News: Freeview intermittent interference | Freeview Interference
Site settings
For an enhanced Freeview reception
prediction please enter your
full postcode, a national grid reference or
a UK latitude and longitude pair. 
Most popular
On other sites

Freeview intermittent interference

When you get occasional sound loss or picture freezes

When you get occasional sound loss or picture freezes
Published on by on UK Free TV

There are several different types of interference that cause problems. This page deals with the situation where:

  • Freeview reception is perfect or near-perfect most of the time
  • The audio on TV and radio channels mutes momentarily a few times each minute
  • The picture on a Freeview channel freezes a few times each minute


There are two main causes of this type of intermittent interference:
  • 'Induction' interference
  • Mobile phone interference


Induction interference

Induction interference is caused by mains-powered household devices that contain a large motor, such as:
  • Washing machine;
  • Tumble dryer;
  • Central heating pump or combination boiler;
  • Fridge;
  • Freezer;
  • Power tools (drills, jigsaws etc)
  • Vacuum cleaners;
  • Water pumps;
  • Automatic doors


You can identify if one or more of these devices is causing the Freeview reception problem by powering off the devices.

If one of these devices is causing the problem, then the reception problem can usually be solved by using a mains filter device and use it on the Freeview boxes mains connection.



Such as device is this: Maplin: 6-Way Flat Screen and HDTV Surge Protector and Mains Filter.

Mobile phone interference

If you keep a mobile phone by your Freeview box or digital television, keep it further away!

This also applies to other transmitters such as baby monitors, video senders, walkie talkies, and portable phones.





Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

firstFirst comments prevEarlier comments  ◊  Later commentsnext Latest commentslast

Your comments are always welcome. Please use the form below to add your thoughts or questions to this page. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

Jordy
Sunday 22 August 2010 4:50PM
steve pearce - Either the connectors on the aerial lead or loose or damaged... The connection at the rear of the wall plate is loose or the plate is damaged. Another possibility could be moisture in the cable...
Tom
Tuesday 24 August 2010 7:56AM
Anyone experiencing very slow Text after the switch over? Before our final retune on 18th August (Angus transmitter) my Text pages were, comparing to Analogue, very fast. Now it can take up to a couple of minutes just to get the menu page!
Briantist
Tuesday 24 August 2010 10:24AM
Tom: You must have a substandard signal in some way. The text services usually start immediately.
Thelma Haywood
Tuesday 24 August 2010 7:00PM
I get freeview intermitant interference and so do some of my friends that live near me. what can we do about it,it is not a mobile phone and we have no transmitters, what can we do about it.?
LutonFan
Tuesday 24 August 2010 8:27PM
Thelma Haywood- Input your postcode to check how far you are from the transmitter. Obviously, the signal drops the further away you are.

If you do believe the problem is localised interference, please contact 'Ofcom'.
Briantist
Wednesday 25 August 2010 12:35PM
Thelma Haywood: There is a link to Ofcom on the www.ukfree.tv link icon Broadcaster complaints details | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Francis Black
Thursday 2 September 2010 6:05PM Cumnock
Hi,I have got a small issue with regards to my freeview. I have got a digital wideband aerial on my roof and the signal comming into the house seems great according to my digital tester. The problem is ITV1, ITV2, CH 4, CH5 and E4 jump and stick. What can i do to rectify this?
Briantist
Monday 6 September 2010 5:32PM
Francis Blac: Please see the Single frequency interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page.
Mike
Thursday 16 September 2010 2:40PM
Sky news and several other channels are constantly breaking up.The standard BBC,ITV,4,5, channels are fine.Should I just replace the aerial?I live in Ealing,West London
Michael Patmore
Tuesday 5 October 2010 9:27AM
I have had aFreeview box for the last four years and until two weeks ago had quality 9 receptionn Now after about 11-00am I start to loose all the ITV programmes and I get the 'No Signal' or 'Bad Signal' sign and this lasts until after midnight. Could you advise me as to what might have gone wrong.
Briantist
Wednesday 6 October 2010 10:58AM
Michael Patmore: Have you examined everything suggested at the top of the page?
ALAN CHETTLE
Sunday 10 October 2010 9:21PM
Today Sunday my freeveiw picture kept braking up {pixels} on all itv.channels.BBC were not affected.any comments? i am tuned in to Waltham transmiter thanks Alan
Chris Jordan
Sunday 10 October 2010 9:41PM Rickmansworth
Same for us on (I think) the Hemel tx. Back to normal now

