Sky Viewing Card Not Paired? – Fix in Minutes!

Asking why is your Sky Viewing Card not paired? Here’s the answer and solution!

Generally, Sky Viewing Cards are easily installed within your box.

Just open the card compartment, place the card and everything should start working by itself.

In case you’re experiencing issues with this setup process, here are a couple of ways to fix it…

To fix when the Sky Viewing Card isn’t getting paired, Power Cycle the Sky Box and clean the card and card reader. Next, update the box’ software and refresh the viewing card. Finally, Perform a “Reset” on the Viewing Card and a “Factory Reset” on the Sky Box.

To make sure you’re doing the setup correctly, keep reading!

How to Pair Sky Viewing Card – Easy Steps!

The Sky Viewing Card is a device that enables your Digibox to receive satellites from the UK and enable viewing for a variety of different channels.

You’ll get channels from Astra satellite, across all of Europe, the Middle East and some parts of Asia.

To set up your Sky Viewing Card, follow these instructions:

1. Unpack your New Sky Viewing Card.
2. Locate the Card Slot on your Sky Box.
3. Open the slot by pulling it towards you.
4. Insert the Sky Viewing Card inside (watch out for the printed positioning details).
5. Close the slot’s latch.
6. Turn ON your Sky Box.
7. Grab your Sky Remote.
8. Press “Services”.
9. Hit the 0 0 and 1 Buttons in consecutive order.
10. Press “Select” Twice in a Row.

If these steps were performed correctly, your Sky Viewing card should soon get connected.

All of the newly available channels that you’ve received will be available in the guide.

In case this setup fails for you for some reason, check out our fix solutions!

Sky Viewing Card Not Paired – Best Solutions!

Installing the Sky Viewing Card is so far easy, yet, some users had trouble getting it to work with their Sky Box.

This is not a major problem at all, since you could have let a blunder slip by during the setup process.

We’ll go over the best solutions to fix the Sky Viewing Card!

Let’s jump right in!

Solution #1 Power Cycle your Cable Box

Perhaps, this problem is occurring due to a simple glitch in your box’s system!

Sometimes (especially older Sky TV Boxes), could have issues reading external devices at first.

If that’s the case, then no major problem has occurred with your Sky Viewing Card and it functions correctly.

Let’s learn how to Power Cycle your Sky Box in easy-to-follow steps:

1. Press the Power Button on the box to shut it down.
2. Wait for the device to completely turn off (the LEDs should be shut off).
3. Unplug the Power Adapter of the box from the electrical outlet.
4. Wait for 3 Minutes while the box is unplugged.
5. Re-install the Power Cable into its respective power source.
6. Turn on the box and test.

By the time you’re performing the power cycle, make sure that the Sky Viewing Card is Inside the Box. This way, the card will also get power cycled and will start working!

Tip: Keep the Sky Box unplugged for a longer time to be able to cool down!

Solution #2 Reinsert the Viewing Card

Chances are that there is an issue with the Viewing Card’s Positioning inside the box!

This problem can easily be settled by taking out and reinserting the Sky Viewing Card from your TV box.

The pins of the Sky Viewing Card should be facing down on the compartment since they connected the card to the box itself.

How to Reinsert a Sky Viewing Card:

1. Press open the Card Compartment of your box.
2. Eject the Sky Viewing Card.
3. Wait for 30 Seconds.
4. Grab the Sky Viewing Card with the pins facing Horizontally.
5. Insert the viewing card into the reader.
6. Wait for the Software Recognition of the Sky Viewing Card.

If the card functions normally now, the software should immediately give a prompt to add the card to your devices. If not, then the card is still inactive and needs more fixing!

Note: There are designations of the card’s surface as to how it must be inserted.

Solution #3 Refresh the Viewing Card

A software solution to the problem rather than a hardware one is to Refresh the Card.

This is an available option in your Sky Box settings, that flushes the generated cache of the card and resolves any problems with its chip.

