Is swapping HD boxes still doable?

[Yakety]

My parents Sky+ Box is saying playback unavailable & unable to record progammes although planner etc is still showing

A system rebuild has not worked and I suspect its kaput

I have a working box - would I be able to just swap them out?

I've seen people say Sky no longer pair viewing cards and force you to change to SkyQ or Sky Stream?

Is that correct?

Keen to avoid them having the hassle of having to renegotiate a new contract as they find this very stressful at best of times...

Thanks

[HeathHayle]

@Yakety doesnt look like it when I last phoned up I was told I could over the phone but users on here have said otherwise and another forum poster has said they have tried over the phone but couldnt get them to do it so maybe they have updated their policies for over the phone now as well

[Mark39]

@Yakety best for your parents to call Sky to see what their options are.

[oj01]

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@Yakety wrote:

My parents Sky+ Box is saying playback unavailable & unable to record progammes although planner etc is still showing

A system rebuild has not worked and I suspect its kaput

I have a working box - would I be able to just swap them out?

I've seen people say Sky no longer pair viewing cards and force you to change to SkyQ or Sky Stream?

Is that correct?

Keen to avoid them having the hassle of having to renegotiate a new contract as they find this very stressful at best of times...

Thanks

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That's correct. It's no longer possible to pair your viewing card to a different box.

[Yakety]

Well seems I was premature... magically clearing the deleted programmes has resolved the issue...

Food for thought though as until this happened I didn't realise I couldn't just swap over boxes if theirs failed.

I guess I'll take this as a warning and get them to go SkyQ route at next negotiation.

Thanks for all your responses.

[Exiled-in-HH]

The sad aspect to this is others may buy a Sky+ HD replacement box ... then find they have wasted their money😔

[Chigirlx]

I see loads on ebay with good reviews. Was gonna give my two away as I gave in and got sky Q because the card needed pairing every week. How do these sellers do it?

[Mark39]

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@Chigirlx wrote:

I see loads on ebay with good reviews. Was gonna give my two away as I gave in and got sky Q because the card needed pairing every week. How do these sellers do it?

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I'd guess it's because up to very recently buyers have been able to pair their Viewing Card with the used box they buy from the seller. That appears no longer to be possible so I'd guess the used Sky+(HD) market will eventually disappear.  

[Chigirlx]

Well I've given a box to our neighbour as he has sky+ and his box is getting really hot so hopefully he can pair it. Also the LNB we paid for recentlyas it broke. His is taped on. Had to get Sky Q I was sick of ringing them every week to pair my card again. People are gonna be really annoyed buying boxes they can't use.

[Daniel0210]

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@Chigirlx wrote:

Well I've given a box to our neighbour as he has sky+ and his box is getting really hot so hopefully he can pair it. 

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@Chigirlx 

He's going to be disappointed. He needs to call Sky to discuss his options going forward. 

[TimmyBGood]

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@Chigirlx wrote:

People are gonna be really annoyed buying boxes they can't use.

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Yes they are: unfortunately decisions like this tend to get taken at corporate levels far above support helpdesk and community forum staff.

[hrf]

Related question...

if my hard drive on my box fails and I decide to swap it out will the process to reinitialise the new drive still work?

[HeathHayle]

yes that will work

[Daniel0210]

@hrf 

The viewing card still won't pair with a replacement box. 

[HeathHayle]

I took it they meant swap out the hard drive but use the same box