FAQs – Have questions about our Sky TV service? The common questions below should have the answers you’re looking for.
FAQs – What is Sky?
FAQs – More than 17.5 million viewers in over ten million households enjoy an unprecedented choice of movies, news, entertainment and sports channels and interactive services from Sky, the UK’s first and most popular digital television platform. Access largest choice of channels and High Definition channels in Europe. SkyTV – transmitted via satellite rather than cable.
The area customers are able to view Sky television covers a vast area. Known as the footprint, this covers all of Europe and stretches as far as North Africa and The Canaries in the South, Scandinavia and Iceland in the North and Western Russia in the East. This allows viewing for people wanting to watch Sky outside of the UK.
Here are some of our FAQs – What is Sky’s TV satellite System?
FAQs – Sky’s digital satellite system, the equipment that allows customers to receive Sky TV programming. Every Sky box gives you access to a custom on-screen programme guide (EPG), and more than 100 quality entertainment, sport, movie, documentary, music, kids and news channels, as well as 160 non subscription TV and radio channels on digital satellite. You don’t have to have a card to use the box as without any viewing card at all the box will still open up many free view channels
How much does Sky Cost and what packages are available?
FAQs- More affordable than you might think. Basic Entertainment Pack (without premium channels), can be taken with 1 – 6 mixes and ranges from £19.00 to £24.00 a month. The top package, Sky World (which includes all Sky Sports & Sky Movie channels and the entertainment pack), is £51.00 a month. If you have the HD channels added to your package Sky will charge an additional £10. Of course, you can select the package that suits you and change the package on a monthly basis to suit your viewing needs
Which channels are covered within the packages?
FAQs – The channels are the same channels available through sky in the UK. Sky offers hundreds of subscription and free channels, because of this it would be difficult to list all of the channels here. Visit www.Skycards.eu/packages for a full breakdown of all of the packages and the channel listings. If you have any further enquiries with the packages, or any other aspect of our service please contact us and one of our advisers will be happy to help you.
How will payments show that I make?
FAQs – Payments to us for sky equipment show as Sky cards and our telephone number. Payments to sky show as sky subscriber services.
When I first activate the viewing card what information is needed?
FAQs – First of all the version and serial number of the digibox, the package required and the payment details for the subscription to sky. The payment method’s accepted by sky are Visa or master card ( credit or debit card) or a Uk bank direct debit Also we would need to know the current on-screen message.
How long will it take to have the viewing on / activated or my enquiry answered?
FAQs – Skycards.eu staff are committed to providing the very best service. We have a UK based call centre for outbound contact with sky and also an inbound call centre to be available for any enquiries you may have. Available through email or through our new secure web contact page. Our target is to have a resolution or response to your enquiry within the hour during office hours. Sky signals can take up to 4 hours to be received by the digibox. 7 day a week service.
Is HD available to me?
FAQs – HD now available! You need a HD television and a HD digibox. The HD subscription currently priced £10 per month. You don’t need to subscribe to the HD subscription with the HD box, there are freeview HD channels available, (BBC, ITV, CH4 and others).
Is 3D TV available to me?
FAQs – Sky released their first 3D channel in Spring 2010. 3D has now been replaced with 4K UHD.
Can I use a new Skycards.eu viewing card in my current sky box?
FAQs – Yes. Any viewing card can be matched to any box so that your viewing card will work in any sky box.
Can I add extra, ‘stand-alone’ channels?
FAQs – Sky’s platform allows us to add any of the additional stand alone channels available. These include Espn, Zee tv, Sony, Playboy and many more. As well as sports channels like BT Sports, Premier Sports and many more. These are added upon request.
Can I install the satellite system myself of should I hire a engineer?
FAQs – We don’t advise self installation. We recommend that you contact your local satellite technician. Engineers can usually be located in local newspapers or web forums
What do I need?
