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.
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l forrest: Yes, ring Sky. gillian:
the E4, M4m C4+1 transponder has been showing some drop in power. this started a few months ago. Where I am we are losing these channels about 2 hours earlier than normal. So depdending on oyur location in France, and the state of your dish etc, then this can also be the cause. Check with neighbours perhaps on their reception. DocP:
does the box still crash when left overnight WITHOUT the card in? At least that removed the card as being an issue. A software upragde may help, but you may have a failing amstrad box - they dont make then as good as they used to! aladin77Sunday 17 October 2010 9:37AM
I also have the same problem with e4, e4+1, channel4+1 recently they have dropped off completely in the evenings from Estepona (malaga) and the image is constantly garbled from Rincon de la Victoria (malaga) (Spain).Gordon CummingsSunday 17 October 2010 10:12AM
Hi, About 6 months I bought a Panasonic Blu Ray Recorder (BS750) with twin tuners. It worked fine until last night when I lost all channels. The EPG is still there, but no pictures. I am receiving a "U50" eror code on the unit display which indicates a short circuit somewhere in the dish feeds. there is also a 'No Signal' or 'Dish Fault' appearing on the tv screen.I live in a 3 year old block of flats with a communal dish which feeds four flats. Everyone else still has their SKY signal ok. I have checked the Satellite connections to the unit and they appear ok. can anyone help, please? The Panasonic Unit is working ok in every other way, i.e. HDD/Blu Ray.
Mike DimmickSunday 17 October 2010 12:00PM
Reading Gordon Cummings: Does it say 'U50 1' or 'U50 2', or just 'U50'? The first tells you which input the problem happened on (1 or 2), the second means it could be either.
I'd suggest disconnecting both cables, then connecting each of the two cables in turn to input 1, to see which one seems to be at fault. If no problem occurs, it's probably input 2 on the recorder itself that's faulty.
Then swap over which cable plugs into which output on the wall plate. If the problem swaps over, it's probably a fault on that cable and you should try replacing it.
If the fault seems to be on one output on the wallplate only, contact your landlord, agent, or building manager.
Satellite systems require the receiver to send power up the coaxial cable to power the LNB, for a standard domestic installation. One voltage is used to tell the LNB to select one polarization, and a higher voltage to select the other (I forget which way round). The box can only supply so much current to the LNB safely, so it monitors how much is being sent, and if it's more than a threshold it turns off the input to protect itself. In a master-dish installation, the voltage simply tells the multiswitch which to select - the multiswitch itself is usually separately powered from the mains, though some do use the so-called 'phantom power' method.
Do note that you should not attempt to split a satellite TV cable to feed more than one box, or more than one input on a box. It doesn't work properly. I'm assuming your flat has two separate feeds, because it's pretty new, well after the Sky+ launch date and even after Sky+ HD.DocPSunday 17 October 2010 8:12PM
satandpguy - Hi. (I've only just noticed your posting!) It is indeed the sky viewing card causing issues. After attempting all possible options for our old style digibox, I tried Tues/Wed/Thurs night w/o card in place & the DRX550 has been stable throughout. So not lnb or firmware (already at latest possible) & looks like tuner is stable too.
As we are using it as Freesat (cancelled Sky subs 1yr ago), we'll just use it w/o card. We get everything except pointless free Sky channels, so no loss. Until DRX550 completely blows up, we'll just have to live with the fault I guess as doubt Sky will give a new card unless we resubscribe.
Thanks for posting a response. Appreciated!! DocPpaulineWednesday 20 October 2010 12:34PM
what does for your information 29 mean i have no picture at the momentpauline: Please try turning the box off at the mains for a few minutes. If that doesn't work, try method (3) above. andreaMonday 25 October 2010 9:12PM
We share a dish with our neighbours. We are both experiencing intermittent problems losing Sky signal altogether and getting a message 'no satellite signal being received' (or words to that effect.
