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Upgrading from Sky to Freesat

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellite box with a Freesat one.

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellit
published on UK Free TV

If you have an existing Sky or fSfS (Freesat from Sky) installation and want to go to upgrade to Freesat, it is a simple process.

First, buy the Freesat box from a Argos, Curry.digital, Comet, John Lewes or your local independent shop:



In the box you will find the Freesat box:



Also included will be a remote control, and this model also comes with a SCART cable, a HDMI cable and a stereo-with-composite cable. Unpack the ones you need:



You old Sky box looks like this:



Unplug the mains first from the Sky box, then pull out the SCART (or SCARTs) and then unscrew the connection to the satellite dish.



Remove the Sky box and fit the Freesat box. Reconnect the satellite cable (take care as to not damage the connection) and then the SCART and finally connect the mains power:



The box will look like this:



The box also contains the manual, which has full installation instructions. Finally fit the batteries into the remote control.



The TV screen first displays the box's logo



The first set-up screen allows you to select the TV type, widescreen mode and resolution:



Next the box checks for the satellite signal:



Then there is a check for updated software:



Then you enter your postcode and the box checks it:



The next step is a scan for channels. This takes about 30 seconds:



And that's it. You can now view channels, like 108 for BBC HD:



Or press the GUIDE button for the EPG:



(Apologies for the photos not being of the top quality)



Help with Free satellite?
What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fau1
Can I receive UK TV in Ghana?2
What is a CA module?3
My box says "No Satellite signal being received"4
Is there any way I can get free channels via satellite and have the kind of hard5
In this section
Freesat adds a plethora of new channels in time for Christmas including channel 1
A tale of a two Freesat boxes2
Yesterday, Drama and Really joining Freesat this month3
PBS America joins Freesat for Halloween4
Fixing the Freesat Freetime internet connection problem5
Satellite TV operators FRANSAT, TIVUSAT and our Freesat launch FreeTV Alliance 6

Comments
Saturday, 7 April 2012
R
Richard
5:03 PM

Mark Aberfan Aerials: Hi, I had Sky HD, could I still plug a Free Sat box in to that connection?

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Richard's 1 post GB flag
Monday, 9 April 2012
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

8:18 PM

Richard: Yes.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
A
aziz
1:36 PM

can i know any one have satelite box , i want watch all free n asian n sports channels...i have virgine broadband line...

please,,,contact through e.mail

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aziz's 1 post GB flag
Friday, 13 April 2012
Mark Agius
sentiment_satisfiedGold

7:52 AM
Haywards Heath

Re: aziz
You need to attach your satellite receiver to a satellite dish.
Your virgin broadband line uses your telephone line, which is a different system.
So you will need a dish as well as a satellite receiver box.

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Mark Agius's 374 posts GB flag
Mark's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

5:02 PM

Mark Agius: Actually, Virgin Broadband isn't ADSL, but uses the coaxial cable. You can happily have Virgin without a phone line at all.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
S
Steve
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

11:05 AM
Sheffield

Help! Bought a Samsung 8700 Freesat+ box and got rid of my SKY box which gave perfect reception on all channels. I did a scan and it read 86% signal strength and 10% signal quality. It found 143 channels. I keep getting the message "Cannot receive the programme. Please check connection" on different channels. Some days the channels appear normally, sometimes I get this message. Red button services cause this message to appear and so do radio channels. I am puzzled. It appears to be a reception problem, but why did the SKY channels work so well??? Any help appreciated.

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Steve's 27 posts GB flag
Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

12:25 PM

Steve: Are you sure that you are not getting the numbers mixed up? as the 8700 series are a range of TV's, do you mean SMT-S7800 which is a PVR? if so then there is no reason why you should be getting this problem unless there is a single strand of the screened braiding wire intermittently shorting onto its inner core inside the "F" connector plug, unscrew it and carefully check that "all" of the braiding is folded back over the plastic cable covering.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Friday, 27 April 2012
S
Steve
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

8:46 PM
Sheffield

JB38 - thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I took the satellite connections out and found one was squashed; I straightened it and carefully re-inserted; result - all channels performing normally. Thanks once again.

link to this comment
Steve's 27 posts GB flag
Steve's: mapS's Freeview map terrainS's terrain plot wavesS's frequency data S's Freeview Detailed Coverage
J
jb38
sentiment_very_satisfiedPlatinum

9:04 PM

Steve: No problem! and pleased to hear that you have discovered the problem and everything is now back to normal.

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jb38's 7,179 posts GB flag
Saturday, 12 May 2012
D
douge
10:45 AM

can i run a tv in bed roon from the back of
a freesat box


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douge's 1 post GB flag
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