See Below for Help With Common Problems
If you prefer to talk to us, feel free to call us on 020 3654 1804
Sky HD Box Set Up
HOW TO PAIR YOUR EXISTING SUBSCRIPTION CARD WITH YOUR NEWDIGIBOXWIFI MODELSIf your router has a WPS button:Press and hold the WPS button on your broadband router for two seconds.Within one minute press the WPS button on the front panel of your Sky+HD box.The wireless light on the front of your Sky+HD box will flash amber while the box attempts to establish aninternet connection. It will turn solid amber when the connection has been successful.If your broadband router doesn't have a WPS buttonYou should already be in the Network tab of the settings menu (if not, press services on your remote controland use the arrow buttons to scroll to Settings on the top navigation menu. Press select, then use the arrowbuttons to scroll to Network and press select).Choose Connect with Password using your Sky remote and press select.Choose your wireless network (SSID) from the list and press select. If you're not sure what your wirelessnetwork is called, this can usually be found on the back or base of the broadband router, next to thepassword.Enter your password using the keypad on your remote control then press select to connect. Remember thatpasswords are case-sensitive: you can cycle through uppercase letters, numbers and lowercase lettersthrough repeated pressing of the number buttons on your Sky remote. Special characters can be entered byrepeated pressing of the 0 button.NON WIFI MODELS (INCLUDING THOSE CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO A ROUTER BY ETHERNET CABLE)STEP 1 - INSERT YOUR CARD IN THE SLOT MARKED 'VIEWING CARD' WITH THE GOLDCHIP FACING DOWNWARDS; THIS SLOT IS HIDDEN BEHIND A DISCRETE FLAP ON THEFRONT PANEL.STEP 2 - PRESS ‘SERVICES’ ON YOUR REMOTE, FOLLOWED BY LOCATING ‘SETTINGS’,THEN ‘SYSTEM DETAILS’ (REMOTE SHORTCUT = SERVICES, RIGHT, DOWN, 3).THE VIEWING CARD NUMBER SHOULD DISPLAY ON SCREEN; IF NOT, PLEASE CHECK THECARD IS INSERTED CORRECTLY.STEP 3 - CONTACT SKY (0800 151 2747), ADVISING THEM YOU HAVE UPGRADED TO ANEW DIGIBOX PURCHASED FROM AN INDEPENDENT RETAILER AND YOU WOULD LIKETHE VIEWING CARD PAIRED. THEY WILL ASK FOR THE ‘VERSION’, ‘SERIAL’ AND ‘VIEWINGCARD’ NUMBERS FROM THE ‘SERVICES’ MENU WHICH YOU OPENED IN STEP 2. ONCEPROVIDED, THEY WILL GO AHEAD AND PAIR THE CARD.PLEASE ENSURE THAT IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO SKY+ OR HD FACILITIES; THAT YOU CONFIRMTHESE HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED ALSO. THE PROCESS OF PAIRING CAN TAKE ANYWHEREFROM 2 MINUTES TO 4 HOURS. IF AFTER THIS TIME, ALL THE CHANNELS SUBSCRIBED TOHAVE NOT APPEARED, CONTACT SKY AGAIN.IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS PLEASE CONTACT US FOR ASSISTANCE.THAT IF YOU SUBSCRIBE TO SKY+OR HD FACILITIES; THAT YOU CONFIRMTHESE HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED ALSO. THE PROCESS OF PAIRING CAN TAKE ANYWHEREFROM 2 MINUTES TO 4 HOURS. IF AFTER THIS TIME, ALL THE CHANNELS SUBSCRIBED TOHAVE NOT APPEARED, CONTACT SKY AGAIN.IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY PROBLEMS PLEASE CONTACT US FOR ASSISTANCE.
Single Feed Mode (IF YOU HAVE ONLY ONE SATELLITE CABLE)Press services on your remote control followed by 0, 0, 1 then select this will bring up a hiddenengineers menu you will see below a setting for single feed mode you will need to scroll down tosingle feed mode and turn this setting to on, you will prompted to save this setting and follow the onscreen instructions this will enable only one satellite tuner to operate now so you will need to makesure the satellite cable is connected to the one tuner that is active, once single feed mode is set youshould find the box will operate correctly.
System Reset - First press the Services button on your Sky remote which will take you into the Services section:then press 0, 0, 1 then press the Select button to take you into the engineers section:Press the left arrow on your Sky remote which will take you into the System Reset section:Press the Select button to start the factory reset process. A warning message will appear asking if you want to continue, press Select again:The Please wait screen will then appear and after some time the Sky box will reboot and will be completely factory reset. Please Note: This will delete all recordings from your Sky Box.Software Update - 1- Disconnect Sky box from power supply and leave for at least 30 seconds.2- Press and hold the 'Back Up' button on the Sky box, not the Sky handset.3- Keeping the 'Back Up' button pressed, re-connect the power.4- Keep the 'Back Up' button pressed until the four LED lights illuminate on the front of the Sky box and the software update screen appears on the TV screen.5- When the four LED lights disappear, the software upgrade has finished.