The dish is on the chimney stack of a 3 storey building so not easy to access. Having 'googled' I think it might be the lnb? Is there anyway to check?andrea: I would first try method (2) above first. Conrad SmithTuesday 26 October 2010 8:11PM
Hi every recording i do on my sky hd says there is a technial fault & when you play it back the picture at some point will break up & you have to press back up to remove the signal lost sign i've done a rebuild & hard reset but still the same. ThanksConrad Smith: It is likely there is a problem with your second connection to your dish, if you are a Sky+ customer, you can contact Sky to provide an engineer. joy glennieThursday 28 October 2010 11:05PM
For the past few months I have been getting disruption to my sky televison and am now in the position where its not working more than it is. I will be watching a channel and the picture will break up and it will say no satellite signal being received or technical fault with this channel or bizzarely a different channel will start taking over the screen. If i flick up the channels there are other programmes working fine...therefore there is definitely a satellite signal being received...but then I go back to the channel I am wanting to watch and it still has the error messages. I haven't phoned sky (yet) because i find them very unhelpful and all they want to do is send out an engineer (which I have to pay for) and replace the box (which I also have to pay for)..they will never entertain even the idea that it could be their fault.joy glennie: Have you tried "Method 2" at the top of the page? MarkFriday 29 October 2010 12:32PM
After having a no signal message on 90% of my channels on my Sky+ box ive tried all the things that Sky ask you to do an nothing worked. Then i tried something id not seen talked about before. Firstly while leaving the box on signal test (SERVICES, 4, 6) i (carefully) unplugged the coaxial cable from socket 1 and plugged it into socket 2. Then swapped back and turned off the Sky+ box and quickly back on again. ALL my channels came back. Ive had to do this a couple of times but at least im not watching a NO SIGNAL message anymore. Unplugging the coaxial cable isnt to be advised as it could damage the box bit when your box isnt working anyway maybe worth a try.Mark: As I said elsewhere, you will damage your box and LNB if you do that with the power on. Method (2) above should be tried. paul qSunday 31 October 2010 1:20AM
hi i am new to this my sky+ box tells me no signal i have tried all the above but its still the same. My ? is can i take the hard drive out and see if that works, you see i now have virgin media and i just put this in my bedroom to watch the free channelsAlanWednesday 3 November 2010 7:46PM
I am living in Spain for the winter I have an 8 way lnb on a 1.3 meter dish I have 4 leads to my house as we have 2 sky + boxes I have no problem with my 2 digibxes. However we share the dish with a neighbour who has just returned fro the UK He turned his electricity back on switched his digibox on but it is showing no satellite signal received,his box was working ok prior to this.Can you help please.AlanV.LUCKHURSTWednesday 3 November 2010 11:37PM
What does for your information 30 mean on sky TV banner?
3 nights running at 19.30, we tune to channel 103[meridian], have blue screen saying there is a technical fault with this channel, plus above message... 15 minutes later, everthing is fine again.Here's an interesting problem.
Moved into a 'new' house 3 weeks ago.
1) Has an oldish sky dish (oval) aimed 10-20 degrees West of south.
2 I get a New Sagem FREESAT BOX DS186HD receiver off ebay.
3 Connect it - auto tuning finds NO Signal.
4) Get a cheap satelite finder and new LNB - realign dish to Astra 2 (East of South 28 degrees) and align for best signal strength. I have clear line of sight.
5) Zero signal on Sagem auto tune.
6) Send Sagem back and got it checked - all OK
7) checked the cable ends -all ok (and the satellite finder is being powered OK from the Sagem)
Question - whats up? I'm confused - I would have thought to get a weak signal at least - I'm getting zero.
Thanks cumbrianlassSaturday 6 November 2010 9:32PM
Hi think I probably need to get someone out to look at my setup but am trying all avenues (hopefully) before I shell out.
I have a really old sky box, a Thomson 286_544. Been using it to get freesat for a couple of years now with no problem, until a few nights ago. Have begun to get error message 29.
