Reset Stream puck without subscription

[Derek_Trotter]

A quick question for anyone who has cancelled Stream...

My puck is customer-owned - I've had it since October last year. My 31 day cancellation period ends tomorrow so it'll effectively become useless. Can I still access the settings menu after my subscription ceases so that I can reset it to factory settings before I sell it? Or can I just use the reset button on the bottom?

[GD1]

@Derek_Trotter  You should still be able to access the settings menu and apps on the puck.

[Derek_Trotter]

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@GD1 wrote:

@Derek_Trotter  You should still be able to access the settings menu and apps on the puck.

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I thought it became a brick without a sub? I thought only Glass gave you access to the apps? That's the impression it gives here:

https://www.sky.com/help/articles/sky-glass-without-a-subscription 

I guess I'll find out in the morning! Exciting.

[peter-marlow+1966]

Are you  sure  you  own the puck, as I was under  the  impression  that any one who got a puck are I believe  February  last only rented it and if you cancelled  your subscription  it would have to be returned  to sky, sorry if I am wrong,  but I think  maybe  you should  contact  sky and check if you do own the puck

[Exiled-in-HH]

@peter-marlow+1966 "October last year" would indicate customer owned... BUT it is worth a check... doesn't the Sky account info record ownership?

[TimmyBGood]

@peter-marlow+1966 

'October last year' would be 2022, and pucks were still sold then.  The change to loan was 23rd February 2023.

[Derek_Trotter · Accepted solution]

Morning all. 

I am happy to confirm that my Sky Stream service has ceased and I am now no longer a Sky customer. 

I thought it might be useful to confirm exactly what happens for those who are nervous about doing the same. 

So, I've had a single Stream puck since early October 2022, purchased for £20 direct from Sky. I was mid-way through an 18 month Sky Q contract but was allowed to end that without penalty and switch to a 31 day rolling contract on Stream. 

I can confirm that the Stream puck says 'Customer Owned' on the Streaming TV devices page on the Product settings page of MySky on the website. 

If I turn the puck on I get a blank blue screen with just a No Subscription message at the top, exactly as it shows on this page: https://www.sky.com/help/articles/sky-glass-without-a-subscription.

It says press select to subscribe, but if you do this it doesn't actually allow you to re-subscribe. It shows a couple of pages of sales talk about what you're missing out on but doesn't mention third party apps at all. It tells you that for more information on the 'Sky Ultimate TV subscription' you need to get in touch with Sky via sky.com/needhelp.

You can also access Settings and the Help menu from this blank home screen but that's it. 

I can confirm that there is no access to third party apps whatsoever. No Netflix, Prime, Disney+, iPlayer, ITVX or anything. There is no apps rail at all. 

I can confirm that there is no access to FTA TV via the aerial socket whatsoever. It's dead. Nothing to see here. Move along.

I checked my Netflix and it has correctly reverted back to my original Netflix billing method and is using the credit I had on my Netflix account from before I switched to Sky billing so that has transitioned perfectly. They even sent a nice email about it just after midnight. Haven't had a single email or text from Sky asking me to stay BTW. Not even a confirmation that the service has ended. 

So cancelling your Stream subscription really does effectively brick the puck. I can see why Sky changed their minds about letting customers keep them - they really are useless without a Sky subcription. Anyone want mine? 

Call me crazy but I do think it's odd that Sky would have that 'press select to subscribe' on the home page and then not actually allow it to do anything. I'm sure many people who've cancelled then realise that they're left with literally nothing, would quickly press that and be quite glad to restart a new subscription. (I'm not one of those people, in case you were wondering.) 

[Derek_Trotter]

And just a little addendum: 

I appear to still be able to access Discovery+ via my Apple TV 4K box and via the website and app on my phone. This may be because I activated the free subscription to it when I had Q. I never had to activate a new free subscription via Marketplace when I switched to Stream - I just logged into the Discovery+ app and it just worked. 

I'm guessing that the old subscription via Q is just a continuously rolling one as Sky never alerted Discovery+ that I no longer had Q. 

Oh well, that's a little bonus, for as long as it lasts anyway. A couple of family members might occasionally watch Eurosport so they'll be pleased. 

