Sky Picture Freezing - Help Please

bubble30

Hi

I have had Sky for almost 5 years now. In Sep 2008 I signed up for Sky Plus. I have no problems with Sky Plus, but what I have been experiencing though in the last few months is the picture freezing.

We could be watching a film and then the picture freezes. This can go on for some time on and off. Sometimes its the whole picture, sometimes its bits of the picture - pixelated lines and squares all over the screen. There is no pattern to when it happens and it is most definately not weather related.

I reported this to Sky a few weeks ago. I was still within my years warranty ( with a week to go), so they would send out an engineer free of charge.

The engineer discoverd that one out of the four feeds was missing. He did something with the dish and the said that that should fix the problem.

He left a card to say that if within 30 days of him coming out we experience any other problems we can call again, quoting the job number, and they will come back out.

I have logged a few dates and times of when we have experienced the same problems since him having been out. Last night was particularly bad where we couldn't see the end of a film and then the channel said 'no satellite signal being received'. The channel remained like that for over an hour - probably longer - we gave up waiting!

I am due to call the engineer today to get him out to have another look. I am now out of contract - but still within the 30 day period from the engineers first visit.

Has anyone else experienced this, know the causes or what I can expect to happen?

Thanks

kandyfloss

Hi Bubble a couple of years ago we had exactly the same problem as you are having and despite my hubby doing all that Sky asked us to do ie taking the card out and leaving it for a few minutes then reinserting it,cleaning off any dust on the card etc the problem got worse and in the end we could only recieve a few of the programmes.

I suggested to Mr Kandyfloss that we might as well cancel the subscription and save our money.He rang them to cancel it and the lady on the end of the line said that she would send out an engineer to see what the problem was.He duly came out and fitted us a brand new Sky dish plus we got a new Sky box as well all for free and since then we have had no problems at all.

I think that because we had been so long with the problem we got the new items as compensation,though we are not sure if we would have got them anyway.

Give Sky another ring and tell them you want to cancel your subscription and when they ask why tell them you are fed up with paying each month for something that isn't working.If they think they are going to lose money they will soon be willing to help out.

Good Luck and I hope that your problem is soon sorted.

silkyuk9

my mums picture is freezing at the moment, buts i think its due to trees, could this be your problem too.

dragon47

It could be a number of things;
There is something between the dish and the satellite (rain, trees, etc).

The dish is slighlty out of allignment and it wobbles slightly in the wind. (Works when it's not windy).

The LNB, cable or reciever are faulty.

Next time it happens go out and look at the dish. Look in the direction of the LNB arm and see if you can see anything in the way (trees etc). It could be something as simple as a sea gull purched on the LNB arm...

Have a look at the signal strength/quality. If it's low all the time it could be dish allignment or faulty equipment. The engineer should be able to fix these things.

graemie

I had a similar problem with my box. It started off with just recording, sound and picture would go out of sync, freeze etc and then over time it started to impact on live TV as well. It was just about tolerable to start with but it got really annoying as the frequency increased.

I looked up a few things on the internet such as doing engineer resets etc, none of which worked. I contacted Sky and was given the usual switch it off at the wall for 2 mins etc. Nothing Sky suggested worked and it was so frustrating having to explain the problem everytime I called and getting the same instructions each time.

Eventually I came across this letter on the internet which provoked an immediate response from Sky and I had a new box within a week:

"Dear Sir,
as a long standing customer of Sky, I am bitterly disappointed with my current viewing experience due to the fault that has developed within the box supplied by Sky, which you claim will enhance my viewing choices available, and at times convenient to me. The fault makes it impossible to watch recordings, or live broadcasts when recording other stations, due to the picture & sound constantly stuttering.