Once you have completed the above and you are still experiencing issues, please contact us on 0203 667 3565
Sky Box Troubleshooting
We want your sky viewing to be as enjoyable and problem free as possible. But there may be occasions when we would need to look into a message that is being received on screen. There are many different signals that we can send and therefore it is imperative that we know the exact message that is being displayed on screen (asking us to “reactivate viewing” or “viewing is not on” would only delay viewing being restored. Here is an explanation of some of the onscreen messages and what would need to be done to reactivate viewing.
There are many reasons why this message may be appearing. As the message on-screen says there is no satellite signal being received by the sky digibox. Sometimes a Full System reset may rectify the problem but if not it is very common that the problem will be the satellite setup itself rather than the box.
Updating Sky box software
Updating Sky+HD
Sky+HD boxes automatically update in the background, so you should only need to manually update the software if your box has been disconnected for a long period of time.
Follow our step-by-step instructions
Update the box software
Press the standby button on your Sky remote.
Switch off and unplug your Sky box and any other connected devices, such as your TV, at the mains.
Press and hold the backup button on your Sky box.
While still holding down the backup button switch your Sky box back on at the mains.
Continue to press and hold the backup button for up to 30 seconds, until you see all four lights on the front panel of your Sky box turn on, then release.
If all four lights haven’t appeared after 30 seconds, repeat the step. If they still haven't appeared, you'll need to call us on 0203 667 3565 so we can assist further. If the lights have appeared; your box is now in download mode.
It should take between 5-10 minutes to download the software. Do not turn off your Sky box or try to watch Sky TV during this time.
When the download has finished, the box will switch to standby.
Wait at least 3 minutes, then press sky on your Sky remote to switch your Sky box back on.
Still need a hand?
Feel free to call our friendly helpline on 0203 667 3565
1:- Switch the box off and unplug it from the wall.
2:- Wait around 20 seconds and then reconnect the power and switch the box back on.
The channels may break up intermittently and then show the message only at certain times or in certain conditions. Common reasons for this include adverse weather / change in atmospherics, blocking of the satellite dish for example a tree growing in the line of sight of the dish, the dish slipping out of alignment o a connection has come loose. There are many other reasons why this message may appear
Because the message indicates that there is no signal being received by the box there is no signal we can send that will remove this message.
In cases where the software download and a system reset has been done and have proved unsuccessful then a satellite installer will need to visit the property to determine why the message is appearing.
If you are receiving this message and a HD box is installed with just one rather than two LNB connections, you will need to switch to single feed mode.
From the channel displaying the Blue screen and banner, select channel 501 (Sky News) using your Sky remote control.
1:- Switch your digibox on to standby using your remote control or the button on the front panel of the digibox.
2:- The red light will be displayed on the front panel of your digibox.
3:- Isolate the power to your digibox by unplugging or switching off at the wall socket and ensure there are no lights on the front of the box.
4:- Ensure all the digibox and TV connections are seated securely. Pay particular attention to the 21 pin SCART lead, the dish input connection and the traditional RF type connection.
5:- Restore power to your digibox and leave it in standby mode for 30 seconds. (The red light will show on the front panel of your digibox). This time is required to allow the digibox to initialise.
6:- Ensure that your TV is switched on, and on the correct channel. Take the digibox out of standby mode by pressing the Sky button on the remote control or the standby button on the front panel of the digibox.
7:- The red light will turn to green on the front panel and the message “searching for listings” will appear on screen.
When completed successfully the Sky Welcome channel on Channel 998 will be displayed.
*Please note, if the Sky Welcome Channel is not displayed, please repeat procedure from step one.
If you are still experiencing problems after completing a Connection Check then please send us an email so we can provide further technical assistance.
Extreme weather could be causing this problem. If it is raining hard, snowing heavily or if snow is settling on the dish, or if you are experiencing strong or gale force winds this could cause a reduction in signal quality. Once the extreme weather has subsided your viewing should return to normal.If there is no change, follow the instructions under the section “I have a blue screen ” to perform a Connection Check: If the connection check is unsuccessful there may be a problem with the alignment of the dish and you may need to contact your local engineer
The digibox can be described as “stuck in stand-by” when only the red light is illuminated on the front panel of the box and you are unable to switch it on (green light illuminated) by use of the Sky button on your Sky remote control or the front panel stand-by button.If this is the case, follow the instructions under the section “I have a blue screen” to perform a Connection Check: If this is unsuccessful please contact us for further assistance
Occasionally, groups of channels may not be able to be viewed due to a problem with one of our transponders. However, if your viewing issue is only with one channel, please follow the instructions below. Select the channel on your TV that Sky is normally viewed on. Using the Sky remote control, press Sky and then press 501 for the Sky News channel. If this channel can be viewed with no problems, then return to the channel which was previously affected. If the problem is no longer apparent, check that the issue has been resolved by selecting some other channels. This may happen from time to time but if it occurs again please try this process before calling back. If you are still experiencing problems after completing this procedure then please call us on the number below so we can provide further technical assistance.
This message usually appears when the box is first switched on and the message usually goes within a couple of minutes as the box picks up the signal. If there are problems with the signal this message may stay on for longer and is usually replaced after a while by the no satellite signal is being received message.