[Derek_Trotter]

A second addendum:

So, with no active Sky Stream subscription, this morning I factory reset my puck and, purely out of curiosity, tried setting it up again. 

I followed the on-screen instructions, connected to my WiFi and connected the remote. It then offered up the code to link to my Sky account so I went to the activation page, logged in to MySky account, input the code and the puck then showed the normal home screen with all the third party apps, games, EPG, playlist etc. 

I tried clicking on the live channel streams but they don't work and correctly state that I need to upgrade my subscription to watch.

However, all the third party apps are fully functional and can be used. iPlayer, ITVX, Netflix, Prime Video, AppleTV+, Disney+ etc are all there. 

Interestingly, my old playlist was still there and any programmes from a non-Sky channel would still trigger the opening of the appropriate app to play it. 

Also interestingly, I can still add new programmes to my playlist from the EPG. Pressing the plus button on the remote brings up the usual playlist options.  

So, for those with a customer-owned puck, you can in fact still use it after cancelling your Streaming TV subscription. All you have to do is factory reset it and link it back to your Sky account, similar to what happens with a Glass TV. 

This is potentially useful for those with older TVs, perhaps lacking in some apps. Also useful for those on a tight budget, who still want access to some streaming services. Remember, you can still stream all the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 channels live via their relevant apps so, with the surprise addition of a functioning playlist, if most of what you watch comes from the FTA channels you can have a pretty reasonable viewing experience with a Stream puck and no Sky subscription.  

[Sally_Sparrow]

@Derek_Trotter 

Interesting.

One wonders then if it's possible for someone who's had Stream before, cancelled and returned their puck, to purchase a previously customer-owned puck (from eBay or such like) and link their Sky account to it in order to get access to and use their old playlist (for FTA app-based content only obvs) and also the TV guide, games and Sky Store app?

Your description makes it seem like this is entirely possible. Or perhaps the serial number of the customer-owned puck cannot be transferred and activated by another user without them having an active subscription? 

[Joogles]

Thank you for this.  I cancelled last week and lost everything, I also own mine I was given it in February 23, I clearly remember sky saying if I don't want sky after the trial I can keep the puck and use it as a firestick.  I kept the package but cancelled at the end of Feb as I couldn't justify £33 for a tv in a spare room that I occasionally watch.  I've just followed your steps and now looks like I have access to iPlayer and general tv.  Thank you. It's a really old tv so doesn't work without it. 

[Tiggerfantoo]

They should at least allow you access to the freeview stations and iPlayers, as you don't need to be a sky member to view these. That would be useful for me as I don't have a terretrial arial, but was thinking of changing to cable broadband.

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Tiggerfantoo wrote:

They should at least allow you access to the freeview stations 

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Unfortunately thats incorrect with the streaming platform which is Sky's own closed platform.

Free to air channels are available on DTT ( i.e the traditional TV ariel), and on the satellite system, as any channel can chose to broadbast via these 2 method s providing they pay for the requisite licenses.

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@Tiggerfantoo wrote:

iPlayers,

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Apps are free to use without a subscription but this only applies to Glass TVs, which are owned outright by the customer. The sky stream pucks are loaned equipment ( apart from the short period where they were sold as additional items for Sky Glass customers who wanted to get the Whole Home subscription), so at the end of the Sky subscription you need to return the puck to Sky.

[TimmyBGood]

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@Tiggerfantoo wrote:

They should at least allow you access to the freeview stations and iPlayers, as you don't need to be a sky member to view these.

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That's correct for the Glass television set, which is owned by the user.  Stream pucks since February 2023 are loaned for the consumption of Sky subscription service, so by definition have no such possible usage.

Stream pucks acquired with a Glass television set between October 2021 and October 2022, and then Stream pucks as a standalone product from October 2022 and February 2023 are the ones which are stuck in user ownership but no functionality without a subscription: these can however be legitimately sold second-hand for another Sky subscriber to add to a Whole Home installation.

[bikeman12]

Well my experience is different. My sky stream subscrition ended today. 

The home screen now shows the sky icon with no subscription, settings, help and a 'tv serial plug' icon. The last when selected scanned and found all the free to air channels.

I can view all free to air channels live but there is no epg and no catchup apps.