Paulien Pullum
Monday 11 October 2010 9:16AM King's Lynn
Sunday 10 Oct 2010
7pmish: completely lost signals - left with no channels at all.
Able to get them back up - but freezing of pixels kept returning plus loss of sound.
Very frustrated.
Freezing of picture is a frequent issues.
PE32 area.
Newton
Monday 11 October 2010 9:26AM
Sunday 10 Oct (5 p.m. onwards)and continuing Monday 11 Oct.
Belmont transmitter. Intermittent loss of digital signals on 5 main channels and some other Freeview (not BBC4); analogue signals OK. Several people in this area (Mansfield, Notts.) affected. No mention on TV, radio, or anywhere else as far as I can see. Surely the powers-that-be know when this is happening and can warn or inform people in the affected area (even after the event)! If we have a water leak, we can complain and get it fixed.
Briantist
Monday 11 October 2010 9:31AM
Newton: I'm not sure who you would phone to fix the weather? The Met Office, perhaps? Please see www.ukfree.tv link icon What is the Inversion Effect and why does it effect my Freeview TV reception?
| ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Arthur
Monday 11 October 2010 10:36AM
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........updated old TV/set top box to a New hd built in preview TV, chanl's not perfect the odd fuzzy screen/loss of chanl's until i switched TV on yesterday 'sun 10th 0ct 2010' no signal at all!!!! pulled out leads, re-tuned put leads back-re tuned and all i'm left with is a few scrambled stations 'stations not where they should be eg itv should be chan 3 ends up on 21 etc' and all fuzzy!!! my reception was OK up until i switched TV on sun morning! my neighbour along is also facing the same problems!!!!!! whats going on digital people? we pay our TV license and no TV? do we get compen? nope! so plse pull finger out and fix this problem east Yorkshire village here would like their TV's back! bad enough having to wait 2 yrs for complete switch over never mind no TV till then. and yes....i've checked ever solution to fix the problem but no good! do i have to sit and wait till someone decided to fix the problem? real bad service and i'm not happy! :(
peter tyson
Monday 11 October 2010 12:26PM Wimborne
At present I use Rowridge to receive freeview. My post code is BH21 7HL and on a good day I can see the IOW due to our position up a hill.
I get a higher signal strength from a set top amplifier aerial than I do from my outside mounted 3 ft long aeriel pointing at Rowridge

Q1 When will I be able to receive HD from Rowridge.

Q2 Will the set top amplifier aerial have the right frequency band for the HD frequency
Briantist
Monday 11 October 2010 1:03PM
peter tyson: 1) March 2012 - www.ukfree.tv link icon Freeview on Rowridge TV transmitter | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .

2) The HD transmissions use the same "frequency band" as the SD ones.
Chris W
Monday 11 October 2010 1:54PM Coalville
Here in Leicestershire, lost all Freeview channels last night (11th October) and still weren't there this morning. Tried all the usual bits, not interested in the inversion effect - had Freeview for some years now and I'm sure there's been high/low pressure and hot/cold weather in that time without losing all channels!!
Can someone please provide me with an address and name to write and complain to?? Having shelled out for kit should we not be due some recompense?? What are we paying the licence fee for???
Briantist
Monday 11 October 2010 1:58PM
Chris W: You can write to whoever provides the weather for you. The problem is this - What is the Inversion Effect and why does it effect my Freeview TV reception?
| ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Mike Dimmick
Monday 11 October 2010 2:29PM Reading
Peter Tyson: 90 cm is quite short for an outdoor aerial, particularly for Group A for Rowridge (the lower the frequency, the larger and more widely spaced the aerial elements need to be). Did your aerial previously point to the Winterbourne Strickland relay? If so, it's the wrong group as well (that relay uses Group B frequencies), and unlikely to be of much use.

