Help: What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'?
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What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'?


What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technica

How to Reset a Sky Digibox when 'No Signal' appears.

Reset method 1 - Delete and Rescan

  1. Turn the power off at the mains socket. Either do this by pulling the plug from the socket, or using a power switch if there is one.

  2. Remove the viewing card from the machine. Using a dry cloth or kitchen roll, clean the gold connector on the reverse of the card. Do not use any cleaning products.

  3. Check cables and connectors are in good order.
  4. Wait for at least 30 seconds.
  5. With the card still out of the machine, plug the Digibox back into the mains.
  6. Ignore all the messages, and wait for around a minute.
  7. Try 101 for BBC One, 102 for BBC Two and 103 for ITV-1.
  8. Insert viewing card, wait a few seconds.
  9. Check 104 for Channel 4 and 105 for five.


Reset Method 2 - Reset the LNB

If the above method does not work, the LNB may have a fault.
  1. Press the [SERVICES] button and then press [4] [0] [1] then [SELECT]

    On Sky HD, press the [SERVICES] button and then press [0] [0] [1] then [SELECT]

    Press the buttons in the sequence above exactly - do not atttempt to use [UP] or [DOWN]. Note that when you press the second 0 and 1 nothing happens on the screen until you press the final [SELECT]. This is a "hidden menu".



  2. Then press [1] to go to the RF output menu.
  3. Press [DOWN] three times to highlight the line 22Khz Command and then press [RIGHT] to change the value to [OFF].
  4. Press [DOWN] and [SELECT] to select Save New Settings.
  5. Press [SKY].
  6. Again press [SERVICES], [4], [0], [1], [SELECT]; then [1] again for the LNB Menu. (SERVICES 0 0 1 SELECT for Sky HD).
  7. Now press the [RED] button (reset all settings), then [DOWN] until you can select Save New Settings again.
  8. Press [SKY].


Reset Method 3 - Upgrade the system software

If there are still problems:

  1. Turn the Digibox off at the mains again and remove the viewing card.
  2. Whilst holding down the BACKUP key on the Digibox - NOT ON THE REMOTE - turn the mains power on.
  3. Keep hold of BACKUP until the screen displays a "UPGRADING SYSTEM SOFTWARE" message – this will be white text on a black screen. On some boxes this can appear as a half screen.

  4. Wait 10 to 20 minutes for the software to download and install. The box will restart when the process is complete.
  5. Ignore all the messages, and wait for around a minute.
  6. Try 101 for BBC One, 102 for BBC Two and 103 for ITV-1.
  7. Insert viewing card, wait a few seconds.
  8. Check 104 for Channel 4 and 105 for five.



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Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

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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.

S
Sean Connelly
Monday 22 April 2013 7:24PM
My Sky HD box started recoreding some things but not others. So I switched the power off and done a reboot. Now all a get is the No Signal message. I have tried many reboots twice I have had the Sky Intro channel playing but when I try another channel it say No signal again. Ive contacted sky, not much help, checked the cables, swopped them over, tried a different HDMI cable to connect it to the TV, but still nothing, Any Suggestions?
J
jb38
Monday 22 April 2013 9:01PM
Sean Connelly: A no signal warning does not always necessarily indicate that nothing at all is being received, and so there is always the possibility that a signal is being picked up but not at a level high enough for the receiver to decode, hence its ignored.

You should carry out a signal check using the following procedure:

Press "Services" on your Sky remote control and you will see the main menu with "Options" being highlighted.

2:- Select the "Settings" menu using the right arrow button and press select.

3:- Use the left / right arrows to scroll to "Signal" and press select, the the grey bars displayed will show you the strength of the anything that might be received.

If you do see anything indicated then the strength / quality levels being indicated for both tuners have to be around 55% minimum or more to produce a picture, because if its significantly less than this then it points to the dish being slightly out of alignment.

M
m.e.thomas
Tuesday 7 May 2013 7:18PM
I am having signal problems with various channels I have tried all of your recommended ways to solve this problem to no avail.23 churchmead camberwell rd London se5oet. 07861772910
Dave Lindsay
Tuesday 7 May 2013 7:37PM
m.e.thomas: I would suggest that you may be within the area of the 800MHz 4G test:

https://at800.tv/find-out-more/testing/south-east-london-test/
L
Lynne
Wednesday 8 May 2013 9:50AM
Hi! I've done steps 1,2 and am now doing step 3 to reprogram my freesat box. I have been waiting more than 45 mins for the box to turn itself back on (the red light is still on) What do I do now? Is it still reprogramming? I'm totally not techno savvy!
Lynne
P
Pearl
Wednesday 8 May 2013 9:12PM
I've had NO SIGNAL for the past 45mins. I've tried steps 1&2 but to no avail. Unable to access the services menu on the sky remote.
please help.
J
jb38
Wednesday 8 May 2013 10:57PM
Pearl: Open the rear cover on your remote control and rotate each of the two batteries by about half a turn just in case they have developed a bad connection, should this action not make any difference to the situation then disconnect you Sky box from the mains supply "after" having left it in standby for about 30 seconds or so beforehand followed by waiting another 30 seconds before reconnecting it again, then once it starts to respond to the remote control allowing it to go through the usual searching for listings procedure.
S
steven maude
Tuesday 14 May 2013 7:51AM
how much are sky viewing cards my old one has out of date thanks steve
S
steven maude
Tuesday 14 May 2013 7:54AM
so i can get sports channals history channals i love them thanks steven maude
J
joe
Wednesday 15 May 2013 12:58PM
If I cancel my SKY CONTRACT will I still be able to record the socalled feeview channels such as bbc1?. I have a sky hd box currently.

If not and I purchase a free view box can I use it through the sky dish?
Dave Lindsay
Wednesday 15 May 2013 2:46PM
joe: No. The recording function on a Sky+ box requires a subscription. Based on what others have said on here, if you don't subscribe to any Sky channels, you can pay Sky about £10 per month for the rather dubious privilege of using the record and playback function of your own box.

Freeview is the name of the terrestrial system which therefore requires a terrestrial aerial, which points to a transmitter on the ground, rather than a satellite.

Freesat is the name of the free-to-air satellite service, which could be what you are thinking of. You can use the dish for it as Sky and Freesat are entirely the same as far as the dish goes.

If your Freesat receiver has recording capabilities then it will require two feeds, just as your Sky+ box does.
K
Kieran Taylor
Friday 17 May 2013 8:35PM
Hi,
I am having problems with a no satellite signal being received, I have done all 3 steps and checked with a sat finder that is showing a strong signal however my sky hd box is showing up as having no signal strength or quality, it was working fine until two days ago,

Any help would be massively appreciated
J
jb38
Friday 17 May 2013 9:08PM
Kieran Taylor: Have you tried swapping the two input connectors over? because if that action results in reception returning then the input feed from the dish that's presently connected into the boxes LNB2 position is defective.
K
Kieran Taylor
Friday 17 May 2013 9:46PM
Cheers for the quick response, yes I've tried swapping the connectors over but still nothing
J
jb38
Saturday 18 May 2013 9:53AM
Kieran Taylor: Unfortunately when I had suggested swapping the cables over I did not take into account you having tried that mentioned at the top of this page, because if the LNB1 feed was defective then by the box having been unpowered that would have wiped out the main (LNB1) tuners memory thereby requiring the box to be unpowered again "after" having swapped the two feeds over to activate the "searching for listings" procedure, and so "if" you have just left the feeds swapped over then disconnect the box from the mains again for about 30 secs before powering up again and checking the result.

But though, when you tried your sat finder test was it at the LNB or the box end of the cable? and did you try it on both cables? because if that said did apply to both cables and the test was carried out at the box end then you should try a proper signal test on the box using the undermentioned procedure.

Press "Services" on your Sky remote control and you will see the main menu with "Options" being highlighted.

2:- Select the "Settings" menu using the right arrow button and press select.

3:- Use the left / right arrows to scroll to "Signal" and press select, the grey bars displayed will show you the strength of anything that might be received, and if anything is indicated then the strength / quality levels being indicated for both tuners have to be around 55% minimum or more to produce a picture, because if its significantly less than that level its liable to result in the no signal message being seen caused by the dish being slightly out of alignment.

If though none of the aforementioned rectifies the situation then leave the box unpowered for about 30 minutes to allow it to cool down before powering up again, as some of these boxes suffered from power supply problems that only showed up once the box had heated up, although to be perfectly honest its always best if a box can be tested out on another dish, like for example a friendly neighbours! as this saves a multitude of tests having to be carried out.
C
Chinta
Tuesday 21 May 2013 10:00PM
Hi all, for 2 days I have no tv as it gives me error 29 messages including a no signal. It all of a sudden happened. Checked everything I can imagine. Wires are okay, dish seems ok and clear and clean. I have only an old box ( Panasonic) and only use sky for free view.


Tried to reset lnb ( what is that ablnyway??) but doesn't give me the right menu if I click on services 010 and then enter.

What could be wrong?
J
jb38
Tuesday 21 May 2013 11:37PM
Chinta: Try disconnecting the box from the power supply for a period of at least 30 minutes or so to allow it cool down before reconnecting again, then once it responds to the remote control allow it to go through the searching for listings procedure and see if the channels have returned.