There is mounting evidence on consumer forums such as............
that a whole batch of boxes are suffering from this this common problem. More importantly however it was Sky that supplied these units to me to enable your Sky+ service for which you charge me monthly by subscription, but clearly, the units you supplied are unfit for purpose to fully enable that service to me.
There is mounting evidence that the problem started directly as a result of Sky changing the operating software during the summer 2006. Ie. Sky caused the problem to occur in the equipment you supplied to me, for a service you charge me by monthly subscription.
I fully expect that the unit will be replaced for free by a brand new box as Sky have done for other customers that are in exactly the same situation. There is also evidence that replacement refurbished units start to suffer from the same problem in due course and I do not want to risk that. I pay a lot of money for the Sky services you provide so I expect to be given the best possible customer service and have my expectations met.

I will have to seriously consider cancelling the whole Sky service if my expectations are not met, because the monthly subscription I pay for this unit does not represent value for money.

My Sky+ box is an
Model:
Version:
Ser. No:
Op. Sys. Ver:
EPG Software:

State what ever box you got then you get a reply back. Taken from Digital Spy forumns. Good luck!."

natz7

Every service call comes with an additional 90 day warranty from day of service call.
You're still within the 90 days so sky should send someone out within that 90 day warranty foc.

The engineer gives you his number to ring within 30 days as he has a *first time resolution (FTR)* ie it effects his bonus if you need to call him back out within 30 days.... if you call him direct it doesnt go through the system so he can come back to you in his own time and it doesnt his FTR.
You make the appointment through Sky then it will affect that.

if hes not answering/responding, then just ring sky.

i know all this for a fact as i work in the technical department so i can assure you that you have a 90 day warrenty with the service call

HTH

cabbage

Hi

I had similar problems when I swapped to sky hd. Had the old sky plus box for years with no problem.

I eventually told sky that HD is not worth it and would be cancelling when my 12 month contract ended.

She sent out a proper sky engineer (not a contractor). He told me the dish is very old and subject to interference from the weather etc. He put in a new dish and the problem disappeared. If you've had sky for five years with the same dish, this might be the problem

E1HAG

Does anyone have a solution to fix the box ourselves without having to waste time for an engineer to come? Our Sky Plus box has been going on standby in the middle of watching shows and we unplug it and then wait a few minutes then it will be working fine again.
Today it has completely shut down, no standby light on, nothing! we unpluged it and it still does not come back on??????

If anyone out there that knows what to do I would be most grateful.

spike7451

E1HAG wrote: »

Does anyone have a solution to fix the box ourselves without having to waste time for an engineer to come? Our Sky Plus box has been going on standby in the middle of watching shows and we unplug it and then wait a few minutes then it will be working fine again.
Today it has completely shut down, no standby light on, nothing! we unpluged it and it still does not come back on??????

If anyone out there that knows what to do I would be most grateful.

Power supply unit has failed & needs replaced,some TV repair shops may be able to fix it or call Sky for a service call or buy one off e-bay.

As to the op,has the LNB came part out of the arm?The should be a pingoing thru the arm holding the LNB on,if this is missing,the cable ect will force the LNB outta the arm giving you the problems your having.
Is the problem on all channels or just some?If some it's one of the transponders on the box or LNB,If all,it's the hard drive/power supply on the box failing.

The engineer discoverd that one out of the four feeds was missing. He did something with the dish and the said that that should fix the problem.

Rubbish,the's 2 feeds on a +/HD box & if one was missing you would'nt have had a picture on that feed period!

HTH,
Spike (ex Sky engineer)

Shoog

Freezing and loss of signal could be down to external factors like cabling, dish alignment (trees), weather, but it's often a problem with the box itself.

Do you know the make and model of your box? Check here:
stuckinstandby.co.cc - How To Identifiy Your Sky Plus Box

Sometimes faults can be cured be leaving the box unplugged for a while. A Planner Rebuild or System Reset from the (hidden) Installer Menu may help, or a forced software update sometimes works.

Thomson's are notorious for power supply failures. Symptoms include freezing, no signal, powering-off and stuck in standby.

With Amstrad and Pace the faults are usually down to hard disk failure.

Moneymaker

You'll find free information on various faults here.