A good quality roof aerial with enough gain for the purpose, with good quality downleads, should give better results. Do not get a wideband - these have much poorer gain figures at the low frequencies used by Rowridge than a proper Group A design.

That said, it may not be possible to get enough gain from the aerial, so check with an installer. The required aerial is going to be big and heavy, and present quite a lot of area to the wind, so will need a strong pole and fixings.
Steve Rolfe
Tuesday 12 October 2010 7:40AM
I see there is currently work being carried out at the Hannington transmitter. Should this effect evening viewing?
For the last 2 evenings certain channels have not been viewable stating no signal or picture freezing so not watchable.

Sunday evening the ITV channels just went off, not sure when they came back but were ok on the Monday morning and still working in the evening until about 7:30. Monday evening the BBC channels were freezing also.

This morning (Tuesday) they are working again. I've looked at the reasons for interferance but see nothing that should cause this problem at certain times. Is this caused by the work at Hannington?

Had to switch to watching Analogue channel but these were also very poor.

Thanks for you help

Steve
Briantist
Tuesday 12 October 2010 7:49AM
Steve Rolfe: There is no work at the transmitter, the reception problems are caused by Inversion - see www.ukfree.tv link icon What is the Inversion Effect and why does it effect my Freeview TV reception?
| ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
Will Peacock
Wednesday 13 October 2010 7:26PM Scunthorpe
I suffer interference to my freeview reception every evening, between the hours of 18:30 to 20:00 could this be local interference? I have noticed that a neighbour has numerous aerials on their property, could it be CB or HAM interference?
Briantist
Thursday 14 October 2010 6:38AM
Will Peacock: Yes, it could be anything. It is more likely to be a broken street-light than a CB or HAM.

I would suspect something internal first, start by replacing the aerial "fly leads" in your system and/or using a mains filter.
Carol Akers
Saturday 16 October 2010 4:25PM
I lost all digital stations last Sunday Oct 10th and tried again on the following morning still only analogue service plus digital radio not working, having left for a holiday was pleased to see it was back on my return. I dread to think how the service will be when we have the complete switchover
TOMMY
Monday 18 October 2010 11:59PM
When i hear a muffeld voice on the speakers on the computer the TV freezes when the voice stops the picture comes back this hapens on all station and on the TV in the beadroom can any one help tommy
Briantist
Tuesday 19 October 2010 9:10AM
Carol Akers: Please do this www.ukfree.tv link icon My Freeview box has no EPG, is blank on FIVE, ITV3, ITV4, ITV2+1, has no sound or the channel line up is wrong | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .

I'm not sure why you should be worried by much stronger digital signals.
Briantist
Tuesday 19 October 2010 9:12AM
TOMMY: Sounds like possible taxi-radio ("CB") interference. You might find using better quality fly (aerial) leads will get rid of the problem, or possibly a mains filter, as per the instructions at the top of the page.
pete
Tuesday 19 October 2010 10:15PM
We have had perfect freeview until a couple of weeks ago. Now its intermittent (GU52 area). From 10 this evening we lost BBC4 and other channels. Wasted the evening watching the first hour of a 90 minute program. Freeview not fit for purpose.
Mike Dimmick
Wednesday 20 October 2010 12:06AM Reading
Pete: I'm guessing you're using the Hannington transmitter, to the west?

Hannington does not send, and never has sent, a significant amount of digital power to the east. The problem is that the digital transmissions from Hannington are on the same frequencies as the analogue ones from the Guildford relay, and if it were to transmit in this direction, Guildford's analogue coverage area would be severely reduced. It was admitted at one stage that they'd overengineered Guildford and its coverage area was too large, but they didn't want to force users to re-orient their aerials for analogue.

