Are you wondering, how to connect Sky Dish to Freesat TV? You’ve come to the right guide!
If your old dish from whenever you were a member of Sky remained, and you want to put it to use, it’s possible!
Whether it will be Freesat or any other provider, you could benefit from the dish that is already installed in your household.
Let’s learn how to achieve this:
To connect a Sky Dish to a Freesat TV receiver, locate the “LNB” port and “Sat In” ports on your dish and cable box. Get a coax cable long enough to connect both ports. Once connected, turn on your receiver and go to the channel guide.
Some users had inquiries about whether they could use Sky Dish for Freesat. Let’s find out!
Can I Use a Sky Dish For Freesat – All Answers!
Yes, you can install your Sky Dish with your new Freesat TV setup.
However, we should note that the channels Freesat offers could be different from the ones you had with Sky by now.
With Freeview available on Freesat, you’ll get access to up to 30 radio stations, around 15 HD channels, and 70 regular broadcasts available and on-demand.
Sky Dish could work universally with any setup that requires a satellite to work
In that set of thoughts, the Sky Dish you used with your previous setup could work with your current Freesat configuration.
On a side note, things in the Freesat setup could work a little differently than they did with Sky, due to the different nature of the provider.
Let’s look up how to install a Sky Dish with your new Freesat TV setup!
How to Connect Freesat TV To Sky Dish – Easy Steps!
After learning more about Sky and Freesat specifications in regard to hardware components and setup, let’s begin the process of hooking up your aerial.
Assuming you already have the dish installed in your household, connecting it to your new setup is the easy part!
IMPORTANT: If the dish is not installed in your household, you’ll need a technician to do it for you.
Before beginning our steps, make sure that the aerial is secured and in place.
Let’s jump in with the instructions!
Step #1 Get a Coaxial Cable
The first task is to Acquire a Coaxial Cable long enough to hook up your dish and box.
Depending on the range between your Sky Dish and Freesat box, you’ll need the coaxial cable to reach both ends and connect securely.
You must also avoid hanging spots and insecurities throughout the cable setup, to avoid damaging its hardware.
Measure the estimated distance and get a coax cable with 5 meters on top of that.
Get that extra 5 meters just in case, your measurement was off a little bit and the Coaxial Cable can’t reach it.
I Already Have a Coax
In case you’re already equipped with coax, just make sure your new Freesat box is in the same place as the old Sky receiver.
If the coax you have now was long enough to tie the loose ends with your previous receiver, it should also be able to do so now.
Note: If your old coax seems damaged or doesn’t function, get a new one the same size.
Step #2 Prepare your Setup
The next and one of the most important steps is to Get your Setup Ready.
You must learn where the appropriate ports are, and how to exactly connect the Coaxial Cable and get it discovered by the Freesat receiver.
There are two steps of preparation for your setup:
- Ensure that your TV Box is up and Running (let it idle on the home screen)
- Double-check your Sky Satellite Dish and locate the “LNB” port at the back
The “LNB” port is where you’ll have to hook up the coaxial cable and make the dish work with your Freesat receiver.
On your Freesat Satellite Receiver, the connection port has a “Sat In” label. This is where the coax connects to the inside of your home.
Alert: If your cable box doesn’t turn on or restarts randomly, Power Cycle it by unplugging it.
Step #3 Secure the Coaxial Cable
Now is the time to lead and secure the coaxial cable. This is also a step of great importance since once you’ve made the cable setup, it will last for a very long time.
In that set of thoughts, the cable must be properly led through your house and connected securely.
- If you already have a lead for the cable throughout your house, put it to use
Let’s begin with setting up the Coaxial Cable:
- Grab the external end (outside part) of the coax cable.
- Connect it to the “LNB” Port on the back of your Sky Dish.
- Get the Internal end (inside part) of the coax cable.
- Locate the “Sat In” on your Freesat cable box.
- Plug the second end of the coaxial cable into your receiver.
- Double-check to determine if the cable isn’t loose and is secured on both ends.
Once the cable is secured, you should make sure that there are no hanging spots or parts of the cable that are under pressure.
Technicians tend to perform this cable installation, but if you do it, you should be cautious of how the cable rests along your house.
Note: Make sure that the coax cable goes into both ports securely.
Step #4 Acquire Available Freesat Channels
After learning the essentials of “how to connect Sky Dish to Freesat TV”, you should have the available channels by now.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, the channels and broadcasts you’ll receive as a result of hooking up the Sky Dish could be alternatives to the ones you had.
This is simply because your Freesat receiver is set to recognize a portion or a particular part of the broadcasts that the dish scans.
- To get new Freesat channels, go to the Guide on your receiver box
The guide can be accessed by pressing the “TV” button on your Freesat remote.
If you’re using a universal remote control, then there is most likely a “Guide” button that will launch the menu for you. In the guide, you’ll be able to see all of the available channels.
Note: A portion of the channels that are about to come, could take a while to be installed
Step #5 Rescan for Channels
Your next and final step is to Rescan for Channels.
It is well-known that after connecting the coaxial cable, not all channels will be instantly added to your guide.
You’ll have to trigger the Rescan Function in order to make the software search and re-acquire all of the channels that you could have.
Here’s how to rescan for Channels on your Freesat Satellite Box:
- Navigate to Settings on your Freesat box.
- Press “Freesat Channels”.
- ]Choose “Channel Scan”.
- On the next tab, press “Begin Channel Scan”.
- Wait for the process to be completed.
The rescanning may take a while. However, wait for the process’ full being in order to get all of the channels you could get from your Freesat connection.
A status of how many channels have been acquired so far will be displayed on-screen during the rescanning.
Note: Once the rescanning is complete, all channels will be available in the section “Guide”.
Let’s hear a recap of the entire step guide we’ve reviewed!
Quick Recap:
Hence, the answer to “how to install a Sky Dish with a Freesat TV box” is to connect the aerial to the receiver using a coax cable. Next, turn on your cable box and go to the channel guide. The new Freesat and Freeview channels should be now available!
Wrapping Up:
In this guide, we’ve learned how to connect Sky Dish to Freesat TV and what is the best, quickest and easiest steps to achieve it.
It’s true that it could be difficult hooking up your Dish to the satellite receiver using the coax, especially if no lead was made throughout your house.
If you were a member of Sky, however, it would be 10 times easier for you!
Learn more technical approaches and solutions in our online guide!
Read Next: Will Sky Move My Dish for Free?
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.