Asking how to unlock channels on Bell Satellite? We’ve got you covered on this one!
There’s a simple way to bring your Bell system to unlocking and re-acquire all of the channels that should come along with your subscription.
Locking may sometimes restrict your access to over 60% of your channel list, which is something nobody wants.
Here’s how to unlock the channels in the TV Guide of your Bell Satellite:
To unlock all channels on Bell Satellite, navigate to the Menu of your device and head to “Locks”. Then, enter the 4-digit password and access the “Locking Menu”. Hit the Menu button again and choose “Unlock System”. Finally, select “View Live TV”.
To understand the unlocking process in greater detail, keep reading our complete guide!
How to Unlock Channels on Bell Satellite – Easy Steps!
Removing any locks that are preventing your access to the available Bell content is very easy.
When a lock is existent on your software, some or most of the channels that should usually be available through your satellite will be unavailable.
Once the lock has been successfully removed, your receiver and dish will automatically re-scan and add the missing channels.
Here’s how to unlock the channels on your Bell Satellite:
- On your Bell Satellite remote, press the Menu button.
- Press the “Locks” option from the menu (situated in the fifth row).
- Confirm the changes you’ll be making by inputting the 4-digit password.
- Hit the Menu button on your remote again.
- Choose “Unlock System” from the options that appeared in the next prompt.
- Select “View Live TV”.
- Press “Return to programming” in order to proceed to browse on the home page.
Once the channels of your TV have been successfully unlocked, it may take a while for your receiver to re-scan and add the missing content.
In the meantime, make sure you’re not changing any settings, disabling features or toggling other options that could interrupt this.
ALERT: When first creating a System Lock for your Bell Receiver, you’ll be required to create a 4-digit password, for accessing the Locking menu.
If you’ve forgotten this password, you’ll be unable to access the menu and you’ll have to reset your receiver to factory defaults.
In case you’re still experiencing issues with your system, keep reading!
Bell Satellite Not Getting All Channels – Best Solutions!
If unlocking your channels didn’t work, there’s another way to settle this problem.
If a lock hasn’t been set up preventing your complete access to all of the available channels that your Bell subscription offers, perhaps, the problem is elsewhere.
We’ll go over the best possible solutions that will resolve the issue with your missing channels!
Let’s jump in!
Solution #1 Hard Reset the Receiver
In case your receiver is still failing to unlock all of the channel content you should be having, perhaps a Hard Reset might settle this problem.
Addressing a hard reset is really easy and by doing it, you’ll achieve both a hardware and a software refresh of your Bell Receiver.
As for the execution part, follow these instructions and you’ll be fine:
- Press the Power Button on your Bell Satellite Receiver.
- Wait for the device to shut down.
- Once the receiver is no longer working, unplug the Power Cable.
- Stand by for a total of 5 minutes while the receiver’s power is disconnected.
- Re-attach the cable back into the power source.
- Turn on the Bell Satellite Receiver.
- Test…
The crucial moment in the hard reset is keeping the receiver unplugged for long enough. There’s a certain time interval required for the electricity of the receiver to discharge.
Tip: You could also hold the power button of the receiver for 60 seconds and plug it back in.
Solution #2 Refresh the Channel List
By refreshing your Channel List, you’ll cause your receiver to re-add channels that are originally written and added to your device’s software.
This solution is great for moments when channels should be showing up in the list, thus, they’re added, but they aren’t.
Performing a refresh on your Bell Receiver’s channel list is simple and here’s how to do it:
- Make sure your Bell Receiver is plugged in and working.
- Locate the POWER button on your Bell TV Receiver.
- Press and hold the power button.
- Wait for the lights of the receiver to turn green.
- Receive the Attention screen 015.
- Follow the instructions to finalize the channel list refresh.
- Check if the problem is fixed…
Through the attention screen, you’ll be able to trigger the channel refresh and therefore bring lost channels back to your TV guide.
Alert: Do not unplug your receiver while the process is still ongoing or you could cancel it.
Solution #3 Resynchronize Channels List
If refreshing your channel list didn’t help, perhaps your receiver failed to fetch and synchronize with the channel list that your subscription should bring.
Unlike the refresh, which re-adds channels that are already written on your software, the Resynchronization will contact the Bell services and re-write all channels that should also come along.
Follow these instructions to resynchronize your channel list in easy steps:
- Launch the Bell Mobile App that you should already have (or download it).
- Sign into the app using your provider’s Bell Account.
- Navigate to the home screen and select the TV service that must be managed.
- Scroll down in the device settings and select “More Options”.
- Press “Synchronize your Channels”.
- Your receiver will shortly start to look and re-add channels that you should have.
Your channel list may be damaged, especially when performing any type of software reset, reconnecting the dish or changing the programming settings.
Tip: Resynchronize your list after every major change you do to your receiver.
Solution #4 Reconnect the Satellite Cable
If Bell Satellite not getting all channels even after resynchronizing the channel lists, perhaps there’s a hardware problem with your devices.
If the dish doesn’t securely connect with your Bell Receiver, chances are that you’ll not be eligible to enjoy all channels that should be usually included in your TV guide.
What you should do during this solution, is reconnect the satellite cable from your receiver box.
- Unplug the satellite cable from the “Sat In” port on your receiver and wait
Once the satellite cable has been unplugged, make sure to wait for around 60 seconds, before reattaching the cable.
This is the average time that your receiver takes to refresh the signal and re-acquire lost content written or not written on the software yet.
Note: When unplugging and plugging the cable, be careful not to damage any of the hardware.
Solution #5 Factory Reset the Receiver
If nothing worked out so far, perhaps it’s best to perform a Factory Reset on your Bell Satellite Receiver.
Once this process concludes and resets all of the data on your satellite receiver, all channel and live broadcast streaming data will be rewritten the correct way.
If corrupted data is formed somewhere through your receiver, this is the best way to approach the problem.
Let’s now learn how to Factory Reset your Bell Satellite Receiver:
- On your Bell Receiver Remote, press the MENU button.
- Navigate to “System Setup” by pressing the up/down arrows.
- Select “Factory Defaults” from the list of available options.
- On the pop-up message that should soon appear, press “Confirm”.
- Wait for the factory reset to begin.
Once the process has been triggered, make sure to fully avoid interacting with your receiver.
Pressing buttons randomly or turning off the device will interrupt the factory reset.
Alert: Once the factory reset is complete, you’ll be shown the setup screen.
Need More Help?
If you’re still experiencing issues with your Bell Satellite channels, consider contacting their 24/7 support team.
They’ll be able to review your case more thoroughly and provide you with additional troubleshooting support that’ll settle your problem!
Quick Recap:
Thus, the answer to how to unlock channels on Bell Satellite, is to head to the “Unlock” option in the system menu of your receiver. Input the 4-digit password and gain access to the “Locking Options”. Press “Unlock my System” and confirm.
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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.