Ideally Hannington wouldn't send any power at all in this direction, but it's not possible to build an aerial with that sharp a cut-off.

Hannington will not have this restriction after analogue switch-off. At that point, it will probably be your best option for digital TV.

If you're using Crystal Palace, please post your full postcode so we can see what the situation is expected to be.

Aerials and cables exposed to the elements do degrade over time, and this is much less evident on digital than analogue. Everything appears absolutely fine, right up until the point where it starts to break up.
Peter
Wednesday 20 October 2010 7:45AM
Hi Mike,

I do use Hannington. A good signal has not been a problem up to now - we used to have a small aerial in the loft and even that gave freeview reception almost all of the time but I upgraded to something more respectable and have new wiring.

We have been watching Freeview for more than two years without a glitch - then just two or three weeks ago everything changed; either at the transmitter or something is causing interference.

According to the Freeview web site we are supposed to get BBC1, 2 and 3 - but even these now dissapear from tine to time (I may be wrong, but I thought there were other channels we were supposeed to get when I looked a year or so ago)

My particular gripe with freeview is that it is prone to interference; with an analogue signal interference is generally an annoyance but with digital it is 'terminal'!

I do object to paying the BBC a full license fee when there is a channel we are not supposed to receive (BBC4).
Briantist
Wednesday 20 October 2010 7:50AM
Peter: Freeview is not designed for loft aerial reception. Move your aerial to the rooftop where it will receive a much better signal.
Valerie Davies
Tuesday 26 October 2010 11:26AM
I live in a retirement apartment block in Stone, Staffordshire, we have experienced severe reception problems for the last 2 evenings from 9.00.pm. onwards rendering our TV's unwatchable. The aerial has been checked and confirmed O.K. This is also happening in other similar buildings in the area. What is the problem please and when will it be remedied? Please e-mail me a response so that I can inform my neighbours in this block. Thank you.
Briantist
Tuesday 26 October 2010 11:37AM
Valerie Davies: If you all share the same aerial, then the problem is most likely with your system.

I would, in the first instance, contact the managing agents.
Gerry
Tuesday 26 October 2010 6:56PM Letchworth Garden City
We bought a Panasonic DMR-EX773EBK at the weekend. It has replaced a Sony HDD (same leads etc) which gave us no signal problems.
Since then the freeview signal has been poor on both the unit and TV (Sony Bravia digital). It only seems to be when recording on the HDD.
I have recorded ITV & C4 on the HDD and when replaying it is unwatchable, pixelated with sound jumping & squeaking.
The freeview through the tv is like that too if the hdd is recording (this is probably restricted to stations on channel 45).
The tv is reporting an ok signal.
The hdd is reporting for CH45 poor quality (less than half, maybe 40%) & poor signal (about 50%).
I have been though the manual, checked it's set to PAL, RGB etc. Tried re-tuning for region, signal & manually.
I can't imagine it's a compatability issue between Sony/Panasonic surely?
If it is only when it records does that mean it's the disc interfering with the signal & if so then the machine is not fit for purpose?!
Please help, I'm losing it now :(
We live in Letchworth so use Sandy Heath I believe.
Briantist
Wednesday 27 October 2010 8:25AM
Gerry: I would suggest you start by trying to just to connect the incoming aerial to the DMR-EX773EBK alone.

You should be able to watch Freeview via the box, and record at the same time if this works.
Matt Gompertz
Friday 5 November 2010 10:34AM Bromsgrove
Having had no digital TV at all yesterday afternoon ant about 17:50 I got the BBC channels and a couple of others back. I still have no 4, 4+1, E4, More 4, Five, Sky3, Virgin etc.

What is going on? Who is responsible? What am I paying my licence fee for?