Have tried resetting LNB, checked all the cable (no signs of visible damage)and the inputs and rebooted and still nothing. Signal test shows me blank in signal strength and signal quality. Leads me to think I have a problem with the dish, or with the cable that I cannot see, or the box is phutt.
Anything else I can try before I call out an engineer? Thanks very muchcumbrianlassSaturday 6 November 2010 10:07PM
Perth sorry, should have clarified, have tried 1, 2 and 3 above.BillSunday 7 November 2010 10:03AM
I had a Sky+ Box fitted yesterday and today lo and behold No Signal. Waiting for engineer as we speak. Out of Boredom I decided to look if anyone else had same problem and stumbled on your sight. What an informative anh helpful sight it is. I may just bring the engineer in so you can teach him how to set up properly in first place .keep it going M8. I`m sure i`ll be back in in a few days again. Les NicolSunday 7 November 2010 11:45AM
Cumbrialass - Could be dodgy capacitors which Thompson boxes are renowned for.as they age.mohammadTuesday 9 November 2010 1:38PM
im getting error message 29 on sky digital:'No satellite signal is being received. please unplug your sky box from the mains then plug it back and wait 5 minutes before trying again. if the fault presists, contact customer services'.
What do u think is worng? is there something wrong with the recevier or it is the dish.
i cannot reset the LNB, when i press [SERVICES], [4], [0], [1] the installers setup does not show up.
what shall i do??
calling sky is going to cost me £60 as they are going to send me an enginner.KennyTuesday 9 November 2010 9:57PM
Hi I have same problem as mohammad
iv tried meth 1 and 3 meth 2 would not work on mine. sat dish is old and shared with two other flats not sure which other flats to ask if they also have same prob. stopped working nov 5th !!! no sign of fire work damage to dish all leads are screwed in ok. Amstrad 550.060 signal test showed no signal. If you press for tv guide it shows searching for listing plz wait. nothing happens. Please help many thanks kenny :)KennyTuesday 9 November 2010 10:15PM
cumbrianlass
Been using it to get freesat for a couple of years now with no problem, until a few nights ago. Have begun to get error message 29.
Hi we also have same prob as you tried signal test both boxes blank we have an Amstrad 550 stopped working around 5th nov same time as yours I think Sky just kicked our asses off free sat? but I could be wrong. SandySunday 14 November 2010 2:00PM
I have been having the same issue as everyone else. It sometimes starts working and then today it went back to the message of satellite signal not being received. I have tried all the options available and none seem to do the job. Sky say its £68 or i can upgrade to sky+ HD as i have the standard box but thats another £10 a month and i may need to pay for installation. Call me cynical but iwonder if this is a problem with my box or dish or its SKY wanting people to upgrade so they cos problems their end. Sandy: It is unlikely that Sky have deliberately sabotaged your equipment. Have you tried "Reset Method 2 - Reset the LNB" above? DavidSunday 14 November 2010 3:51PM
I have skybox freeview and am getting "no satellite signal". Found this forum and did steps 1 2 and 3 described above and am still receiving the "no signal" message. Somehow, however, I am still receiving SkyNews (channel 501) so surely the signal IS being received? I am also receiving channel information but no picture. Am very confused as to what the issue could be now... Anyone in the same situation and managed to get anywhere with it?David: Your dish could have moved slightly, this may explain why you get channels from some satellites and not from others. I'm based near Girona in the northeast of spain, a couple of months ago a sat company installed a 80cm dish and cheap LMB. I used an old Pace BSKYB 2200 box from friend. The first night we lost ITV 1 at about 6pm, the sat guy came back the following night after 6pm and told me that the signal and quality was fine and it must be the box.
A couple of weeks ago I borrowed my friends (he lives in the same village) Amstrad DRX280
sky + box (no card) after 6pm and ITV 1 worked great. He has a 80 cm dish too. He never has any problems, even in bad weather.
