Having no signal is one of the downsides of using a satellite. In fact, one of the main reasons that Virgin Media has become so popular in recent years is that you’re able to access all of their channels via a cable connection. This is typically more stable than using a satellite, as it all runs underground.
And like an aerial, a satellite needs to be in the right place for it to work properly. The satellite dish alignment is an important factor, but it is only one reason why you might be getting a no satellite signal message.
Even though a satellite is generally far more reliable than using an aerial, some people still find problems with their satellite signal. So, let’s look at some of these problems that you might face, as well as some of the best things you can do to fix the problem if it arises.
No Satellite Signal – Sky Q & HD Box
Whether you’ve got a Sky Q Box or a HD+ Box, you can still have issues with little or no satellite signal. It’s difficult to diagnose the problem, which could be down to weather, bad satellite alignment or a problem with your cable setup.
If you’re using Sky, then you might find a satellite issue will resolve by doing a few different things. You might get a message on your home screen saying “No satellite signal”, or you might just find a problem with the reception of your TV’s playback quality.
Getting a no signal error message on your set top box is fairly common, though it can be pretty frustrating. This is because it may work one day and then stop working the next, which means that it could be down to bad weather, or it could be something completely different. But what can you do about this? Well, let’s see the most common problems and solutions to this problem.
Common Causes of No Satellite Signal
If you’re not able to get signal with your Sky Box, whether it’s a Sky Q box or a HD model, then there are some typical things to look for which may be the cause of this problem.
However, these are only considered to be the cause if your satellite dish is the issue – remember, that’s not the only thing that could be affecting your TV quality. But, let’s check out issues you can face with your dish.
Satellite Dish Positioning
One of the main things that can affect whether you’re able to get a good satellite signal is whether the dish is installed in the right position. If you’ve just called Sky out to install it, then there should be any problems with its positioning, as it’ll be taken into account.
But if you’ve moved in somewhere with a dish already installed, then this could be the problem. When your dish is pointing in the wrong direction, this can lead to a weak signal. I’ll get to the solution for this in a minute.
The Weather
Even if your satellite dish is positioned and aligned properly, you can still find issues with it during certain times of the year. Although Sky are a big company, unfortunately even they can’t control the weather in the UK!
And with the UK facing some strong winters (is it getting colder each year or is it just me!?), then your signal can definitely be affected by rain, snow and whatever else the colder months want to throw at us.
Making sure your satellite dish is aligned properly is the best way to counteract this, but I’ll get to how to do that in a minute. If you’re having this problem only when the weather is really poor, then it may be what’s causing the issue.
Interference
Now, everything may have been installed correctly, your satellite dish may be aligned perfectly, and you could still have a problem with your satellite dish.
This is most likely to be the scenario in built up areas, where there might be something interfering with your satellites capability to receive a signal. It’s unlikely to be a factor if you live outside of the city.
This definitely could be the case if a new building has be been nearby, which will interfere with your signal. Unfortunately, there’s little that you can actually do to try and resolve this problem if this is the catalyst.
How to Fix No Signal Satellite Problems
Now, we’ve gone through the main reasons why your satellite signal might not be working properly. So, let’s look at what you can do to try and fix the problem, too.
Align your satellite dish properly
If your satellite dish is the issue with your signal, then the main thing that you’ll want to check that your dish is aligned properly. If it’s not aligned properly, then this can cause issues.
For the majority of us, this is going to be too difficult for you to do yourself, and you’re much better off calling out a Sky technician to come and take a look at your satellite dish to check if it’s set up properly. Accuracy is going to be a big factor in how your satellite dish works, and if it’s not set up perfectly, then your signal strength may suffer.
It needs to be lined up horizontally and vertically so that the satellite thousands of miles away can connect with it properly. You may know you need to point your dish South already, but you can usually find out a little more information by downloading an app – this can be worth it if you want to have a crack at doing it yourself.
Reset your Sky box
The answer to many of the great mysteries with tech products seems to simply be – turn it off and turn it back on again. And this is the same with your Sky box, too.
It doesn’t matter what type of Sky box that you’re using – whether there’s a standard old Sky HD box or a newer Sky Q box, something that can always help to fix the problem is by resetting your Sky box.
If you want to do this properly, then turn off your Sky Box for a few minutes. Then, when you turn it back on again, hold down the left and the right buttons at the same time. This will reset your box, and hopefully help to fix your signal problem.
If you’re having problems with the signal on your Sky box, there’s no harm turning it off and even resetting it back to factory settings to see if this resolves the problem too. For those unsure how to do this, check out this guide of how to reset your Sky Q box.
Check all of the cables
Whilst there are other ways that you can fix the signal, one thing that you’ll always want to check which may be affecting your signal is the cables plugged into the back of your Sky box. If one of these isn’t inserted properly, then this can cause an issue with the signal on your television.
It’s also worth considering whether any of these cables might be old and faulty. If you can, try and use a different cable to connect to your Sky Box and see if this helps to resolve the problem.
It can be pretty common for you to have issues with your coaxial cable, so check this to see whether it’s working properly or not.
Stop any interference
Something that might be affecting the quality of your television reception could also be down to another device in your home which could be causing interference. A good example of this is a baby monitor, which could be causing interference with your signal overall.
You’ll want to make sure that none of your other household devices are having an effect on your signal. As well as this, you really want a clear path between your satellite dish and the satellite itself. This means trying to avoid obstructions like large trees.
Is a satellite dish the same as an aerial?
Often confused for the same thing, a satellite dish and an aerial are not the same, although they both essentially do the same job as one another. They’re both intended to deliver television to your house.
However, the main difference is that they both work by radio waves and signal – an aerial will get its signal from a television station, whilst a Sky HD dish is reliant on satellites to deliver their signal.
Generally, a satellite is the more reliable of the two. It’s usually uncommon for you to get no satellite signal, especially in comparison to aerial.
If you can’t get a good connection with your satellite signal, then you could consider a switch over to cable instead. This is all based underground, so it’s not reliant on weather or interference in the same way.
Conclusion
All in all, in most cases a satellite dish is going to provide you with a very strong signal, and you’re unlikely not to have any problems with it over the time that you own it.
However, you can still have signal issues if you’re receiving your TV via satellite; it’s just likely not to be the dish itself. So, checking all of the above should help you to find what the problem is, and then go ahead and solve it too.
