SKY+ .... is phone line required?
 

Just had my old digibox changed for a + box and the engineer was going to refuse to fit it if I didn't connect it to a phone line.... He said it wouldn't work without being connected. Is this just the party line or am I missing out on features by not connecting?

I never buy movies or do any Interactive stuff btw

I now have a total mess of wires at my phone point that I intend to remove asap!

It will work but they won't fit it without.

I ran a temp line from the office into the living room when I got mine fitted. A big stupid wire running through the hall and across the living room, but its a phone line and that's all they need. ( I also ran one upstairs into the bedromm for multiroom)
Once they left I disconnected it.
However after a few months I got letters telling me that if I did not connect my box to a phone line I was in breach of contract etc..............

Big Brother?

They said the same to me when I got Sky+ installed, no phone line - no installation. Cost me an extra £15 to get a phone socket extended.

Phone line is only required for movies/pay per view items, interactive and so sky can collect viewing data. It's also in the T&C's that the digibox should be connected to a phone line.

Hectic works for Sky, he is probably the best guy to ask

Basically it's part of your installtion contract to get a subsidised (i.e cheaper!!??!!) box.

The mistake was getting sky to fit it. You can unplug it and the box will work fine (barring pay per view etc) , but in a month or so you'll get a letter from sky saying your in breach of contract. But the good news is the interactive services agreement in the contract only applies for 12months.

If you didn't want the "interactive services discount" stipulated in your contract (what makes your installation cheaper) Then you should have gone elsewhere (i.e independent fitter) or fitted it all yourself .

It's all in the small print.

Its all part of the bigger plan IMHO :)

Demolition man springs to mind

Well I was told the complete opposite when they came to install mine :confused:

When they arrived I asked them if they needed to connect to a phone line and they said it didn't matter...good for me as I didn't have to get another socket installed :)

Well I've disconnected it, so they can letter me till they're blue in the face.

I've been a Sky customer for years so any "new contract" stipulations shouldn't apply to me. Never bought a movie, nor used interactive, so I'm certainly not having spaghetti junction in my porch! ;)

Another question.....
 

Hypothetically.... ;)

I still have my digi-box, so if it were connected to the LNB on the dish, and connected to another telly, would it work (multiroom?) or do they need to broadcast the signal differently for multiroom to work?

Is another viewing card required?

I grudge paying them another call out charge for a cable to be run that a child could do!

You need 2 cards, or at least I have 2 cards with my multiroom setup.....

Yes you need another card to use the other box. The box can recieve all the channels, it's the card that dictates which channels you can watch.

Also you'll probably find you current card will no longer work in the old box as it's now been paired to your new sky plus box and won't be transferable....bunch of arses aren't they? ;)

2nd card can be obtained via sky, and you'll be charged "only" (:mad: ) £10 a month extra (yeah, I know what your going to say) for the multiroom.
Or buy a freesat card, for a one off fee (think it's £30) which will give you the all the regular terrestrial free stuff via the dish.

Alternative is to ring disconnections, tell them politely and assertively that they are a shower of s**t and see if you can blag a free multi-room package ;)

D'oh!

Thought as much. Doubt they'll just send me a new card, even if I agree to the £10 extra a month.... :rolleyes:

No doubt they'll insist on an engineer call out at £65..... Hey ho

Probably :D Well you can say it's all been installed so no engineer is required, and you just need the card.

It totally depends on how stupid the person is at the call centre, as they'll probably conjure up some cock and bull about needing an engineer. If you keep insisting it's all installed and you just need the new card and for it to be paired to the box they may give in and do it. They can do it, but they prefer not to (probably comission driven :rolleyes: ).

Oh, and I forgot. I think one of the contract clauses for the Multiroom package is to have the phone line connected to BOTH boxes through-out the whole term. (they use it to poll the box to see if it exists and prevent people selling or taking the 2nd box elsewhere, like I tried to do :norty: )

Anyone know where I can get a "freesat" card?

go in to 'services' on your digi-box.. pull up 'telephone numbers'.. free sat number should be in there ;)...

Had my Sky+ installed by an independant, cost peanuts, no issues about wanting the dish strapped to the chimney, along with FM & DAB ariels and ran the cables in to the loft for me at a high level where I then hooked it all up to a distribution box. No unsightly wires, dish where I wanted it and the box has never been connected to a telephone line and I've never had a nasty letter.

It's in the terms and conditions for any box purchased from/supplied by Sky that it is connected to a phone line for the first 12 months. This is why a Sky installer may refuse to install a box if a phone line is unavailable.
However, the phone line is only ever used for pay-per-view and interactive stuff, and so can actually be permanently disconnected with no ill effects.

The exception is a multiroom subscription, i.e. 2 (or more) viewing cards at the same address with the same channel/feature package for a "reduced" cost. In this case, Sky need a mechanism to ensure both viewing cards are being used at the same address, and they do this by making the boxes that the cards are "paired" to phone home to Sky at regular intervals, using CLI to identify the line they are calling from.

So, if you only have a one-box subscription, you can get away without connecting it to a phone line. With a multi-room subscription, you will need BOTH boxes connected permanently.

Edit: You can always use one of these to avoid unsightly telephone cables. I use one with my Sky HD box, and it isn't affected by my ADSL connection.

Thanks Hectic, not at the telly just now.... what is the cost/subscription rate?

Does the use of a free sat card in a second digibox constitute "multiroom" and if so, is there an additional charge payable to Sky for my package?

Is it true as dharbige says that both boxes have to be permanently connected to phone line?

Cheers :thumb:

My Dad has Sky+ in one room and has just purchased a FreeSat card from Sky for the tv and old Sky digibox in the spare room. This is a one off payment and makes no difference to his Sky+ package. The FreeSat runs independantly and requires no phone line - he also has a FreeSat card in the Sky box on his boat :)

http://www.freesatfromsky.co.uk/ He just rang them and asked for a card only, I think it cost about £20 :)

More info here (and a different phone number to ring to get a £20 freesat card) http://www.satelliteonline.co.uk/freesatcard.htm

The phone connection is not just for interactive and pay movies, it also allows Sky to update the firmware on your box.

Sure, you can disconnect it, but you will miss out on new features (like the ability to record 2 progs at the same time).

Is it really such a problem to leave it connected to your phone line? This BBS is the most paranoid place on earth!!!!!

Geezer

Yes, it interfers with my broadband connection :D

Then fit a filter. That cured my problem. Available at any Focus DIY.

When my phone was out of order for a week last year Sky soon got in touch to remind me that I was in breach of contract as I had had the Sky+ box for less than a year.

Already done.

I heard if you turn an xbox upside down and say the lords prayer backwards at midnight, the xbox will receive every satellite channel in the world for free :eek:
Alas, I dont have an xbox to try it :(

Dammit, I have an Xbox but I don't know the the words :mad:

PMSL ... ;)