What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fault'?
How to Reset a Sky Digibox when 'No Signal' appears.
Reset method 1 - Delete and Rescan
- 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.
- 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.
- Check cables and connectors are in good order.
- Wait for at least 30 seconds.
- With the card still out of the machine, plug the Digibox back into the mains.
- Ignore all the messages, and wait for around a minute.
- Try 101 for BBC One, 102 for BBC Two and 103 for ITV-1.
- Insert viewing card, wait a few seconds.
- 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.
- 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".
- Then press [1] to go to the RF output menu.
- Press [DOWN] three times to highlight the line 22Khz Command and then press [RIGHT] to change the value to [OFF].
- Press [DOWN] and [SELECT] to select Save New Settings.
- Press [SKY].
- Again press [SERVICES], [4], [0], [1], [SELECT]; then [1] again for the LNB Menu. (SERVICES 0 0 1 SELECT for Sky HD).
- Now press the [RED] button (reset all settings), then [DOWN] until you can select Save New Settings again.
- Press [SKY].
Reset Method 3 - Upgrade the system software
If there are still problems:
- Turn the Digibox off at the mains again and remove the viewing card.
- Whilst holding down the BACKUP key on the Digibox - NOT ON THE REMOTE - turn the mains power on.
- 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.
- Wait 10 to 20 minutes for the software to download and install. The box will restart when the process is complete.
- Ignore all the messages, and wait for around a minute.
- Try 101 for BBC One, 102 for BBC Two and 103 for ITV-1.
- Insert viewing card, wait a few seconds.
- Check 104 for Channel 4 and 105 for five.
Click here for the list of questions
Click here to ask a new question
Your comments
First comments 
Earlier comments ◊ Later comments
Latest comments
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.
cookieMonday 16 May 2011 5:18PM
tried all three none worked for me any ideas pleasecookie: I would try "method 3" again. lornaMonday 16 May 2011 11:22PM
jb38: thanks for helping.
As I had explained, I have changed everything, I have changed the wiring, I have changed the sky box and I have changed the LNB ( I used my brothers) with no result.
could it be the card!!!!! I always thought that you dont need a viewing card for the free channels?!
do you think I need to go buy a new card.
Thank youjb38Tuesday 17 May 2011 7:33AM
lorna: If you have actually changed "everything" including the box then you now in effect have a new installation, that is with the exception of the dish metalwork! so the only thing left that could possibly be responsible is that of the dish having been accidentally moved out of alignment.
Your box will still operate OK without a card albeit with limitations on what you receive, but I still think you should verify its operation by trying it out on someone else's dish.claireTuesday 17 May 2011 12:35PM
I have had the no satellite sign for three days now, I have changed the wiring and gone through all three of your steps and nothing incidently the sky card works perfectly well in the box upstairs, can you help, Claireclaire: This does suggest that you actually have no signal. Either the dish has been moved, a cable disconnected or the LNB on the dish has failed. BretTuesday 17 May 2011 4:14PM
Hi I have just had installed my Sky system in a new house
The Independant fitter said the reception quality was at 95%
BUT NO PICTURE QUALITY
So he said the new lnb which I had supplied was faulty
So I got this changed for another
Just the same NO PICTURE QUALITY AND
No 29 No Satelite Signal in being received
Please Help
ThanksBret: I would get the installer to return and sort it out. It is not acceptable for him to leave without your system working. IsyTuesday 17 May 2011 5:24PM
some of my channels aren't working, mainly hd channels. it has only started happening over the last few weeks and started as just a couple of channels but now there are at least 15 without signal or with bad, unwatchable quality. currently in the middle of a system software update but the other two methods havent worked. Since most channels work, the dish should be properly aligned right?
ive tried moving the wires around and resetting everything but some channels still arent responding hlep please!IsyTuesday 17 May 2011 5:29PM
update: system software update didnt work!Isy: If "Method 2" does not clear the problem, your dish may be misaligned, or your LNB is failing. TomWednesday 18 May 2011 6:31AM
I thought others would like to hear of my experience with Digital TV.
With a neighbour we had a qualified aerial fitter install rooftop aerials to be ready for digital TV. We have always had a bad reception from the Wrekin transmitter resulting in poor pictures on our TV's. We were hoping for a better signal when the area went digital in April. My neighbour had a better picture but only recieved about 30 channels I recieved about 40 freeview channels most of them breaking up. I tried a new cheap rooftop aerial aerial which made no difference. Apperently our signals are being blocked by 40+ ft high Conifer tries about 100ft away along with other close buildings. Another neighbour moved his aerial to recieve Sutton Coldfield transmitter signals and managed to get 90+ signals whilst when I tried the same could not get any signals whatever. I had previously asked in retail electical shops about an aerial amplifier and was told that if a weak signal went in I could only expect a weak signal out. As a last resort I bought a more expensive rooftop wideband aerial (the other aerials were wideband as well) tuned it into sutton coldfield and recieved a signal with about 50 channels some not very good pictures. As a last resort I bought a masthead amplifier for £25 and now recieve 92 freeview signals from Sutton Coldfield most of them watchable and 30 odd radio stations. Cracked it.
