Sky q box with no dish

neilmcl

Username03725 said:

neilmcl said:

Didn't I already state that in the very first reply to the OP. There's nothing to gloat about, we simply gave the correct information to the OP as requested.

Not as such. You said only the apps would work, but in fact any existing recordings can also be played. Further responses from others about whether it would continue to work or not were no more than guesswork.

You were also a bit vague about the need for a dish, claiming only that it checked its connection. That didn't sound convincing to me; it's not its connection that matters it's the authorisation signal that it needs.

neilmcl said:

The only thing you'd be able to use is the various apps, such as Netflix, Youtube, etc. You'll have no access to live channels or recordings. Eventually you won't be able to use the box at all as it regularly checks it's connection to the satellite dish and if not connected will stop operating.

I'm sure the OP fully understood what was meant, particularly as he thanked me at the time. It seems the only person being put out by all this was you.

Username03725

neilmcl said:

I'm sure the OP fully understood what was meant, particularly as he thanked me at the time. It seems the only person being put out by all this was you.

Oh, I didn't realise this was a private conversation between you and OP. Well I never. I got involved when our friend Emma (see below) started guessing about whether it would continue to work or not, and repeatedly needed to have it explained why someone might willingly continue to pay for Sky despite not being able to view live content via the sat feed.

emmajones1976 said:

Indeed. Some bizarre postings.

Ha. The only bizarre thing was your continued refusal to believe that people can have perfectly valid reasons for maintaining a Sky sub for a time when the full service might be unavailable. It seemed beyond you to accept that retaining the accrued benefits of the sub or wanting to view recordings (ours has progs going back months that we might get round to one day) or to watch on catchup services or simply that in the grand scheme of things for some people it might just be too much hassle to cancel Sky then reinstantiate it, could be considered reasonable reasons for keeping the subscription active. And that any one of those reasons is instantly negated because you only watch live sport. That was bizarre. 

emmajones1976

I dont need it "repeatedly explained". If people want to pay for a service they aren't getting then I just find that odd, clearly we disagree. Which is fine, I am not going to lose any sleep over it.

Username03725

emmajones1976 said:

I dont need it "repeatedly explained". If people want to pay for a service they aren't getting then I just find that odd, clearly we disagree. Which is fine, I am not going to lose any sleep over it.

Heck. They're paying for some services but not getting all of them for a while. It's that simple.

emmajones1976

Indeed! Good luck to him. Just off to go and run the taps here but not use the water

rickyroma

I am the OP. Just completed an 8 month stressful house move so the prospect of losing a few sky channels and coping with Freeview is not a problem at all. 
  Of course if the box goes off, I might lose a few months fees but it's not the end of the world.
I just can't understand why sky would turn off my box if I don't have a dish but am happy to pay full price for a reduced service. Maybe someone could explain? 

Username03725

rickyroma said:

I am the OP. Just completed an 8 month stressful house move so the prospect of losing a few sky channels and coping with Freeview is not a problem at all. 
  Of course if the box goes off, I might lose a few months fees but it's not the end of the world.
I just can't understand why sky would turn off my box if I don't have a dish but am happy to pay full price for a reduced service. Maybe someone could explain? 

It's still not clear to me why Sky would make an effort to drive customers away for not using the primary function that a Q box provides, but they do.

The cause is that the box periodically checks for an authorisation signal from Sky HQ that arrives as a data signal via the dish, and if it doesn't get the authorisation signal all functionality is disabled. It seems that up to 1 month is allowed before it fails - it used to be shorter but Sky extended it due to complaints from customers who had trees growing into the line of sight, or building work etc. But Sky will have crunched the numbers and will have their reasons for switching the box off and potentially losing customers if not connected, rather than allowing the reduced functionality to continue.

As per earlier comment, if you know someone with a Sky Q installation you could pop round with your box and connect it up while you go off for a beer, and hope that an authorisation signal arrives and unlocks your box for another month*. I read too that in situations like yours Sky Customer Services may reduce your monthly charge if it's a temporary loss of service and you're unable to use the box during that time. 

emmajones1976 said:

Indeed! Good luck to him. Just off to go and run the taps here but not use the water

What a bizarre comment. Rest easy Emma, OP has confirmed that he too is relaxed about paying and not getting the full service for a while.


* worth noting if you do try this, your friend's Sky Q box will need to be rebooted. Unlike the old Sky HD boxes which would quickly lock back onto the sat signal after a disconnection, Sky Q boxes don't and if the sat feed is removed a restart is required after it's reconnected.