Bad weather may cause problems for satellite and internet TV viewers in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Sunday.
- Communications infrastructure could be affected by snow and ice.
- Build up of snow can knock out your TV picture.
- Some households more vulnerable to internet TV outages.
Heavy snow, with accumulations of up to 40 cm over the higher ground of the Pennines and Lake District could cause problems for TV viewers.
The area of snow will form on the boundary of warm air to the south and colder air to the north.
The weather is likely to cause ‘no signal’ messages on some satellite TV receivers. It may also cause internet and mobile outages. Freeview relay transmitters could also be impacted due to weather-related power supply issues.
Sky satellite and Freesat
During heavy snowfall, Sky satellite and Freesat receivers may display a “no signal” message.
This could be due to accumulations of snow on satellite dishes or LNB – the unit that sits at the end of the arm in front of the dish – which will stop the signal reaching your receiver.
The snow expected on Sunday is of the type that is more prone to cause disruption.
With temperatures around or just above freezing, heavy, sticky snow is expected to fall. It’s the result of wet snowflakes that partially melt before reaching the ground, causing them to stick to surfaces. In contrast, in colder temperatures, powdery snow is less likely to rapidly accumulate on satellite dishes.
While reception of live channels may not be possible, catch-up and on-demand services like Netflix and Disney+ and Sky Sports+ streams may continue to work, as these services are delivered via broadband internet.
Sky has a ‘no signal’ troubleshooter for subscribers on its website.
Internet-based TV services
Snow and ice may affect internet-based services like Sky Stream, Freely and EE TV, plus all streaming apps.
But the risk of this happening depends on how your home is connected to the internet.
Overground telephone wires/fibre broadband cables – from a nearby telephone pole – are susceptible to the build up of ice, in the same way as overground power cables. A snapped cable somewhere along the line means loss of service.
Mobile broadband (4G/5G) may also be affected by power cuts to the local mast.
And Starlink users may also lose internet connectivity in snowy conditions.
Freely TVs should automatically switch to the digital terrestrial television (DTT) signal if broadband internet connection is lost and the smart TV is connected to a traditional TV aerial. EE TV boxes also have an aerial mode, to fall back to the terrestrial TV signal if connectivity fails. Sky Glass TVs also have an inbuilt terrestrial tuner as a back-up. This will only work if the TV is connected to an aerial.
Freeview
Freeview – as Digital Terrestrial TV is known in the UK – would go down for all homes in your area if there’s a fault at your local transmitter. Most faults usually affect smaller relay sites serving rural communities where there is no back-up when there’s a power cut.
If you have lost your Freeview signal, you can check the status of your local transmitter online, to see if it’s a transmitter fault.
Engineers will be monitoring all transmitter sites. But there will be a major focus on main transmitter sites due to the millions of homes covered by these sites. In the 1960s, the original TV mast at Emley Moor in Yorkshire collapsed due to ice build up on support cables. Today, engineers are more clued up on how to avoid a repeat incident.
However, heavy snow can also cause homegrown problems with TV reception. So if the local transmitter is not to blame, check to see if your aerial and cable up to the aerial are affected by the weather. Contact an aerial installer for assistance, as a fix may involve working at height.
By: Marc Thornham