Skybox moved home, use it as freeview?

foxyfmu

OK so i've read a few threads on here about using your skybox as a freeview box but just an extra dimension to my question.

The skybox is my parents, they cancelled about 5 years but kept the box. I've just moved home and don't have freeview so have brought the skybox down plugged it in and everything. It's asking for a connection to a phone line. Will it work/will I get charged anything if I plug it into the phone line - seeing as it's a different telephone line to the previous one?

Thanks!

macman

You can't get Freeview on a Sky box, it's a terrrestial service. You can only get the Freesat from Sky channels.
You don't need a phone connection, that's only required in the first 12 months of a Sky sub.

Baldur

If the Sky contract was cancelled 5 years ago, the viewing card will almost certainly have to be replaced - a Freesat from Sky card will cost you £25. This, of course, assumes that you have a satellite dish at your new home.

macman

Although of course a viewing card is not required to receive the majority of the !!!!!! channels.
A dish is rather more fundamental to the set up though...

googler

It should work, and pick up free-to-air channels without a viewing card and without a phone line. Mine does.

foxyfmu

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

I've got a satellite dish and it's all plugged in to the satellite port on the wall. But when you turn the TV on it asks for an active phoneline connection..?

JasX

Several immediate options:

1-Try pushing buttons, on modern sky boxes it's designed to always ask but will allow you to proceed without one

2-Have you tried connecting it to your phone line to see what it does

3-It might benefit from the latest version of Sky's software but this could take a couple of months for them to get round to re-beeming down. You'd need to leave your box powered up and connected for the duration

4-Phone sky and ask..... although they'll probably start lying thru their teeth to get you to buy stuff might be worth seeing what they have to say and posting here so we can sort out the chaff

foxyfmu

Thanks for the suggestions JasX. I will try pushing a few more buttons and see what happens. Haven't tried connecting to a phone line as I wasn't sure if it would charge? Yeah I think within the time it would taken Sky to send the latest software I would have bought a TV with freeview. I'll try the last option if nothing else works, thanks

macman

As long as the box, dish and LNB are in order then yes it will work. You cannot be charged even if you do connect it to a phone line, as you have no Sky account.

googler

foxyfmu wrote: »

Thanks for the quick responses guys.

I've got a satellite dish and it's all plugged in to the satellite port on the wall. But when you turn the TV on it asks for an active phoneline connection..?

When you turn the TV on....? Or the Sky box?

Leave the TV on, unplug the Sky box from mains, plug back in after a min or so, what happens?

If it prompts for phone line, press Guide, or Back Up then Guide and see what happens.

Is it a Sky+ box, or a standard Sky box?

foxyfmu

Standard sky box. When I tried both were on at the same time. Will try your suggestion when I get home googler