Abroad how were you treated by Sky

Bessa

Hi all I am just wondering how many of you had their Sky viewing terminated by Sky because you had the sky box and card in your Motorhome abroad. When this happened to me I called them and they told me it was illegal to have them outside the UK, Ireland and the Channel Isles. I told them to terminate my sub. With them which is in situ for nearly 20years. I will look at my original contract with them when I get back to Ireland. I have not met anyone else on my travels who has lost the signal because the card is not compatible with the Sky box. So have you been cut off like me?

Bessa

I forgot to mention when I told them to cancel my sub. They offered me half price sub. Until I got back home, to which I asked if they were for real that I would pay half price for something I did not have. This really got me going to take me for an idiot. I will take on Sky legally if there is no mention of taking the box and card out of the country. I could have watched Ireland v Andorra in my Motorhome, but had to hit the road for many hours to get to the match in Andorra.

niloc1951

How did Sky know where you were as there is no link back to them from the box and also the box has no way of knowing where it is, did you have reason to tell them.

Malta1

I have seen threads on other forums (fora) that sky have been cancelling cards at the drop of a hat - no warning. Seemingly they are doing it when the card has been used abroad. In many instances, the card details have been illegially duplicated without the original owner knowing and the card then sold on. Skys approach seems to be cut signal first and then ask questions later.

the info that I have was obtained when I was "googling" about the Sky Go service where you can watch sky TV on your laptop, iPhone if you are a sky customer.

SARZY

I have taken the sky box out of the country many times without any difficulty.
They dont know where the box is unless you tell them.

Of course that means taking your sky box from home with the card.

Taking the card only and trying with another box means you have to phone them to get them matched up.

They charge enough and the less you tell them the better.

bo.jangles

heres an interesting ruling from europe its about a decoder but cards mentioned as well.

thescore.thejournal.ie/blow-for-premier-league-as-sky-loses-pub-foot

bo.jangles

heres an interesting ruling from europe its about a decoder but cards mentioned as well.

thescore.thejournal.ie/blow-for-premier-league-as-sky-loses-pub-foot

niloc1951

SARZY wrote: »

................Taking the card only and trying with another box means you have to phone them to get them matched up...............

This only applies to 'premium' channels (sports & movies)
I have a second box permanently in my MH and only take the card, but then I don't have a premium channel subscription.

Bottom line is Sky have no way of knowing where the box is physically and the card will work in any box for the basic packages without having to ask Sky to 'marry' it to the box.
Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt.

Macy0161

Sky do send over the air software updates to receivers, so it is possible to miss these if a receiver is not connected. Then your card may not work until the update (normally done in the middle of the night iirc). It could be possible to miss these when touring, I would've thought?

Marlow

As others have posted.

Sky is a one way system. Hence the need for the phoneline at home.

So when you take your sky-box abroad and it's not connected to a phoneline in any way, form or shape, then they have no way of telling, if it's abroad unless you tell them.

/M

niloc1951

Macy0161 wrote: »

Sky do send over the air software updates to receivers, so it is possible to miss these if a receiver is not connected. Then your card may not work until the update (normally done in the middle of the night iirc). It could be possible to miss these when touring, I would've thought?

Been away over 1,000 days/nights in the past 6 years and never a problem.

Bessa

Hi all i seem to be the only one that has the card rendered invalid. We were not using the TV on a regular basis as weather was too good to be indoors, so thinking now maybe this was the problem, because the last time we were away for about four months Sky had changed the card when we got home. That time we did not take any boxes or cards with us. Also they had the RTEs and the BBCs scrambled on us straight away, and when we did not contact them they cut the signal entirely. Still away and all the other GB vans around us have their signals. In the Algarve weather great.

niloc1951

Bessa wrote: »

Hi all i seem to be the only one that has the card rendered invalid. ................all the other GB vans around us have their signals. In the Algarve weather great.

I know it's a bit obvious, but have you disconnected the box from the power, taken the card out, given the chip a bit of a wipe and tried it again, sometimes the box and card (more precisely the chip on the card) might not see each other correctly.

Also, down where you are a dish of at least 1.2 metres is needed to get the RTE's, BBC's and ITV's as you are well outside the Astra 2D footprint.

We were down the Algarve this time of year in 2008 and spent some time in Fuseta, pic attached of a nice day there in early December :D

Bessa

Just to update home now checked original contract I had with Sky and yes it is illegal to take the Box abroad. They have now offered me half price viewing for a year, I will let them wait another bit. So be warned they can disconnect you abroad.

*Kol*

But how did they know that you were abroad??

niloc1951

Bessa wrote: »

Just to update home now checked original contract I had with Sky and yes it is illegal to take the Box abroad. They have now offered me half price viewing for a year, I will let them wait another bit. So be warned they can disconnect you abroad.

Apologies for being pedantic, but it's not illegal you won't be prosecuted by the police, it's just against their Terms & Conditions which are a personal contract between you and them.

But as *kol* says, how did they know the box was not in the RoI, assuming it's not connected to a phone line, it can't tell them where it is, it has no 'uplink' capability

Bessa

I have no idea but they knew we were out of the country.

Bessa

Bessa wrote: »

I have no idea but they knew we were out of the country.

Did you have it plugged into a phone line maybe?

Bessa

No phone line, but the last time we went away for a few months, when we returned they had sent us a new card about one month after we had departed. We doid not take the box or card with us on that occasion. This year was the first time we brought them with us. I still have not gone back to them, and we seem to be the only people targeted by them.

paddyp

Tinfoils hats all round - there is no way they could know you were abroad unless you a) connected the box to a phoneline or b) told them.

However its probably one of a list of questions the computer tells them to ask you when you have received a new card but not activated it for a long time a large percentage of people will probably answer truthfully when asked directly.

There are *lots* of businesses supplying british sky cards all over europe with no issues.

sunchaser

I live abroad for the winter months and have brought with me a new sky + box which I obtained from a friend, I also have a sky plus box in the house and one in my motorhome which is in Ireland. I just take the sky card from which ever box it is in befoe I depart and put it into my home abroad. I have never had a problem.

sunchaser

When abroad and down in Southern Spain one could try and set the Default Transponed to 12.129