So I ordered the same one online (no card), I set it up 3 days ago, the first night it was fine until about 9.45pm, then it started to go, by 10pm it was gone, then around 10.10pm it came back and was fine by 10.15pm.
The next night it was exactly the same, except it was 8.45pm when it started to go and back at 9.15pm.
Last night it started to go at 10.20pm and got better at 11.30pm. X Factor results was on, so my wife was going crazy :-)
I have no obstacles in the way of the dish and the cable run is only 10 meters.
I have a friend only 2 miles away who has no problems with a 65cm dish.
Any advice. Would a better quality LMB like this one help (it is around £30)? Inverto - IDLR-SINL40-CLASC-OPP - Single 40mm LNB a sky sat card help?
Any help would be appreciated, it's driving me crazy!
Thanks
Steve
wayne obeeMonday 15 November 2010 1:30PM
i have tried the above settings and it still says no siganl. i relocated my sky box and cut back the cable but its all connected just still no signal i only move the cable not the dish.
wayne obeeMonday 15 November 2010 1:31PM
i just tried add channels and it now says no signal foundwayne obeeMonday 15 November 2010 2:04PM
cheers its working now....many thanks mateSandyMonday 15 November 2010 4:01PM
Harrow i have tried step 2 as described above and it did not solve anything. I am now borrowing another box from a relative who doesnt need it as they have got sky +. Everything is ok again but why is it that every so often the boxes just stop working? Sandy: The boxes are decade-old technology, they are prone to failure over the years. GriffFriday 19 November 2010 9:36PM
hi i'm trying to split my sky+ signal to two other locations. I'm only using one box and just moving from one locationto the next. Unfortunenatly i don't seem to be able to receive a signal at the new locations. I've already split the signal and i'm getting good signal strength at the original posistion. Is there anything you can suggest?grahamSunday 21 November 2010 9:24AM
First of all you need to check if your box is made by Thomson. If it is then the reason you get the No Satellite Signal message will be because of the PSU. They fail regularly & start to lose channels , eventually losing all. The can be upgraded for just £25 though, just Google 'sky thomson psu upgrade'
GrahamBig TSunday 21 November 2010 8:20PM
been putting up sky dishes since it started.Just recently been getting the afore mentioned problems.onsome of our customers boxes. usually unplugging etc works on most boxes. But not all. Sky themseleves are pretty useless as it is an automatic system .If none of the usuall button pressing dos'nt work.The box has a fault.Myself I think Sky are just out to make more money for themselves.Griff: If you want two positions, then run satellite-grade coaxial cables to the second place from the quad-LNB. You should NEVER attempt to split a connection from a satellite dish. Big T: I don't think anyone, not least British Sky Broadcasting would argue with the idea that "Sky are just out to make more money for themselves".
Method (2) above is always a good thing to check, as the problem is sometimes that the LNB has developed a fault. TonyWednesday 24 November 2010 12:21AM
This is a problem you may have heard about.My father who lives in Rainham,Kent,receives the message"channel unavailable,please try later".Error 30.This happens at 18.58 each week day.As a temp messure,i have told him to power down his box and restart the system,this works.I have heard of this problem from all across the country in various locations.Tony: And you have tried all three things at the top of the page? trevorbeddowesWednesday 24 November 2010 1:34PM
my box says contact sky re your card
it is an old one but since we have moved hose it would be useful
although im not a customer any more bwill sky provide a card for me to view my box?trevorbeddowes: Yes, for £25 they will. Call them on 08442 411 602, I think it is option 2. Esther AshmanThursday 25 November 2010 7:51PM
hello i have done your list as above and still am having no joy! it just says 'no signal' or 'turn box off at mains.....wait 5mins.....if still not working call....' I also have no sky card but was recieving the free channels up untill now! Does this just mean the box has had it and im best off with a free sat box??Esther Ashman: It could be the dish, or the cable too. But if it is the box, then yes, you can just swap it out for a Freesat or Freesat HD box. 
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Freeview intermittent interference | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice page, most of the same things will apply. 
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