Since being released in 2016, Sky Q has had a pretty warm reception by the public. It essentially combines all of the other streaming services we might want to watch – like Netflix and iPlayer – into your one Sky box.
And whilst for the most part this works pretty well, there might be times where you encounter problems with your Sky box itself. This can be pretty frustrating, as it can be difficult to know what to do from here.
In most scenarios, many of the problems that we face with a Sky Q box can be fixed quite simply be resetting the box itself. But, not everyone knows how to do that properly.
So, if you’re wondering how to reset Sky Q boxes, then we’re going to run through how to do that – as well as a few other handy tips that you can use too.
How to Reset Sky Q Box – Troubleshooting Guide
Perform a factory reset on your Sky Q box:
- To reset your Sky Q box, first you need to press the Home button.
- Then go to settings – enter 001 on the remote and press select.
- Finally, the Factory reset option will appear on your screen. Press the standby button your your box and it will then reset.
This is the easy way for you to factory reset your Sky Q box. And as you can see, it is pretty easy to do. In most scenarios, it will fix any problem that you’ve been having with your Sky Q box.
There’s actually no designated reset button on a Sky Q box, which often leaves people confused. However, there are some scenarios where a factory reset may not even fix your problem anyway. If this is the case, then here’s some more tips and answers to questions you might have about a Sky Q box.
Sky Q Box Not Working
So whilst a factory reset will fix a lot, it might not help with a few things. One of these is if you’ve got no satellite signal, but it also may not help if there’s different issues with the device. If you’re having trouble with your Sky Q remote, then simply use the front panel on your box.
What else can you do if you’re having problems with your Sky box? Here’s some other things that you can try.
Restart your Sky Q box
In most cases, you might not even have to reset your box back to factory settings. Usually, just turning your box on and off again can be enough for you to fix any problems that you’re having with it.
Best practice is to always put the Sky box into standby mode before you switch it off at the wall before you do so. Then, simply turn the box back on, giving it a good few minutes for everything to reload properly.
When you turn the box back on, just follow the on screen instructions if there are any. You can wait for these on screen instructions to disappear, then press home to get back to your channel guide.
Play with your settings
It’s a good idea that if things aren’t working as they should be, go and have a look in the settings of your Sky Q box. There are different settings in there that may affect how your Sky box runs throughout the day.
A good example of that is the Eco mode setting, which you can use to turn your box off at a specific time throughout the night (2:45-5:30am). Your box will go from standby off during this time, so this can cause complications if you watch late night TV. Make sure to change this if you don’t want Eco mode on.
This is a common scenario where folks are wondering why their Sky Q mini box is not working at night. But, this has a simple fix, as you can see.
Reset your hard drive completely
If a simple factory reset doesn’t work, then you might want to completely reset the entire hard drive of the Sky Q box itself. You can do this in almost the same way by pressing the Home button going into your settings – enter 001 then press select. Instead of selecting factory reset, you’ll want to select reset hard drive instead.
This will delete all of the recordings and downloads off your Sky box; however, you can re-download any purchased options you’ve made.
You’ll want to try the other options before resorting to a full hard drive reset. But if needs be, you may have to go down this route.
Keep the box in a good place
One thing that can cause your Sky Q box to stop working is if it hasn’t got enough ventilation. This is pretty common if you keep your TV onto of a cabinet, and have your box encased underneath (in a glass cabinet or similar).
If the Sky Q box doesn’t have enough ventilation, then it can tend to overheat pretty easily. So, make sure that your box has enough space to breathe and it isn’t at risk of overheating.
Sky Q Box Won’t Turn On
Sometimes, you might find that your Sky Q box won’t turn on no matter what you do. The first thing you’ll want to do in this situation is work out if the problem lies with your remote or with the box itself.
You can do this by simply pressing the Question button on the remote and seeing if the red light at the top flashes. If it does, then the remote is fine and the box is at fault. If it doesn’t then there’s an issue with the remote – check out this guide to Sky remote problems.
If the issue lies with the box, then run through some of the steps below to try and fix the problem with your Sky Q box. Otherwise, you’ll need to progress to the recovery procedure.
To complete the recovery procedure, turn your Sky Q box off completely and leave it off for a few seconds. Then, switch it back on whilst you’re holding the standby button on the front of the Sky box.
Make sure you keep to hold the standby button down until the device will start a software update – you can tell it’s doing this by alternating orange and red lights flashing. A full software update can be as long as 20 minutes, so you will need to wait for it to finish.
Common error messages
There are certain error messages that pop up on a Sky Q box fairly frequently, and they indicate a different problem with your box. Here’s the most common ones that pop up, and what to do about them.
- MR001 – This is an IP address error. Reset your router and install any firmware updates.
- MR102 – The mini box and your main box or router aren’t connected to each other properly. Follow the setup process for your Mini box.
- MR104 – Again, this means there’s an issue with your Wi-fi connectivity. Reboot your router and it should resolve the problem.
- MR106 – Usually, this indicates that your main Sky Q box can’t connect to a mini box properly. It could be down to an interference issue, so move them closer together to see if this helps.
- MR109 – This definitely indicates a proximity problem between your devices, so they’re probably too far away from each other.
These are some of the most likely ones that you’re going to come up against, and they often related to Wi-Fi or connection problems. An error message can usually give us a little insight into why things aren’t working as they should, but they’re not the only way to tell.
Sky Q Box Lights
If your Sky Q box isn’t working, then there’s a chance that the lights on the front of the box might flash, or they may even show up in a constant colour. If this is the case, then you’ll want to know what these lights actually mean. Here’s a quick guide to the Sky Q box light system and what the colours represent.
Sky Q Box Red Light
If you’re seeing a red light on your Sky Q box, then don’t worry too much. This typically means that there’s an issue with the hardware itself, and something has gone wrong in the process of it loading up.
Fortunately, there’s usually a pretty easy fix for this. All you need to do is follow the reset guide above to take your Sky Q box back to factory settings. As well as this, you might want to try resetting your home routers as well. Doing both of these should fix your red light issue.
Sky Q Box Flashing Orange Light
Something that’s pretty common but has the ability to make some people worry is if the lights on the front of your Sky Q box start flashing orange. If this happens to you, then you’re going to want to go ahead and do a reset on the Sky Q box.
All this means is that the software on the device has upgraded, but you should go ahead and reset it anyway to get things back to normal.
Sky Q Box Green Light
As you may have expected, if you’re getting green lights on the front of your Sky Q box then this is a good thing. This means that everything is working as it should be, and there’s nothing else that you need to do in this instance.
What is Sky Q?
An updated version of the older form of Sky many of us were used to (which we now refer to as Sky+), Sky Q is somewhere to get all of your entertainment needs within just one device. Older folks who were used to having a different VHS, DVD, Freeview box and whatever else can now rejoice that everything’s wrapped up into a single box.
The good news is that with Sky Q, you can keep all of your recordings, downloads and catch up channels in one place.
Conclusion
All in all, whatever the problem with your Sky Q box, there’s usually a pretty straightforward fix out there that you can find that should resolve things. The only scenario where you can’t do anything is if there’s a complete fault with the hardware itself, in which case, you might need to contact Sky for a replacement box. But in most cases, this isn’t necessary.