You should not really require to check the LNB (this being on the dish arm where the coax is connected into) as the action of disconnecting the box should automatically reset it, however if you wish to check it use the undermentioned procedure.

LNB checking procedure:

1:- Press Sky followed by: "Services - 4" (opens with picture settings highlighted)

2:- Press: "0 - 1 - select" (opens with LNB set up highlighted) press on this.

3:- A list of the various settings will appear, and although they may already match up with that indicated below still press on the red "reset all settings" button (at bottom left hand side under the menu list)

4:- Scroll down to "Save New Settings" and then press select.

5:- Press select to confirm that the settings have been reset.

The correct settings for the LNB being /
Low frequency - 9.75
High Frequency - 10.60
The LNB power supply should always be set to on.
The 22KHz Command should always be set to on.

By the way, Panasonic boxes of that era are notorious for power supply failure and with what you have reported being one of the symptoms of the problem, but if you still get a no signal warning (error 29) then press: "services - 4 - 6" and see if anything is indicated on the signal strength / quality bar.

Further info dependant on findings.
C
Chinta
Wednesday 22 May 2013 10:45PM
Hi jb, thanks for the info. For now i have tried a few times to disconnect the box for a longer time and re-checked all the wires. Still gives me the same error 29 failure. As mentioned I have this problem for a day of 4 now with no change.

Do you think perhaps my box or satellite is defect and should order a new one? I have the same equipment for years now and never encountered this before. I only have free view and therefore don't think my card is validated?

perhaps I need to re-align my satellite ? Never had to do this in the last years though....

Please help! Thanks again.
C
Chinta
Wednesday 22 May 2013 10:50PM
Btw for now nothing is mentioned on the signal / strength bar.also it says that there is no card inserted in the menu settings. Is that normal?

I shall leave the power cable out for the night, possibly that will help..

Hope I don't need to buy either new card, box or sat!

Keep you updated.

Cheers
J
jb38
Thursday 23 May 2013 12:05AM
Chinta: The problem will not be connected to the card, as a card is not really required to receive free channels because the box will work without it.
C
Chinta
Thursday 23 May 2013 5:56AM
So what could it be then? The box or sat?
J
jb38
Thursday 23 May 2013 8:12AM
Chinta: The problem when dealing with a "no signal" or error 29 warning, both meaning the same thing, is that this type of fault can be caused by either the dish having been moved slightly out of alignment, a defect on the dishes LNB, or a problem with the cable coming from same, but though on the other hand the same symptom can be had on an older box if like many older boxes the power supply to its tuner has fallen off, this being due to the electrolytic capacitors associated with having dried out through heat over the time.

The reason why I had requested that you allow the box to cool down first before powering up again is simply because that this type of problem is generally heat related, and if a box is found to start working again when cold then this is a positive indication that its power unit is defective, whereas if it doesn't then although this can still be caused by the tuners side of the power supply having failed completely (albeit you can still see a menu) but however in most cases its not and the fault is dish related.

In other words, I only mentioned the possibility of the power supply because of this particular brand being notorious for suffering from defective power units, although it has to be said that the only positive way for anyone to determine the cause of a problem is either to try their box out on someone else's dish, or alternatively try someone else's box on your dish.
L
Lee Copson
Saturday 25 May 2013 11:24AM
Following a recent storm I noticed that 'Signal 1' had disappeared. Signal 2 was still available. I disconnected the mains supply and reconnected it. Thisusually resolves similar issues. I have now been without any signal for 2 days.

I have a quad LNB and have been able to verify that all cables are producing an 85% strength and 100% quality rating on my Freesat box.

I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting the cables at the back of the Sky+HD box but to no avail.

I have tried options 1 & 2 above but I don't want to try option 3 because I appear to have no signal by which to download upgrade software.

I have tried a full system reset from the 'hidden' 'Services [0] [0] [1] [OK]' menu but that has not resolved the issue.

All evidence points to a problem with my Sky+ box but I tried swapping it for an older box and that also reports that no satellite signal is being received. It seems unlikely that both boxes are broken.

Could the current weather patterns be interfering with the signal such that my Sky boxes think they are not receiving a signal when my Freesat box clearly is?

Can you th
S
steve jones
Friday 7 June 2013 11:12AM
hi jb38

I hope you can help me .
i have been trying to watch the poker channel 861 but i get the message no satellite signal is being received intermittently with pixelated pictures and stuttering . signal strength and quality for line 1 is zero , about 70% on line 2 for both strength and quality . i swapped cables around and i am still receiving the same signal strength and quality on line 1 and 2 . on all the other channels i view i have good strength and quality on both lines .

i have tried to check the lnb settings but i cant seem to find it . when i press services and 4 i get sky box office .

i have a sky+hd box

any help and advice is much appreciated
regards steve
J
jb38
Friday 7 June 2013 5:31PM
steve jones: If the problems being experienced on the boxes LNB1 input have not been rectified by swapping the leads over then this definitely points to the fault being within the box itself, and with the reason for ranging from a defective joint behind the "F" connectors input socket to the actual tuner (or power supply to) having developed a fault.