Moral - not all experts are experts. I was told more than once that an amplifier would not help if I only recieved a poor reception.
As luck would have it I live in a bungalow so getting on the roof was not a difficult jobTom: Thanks for that, I've been going on about the only amplification that would work being a masthead amplifier for the last decade. JillWednesday 18 May 2011 1:57PM
Tried all three methods and still "no satellite signal is being received", However when I did method three the digibox had red light. I always have to press Sky after putting power back on before it will go green. Should I have done that after the business with holding down the backup button and switching power back on?lornaThursday 19 May 2011 2:17PM
jb38: thank you.
I changed the alignment of the dish and it is working now.
Thanks for all the help MikeThursday 19 May 2011 3:59PM
Hi There,
I have a multiroom sky.The box in the lounge works perfectly but that in the room upstairs says no signal and they are both connected to the same dish. Any idea why?
Mike: Have you tried the three things above? If so, then the problem could be a fault with the box, or with the LNB output the box is using. dennisThursday 19 May 2011 10:46PM
will be watching sky then it will switch itself off and say unplug at mains then plug in again and leave for 5 mins and try again the trouble is takes some 4 or 6 hours before it will work again it is a shared dish and my neigbours work fine any ideas ?dennis: Sounds like the box is failing, you should probably replace it. RobinFriday 20 May 2011 10:39PM
Hi Briantist.
Firstly thank you for this service. I have tried all 3 methods without success. Currently my set has frozen on the Updating System Software screen. It says that this may take up to 10 mins but the screen message is the same after half an hour! Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.Robin: If that is the case then you may simply not have a signal getting to your receiver. This could be because the dish has moved, the LNB has failed or the cable is damaged. IZZISaturday 21 May 2011 1:13PM
Hi I have a sat dish and Thompsons box which was installed 2 years ago the whole system works from an old sky card and we have always got some extra channels but now it says 'insert new sky viewing card' and the only channels I can't get are ITV and Channel 5, please could you tell me what may be wrong with it? Thankyou Izzi:
There are some ITV1 regions that require a sky card to view, as do 3 of the four "Five" regions.
The current sky card are white both sides. IF you ahve a Blue card, then these were deactiavted last year, and you will need to get a new one from Sky.
Asyou are getting the message "Insert your Sky card", then make sure you have the card inserted the right way around, and that you have put it into the correct slot. Sky boxes have two card slots. One says "interactive slot", and the other says "viewing card slot". Make sure you have the card in the correct slot. Some sky boxes have the sky card slot behind a pull down door on the right hand side of the box.
Two card slot - only one works with the sky card - and putting the card in the wrong slot is something that happens all to often. MaxineSunday 22 May 2011 7:54AM
Hi we have SKY and are situated next to trees. Our previous occupant had some branches cut away so the signal would get thrugh but obviously now smmer is on way and more leaves and we have really bad wind at the minute sky keeps going off with no signal. Surrounding houses don't seem to have any problems some of their dishes are on poles on top of their roof. I have asked sky to come and look at where the dish is situated as it is on the wall directly facing the trees but others have theirs on other walls, do you think moving the dish will help or will it be a case of not recieving sky due to treesmike dowSunday 22 May 2011 5:45PM
My elderly father has a satellite which i think 'looks' (is that the correct term) at Hotbird. He gets Polish TV from it. Recently his picture has gone to black & white even though his ordinary TV is still colour.
Any ideas as to what may be wrong?
Thanks
Mike
Maxine: Mounting the dish up higher to avoid the trees is the best option. hi there, I have a sky box that is used only for freeview now, as no longer a sky customer. It has alternated between very good and broken up picture quality. Now I have absolutely nothing for two days. I live in West Sussex, my daughter lives in Surrey and says that her tv is also behaving in the same manner (she also has a sky box). At present the weather is very windy here and I wonder if this is the problem affecting my tv set and her and probably many others in the area kittyMonday 23 May 2011 8:04PM
hi, i have tried all 3 methods above twice but no luck. we've had really bad winds and rain all day (60/70mph) and a power cut, so could it be the dish moved or box damaged? are either easily fixed or do i need an engineer?
thanks. kittyMonday 23 May 2011 8:19PM
hi again, i did mean to say above my sky box is showing fault 29 and also that i am not @all technical! kitty: If you have tried all three methods at the top of the page with no success, then you probably have a cable, LNB or dish fault that will require an engineer to fix.
