Sky+HD box using as a Freesat box

[basilfaulty]

I recently upgraded to SkyQ but am still using my old Sky+HD box as a Freesat box but I'm not getting all the channels I was expecting. I get CNN but not Sky News whereas I get Sky News on Freeview. Should I be able to get Sky News on the Freesat box?

[Mark39 · Accepted solution]

Yes, Sky News is a Freesat channel: https://www.freesat.co.uk/channels/on-tv/news-and-sport

[basilfaulty]

Thanks I've now got Sky News and ITV. I think my card wasn't properly inserted or something.

[basilfaulty]

Since the other day when Sky News had come back it has now gone again and I'm getting the error message as follows:

This viewing card is not authorised. If you have received a new viewing card please insert it now.

I phoned Sky and was told they can no longer help pair viewing cards in Sky+ HD boxes.

Any suggestions? ITV is working ok still.

[GD1]

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@basilfaulty wrote:

Since the other day when Sky News had come back it has now gone again and I'm getting the error message as follows:

This viewing card is not authorised. If you have received a new viewing card please insert it now.

I phoned Sky and was told they can no longer help pair viewing cards in Sky+ HD boxes.

Any suggestions? ITV is working ok still.

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Sky no longer support legacy Sky +HD boxes.  You don't need the viewing card for the free channels in any case.

Do you have a hybrid LNB to allow both Sky +HD & Sky Q boxes to work?

[Exiled-in-HH]

OR two dishes?

[Annie+UK]

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@Exiled-in-HH wrote:

OR two dishes?

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Council planning permission, though we have had two dishes for years without informing the council 🙂

[basilfaulty]

I live in a large block of flats and we have a communal dish on the roof. When the guy came to install the Sky Q he had to access a cupboard in the communal hallway that had the wiring etc from the dish but he didn't have to go on the roof to change anything on the satellite dish although this could have been done years ago as others here have had SkyQ for much longer than me.

Regarding the comment about not needing the viewing card to view Freesat channels I removed my viewing card to see what happened and while BBC and other channels don't need the viewing card ITV and Sky News do ask for a viewing card and I have now lost ITV again.

[Annie+UK]

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@basilfaulty wrote:

Since the other day when Sky News had come back it has now gone again and I'm getting the error message as follows:

This viewing card is not authorised. If you have received a new viewing card please insert it now.

I phoned Sky and was told they can no longer help pair viewing cards in Sky+ HD boxes.

Any suggestions? ITV is working ok still.

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This is not true, I have confirmed this with Sky in the hidden superusers forum

[Exiled-in-HH]

BUT... do Sky CS employees know that... does it appear as an option on their systems