Find out more about Sky+

How to get Sky+

• Sky+ is available for a one-off cost of either £99 or £149 for the box, depending on the package you sign to. Applies when ordered online at Sky.com.
  

An installation fee applies - weekend appointments are available. There's no subscription charge to use the Sky+ box as long as you remain a Sky subscriber.

There's also a high-definition version of Sky+, the Sky HD box

For more details about Sky+, and to order, see the Sky+ site (or Sky Ireland).

Sky+ is available direct from Sky Digital and requires installation by a Sky engineer. Your Sky dish will need to have two cable feeds run from the Sky dish to the Sky+ Digibox. Normal Sky installations only require one cable feed from the satellite dish LNB, but as the Sky+ box has two tuners (to allow simultaneous viewing and recording of different channels), then two feeds from the dish are required.

Like standard Sky boxes, the Sky+ box must also be connected to a UK phone line.

It is possible to buy a Sky+ box from sources other than Sky, and fit them yourself. This is not recommended by Sky - it means fitting an LNB to your dish (if the LNB doesn't have multiple outputs), then running satellite cabling from dish to box. Sky has to enable Sky+ on your set-top box (not always easy if you didn't get the box from them).

We also understand that Sky Technical Support won't support systems that they didn't install. If you fancy doing it yourself, see Satcure's guide. For most people, it's a lot easier to get Sky's professional installers to do the work.

If you're looking to get Sky in other rooms of your house, there are a few options that we cover in more detail in our Sky FAQ:

• You can connect the output of your Sky digibox to another TV set in the house by running an aerial cable from the Sky box RF output aerial socket to another TV telly. You can also use a Sky Link so you can change channels from the other room. More on this in our Sky FAQ.
• To save running cables, you may be able to use a wireless video sender.
• Consider getting a second Sky Digital box - Sky Multiroom

To check which version of software your Sky+ box is using, press the Services button, System Setup menu, option 5, 'System Details'.

You can force your Sky box to update to the latest software. The procedure can be found on the Satcure FAQ.

Please visit our Sky forum to discuss version numbers and updates.

Why do I have to connect my Sky+ box to a phone line, and what happens if I don't?

Sky Digital customers get subsidised installation and digibox provided that the box has a connection to your phone line. This is so that the box can be used with Interactive services, so that Sky knows when you're watched a pay-to-view event, and so that Sky can check that multiroom subscriptions are on the same telephone number.
From the Sky terms and conditions (Feb 2004):

"We will supply a free Digital Satellite System (Digibox, Minidish and remote control) provided that you pay for installation and sign the Interactive Discount Contract with Marketing Contributions Limited.
Under this offer you agree to have your Digital Satellite System installed in the UK by a professional installer (see below for the cost of this). You also agree to keep your telephone line (which must be fixed and operational) connected to your Digibox and a viewing card in the Digibox, for at least 12 months. If any of these offer terms or any terms of the Interactive Discount Contract are broken, you agree to reimburse our costs of providing your Digital Satellite System of up to £120 to Sky. Your liability to pay this amount will arise following notice from Sky that you are in breach and if you subsequently fail to remedy the breach within the reasonable time period stated in the notice."

You can connect a video or DVD recorder to your Sky+ box, to allow you to copy shows recorded on your Sky+ box... great for archiving series recorded using Sky's Series Link. Note that there is a restriction on copying Sky Box Office movies.
Connection to a recorder can be made from one of the Sky+ box's two SCART sockets, or (in lower quality) via the RF aerial output. For help with connecting to a recorder, see our Connection page.

There are different versions of Sky+ boxes, from different manufacturers. If you know the dimensions of a box we're missing, please contact us. Here are the box dimensions that we've managed to find so far :

• Pace Sky+ Box v1: 422 x 355 x 74 mm
• Pace Sky+ Box v2: 380 x 243 x 72 mm
• Sky 160 Box: 360 x 242 x 68.5 mm
• Thomson Sky HD Box: 380 x 243 x 72 mm

Other problems: If your remote is working, but isn't controlling the Sky box, you may have pressed the TV button, so press Sky and try again. The only thing that can wrong with a remote control, is if it's left without batteries for more than ten minutes - if this happens, it may lose it's ability to control the TV. It should still be fine with Sky / Sky+ though. To get the remote to work with your TV, you need to enter a four digit number that matches your TV manufacturer. Refer to your Sky / Sky+ manual for these codes.

Replacement: Spare remote controls for Sky and Sky+ are available from eSpares or Partmaster.

You could also consider a universal controller, that can handle multiple remote control devices. Our favourite is the Kameleon, a stylish multi-device controller that can learn commands from an existing handset, or use one of a number of special codes for situations where you don't have the original. Also, take a look at the range from Argos or

The technically-minded out there may be interested in the hidden "installer" menu, that can be accessed by pressing 'Services 4 0 1 Select':

Yes - if you wish, you can buy your own Sky+ box, rather than having to go through Sky. Note that this will only work if you have two separate feeds from the satellite dish (your dish will need an LNB with multiple outputs). Once connected, you'll need to call Sky Customer Services to get them to "marry" the serial number of your new Sky+ box to your Sky viewing card, and then to activate the Sky+ subscription. Obviously Sky won't activate a box unless they're happy that it's legitimate, and you're not misusing your account by swapping cards between boxes on a regular basis.

If you're brave, you can pick up a Sky+ box cheaply on Ebay

The Sky+ box supports 'padding' or recording offset, which is a setting that allows you to add a number of minutes of recording time to the scheduled start and end times of programmes. This means that the box will record a few extra minutes in case a program doesn't start quite when it should, for occasions where the Sky+ EPG isn't aware of overruns. To edit the settings, press Services, and select Sky+ setup.

We've been asked what the SkyPlus cabling (running from dish to box) looks like. Here's a photo of our Sky+ cabling. Click the image for a larger photo.

There's a hidden feature to allow the (advanced) user to perform a tidy on the Sky+ hard disk, which is a little bit like a PC defragment. Many users have found that this has recovered valuable disk space.
If you want to give it a try, you need to go into the Installer menu (see above, and select the "Sky+ Planner rebuild" option).