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Sky Help: Set up your Sky box
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Set up your Sky box

If you’ve upgraded your old Sky box or replaced your existing Sky+HD box, you can find step by step instructions on setting this up yourself below.

  • 1. Unpack your new Sky+HD box

    Before you get started, check the contents of your new Sky+HD box. You should have received:

    • 1 Sky+HD box
    • 1 Sky+HD remote control
    • 1 HDMI cable
    • 1 power cable
    • 2 AA batteries for the remote control

    If anything’s missing from your box, you’ll need to contact us for further assistance.

  • 2. Unplug your existing Sky box

    1. Switch off your existing Sky box at the mains before pulling out the power cable.
    2. Pull out the SCART or HDMI cable that connects your existing Sky box to your TV.
    3. Carefully unscrew and remove both satellite cables from each Dish Input port at the back of your Sky box.
    4. Unplug the telephone line from the back of your existing Sky box.
    5. Remove your viewing card from behind the flap on the front of your existing Sky box. Keep this safe, as you’ll need it for your new Sky+HD box.

  • 3. Plug in your new Sky+HD box

    1. Connect your satellite (LNB) cables to the brown DISH INPUT 1 and DISH INPUT 2 sockets, then tighten them until they’re finger tight. It doesn’t matter which cable goes into which port, but be careful not to bend the thin copper wire sticking out of these cables. Please note: If you only have one satellite cable, connect it to DISH INPUT 1. Once you’ve completed plugging in your new Sky+HD box, you’ll need to set up single feed mode.
    2. Plug the pink end of your new HDMI cable into the pink socket on the back of your new Sky+HD box, then plug the black end into an available HDMI port on your TV. If you don’t have an HD-ready TV, you can use a SCART cable to connect instead.
    3. Plug the blue end of the power cable into the blue power port on the back of your new Sky+HD box, then plug in at the mains and switch on.
    4. Insert your viewing card with the sky logo pointing upwards by opening the flap on the right hand side of your Sky+HD box.
    5. Insert the batteries provided into your new Sky remote control by removing the battery cover.
    6. Switch on your TV and ensure it’s tuned to the correct input source by pressing the source or input button on your TV remote (on most TV remotes, this is indicated by a box with an arrow pointing into it).
    7. Ensure your Sky+HD box has been plugged in and switched on at the mains for at least three minutes.
    8. Press sky on your Sky remote to bring your box out of standby mode. If the standby light doesn't turn green on your box, wait for another minute before trying again.
    9. You’ll see the on screen message “Your Sky box is not connected to the broadband router”. Press select on your Sky remote and continue with the steps below.

  • 4. Connect your Sky+HD box to your router

    To help you choose the best method of connecting your new Sky+HD box to your router, check to see if your router has a WPS button.

    If your router has a WPS button:

    1. Press and hold the WPS button on your broadband router for two seconds.
    2. Within one minute press the WPS button on the front panel of your Sky+HD box.
    3. The wireless light on the front of your Sky+HD box will flash amber while the box attempts to establish an internet connection. It will turn solid amber when the connection has been successful.

    If your broadband router doesn't have a WPS button

    1. You should already be in the Network tab of the settings menu (if not, press services on your remote control and use the arrow buttons to scroll to Settings on the top navigation menu. Press select, then use the arrow buttons to scroll to Network and press select).
    2. Choose Connect with Password using your Sky remote and press select.
    3. Choose your wireless network (SSID) from the list and press select. If you're not sure what your wireless network is called, this can usually be found on the back or base of the broadband router, next to the password.
    4. Enter your password using the keypad on your remote control then press select to connect. Remember that passwords are case-sensitive: you can cycle through uppercase letters, numbers and lowercase letters through repeated pressing of the number buttons on your Sky remote. Special characters can be entered by repeated pressing of the 0 button.

  • 5. Activate your subscription channels

    Once you've connected your Sky+HD box to your broadband, to ensure you receive all of the channels that you've subscribed to, you'll now need to activate your channels.

    1. Turn to channel 106 and you'll see an on screen message Your Sky viewing card needs to be paired to your Sky+HD box. To pair them now, press SELECT. 
    2. Press select on your remote and you'll see an on screen message Requesting pairing....
    3. After a few seconds an on screen message Request was successful. Your channels will be available shortly will confirm a successful pairing. It may take a few moments for your channels to become available. 

    If you have any difficulty completing this step, you can also activate your channels online by signing in to Activate my channels with your Sky iD and following the instructions provided.

  • 6. Final checks

    To check you’ve set up your new Sky+HD box correctly, carry out the following quick checks.

    • Check Channel 108: If you have an HD subscription, you should see Sky Atlantic HD on channel 108. If you haven’t got HD, then you’ll see Sky Atlantic on channel 108.
    • Check Sky+: Check that you can record from the TV Guide by highlighting a programme then pressing the record button on your Sky remote. Your recording should now appear in your Planner.
    • Check Sky Sports/Sky Movies: If you’ve subscribed to Sky Sports and/or Sky Movies, check that you can watch them by navigating to one of the Sports or Movies channels in the TV Guide then press select.

    If one or more of these checks have failed and you’re seeing the error message “This is the wrong viewing card for this Sky+HD box”, remove your viewing card and re-insert it, then retry the Activate your subscription channels steps above.

    If you can see channel 108 but not Sky Sports or Sky Movies, you can check the details of your subscription by signing in to sky.com/myaccount using your Sky iD.

  • 7. What’s next?

    Activate Sky 3D

    If you have an HD subscription and a 3D TV, follow the steps below to activate your Sky 3D channel on your new Sky+HD box.

    1. Go to sky.com/activate3D and sign in using your Sky iD. If you haven't got a Sky iD, follow the Sign up link.
    2. Select Activate Sky 3D now.
    3. You'll be asked to confirm your activation by selecting Buy now. Remember, Sky 3D comes at no extra cost for Family Bundle customers and will appear as free on your order summary.
    4. You'll now see an order confirmation screen. Check your activation has been successful by selecting the Sky 3D channel 170 and switching your TV to 3D mode. Please note, it can take a few hours for your Sky 3D channel to activate after confirming your order.

    Program your remote to control your TV

    Depending on the model of your TV, your new Sky remote can control both your Sky+HD box and your TV. You can set this up by following the instructions in our Get the code to control your TV with a Sky remote article.

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