It’s great for whenever your card cannot pass by the setup or is suddenly not recognized by the system of your Sky TV Box.

How to Refresh Sky Viewing Card:

1. Grab your Box’s Remote.
2. Navigate to Home.
3. Press Settings.
4. Select System Info.
5. Highlight “Viewing Card Number”.
6. Select Setup on the right-hand side.
7. Press “Use” to trigger the callback and refresh.

The process’s estimated time is around 30 – 60 seconds, although it could take longer based on the box’s performance.

Leave the device uninterrupted for as long as required.

Note: Once the Sky Viewing Card is refreshed, a Software Setup Prompt should occur.

Solution #4 Clean the Viewing Card & Card Reader

The next step you should try is Cleaning the Viewing Card along with the Card Reader!

The moment you insert the Viewing Card inside your box, it must be recognised by the card reader.

If there’s debris or any sort of obstructions between the reader and the card, your Viewing device will not be recognised by the system.

In that regard, let’s clean it:

1. Open the Sky Viewing Card slot.
2. Take out the Card First.
3. Gently pull the Card Reader Along.
4. Once both devices are removed, grab a Slightly Wet Cloth.
5. Begin collecting all dust on the reader and the card.
6. Wait for the devices to Fully Dry Up.
7. Re-insert the reader, followed by the Sky Viewing Card.
8. Test…

Inserting the Sky Viewing Card or Card Reader inside of the box while still wet, may result in a serious hardware malfunction. Stand by until both devices are completely dried out.

Note: You could use another cloth to speed up the drying of the reader and the card.

Solution #5 Update your Box’s Software

Chances are that your Sky Box is running Outdated Software and this is the reason why the Viewing Card is not recognized.

You could easily upload the latest software on your Sky Box, as long as it is supported and not out of service.

Either way, here’s how to update the software of your Sky TV Box:

1. Navigate to Settings on your box.
2. Choose Setup.
3. Click Software Download.
4. The search should take somewhere between 10-15 Seconds.
5. Press “Update” and wait…

Many users have admitted that their box took around 10 minutes to complete the update.

What you should be aware of is not accidentally cancelling the update’s download and then uploading. Wait out the complete process before interacting with the box in any way.

Note: Once your box has finished the update, it will reboot and will be ready to go!

Solution #6 Reset the Box & Viewing Card

Quite frankly, resetting your box and Sky Viewing Card has to be done separately.

A reset on your cable box means erasing all of the stored information, alongside bugs and software issues impacting the card itself.

However, resetting the Sky Viewing Card will result in a total Data Reset of the card, which is another way to settle things.

Let’s begin with the Card Reset, considered easier and quicker:

How to Reset Sky Viewing Card:

1. Turn your box OFF.
2. Take the Card Out.
3. Replug the box.
4. On your remote, press Sky and then Hit 1, 0, and 8 in consecutive order.
5. Place the card back inside your box.
6. Test the functionality.

How to Reset a Sky Digi/HD Box:

• Press and hold the Red Reset Button behind the “My Sky Panel” on the front

The fix that is obvious is to Replace the Viewing Card if none of our solutions worked.

Although contacting Sky is an option, they’ll hardly be able to do anything, if you’ve already tried all of the possible solutions. Get a new card, and get your viewing going!

Alert: Do not interact with your box while it is still resetting

Quick Recap:

Thus, to fix when the Sky Viewing Card doesn’t get paired, refresh your system and Power Cycle the Sky Box. Next, update the box and refresh the Viewing Card in the system settings. Finally, clean the Viewing Card and Factory Reset your TV Box!

Wrapping Up:

Today we’ve learned why the Sky Viewing Card not paired and what could potentially prevent your software from detecting the device.

Especially with older Sky TV Boxes, external devices could undergo setup issues when connecting to the system.

If you still have questions or the problem isn’t resolved, contact Sky’s Support Team!

Read Next: Can I Get a Free Replacement Sky Remote?