Another Sky+ problem?

Osem · 22-08-2009, 21:04

Last week when she turned on the TV, my mum in law's Sky+ box came up with an error message telling her that the viewing card needed to be inserted. We tried turning the box of and on which didn't work and then removed and reinserted the card which did the trick. All's been since until last night when, in the middle of watching TV, the picture froze. She tried repeating what we did last time but can't get any picture on the TV at all even though the front panel lights on the Sky+ box are on and apparently showing normal. She's going to try to find the paperwork and see how long she's had the box but it may be over a year now in which case the warranty will probably be expired and she'll be in for a costly Sky 'fix'. Anyone got any thoughts as to what might be wrong? She hasn't yet received her new viewing card so could that have something to do with this? I've never dealt with Sky but apparently the guy who installed the box suggested that were it to go wrong at some point she'd be better off getting him to fix it than calling Sky - would this be advisable?

Thanks all!

webcrawler2050 · 22-08-2009, 21:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Osem

Last week when she turned on the TV, my mum in law's Sky+ box came up with an error message telling her that the viewing card needed to be inserted. We tried turning the box of and on which didn't work and then removed and reinserted the card which did the trick. All's been since until last night when, in the middle of watching TV, the picture froze. She tried repeating what we did last time but can't get any picture on the TV at all even though the front panel lights on the Sky+ box are on and apparently showing normal. She's going to try to find the paperwork and see how long she's had the box but it may be over a year now in which case the warranty will probably be expired and she'll be in for a costly Sky 'fix'. Anyone got any thoughts as to what might be wrong? She hasn't yet received her new viewing card so could that have something to do with this? I've never dealt with Sky but apparently the guy who installed the box suggested that were it to go wrong at some point she'd be better off getting him to fix it than calling Sky - would this be advisable?

Thanks all!

Could be dust in the card reader. I take it you haev had your new white, sky card?

At the same time, You can pick up a sky plus box for veyr little on ebay.

abailey152 · 22-08-2009, 21:26

Check the SCART lead is plugged in properly. It may have been disturbed when looking at the previous issue.

superbiatch · 22-08-2009, 21:28

Have you tried resetting it? I have to do this on a daily basis but seen as I can't record a different channel to the one I'm watching (only one sky input on wall), it doesn't cause me any problem.

It needs to be turned off at the socket for 30 seconds, then turned back on again.

I'd be interested to know how you get on getting it fixed as I think i was conned into getting a recon one and will probably need a replacement in the future.

Osem · 22-08-2009, 22:23

Am going over there tomorrow and will check the scart connections and that it's not her TV which is broken or dust in the card slot. MIL tells me she turned off the box for a few mins and removed/reinserted the card to no avail. She's still using the old card as she hasn't yet received her new one in the post.

Will let you know how I get on.

TVM

Mick Fisher · 23-08-2009, 01:17

I just got my new Sky viewing card.

The day before I recieved it a message appeared on the TV to tell me it was in the post.

Ask your MIL if she saw this message in case her new card has been lost in the post.

I don't know how long you get to to replace the card before your viewing gets affected but I guess they will cut off your viewing at some stage.

Just a thought.

Paul K · 23-08-2009, 09:23

If you contact them to tell them it has not arrived then they won't. It will be a while yet before old cards are disabled as new ones are still going out.

Osem · 23-08-2009, 15:03

I think what she saw was just a general Sky infomercial informing users of the new cards being sent out but I'll check that out too later.

TVM everyone

superbiatch · 24-08-2009, 18:09

I spoke too soon about needing a replacement, looks like my box has given up on me. Been onto sky for the last hour as I haven't been able to view Ch4 or BBC2, they run through the usual checks and advised me to get in touch with the installers as I'm out of warranty.

Therein lies a joke in itself as from June 08 I complained about the box and they promised me a replacement "when they were in stock". This went on for months and out of the blue in June of this year they phoned me to say they would replace my box on 3rd July, they never came.

Any ideas guys?? Pretty annoyed I can't watch Come Dine with Me lol

Osem · 24-08-2009, 21:50

Well from what I can see the latest problem was the same as before. MIL is getting on a bit and having talked to her about the sequence of events, I'm not certain she did everything she said she did in the order I'd told her over the phone I quickly ruled out the TV being at fault then switched off the box, removed and reinserted the card and everything worked fine. I think she just panicked to be honest but it seems to me that either something's up with the card or the box because that's twice the same thing has happened in a week or so.

Having looked through her paperwork she found the documentation which showed the unit is over a year old, however she also found an extended warranty certificate she received shortly after the installation. Apparently she was cold-called a few days later by a company offering an extended Sky+ warranty for £65 and accepted it without too much thought at the time. They rather 'scared' her into it I feel. I'm not a big fan of these things and it's odd because she told me that they'd offered her an additional 15 months cover but although the cover start date is correctly shown on the certificate the end date is blank..

I'd guess the company has some sort of contract with Sky but does anyone know anything about them and whether or not the cover they provide is worth more than the paper it's printed on? She may be needing to call them if this carries on....

Cheers all.

Mick Fisher · 25-08-2009, 01:30

If the warrenty is from 'Digital Satellite Warranty Cover Ltd' then you might take a look at this thread on the Sky user forum.
http://tinyurl.com/2poay9
This company and/or similar are always phoning Sky subs pretending to be Sky to sell an extended warrenty. Whether or not they are worth the paper they are printed on I have no idea although I would be surprised to find they had any value.
Having been involved in appliance servicing for much of my working life I am of the opinion that extended warrenties, generally, are a waste of time and money. In keeping with most schemes where you pay up front your service call will be treated with a distinct lack of urgency as you are of course a captive audience. When and if your service provider can spare an engineer from work that has not been paid up front for you might get a call. If the Engineer doesn't write your appliance off after a cursory inspection then be prepared for a long wait while they procure spares. In stock spares being kept for non paid up front customers.

Osem · 25-08-2009, 10:34

Yes I tend to agree and feel she's probably been ripped off but no doubt we'll find out if/when she has to call them. I can't recall the name of the company but will try to find out later. Cheers.

---------- Post added at 10:34 ---------- Previous post was at 09:38 ----------

Oh dear - yes it is the very same company and I'm starting to wonder whether she's unwittingly been entered into an annual agreement and there's no expiry date on the certificate because it's open ended. She paid by credit card and I believe that it's not always easy to cancel direct debit arrangements attached to credit cards if the company concerned doesn't want to play ball. Can anyone shed and further light on this?

TVM

Osem · 27-08-2009, 09:58

Ah well, the same problem happened again yesterday and she decided to contact Sky for tech support. They took her through some steps via the menu and got the thing working again but couldn't say what might be wrong of if it would happen again. Unless it packs up altogether we'll wait for the new card and see if that has any effect. If the problem persists I guess she'll have to try the warranty company....