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Upgrading from Sky to Freesat

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellite box with a Freesat one.

It takes less than five minutes to replace an existing satellit
published on UK Free TV

If you have an existing Sky or fSfS (Freesat from Sky) installation and want to go to upgrade to Freesat, it is a simple process.

First, buy the Freesat box from a Argos, Curry.digital, Comet, John Lewes or your local independent shop:



In the box you will find the Freesat box:



Also included will be a remote control, and this model also comes with a SCART cable, a HDMI cable and a stereo-with-composite cable. Unpack the ones you need:



You old Sky box looks like this:



Unplug the mains first from the Sky box, then pull out the SCART (or SCARTs) and then unscrew the connection to the satellite dish.



Remove the Sky box and fit the Freesat box. Reconnect the satellite cable (take care as to not damage the connection) and then the SCART and finally connect the mains power:



The box will look like this:



The box also contains the manual, which has full installation instructions. Finally fit the batteries into the remote control.



The TV screen first displays the box's logo



The first set-up screen allows you to select the TV type, widescreen mode and resolution:



Next the box checks for the satellite signal:



Then there is a check for updated software:



Then you enter your postcode and the box checks it:



The next step is a scan for channels. This takes about 30 seconds:



And that's it. You can now view channels, like 108 for BBC HD:



Or press the GUIDE button for the EPG:



(Apologies for the photos not being of the top quality)



Help with Free satellite?
What can I do when my Sky Digibox says 'No Signal' or 'Technical fau1
Can I receive UK TV in Ghana?2
What is a CA module?3
My box says "No Satellite signal being received"4
Is there any way I can get free channels via satellite and have the kind of hard5
In this section
Freesat adds a plethora of new channels in time for Christmas including channel 1
A tale of a two Freesat boxes2
Yesterday, Drama and Really joining Freesat this month3
PBS America joins Freesat for Halloween4
Fixing the Freesat Freetime internet connection problem5
Satellite TV operators FRANSAT, TIVUSAT and our Freesat launch FreeTV Alliance 6

Comments
Thursday, 3 February 2011
S
S Sahlan
10:35 PM

can I view Chinese transmission currently on sky channel 785 on your freesat box?

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S Sahlan's 1 post GB flag
J
Justin
11:28 PM

Les,

I tried what you said but it didn't work. I'll ring their technical advice I think

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Justin's 2 posts GB flag
Friday, 4 February 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

8:12 AM

S Sahlan: You can view the channels as it free-to-air, but you have to do it though "non Freesat mode" at the moment.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Sunday, 6 February 2011
J
james
7:09 PM
Belfast

i have a sky dish but it has two cbbles and my new box has ons is there any thing i can do.

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james's 2 posts GB flag
james's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

8:15 PM

james: Can you explain what you mean please?

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Monday, 7 February 2011
J
james
2:12 PM
Belfast

I currently have a sky + HD box and the dish that is connected has two cables which connect it, however the bush reciever has only one connection. Can I buy a connecter and will this work?

link to this comment
james's 2 posts GB flag
james's: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

2:24 PM

james: If you have another box, you need to run a satellite-grade coaxial cable to one of the two spare outputs on the quad-LNB on the dish.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
S
Sharon
1:57 PM

Hi. I currently subscribe to sky but find it far too expensive. Can I change over to freesat using my current sky box. I understand that once I have cancelled my subscription with sky i will no longer be able to record, how is the best way to get around this because we use that feature quite a lot.

link to this comment
Sharon's 1 post GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

1:58 PM

Sharon: Just replace the Sky+ or Sky+HD box with a Freesat+ or Freesat+HD box. It takes about Five minutes.

See All about Freesat | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
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