FAQs – To subscribe you will need a credit card (Mastercard, Eurocard or Visa), a satellite system has to be pointed to ASTRA 28.2° and a sky box with an active Viewing Card that can be ordered through us. If you order Sky plus or Sky HD: Sky plus and Sky HD will only fully work if you connect it to your dish with two cables (instead of one) using a so-called twin- or quad-LNB, again we recommend you speak with a local engineer to ensure the installation and cable is correct.
How do I re-activate the account after it has been blocked for non payment?
FAQs – If your account has been blocked due to non payment you have a message on the screen saying “please call this number to upgrade your subscription” You would have to send us an email and we will make a one- off payment through your credit card to clear the outstanding balance and switch your viewing back on. We also have a secure viewing card management system included within this web site. This will allow you to provide payment details in a secure on-line environment
How do I make changes to my Payment method?
Please e-mail us or call us with your new monthly payment method and we will contact sky on your behalf to add the new details, please note sky apply for payments 15 days in advance so a final payment may still be taken from the old payment method. Payment method changes can also be done through our new on- line card management system. This system allows you to do any change or update to the sky account in a secure an d safe way.
I don’t understand the period my bill covers?
You are billed monthly in advance e.g. if your payment date is the 1st January, your payment will cover the period from 1st January to 31st January; if it is the 15th January then it will cover the period from 15th January to 14th February.
The amount on my bill is not as I expected?
If you have made any changes to your viewing package or requested an adjustment to the day on which you are normally billed, there will be an adjustment to ensure that you are billed the correct amount. This could result in your bill being more or less than your previous subscription bill but, as long as you don’t request any more changes, this will run normally again from your next billing date. You should also check any additional purchases you have made over and above your subscription, for example Sky Box Office events. Please also bear in mind that sky always bill 30 days in advance.
How long is Sky’s minimum contract?
In accordance with sky’s terms and conditions it is a 12 month contract and you must give 30 days notice to terminate the contract. After the 14 day cooling off period you must continue with the service and we can’t receive any equipment back after this period.
How do I pay for my Sky package?
You can pay for your sky subscription using Visa / Mastercard or any UK direct debit . Please inform us of your preferred payment method and we will set this up for you.
Is it safe to leave my digibox on standby?
Your Sky box has been designed to ensure it is safe to be left on standby at all times. It is useful to leave your Sky box plugged in as from time to time updated software is sent to your Sky box from the satellite, providing you with Sky’s latest services or functions. These updates are not possible if your box is unplugged.
What’s the difference between a sky box and a sky + HD box?
Sky+ provides additional recording functionality on top of the standard Sky box features. Instead of recording using a video you can record the full digital quality onto Sky+ and view at your leisure. It also has the Anytime feature. The anytime feature is a pre-recorded selection of the highlighted weeks programs, which are available to view ‘Anytime’. The HD boxes also have the recording and any time feature. Live pause is also available on the recordable boxes (sky+ and HD). This is where you can pause Live television
I have an error message
We want your sky viewing to be as enjoyable and problem free as possible. But there may be occasions when we would need to look into a message that is being received on screen.
There are many different signals that we can send and therefore it is imperative that we know the exact message that is being displayed on screen (asking us to “reactivate viewing” or “viewing is not on” would only delay viewing being restored. Here is an explanation of some of the onscreen messages and what would need to be done to reactivate viewing.
No satellite signal is being received
The are many reasons why this message may be appearing . As the message on-screen says there is no satellite signal being received by the sky digibox. A Software Download or a Full System reset may rectify the problem.
Software download –
Please follow the Video HERE.
Single feed mode –
Please follow the Video HERE.
System Reboot –
- Switch the box off and unplug it from the wall.
- Wait around 20 seconds and then reconnect the power and switch the box back on.
The channels may break up intermittently and then show the message only at certain times or in certain conditions. Common reasons for this include adverse weather / change in atmospherics, blocking of the satellite dish for example a tree growing in the line of sight of the dish, the dish slipping out of alignment o a connection has come loose. There are many other reasons why this message may appear
Because the message indicates that there is no signal being received by the box there is no signal we can send that will remove this message.