If not already having done so place the box in standby for a couple of minutes before disconnecting it from the mains, this followed by reconnecting it again after about another 45 seconds and see if anything has changed once it reloads the EPG, further advice dependant on the result of this procedure.

Just a point though that I would like you to clarify, as you have specifically referred to the problem being with 861 then are all other channels OK? or possibly not as the case may be.
S
steve jones
Friday 7 June 2013 8:31PM
thanks a lot for the reply and help jb .

most channels work fine , except for a few foreign speaking channels , one or 2 of the casino ones aswell . so maybe 6-7 channels don't work .

I rang sky and did the procedure they said , switching cables , turning it off, wiping the card but it did not help . just to clarify , I get a good signal on both lnb1 and lnb2 when on bbc1 or other channels , but when on 861 I only get a signal on lnb2 , even when the cables have been swapped .

I did as advised but nothing has changed .
J
jb38
Saturday 8 June 2013 1:42PM
steve jones: Getting back to your original posting where you had said that the signal strength & quality on input line 1 (taking it you are referring to LNB1 input) was indicating zero albeit that it must be fluctuating, then if you swapped the "known to be working" LNB2's input over to the LNB1 input socket and the situation did not change then this is a positive indication that the boxes LNB1 tuner is defective, and so its pointless carrying out any further checks because your "swapping leads over" procedure has completely eliminated any possibility of the problem being connected with a defect in the LNB or cabling from / to.

The other point that has to be appreciated is that when using a Sky box of the type capable of recording (any + type) is that normal viewing is always via the LNB1 inputs tuner as this is the main input, LNB2's tuner in most instances only being used for recording.

Also with regards to you not being able to access the LNB's settings, if as you have previously mentioned that the LNB2 input is indicating OK then its quite unnecessary to check the settings as they must be correct otherwise nothing would be received.

By the way, these and lots of other installer settings can be accessed by pressing:- services - options - settings - press select to highlight picture - followed by pressing (in quick succession) "0 - 1 - select".
S
steve jones
Saturday 8 June 2013 4:45PM
hi jb

even though lnb1 and lnb2 quality and strength is good on most other channels , does It still mean lnb1 is broken ?
J
jb38
Sunday 9 June 2013 5:21PM
steve jones: A defective tuner does not necessarily mean that nothing at all is being received, but more the case of anything that is received tending to be erratic in a fashion such as you had reported in your original posting, i.e: intermittent spells of witnessing a "no signal" warning, pixelated pictures with stuttering audio etc, and so in your particular case the problem with 861 might (although I doubt it) simply be caused by LNB1's tuner being slightly less sensitive to that used by LNB2's input, this showing up on the transponder used by 861 as they are all received at different levels, albeit a Sky box not being able to indicate this.

I will say though, that if you had only been using a single input then I would have requested that you check the "F" connectors at each end of the cable and especially the one at the dish end for any signs of corrosion, as a faulty connection can on occasions be responsible for this odd type of fault, but though by you having twin feeds and yet swapping them over did not make any difference then that eliminates the possibility of a faulty feed, but in cases such as yours and where a professional meter isn't to hand, then pinning the cause of the problem is much easier to achieve if the box in question can be tested out on someone else's dish, basically because I cannot see any further tests that you could carry out that would assist in any way as far as rectifying the problem is concerned.

That said tough, if testing the box out on another dish did magically result on 861 being received on boxes LNB1's input, then this could simply be down to the signal level received from the alternative dish being at a slightly higher level than yours thereby compensating for the deficiency in the tuner.

Just out of interest, what is the make / model number of your box ?
S
steve jones
Sunday 9 June 2013 7:14PM
ok thanks a lot jb , I will have to test it on someone else dish .

the box just says " sky+hd " , 3d anytime+ . I can't see a make or model on it anywhere .
J
jb38
Sunday 9 June 2013 7:46PM
steve jones: OK, but should you manage to try it on someone else's dish I would appreciate if you could give an update on your findings.

By the way, sometimes the boxes identification label is stuck on the underside of the box, although I dare say that you will have looked there anyway.
N
nav
Tuesday 11 June 2013 1:44PM
hi
i have sky box free channels but 2-3 days ago its not working . signals appear 'no sattelite signal being recived'
and now when i m try to change the channels its not change channel not from remote and not from box.
i check all the wires back of the box
its alright.
i dont'know whats problem...........plz help to resolve my problem.thx
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