topic Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly in Sky Accessibility

SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

CHR01 — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:29:54 GMT

We recently had to upgrade my mums sky + box to sky q. She's 89 and can't get to grips with using it ( and even I think that some of the changes are annoying, e.g. recording.)

Is ther anything now, or in the pipeline that would allow me to control her sky tv remotely. i.e. changing or finding channels, adjusting the volume etc.? If not I think it really should be considered as I'm sure I'm not the only one with these issues

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

GD1 — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 20:36:52 GMT

@CHR01 Sky Q is years old and it's unlikely remote connection will ever be a thing, even on the newer stream platform there is no such option.

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

CHR01 — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 19:00:27 GMT

Thanks. You'd think they could do something with the technology available these days.

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

VillageYokel — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 13:57:53 GMT

There is a - slightly complex and a few hundred quid - third party solution if your Mum has Internet along with her Sky Q box.

I use HomeAssistant to connect a Sky Q box in a number of ways:

* To a dashboard displayed on an android tablet touchscreen - I have populated this with a small selection of favourite channels like some of the Sky Sports. It is one-touch to change to a specified channel and perform other functions.

* To a dashboard that you can access remotely and achieve the same effect.

I have installed this for a dementia sufferer and with a bit of persistence to set up it works. If your mum has a lot of channels she watches then you can have subsections like the TV Guide "Films, Sports, News etc"

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

CHR01 — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 14:16:32 GMT

Hi.
This sounds really interesting and a possible solution. Could you please give me more information on what I need to buy/access/download to get this working? Do you need to be tech savvy to get it set up?

My mum has sky broadband so that's one thing sorted. Any help you can give is really appreciated.

Thanks

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

VillageYokel — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 08:28:41 GMT

You do need to be a little tech savvy however there are lots of community resources out there to help. As your mum already has Sky broadband already, then you would need to access the router and set up static IPs for example.

Equipment wise (and I am trying to keep it as simplistic as I can) you would need:

For you Mum's:

A small single board computer. I used a Raspbery Pi and if it was only to be used for this task not even a big one. About £80
An ethernet cable to connect the Pi to your mum's router
A good quality micro SD card. San Disk Ultra or Extreme cards are about £8 to £10
IF the one touch remote for your mum, then a tablet or smartphone. Even a second-hand cheapish wi-fi tablet, I used a really old - 2016 I think - Samsung Tab that I had in my tech dump pile.

For your remote control:

Anything really. If you have a smart phone or tablet then it can work on that, if you prefer a desktop then it works in a web browser.
A computer or laptop (for one time use) so that you can load the Operating System onto the micro SD card.

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Software:

HomeAssistant OS - free and open-source
HomeAssistant the App - free for tablets and smartphones (or use a web browser)
TailScale - Allows you to remote directly into the HomeAssistant from anywhere. Allows you to not need to open it up the the outside world via the Internet. It's a free account for the small use we make of it.

As a really basic guide to what you would need to do:

Build the Raspberry Pi (basically put it in it's case and put the lid on - really simple if you get a kit including a case)
Install HomeAssistant OS on the micro SD card - Raspberry Pi website has a dedicated installer you can install, it then walks you through it all and the hardest bit is finding the HomeAssistant OS option from the list!
Put the microSD card into the Pi, connect to the router and turn on

This bits technical:

Go into your mum's router and assign static IP's to the Sky Q box and Pi
From a (probably easier at this point) web-browser; log into the Pi and go through the set-up process
In HomeAssistant there are certain "integrations" you need to set up, like the connection to the Sky Q box
For your remote access, on HomeAssistant and your device/computer (or mutiple of) install TailScale and set it up
Configure dashboards for all and any devices you are going to connect.

If you are still interested let me know. All of the above is a very basic summary and the more I think about I should probably take a few days to build a microsite to go through the detail if people are interested.

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Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

CHR01 — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 08:13:54 GMT

Yes I am very interested in this and I suspect I am not the only one out there who desperately needs this.

I can't believe that a company like Sky hasn't introduced something like this already.

Any help you can give is gratefully received and a microsite sounds brilliant.

I live 20 miles away from my mum and I can't tell you the number of times I have had to jump in my car to sort the TV out.

Thank you.

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

CHR01 — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 19:47:29 GMT

Hi. Did you take this any further? Thanks

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

VillageYokel — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 05:17:42 GMT

Morning!

I did get started and then - with apologies - we had a significant health change with my own relatives dementia.

So it is not finished and I have gone back to start editing what I have been doing and add to it; but:

I posted about the equipment I used at https://mytechhome.site/the-skyq-project-equipment-software/
Then about the SkyQ elements specifically at https://mytechhome.site/the-skyq-project-from-home-assistant-to-skyq-assistant/

It is by no means complete and might not be very coherant, but I will kick myself into adding to it! I hope it helps.

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

RangzebChaudhr — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:51:49 GMT

Hi my remote control is broken can replace it please

many thanks

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

Daniel0210 — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 04:06:53 GMT

@RangzebChaudhr
After checking the basics, ie; fresh batteries, re-pairing etc if your Sky Q remote is definitely broken/faulty, if you follow this link it should allow you to do some more troubleshooting and then it’ll send you to a form to request a replacement (I’m not sure if this is available to customers in the Republic of Ireland).
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/lost-stolen-damaged-sky-q-equipment#get-in-touch

It may be quicker to purchase a new remote from a retailer / larger supermarket. If you do that as well as the above you’ll have a spare.

In the meantime if you have an android or Apple device with Sky Go you can possibly set up a virtual remote to control your Sky Q box. See this link which may help
https://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky-TV/Virtual-Sky-Q-Remote-Now-Available-on-Sky-Go/ba-p/4363637?

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

EAB81 — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 19:58:07 GMT

Ask Sky to provide you with an accessiblilty remote, it's similar to the Sky HD remote. I done this when we had to upgrade to Sky Q and with my dad having dementia we needed the remote to stay the same.

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

CHR01 — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 07:45:13 GMT

That's helpful. Thanks

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

Gower01792 — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:47:47 GMT

Looking for an easier Sky Q remote for my elderly father

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

My father is 93 and is showing early signs of Alzheimer’s. He’s always enjoyed watching TV, but we've been forced to install broadband due to loss of his phone (removal of copper lines) Sky Q cane with the package and we didn't think anything of it. He now finds the Sky Q remote and menus impossible to manage. The biggest problem is that his Sky Q box always starts on the Home screen, and he can’t reliably navigate to the TV Guide or live TV. Even simple steps are becoming too much for him so frustrating!!!

I’ve only just noticed that his Sky Q remote doesn’t have a dedicated TV Guide button anymore, and the “Home Screen on start‑up” setting seems to have been removed. I’m looking for:

• A simpler Sky‑compatible remote with a proper TV Guide button
or
• Any official accessibility remote Sky recommends for older users
or
• Advice on whether there’s a way to make Sky Q start directly on BBC One or live TV

Any guidance, recommendations, or experiences from others caring for elderly relatives would be hugely appreciated. Thank you.

Re: SKY Q contol remotely for elderly

Mark39 — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 17:18:12 GMT

@Gower01792 there is an accessibility remote for Sky Q which looks like a Sky+ remote which your father may be used to. It doesn't have a key to go straight to the TV Guide, though.. There's no direct route to it unfortunately, it can only be accessed via the Home page. See here for the details: https://www.sky.com/help/articles/q-buttons-explained-access

Failing that there's a 'Flipper' remote, specifically designed to be simple to operate for the elderly. It is programmable, so you might be able to programme a sequence to go straight to the tv guide: https://www.alzproducts.co.uk/flipper-big-button-remote-control