Getting television across your entire house nowadays is much easier than it used to be. There are different options out there amongst the big TV providers, with one of the best options being Sky Q multiroom.
And with Sky Q multiroom essentially you’re going to use your Sky Q main box as the hub, with smaller boxes that connect to it, which are called Sky Q mini boxes. It’s definitely one of the better ways to watch Sky channels in the bedroom.
However, some people don’t want to pay the premium price that you’d have to pay if you were going to go for the full setup. Mini boxes directly from Sky aren’t too cheap, which leads people to try and find an alternative way to use them – like buying them online secondhand elsewhere.
But can you just buy a Sky Q mini box and install it yourself, or do you need to get one officially from Sky? Well, after doing a little research we found the answer was pretty clear.
Can you buy a Sky Q mini box and install it yourself?
The answer is that no, you can’t buy a secondhand Sky Q mini box off eBay or Gumtree and use it with your Sky subscription. These boxes aren’t owned by the individual, they’re rented, and they’re actually property of Sky.
When someone cancels their Sky subscription or moves to a different home, they may look to make a quick buck by selling their old Sky Q mini box. This is why there’s quite a few of them available across eBay and Gumtree (though less than there used to be).
Sky are pretty hot on this, and if you did cancel Sky, then you’d have to send back your Sky Q box. So, you can’t just buy a Sky Q mini box and use it in your spare room. I mean, it might work for a little while but each box has a serial number, and Sky will clearly be able to see that the extra box isn’t owned by you.
How much is a Sky Q mini box?
As mentioned above, you actually can’t buy Sky Q mini boxes outright – you have to rent them off of Sky. Their cost varies; if you want to install the box yourself, then you can typically get one for a one time fee of £69.
To get an engineer to install one, the cost with be £99. If you get more than one installed, you might be able to get a deal if you’re a long term customer.
How do sky Q mini boxes work?
People that have a Sky Q mini box at home already will know exactly how they work. But if you haven’t used one before, then you’ll want to know how to use one.
And whilst your main Sky Q box is reliant on your satellite to receive a signal, this isn’t the case for the mini box. The Sky Q mini box is actually reliant on the main box, and it connects to it kind of like a network, with the main Sky box as the hub.
The mini box is also reliant on your home wifi to connect to your main box as well, as it will use the router to receive the signal from your main box. This is really good in terms of playback, as you’ll never need to worry about waiting for things to load or connecting your mini box to your satellite.
You can have as many as four different Sky Q mini boxes across your house if you want to, which means that you can fill every room with Sky. Of course, this can cost quite a bit, so it’s definitely worth only getting the amount of mini boxes that you need.
How to Factory Reset a Sky Q Mini Box
If you already have a Sky Q mini box that isn’t working well, or you’ve just bought one, then it’s a good idea for you to factory reset it. This will take it back to its original settings, which can help with any issues you might have.
To do this, all you need to do is turn the Sky Q mini box on at the main whilst you’re holding down the reset button on the back on the box. Doing this will send it into update mode – you’ll need to hold the reset button down for up to a minute for this to work.
If it’s worked, then the light on the box will flash red and green alternately. It’s now updating, and you’ll want to wait until it’s finished which can be 15-20 minutes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, getting a Sky Q mini box can be a pretty good idea. It’s one of the best ways to watch Sky in multiple rooms across your house. However, you do need to get one directly from Sky if you want to use their multiroom feature.
If you see a Sky Q mini box for sale online, then you should probably avoid it. Whilst you could buy it and it may work for a while, in the long run Sky will more than likely know that you’re using a mini box that wasn’t yours to begin with.
Sky q mini boxes are currently £50. The ones on eBay are usually much more expensive. So actually cheaper to buy direct from sky and got one legitimately
they’re free from sky at the moment!! (July 2021)
Thanks for the insight, Carl!
They’re only free if you subscribe to sky multi-room which is £15/month unless on offer.