Board logo

sky+ box
chrisbeale - 11/1/12 at 10:12 PM

Got in tonight to find the sky box not coming out of standby mode. It's happened before and ended up with a new box after some persuasive phone calls. This is the second time in as many years. I have now though about going away from sky and ontj a different provider, I believe bt and virgin are the other competitors. Can any one give me any recommendations or should I try giving sky another ear bashing?
Cheers.

mookaloid - 11/1/12 at 10:17 PM

If it's out of warranty I've got a spare here which is cheap

daniel mason - 11/1/12 at 10:22 PM

just pull the power chord from the back and plug it in again. they freeeze quite a lot

graememk - 11/1/12 at 10:24 PM

call sky and tell then the box has gone wrong they will say its out of its one year warranty then ask to talk to a manager afer researching electrical products designed to be 3 years fit for purpose, you'll end up with a new box and maybe have to pay for the install, be very persistent on the phone until you get a free box.

sky12042 - 11/1/12 at 10:26 PM

Ring up Sky and tell them your box is knackered, and tell them you want to cancel.
you will get put through to a cancellations deptartment, they should try and get you to stay with sky, but tell them you will only stay if they will give you a HD box. that way you will get a brand new box not a reconditioned one. they are much more reliable.

if they refuse to do this. just put phone down and ring back the next day, eventually you will get someone in good mood that should help you out.

ChrisW - 11/1/12 at 10:31 PM

If a power cycle doesn't bring it back it's probably a dead PSU. You can get capaciter replacement kits off eBay if you're handy with a soldering iron.

Failing that, ring up and tell them you're cancelling because the box is bust. If they don't offer you one for free cancel anyway, then sign up again tomorrow in your wife/girlfriend/housemate/dog's name. New signups get a free box if I remember correctly.

Or just buy one off eBay?

Chris

blakep82 - 12/1/12 at 12:02 AM

if i remember right, a software download often sorts this, from my days at sky...

switch off at the wall, press and hold the back up button on the box (not the remote) switch on at the wall and keep holding down that back up button until you get a message on screen saying about a software download. leave it for about 20 minutes, then press the sky button on the remote. it downloads through the satelite which constantly beams out the software for downloading

that usually works, otherwise, call sky again

quote:
Originally posted by ChrisW
New signups get a free box if I remember correctly.


correct, but you'll get into a new 1 year contract... which you may or may not mind

[Edited on 12/1/12 by blakep82]

jabs - 12/1/12 at 08:16 AM

With Virgin you get less channels ( but they are all cr*p anyway) but get catchup tv such as BBCi player, 4OD etc but the total package of V+, phone and internet is more expensive than the sky offering. You also have to be in an area Virgin are in. I also find the box is sometimes a bit slow changing channels and bringing up the menus. You should also note that they have a 2 year contract.

Ninehigh - 12/1/12 at 08:24 AM

They also have the flimsiest set of remotes in the world ever, we're on our third in two years. Also I don't know if this happens to anyone else but it has a habit of cutting off the last x minutes of a program, and given that the recording is extended by the full 15 mins either side this means that the box is recording a half hour program for 15 minutes...

The only reason we're not back with sky is their broadband is awful (promised 5meg, got 2... half the time)

jossey - 12/1/12 at 09:10 AM

we got a new box after having one for 2 years by calling sky to cancel and they sent a new box with install out.....

only issue is we lost all the recorded stuff which is a pain..

MikeRJ - 12/1/12 at 10:05 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Ninehigh
The only reason we're not back with sky is their broadband is awful (promised 5meg, got 2... half the time)


With ADSL this is purely down to the quality (length, noise, interference etc.) of your phone line, you'd get similar speeds from other ADSL providers.

My Sky broadband has been excellent, even though I am a long way fro the exchange. I use a better quality router than the one supplied however.

[Edited on 12/1/12 by MikeRJ]

splitrivet - 12/1/12 at 11:30 AM

Had this a couple of times if powering down and powering up the box doesnt crack it do the following.
1. Unplug box from mains.

2. Press and hold the left and right scroll buttons on the front of box then plug back into mains,keep buttons pressed until the ring lights, release buttons and press select on machine, the red ring will then flash backwards if memory serves, let it do its thing (may take a while).
The machine is then reset, you will lose all recordings unfortunately.
HTH.
Cheers,
Bob

john_p_b - 12/1/12 at 12:40 PM

mine died after 18 months, they said it'd be a £60 call out fee but would supply a recon box if it was faulty. told them i wanted to cancel, 3 days later i had a brand new HD box installed free of charge. they want your custom, even if you only have a basic tv package it's still over £200 a year they make from you.

eddie99 - 12/1/12 at 02:37 PM

Yup if they cause a fuss, threaten to cancel and they tend to do anything. My parents were paying something like £75 for pretty much everything a month, told them they were cancelling because its not worth that to them, 2 weeks before cancel date, my dad got a phone call saying how about everything except some of the movies for £38 a month.