Bloody digital TV, at least with analogue it would go a bit fuzzy but you could still watchit!
Roger
Sunday 7 November 2010 10:44AM
PROBLEM: We have a Triax 52 wideband aerial mounted in the loft, 98% of the time the picture is good, however we are next to a main road and whenever a bus (which has tracking to show at the bus stops how long until the next bus arrives)goes by it causes total sound and picture loss resulting in a black screen for around 3 seconds, also when ever a motor scooter goes by (not motorbikes, just the rev and go type that most 16/17 yr olds seem to have)this causes picture break up with some sound distortion, if a couple rev and go bikes go by together it causes picture freeze but sound is OK.
QUESTION: How do I irradicate these problems?
Mike Dimmick
Sunday 7 November 2010 11:33PM Reading
Roger: it sounds like an impulse interference problem. The aerial or cabling is picking up interference from the scooter's spark plug. If the cabling is the older type with very few strands of wire in the shielding, replace the entire cable run with satellite-grade, copper-braid-over-copper-foil shielded cable. Also make sure any wall sockets are shielded, rather than having a bare circuit board.
Roger
Tuesday 9 November 2010 8:21AM Derby
Thanks Mike but what about the total wipe out that occurs when a bus goes by - any ideas?
Mike Dimmick
Tuesday 9 November 2010 4:29PM
Roger: it depends whether the metal of the bus itself is blocking the signal path, or whether the bus-to-stop communication system is being picked up. If it's the bus itself, pretty much all you can do is try to get the aerial higher. They work much better outside anyway, because there are any number of reflective surfaces in the loft, and the roof tiles also diffuse the signal a bit. I can see a few roof aerials in the area already, so I wouldn't think you'd get complaints.

Better shielding should also reduce the pick-up from the bus-to-stop transmissions, though the aerial itself will pick something up. If that doesn't help, you'd probably have to filter out the unwanted channels. Unfortunately I don't know what frequencies they use in order to suggest a filter. It could simply be GSM or T-GSM (mobile phone) frequencies, which are very close to the TV bands, and more likely to be picked up by wideband aerials. See www.beststuff.co.uk link icon TETRA Filter Units for some choices, or search (as I did) for 'tetra tv filter'.

Looking at the Digital UK tradeview, I can see you have two very good options, Sutton Coldfield and Waltham. I assume that you're using Waltham for East Midlands news? You could try pointing the aerial to SC instead. It's worth also checking that the frequencies that the box is using match the expected ones, there's a chance that with all the scatter it's actually tuned the SC services rather than Waltham, or vice versa. (RG47SH)
tom850
Tuesday 16 November 2010 12:05PM
bought a new sagem freeview plus box for 150 quid for my grandparents to able them to record, however it seems to suffer from mobile phone interferance, but, when the built in freeview on the tv unit is used (using same aerial setup, or even put through the box) there is no trouble, but problem comes as soon as u flick back to the box can you help
Briantist
Wednesday 17 November 2010 8:50AM
tom850: I would check your "fly leads" that connect from the aerial.

I would disconnect the aerial from the television set and ONLY connect it to the set-top box.
Jon
Monday 22 November 2010 9:41PM
Have got Freeview back sice Saturday after an apparent electrical storm in the Mendip area - but BBC channels remain unwatchable at times. This seems to happen in low pressure weather. Am I destined to get rubbish reception if I stick to Freeview?
Briantist
Monday 22 November 2010 9:45PM
Jon: It is hard to say without your full postcode, but there have not been any extra problem in the Mendip transmitter area.

Have you tried everything at the top of the page?
Nick Anderson
Friday 26 November 2010 7:03PM
Hi I have Sky television with a magic eye going to televisons around my house. My digital ariel is plugged into my sky box.
The problem I have is I have trouble receiving the channel 40 channels which contantly freese & lose sound. These channels are basicy unwatchable. (ITV plus others). When I plug my ariel into the digital tv it is close to prefect.
Any ideas? Sky never seem to be able to help me on this.
Thanks Nick



Please post a question, answer or commentUK Free TV is here to help people. If you are rude or disrespectful all of your posts will be deleted and you will be banned.







Privacy policy: UK Free Privacy policy.