It might have been better to have put that in the OP

Oh and it is a Toslink cable.

Anyway. Unplug it from the back of the Sky box and look at the socket. It should have a little flap that closes to protect the socket. When you insert the plug it folds up into the body of the socket and also acts as retainer for the plug. If the flap breaks off the plug will be loose.

This image shows the flap on the optical out in the closed position.

http://bskyb.i.lithium.com/t5/image/...43F533790?v=v2

Thanks. There is no flap on the sky box. There is no flap on the input to my amp or the output from my TV but they are much firmer connection. Is it possible that the engineer broke it? As I mentioned, it works just fine but any disturbance and the toslink (thank you but my autocorrect still wants to change it!!) slips out.

Perhaps it isn't pushed in fully?, they need to be inserted in the right orientation in order to push properly home - often it takes me five tries to get them the right way round (doing it by feel).

Thanks for the idea. I've tried every turn with a fair push. I tried the cable in my TV to make sure there is nothing wrong with the cable ends so I know how it should feel going in. I'm stumped.

Unless the flap is stuck in the open position then it does sound like it may have broken off. Not beyond the realms of possibility that the Sky fitter prised it out with a screwdriver thinking it was a dust cap! Seen plenty of optical connectors with little plastic bungs that you pull out to insert the plug.

On all the socket types that I have seen with the flap if it gets removed the plug can flop about in the socket as the flap helps keep it in place. You could use something like a folded bit of thin card and slide that along the top of the plug in the socket to sort of wedge it in place. Bit crude but has been known to work.

Then again as you hire the Sky Q boxes from Sky might be worth giving them a call and say you suspect their guy broke your box and they might send you a replacement.

Well, there's certainly no flap. There is a couple.of other connection slots with covers on and ihey do look like you need to prise them off. It was the engineers first ever q silver install but he had someone else with him so between them you would think they would know.

When it comes out next time I'm going to have to get crafty with the suggestion above.

What gets me is, why is the box like this? Both my TV and my amp have the same connection without anything needed to hold the cable in.

None of the images I've seen of the back of a Sky Q box show any other connectors with covers?

There are different types of Toslink socket. Some have a small plastic bung that pulls out some are just open to the elements and some have this flap. And yet others are a hybrid 3.5mm stereo jack with an optical connection! (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....oL._SY355_.jpg)

The problem with the flap type is that the flap has to fold up into a void at the top of the socket which isn't there on the other types. If the flap isn't there then the top of the plug isn't touching any part of the socket due to this void. So only three sides of the plug are held in place by the socket unlike all four with the other types or with a properly functioning flap type.

The two ports may differ slightly in design. The port with the dust flap maybe be slightly bigger than ports with removable dust caps because it has to take the dust flap into account when a cable is inserted, without the dust flap the cable is less secure because the port is too big.

Looks like your TV and Amp came with dust caps and the dust flap on the Sky box has broken off. To fix, try some thread tape, just make sure you don't obstruct the beam of light.

Trouble with wrapping tape all round the plug is it makes all four sides thicker while you only need to make the top side of the plug thicker. Hence why I suggested a small bit of folded card slid on top of the plug to fill the void where the flap should be.

I used thread tape because it was easier to modify the end of the cable than gaining access to the back of the amp to fit a bit of card, which would have worked just as well.

The thread tape worked well, just a small bit wrapped around was enough to make the cable fit more securely. I did think about using a drop of Loctite but thought better of it.

Thanks for your suggestions. If it comes to it, maybe a couple of toothpicks or a silicone glue? So far so good with the DO NOT MOVE ANYTHING rule

As I mentioned above, are you absolutely 100% sure that it's pushed home fully, in order to do so it needs to be oriented the correct way (or it won't go in correctly), and 'may' require quite a bit of force to latch home properly.

All the images of the rear of any of the Sky Q boxes I've found show the optical out with a dust cover flap. If, as the OP says, this flap is missing then the plug will be loose in the socket regardless of how far you push it in. Been there, done that, read the tee-shirt

Hi, yes I've tried it every way. I used moderate force but it just doesn't stay. Thanks for all your ideas and suggestions.

Obviously, you (like me) haven't got a Q to look at

But on other equipment it's EXTREMELY rare to come across a broken optical socket where the cable won't stay in - in fact I don't think I've ever come across one?.

While I don't like optical (it's essentially nothing but an advertising con ), the sockets do seem pretty good.

I have used sockets with the dust cover flap and also used ones where the flap has broken off. The void caused by the loss of the flap can make the plug loose. Essentially the plug is being held in on only three sides.

This is especially true if you use one of those thick cables with heavy metal plugs, pure weight plus gravity can make them fall out all too easily. Hell I've even got some of those cables (bundled free with my AV amp not ones I would normally buy) that fall out of ordinary sockets because of the weight of plug and cable if you are not careful. The thinner types with plastic plugs that tend to get chucked in the box with whatever bit of kit uses an optical connection may well stay in better.

I have Sky Q and the optical port has a dust flap, not a dust cap, if the dust flap is missing the cable will not be as secure because the dust flap when pushed in helps hold the cable in place.

These dust flaps are fairly flimsy and can break off easily, especially if you force the cable when it's not lined up properly.

Maybe you've just come across ports that have dust caps or the dust flap hasn't been missing, so securing the cable has never been a problem.

As for it being extremely rare to come across a broken optical port - Google brings up plenty of search results for the problem, so while it's not common it's certainly not unusual.