topic Re: Paying to upgrade sky box in Sky Q

Paying to upgrade sky box

Donna161 — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 13:53:15 GMT

I contacted customer services today regarding upgrading my skyQ box as it's not suitable for my new tv.

following a long conversation as the assistant couldn't understand me nor I her (Indian) I was told it would cost £200, when I explained that I knew people who had them free she dropped it to £100, I do not like or approve of these selling tactics by SKY and would like to know if anyone else has had to pay to upgrade their unsuitable box

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:11:14 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:

I contacted customer services today regarding upgrading my skyQ box as it's not suitable for my new tv.

following a long conversation as the assistant couldn't understand me nor I her (Indian) I was told it would cost £200, when I explained that I knew people who had them free she dropped it to £100, I do not like or approve of these selling tactics by SKY and would like to know if anyone else has had to pay to upgrade their unsuitable box

HI @Donna161

I have never heard of them trying to charge £200 but we don't always get to know what the advisers see.

The standard 'engineer' upgrade was £100 (or maybe £99) for probably as long as I can remember

This charge is/was the same for a 1TB HDR box or a 2TB HDR box when an angineer sswiches

However, there should be a self install option which was £25 for 1TB HDR & £50 for 2TB although I think these may possibly have increased a bit but I am not sure.

One thing that did crop for at least one customer a long time ago was that the adviser could not select 'self install' on their system until the UHD add on upgrade had been applied so this may be the reason - it might be worth calling again and try to get them to see if thay can apply the UHD add on before checking to see if a Self install is an option

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

PandJ2020 — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 14:17:40 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:
... has had to pay to upgrade their unsuitable box

In what way is it 'unsuitable'?

I suspect you want HDR - it is highly unlikely this will be offered 'free'. (Bear in mind you cannot buy Q boxes - the charge is non-refundable and administrative only)

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Laing1 — Sun, 27 Aug 2023 16:44:04 GMT

@Donna161 what Sky box do you currently have is is aSky Q box or is it an older Sky + HD box or an even older box

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Donna161 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 06:55:39 GMT

Thanks for your reply, my sky box is about 16 years old and I have just purchased a new HDR OLED tv the guy in the shop said I won't get the optimum quality without upgrading the sky box and that you usually get them free with sky, my niece also had hers free.

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:10:13 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:

Thanks for your reply, my sky box is about 16 years old and I have just purchased a new HDR OLED tv the guy in the shop said I won't get the optimum quality without upgrading the sky box and that you usually get them free with sky, my niece also had hers free.

hi @Donna161

in which case this is not quite the upgrade I was thinking.

This is a switch from SKY HD to SKY Q - SKy sometimes do switch people for free but only to the 1 TB non UHD /HDR box which would not really give you any benefit.

You cannot switch to SKy Q without an engineer visit.

Whilst you probably won't be able to get the cost of the switch to £0, £100 sems fairly standard but it all depends on your ability to negotiate, the adviser and what offers are available when you call

The shop is right you won't get the full benefit of SKY on your new OLED TV without switching to Q but you will also need the UHD subscription to take full advantage - it depends on what you watch as to whether it is worth it for you. (UHD content is mainly sports and SKY Cinema although some entertainment shows)

I would suggest you also read some notes I have put together for people thinking of switching from SKY HD to SKY Q:

SKY HD to SKY Q

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Donna161 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:18:43 GMT

Hi Nigea 99 thanks for for all your helpful information, i already have a sky Q box but as I said it's about 16 years old and apparently not suitable for the new TV

its also quite bulky.

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:30:14 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:

Hi Nigea 99 thanks for for all your helpful information, i already have a sky Q box but as I said it's about 16 years old and apparently not suitable for the new TV

its also quite bulky.

SKy Q only came out in 2016 though - I really do think you may have SKY HD

There are probably better images but one I could find of SKy Q:

SKY Q box image

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Daniel0210 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:25:20 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:
i already have a sky Q box but as I said it's about 16 years old and apparently not suitable for the new TV

@Donna161

You can't have. Sky Q boxes haven't been out more than about 7 years

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:42:09 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:

Hi Nigea 99 thanks for for all your helpful information, i already have a sky Q box but as I said it's about 16 years old and apparently not suitable for the new TV

its also quite bulky.

However, @Donna161 , even if you have the older SKY HD box you can still use it very acceptably on your new TV.