In cases where the software download and a system reset has been done and have proved unsuccessful then a satellite installer will need to visit the property to determine why the message is appearing.
If you are receiving this message and a HD box is installed with just one rather than two LNB connections, you will need to switch to single feed mode.
I have a blue screen with search and scan banner?
From the channel displaying the Blue screen and banner, select channel 501 (Sky News) using your Sky remote control.
If there is no change, follow the instructions below to perform a Connection Check:
- Switch your digibox on to standby using your remote control or the button on the front panel of the digibox.
- The red light will be displayed on the front panel of your digibox.
- Isolate the power to your digibox by unplugging or switching off at the wall and ensure there are no lights on the box.
- Ensure all the digibox and TV connections are secure.
- Restore power to your digibox and leave it in standby mode for 30 seconds. (The red light will show on the front panel of your digibox). This time is required to allow the digibox to initialise.
- Ensure that your TV is switched on, and on the correct channel. Take the digibox out of standby mode by pressing the Sky button on the remote control or the standby button on the front panel of the digibox.
- The red light will turn to green on the front panel and the message “searching for listings” will appear on screen.
When completed successfully the Sky Welcome channel on Channel 998 will be displayed.
*Please note, if the Sky Welcome Channel is not displayed, please repeat procedure from step one.
If you are still experiencing problems after completing a Connection Check then please send us an email so we can provide further technical assistance.
I have a frozen picture and / or blocking of my picture, or a message saying no satellite signal received
Extreme weather could be causing this problem. If it is raining hard, snowing heavily or if snow is settling on the dish, or if you are experiencing strong or gale force winds this could cause a reduction in signal quality. Once the extreme weather has subsided your viewing should return to normal.
If there is no change, follow the instructions under the section “I have a blue screen ” to perform a Connection Check: If the connection check is unsuccessful there may be a problem with the alignment of the dish and you may need to contact your local engineer
My box is stuck in stand-by
The digibox can be described as “stuck in stand-by” when only the red light is illuminated.
If this is the case, follow the instructions under the section “I have a blue screen” to perform a Connection Check. If this is unsuccessful please contact us for further assistance
It says Channel unavailable
Occasionally, groups of channels may not be able to be viewed due to a problem with one of our transponders.
However, if your viewing issue is only with one channel, please follow the instructions below. Select the channel on your TV that your would usually view. Using the Sky remote control, press Sky and then press 501 for the Sky News channel. If this channel can be viewed with no problems, then return to the channel which was previously affected.
Try selecting some other channels. This may happen from time to time but please try this process before calling back. If you are still experiencing problems after completing this procedure then please call us on the number below.
Wrong card for this set top box
A prominent message when the box has been changed. A signal to remove this message will resolve the issue. Please contact us with the version and serial number of the box and viewing card number.
Wrong card please insert correct sky viewing card
Often mistaken for the previous message as t is very similar. This message requires a different signal. We would need the exact on screen message. This message usually occurs with recently replaced sky viewing cards. We can send a signal upon request to remove this message.
Card not Authorised / Viewing card Not Authorised
There are a number of reasons why this message may appear onscreen. The most common are usually if the viewing card has not been activated in the UK . Perhaps the exchanged card has been sent out by sky inactive and therefore needs a signal sending.
Call this number to upgrade
The regular subscription error message. Reasons for this this message may include if the payment has failed for the subscription or the management fee. We can remove this message by sending a signal. If a payment has failed previously it may be quicker to speak to the card issuer before reactivating.
Searching for listings
This message appears when first switched on. This usually goes within a couple of minutes as the box picks up the signal. If there are problems with the signal this message may stay on for longer. This is usually superseded after a while by the no satellite signal being received message.
If you have an older Sky box we would always recommend upgrading to the New Sky + HD HERE or the New Sky Q system HERE.