It could also be a be a fault with the Sky box, but this is less likley. Loveday: If "Method 2" does not clear the problem, you probably need to have an engineer change the LNB on your dish as shows signs of failing. adhTuesday 24 May 2011 11:37AM
Hey man,
I have a sky box that has always lost channels. If I reset the box, they'd come back. But within an hour or so, the channel is hard to get back. I have to change then channel and cross my fingers that when I return, the channel will appear.
I'm going to try your methods. Any thoughts? adh: Please do "Method 2" above. SteveTuesday 24 May 2011 11:43PM
My pace sky box has not been used for two weeks but is always on standby. I have a new twinlnb dish which also supplies a freesat box which is working fine.
Went to look at sky news on box today and got the message `there is a technical fault with this channel` - i tried other channels and got the same message. signal strength meter looks ok and is `locked`. tried with card removed (chip looked a bit burnt?) - thanksany ideas as it cant be the dish or connections?Steve: Have you tried all three of the items at the top of the page? ChiriWednesday 25 May 2011 7:27PM
Hi,
I think i have a bigger problem! My Sky+hd says 'searching for listings, please wait...' and the screen goes blank, then 'no signal' appears. Sometimes after '...please wait' comes up with 'NO SATELLITE SIGNAL IS BEING RECEIVED 29' and the screen goes blank. Yesterday i was able to check signal strength and the signal bars were empty.
May i also add that that when the screen goes blank, i am unable to switch off the box using either the remote or the box.
We have a dish on top of the roof in a block of flats, but i am not sure if anyone else uses sky.
The TV seems to work. Shows terrestrial channels and i am able to play DVD.
Please help.
Thank you very much.
ChiriChiri: Have you tried the three reset methods at the top of the page? Valerie GreyThursday 26 May 2011 10:05AM
Truro Coming home last night after two days away I found none of my t.v. programmes is watchable. They are all in coloured squares and spit out noises. I suspected it was being caused by high winds interfering with transmission but when it was still the same this morning, I rang my neighbour to find he has the same problem. We have both been to your website which declares "no problems reported". I am now reporting problems in this village - Mawnan Smith TR11, and would ask you please to look into this.ChiriThursday 26 May 2011 3:18PM
Briantist,
Thank you so much for your reply.
I have tried all the three methods. The first 2 i ended up with 'no signal' and blank screen. method 3, i ended up with blue screen, 'no satellite signal is being received 29'
Any other suggestions?
Thank you very much
ChiriChiri: This will mean that either (a) you have no satellite signal, because the dish has moved, the cable is broken or the LNB has failed; or (b) the Sky box is no longer working. Ken HarperSunday 29 May 2011 11:53AM
Clevedon I live in Clevedon North Somerset and use Freeview. Our aerial is tuned to Wells in Somerset and several stations are not available erxpecially BBc West & ITV West.
Can I retune to Wenvoe and get these stations? I do not want BBC WalesHopeMonday 30 May 2011 8:05PM
Quite a few of my channels are sating no satellite signal being received l have done the two test above i.e turning off removing card doing the LNB test yet still it says no signal message 28 does anyone know if sky has a landline number which is 08Nick HMonday 30 May 2011 9:37PM
Shifnal Post code : TF11 9PS
SKY Aerial : On side of house near top, around 15/20 feet off ground.
Normal Aerial - On chimney, 30/40 feet up.
Hi - [seemingly] since the analogue signal has been switched off in Shropshire (Wrekin transmitter) I appear to have lost reception on a lot of sky channels e.g 110,401 -> 405,432 - even reception for channels like bbc1 can be hit and miss (quite a lot of the freeview channels also have iffy recption).Other channels still seem to be absolutely fine. This has only occurred recently (hence thinking it is related to digital s/over),the aforementioned channels were all A1 until very recently. I have not tried the above reset sequencing yet.........any suggestions as to where I start plse. Many Thanks !!Nick H: It is utterly impossible for the terrestrial signal changes to effect your Sky reception.
Please try Method 2 at the top of the page. RobTuesday 31 May 2011 4:23PM
If I upgrade system software I assume this doesn't affect any of the recordings I have on my box ?Les NicolTuesday 31 May 2011 5:13PM
Rob - Upgrading system software or doing a factory reset should not effect recordings already made and stored on the HDD.
Now picks up Freesat advertising bu…
Incoming BBC news director promise…
Smart TV failing the connectivity t…
Local TV Association elects chair -…
BBC may charge Sky for content as r…
BT Tower is just a relic? Wrong: It…
Ariel - BBC Trust: Online must impr…
Google TV: silent but not forgotten…
Freeview reception has changed? | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice please. Can you provide a full postcode please? 
SAYNOTO0870.COM - Sky Customer Services . 
Show: 
