Paying to upgrade sky box

[Donna161]

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

[nigea99]

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@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

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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

[PandJ2020]

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@Donna161 wrote:

... has had to pay to upgrade their unsuitable box

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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)

[Laing1]

@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 

[Donna161]

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.

[nigea99]

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@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.

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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 

[Donna161]

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.

[nigea99]

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@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.

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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  

[Daniel0210]

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@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

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@Donna161 

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

[nigea99]

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@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.

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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. 

[Ecosse]

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:

[Donna161]

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

[nigea99]

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@Donna161 wrote:

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

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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 

[nigea99]

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

[TimmyBGood]

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@Donna161 wrote:

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

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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.