Not suitable is not a correct term imo - just that you may not be getting the best from your new TV

Edit: Unless you have a really old SKY +/HD box without an HDMI connection

As I said earlier it does depend on what you watch & whether you want to pay for the UHD subscription

If you don't watch sport or a lot of films you may not find it worth upgrading for SKY content - your new TV will have in built apps for the likes of Netflix.

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Ecosse — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:39:36 GMT

My guess is you have a SKY+ HD box that connects to your TV via a scart cable.

Your new TV will only allow the 4K/UHD picture quality via a fast HDMI connection:

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Donna161 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:44:28 GMT

Hi yes I definitely have that sky Q box I had it when Q first came out

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:50:12 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:

Hi yes I definitely have that sky Q box I had it when Q first came out

in which case your box (just not quite as old as you thought) is suitable if you are only likely to watch HD programmes , but, as I said, you may not be getting the most out of your new TV

For upgrades then, my post #2 is relevant

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 07:54:44 GMT

hi again @Donna161

Just out of interest what shows in :

Home - Settings - System Info - Hardware Version

Is it 32Cxxx or 32b0xxx - I am guessing probably 32Cxxx which is the non UHD box

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

TimmyBGood — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 09:14:08 GMT

@Donna161 wrote:

Hi yes I definitely have that sky Q box I had it when Q first came out

Which was in 2016, rather than 16 years ago.

If you took a 2TB box in 2016 then it will be capable of UHD output but not with HDR data (for the very small percentage of content which has HDR). Your new television will work fine with such a box, just not quite to the best of its potential.

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Weathers — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:45:10 GMT

I called sky a few days ago ..twice and asked to upgrade my 2tb old box to a HDR box. The first call was answered with "it will be £100 to upgrade" no room for a deal! The second call found a polite response saying the HDR boxes had been issued free on request until September. I was told to wait to see if this offer would be reinstated in the near future otherwise it was £100. Really..!! VIP platinum member doesn't mean a thing!!'

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:54:10 GMT

@Weathers wrote:

I called sky a few days ago ..twice and asked to upgrade my 2tb old box to a HDR box. The first call was answered with "it will be £100 to upgrade" no room for a deal! The second call found a polite response saying the HDR boxes had been issued free on request until September. I was told to wait to see if this offer would be reinstated in the near future otherwise it was £100. Really..!! VIP platinum member doesn't mean a thing!!'

hi @Weathers

If you haven't read it, I refer you to my notes re charges that I made in post #2

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Weathers — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:59:56 GMT

Hi Nige..yes I have read your post..I am currently watching uhd content and was happy to self install!! No option to resolve by sky or offer!!! Apparently giving them away free until September then straight £100 upgrade. The very polite sky advisor was understanding but said that the 2023 deal which I was unaware of had ended. She gave the advice to wait to see what happens in the future. I'm not paying £100 for something which was free 3 weeks ago!! Rubbish👍🏼

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

nigea99 — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:05:31 GMT

@Weathers wrote:

Hi Nige..yes I have read your post..I am currently watching uhd content and was happy to self install!! No option to resolve by sky or offer!!! Apparently giving them away free until September then straight £100 upgrade. The very polite sky advisor was understanding but said that the 2023 deal which I was unaware of had ended. She gave the advice to wait to see what happens in the future. I'm not paying £100 for something which was free 3 weeks ago!! Rubbish👍🏼

hmm strange - but we don't know what SKY will offer - just what we hear on here.

I had not specifically heard that they were not doing Self install deals & I admit I have never heard of them offering the upgrade for free

I do wonder if you would get a different story from a different adviser - but I know calling can be a bit of a nightmare - unfortunately no online options to upgrade online for over 2 years now since the shortage of 2TB HDR boxes that lasted a few months

Re: Paying to upgrade sky box

Weathers — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:17:51 GMT

Thanks Nige...and that is exactly what is fuelling my disgruntlement!! Every time you phone you get different messages!!! No consistency other than on this occasion the price!! I have a 2tb Q box and actually want a 1tb HDR box!! I subscribe to quite a bit...but just because I didnt phone at a particular time I can't get something which should be rolled out to all UHD sport/cinema subscribers free of charge!!! The advisor even said that sky was handing them out to get people to make use of the tech I guess also so that they subscribe to more!!! Only my opinion but never seem to get anything to sweeten us for the continued subscription and support and for some of us for over 20 years!!!