Moved in and there’s no Sky Signal…
Question submitted by online visitor Arek:
“I have just moved in to my new house and am trying to connect my TV. There is a satellite dish outside. I have got a Sky box and tried to connect it, but the SKy box tells me that there is no signal. What do I do?
Our Answer
First of all, it’s important to make sure you’re trying to connect to the right thing. We’ve had messages from people trying to connect a TV aerial to a Sky box, instead of connecting a satellite dish. The feed from a satellite dish is normally what’s called an F-Plug connector – a screw-thread with a bit of wire in the middle.
Satellite TV F-Plug Connector
Assuming you have the right connector, it should be a case of screwing that connector into the screw socket on a Sky box. Make sure it’s screwed in tightly.
Diagnosing Sky Signal Issues
The first thing to do, is make sure that you can see the output of the Sky box on your TV. Normally, you’ll connect from the Sky box to the TV using SCART, then set the TV so that it can see the signal from the Sky box.
If you can’t see anything from the Sky box, it could be that you have not turned on the Sky box, not connected to the TV correctly, or not set the TV to SCART input.
Assuming you can see the output of your Sky box, but not the channels, do the following:
Check Signal
Next, check the on-screen signal meter on the Sky box. Press the Settings button, then look for the option to check the signal strength.
If it says “No Signal” or a poor signal, it could be a number of things:
- The satellite dish may be out of alignment (knocked, or blown by heavy wind)
- The satellite dish is not pointing at the right satellite
- The cable between the dish and the box is damaged
- There is something blocking the line-of-sight to the satellite (e.g. trees)
- The satellite dish or the LNB (the box on the dish) could be damaged
- You have a connector or splitter somewhere that is damaged
- The connector from the dish has got water in it, causing a short
- The connector that screws into the box is damaged (check the centre pin is not bent)
- The LNB on the dish could be damaged / broken
- Bad weather. A poor signal is possible when there is heavy rain or snow
- There could be a problem with the box itself
If you suspect a problem with the dish or cabling from the dish, it may be a case of contacting a local aerial installer and getting them to come along and test the dish, re-aligning it, or even replacing it.
If you don’t fancy paying for a local installer to do the job, sign up to Sky and get them to come and do the work for you – Sign up to Sky online