Got Sky+ HD? Check if your box is faulty, and being recalled

dmaidmen

Not heard of this before. Did you tell them you had a Thomson when they phoned up?

If you are happy with your box I personally wouldn't let the engineer take it. Not only will you lose all your recordings / planner entries but you run the risk of getting a refurbished box or one that has some sort of fault.

Purdy_1

I have a sky engineer coming this afternoon. How can I tell if the box is a refurb or brand new? will it come in packaging?

deanos

Refurbs are usually in a brown box, i wouldnt accept a refurb whatsoever

dmaidmen

If its a brand new Sky HD box then it should be in sealed packaging and the HD box itself may have a sticker on it saying you must update the system software when performing an install (this is my experience anyway).

If its a Thomson box then its either a refurb or an old model. Personally I wouldn't accept either of those. If its a Pace then it will either be a new one or a recalled & sent out again one. I would accept either of those. I have no experience of Samsungs.

I have an Amstrad that i'm perfectly happy with but they have a contrast issue that some people can't live with. Basically adjusting the contrast has no affect when viewing through hdmi. Seems to affect some TV's more than others.

These are my personal opionions based on owning four thomson boxes and just starting the replacement on my parents thomson box. If you are happy with your Pace and it doesn't have any other issues than the Sky recall then I wouldn't let the engineer give you a refurb.

Let us know how you get on.

Purdy_1

Thank you deanos.

I might not be here when the engineer calls today (sometime between 1-4pm) but I have given my husband strict instruction that he is not to accept a refurb. When we went with Sky HD we were asked what model we wanted and we asked for PACE. I would like to think we get the same option but I doubt it.

Our sky box is less than 12mths old and still under guarentee, if I had a tv that was faulty I would expect that to be replaced with a brand new one just the same.

Purdy_1

Sky bloke just pulled up. I will let you know what happens....

deanos

Good luck............

Purdy_1

I have left the bloke in the living room with my husband while he finishes off installing the sky box. It is a PACE box that is brand new and was boxed. All the wires and control were all in bags too. He said it is the same model as we had before, just a different batch.
We asked what the fault was and he first said he wasn't allowed to tell us but then said it was to do with overtightened screws which could cause the plastic case of the sky box to crack at anytime.

dmaidmen

It's generally accepted the issue is that the internal cables (sata and sata power) could potentially rub on the sharp metal hard disk caddy and fray potentially shorting out the box. The recall was to fit cable ties to prevent this happening.

fitorbust

My sister had her box replaced last week and the engineer said that the reason was....... you could watch box office free on them!!!!
This was as he was leaving with their old box under his arm. He said that sky were obviously keeping this very quiet but I wondered if anyone had heard this?