Sky+ vs Sky Q - can you downgrade?

uk_dave&gill · 6th March 2017, 17:03

Not for us, we've got Sky+ and it's working fine for us

It's for my mum, now 83. She's had Sky+ for years, and was very adept at using it, but the box/card developed problems. She was paying just £10 a month for basic Free To Air channels, and to be able to record, and foolishly perhaps, I suggested she paid for an Original Bundle subscription and a new box

Trouble is, the new box is Sky Q. Now I can see that it's very fancy and slick, but it doesn't seem as intuitive to me, although I guess if you were used to Q and had to switch to +, it would probably present the same learning curve. I find it hard to see which programmes have been watched, and also it's not so easy, IMHO, to find progs from an A-Z list as from a "date recorded" list. Also the list doesn't fill the screen, rather it's squeezed to one side. Today she asked if I could find a "Midsomer Murders" she'd recorded. Going into Recordings said there were 5 episodes, but choosing Recent found 6!

Bless my mum, she's trying her best with it, but I am wondering if there might be some way to get her a Sky+ box instead?

Any advice appreciated!

Rooney · 6th March 2017, 17:17

They're plug & play so any sky + box that hasn't been blocked would work for her - have you not still got your old one?

You can buy them on gumtree and eBay pretty cheaply, sky won't supply a sky + box now because they're going to end technical support for them in 2019.

If you get stuck I have one in my loft that you could have for the cost of postage.

uk_dave&gill · 6th March 2017, 17:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by g.mc.g

They're plug & play so any sky + box that hasn't been blocked would work for her - have you not still got your old one?

You can buy them on gumtree and eBay pretty cheaply, sky won't supply a sky + box now because they're going to end technical support for them in 2019.

If you get stuck I have one in my loft that you could have for the cost of postage.

Yes, she's still got the old one, but there were problems with it/the remote - it wouldn't do anything and then it suddenly did the last 10 presses at once! This is part of why she was getting fed up with it, plus the card was so old it didn't work properly and not sure the new Q one would work with Plus?

Just been Googling this (and interestingly, one of the Google results that has turned up is for this thread, which apparently was posted 10 hours ago!) and it would seem the LNB is different too, so probably £££ to change it back?

Thanks for the offer of the box btw, but if we can't get Sky to do something, then probably best to stick with the Q in case there are any other issues!

sworks · 6th March 2017, 18:04

We had an issue with a massive delay in pressing the remote buttons and something happening, looking on line it just needed a programme rebuild which sorted it

Rooney · 6th March 2017, 18:11

TBH I hated Q when we got it - love it now.

I'm sure your mum will get to grips with it - it just takes time.

And time invokes new features such as the shows selected for you which learns from your viewing habits and makes suggestions based on them.

If it were me, I'd be encouraging her to hang in there

uk_dave&gill · 6th March 2017, 18:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by sworks

We had an issue with a massive delay in pressing the remote buttons and something happening, looking on line it just needed a programme rebuild which sorted it

Tried this a few times but didn't really work sadly

uk_dave&gill · 6th March 2017, 18:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by g.mc.g

If it were me, I'd be encouraging her to hang in there

Problem is, she is terrible with technology!

I'd just about got to the point where she wasn't phoning to ask how to do something with Sky+ (calls were just asking why it had locked up and how to fix it - "switch it off at the wall and then back on again") but then she'd need help on using the DVD player. Once she'd remastered this it was back to Sky+ again!

At least us having Plus meant that I could talk her through stuff step by step, but I'm equally clueless with Q!

Kennyeth · 7th March 2017, 06:06

I can understand why people well into their senior years struggle with tech.
I am fairly savvy with it and the first couple of months was a whole lot different to the Sky+ and even now I forget to jump back from delete and have to go and un-delete sometimes

I would call Sky, they are very good, well I have always found them to be good.
As suggested, there are thousands of older boxes up and down the WWW.
Ken.

uk_dave&gill · 7th March 2017, 07:40

Next time I am round at her house, we'll have a go at phoning Sky (don't want to do it from here as they always ask to speak to the account holder, fair enough)

Ideally though, if they can help, I'd hope that there are a few new boxes floating around their warehouses, as a secondhand one might throw up exactly the same issues as she had before! (no disrespect meant to the one that g.mc.g has in his loft as I'm sure that one is fine!)

6th March 2017, 17:03	#1
uk_dave&gill This is my second home .. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Town Posts: 4,166 Thanks: 1 Thanked 189 Times in 105 Posts	Sky+ vs Sky Q - can you downgrade? Not for us, we've got Sky+ and it's working fine for us It's for my mum, now 83. She's had Sky+ for years, and was very adept at using it, but the box/card developed problems. She was paying just £10 a month for basic Free To Air channels, and to be able to record, and foolishly perhaps, I suggested she paid for an Original Bundle subscription and a new box Trouble is, the new box is Sky Q. Now I can see that it's very fancy and slick, but it doesn't seem as intuitive to me, although I guess if you were used to Q and had to switch to +, it would probably present the same learning curve. I find it hard to see which programmes have been watched, and also it's not so easy, IMHO, to find progs from an A-Z list as from a "date recorded" list. Also the list doesn't fill the screen, rather it's squeezed to one side. Today she asked if I could find a "Midsomer Murders" she'd recorded. Going into Recordings said there were 5 episodes, but choosing Recent found 6! Bless my mum, she's trying her best with it, but I am wondering if there might be some way to get her a Sky+ box instead? Any advice appreciated! __________________ Dave

6th March 2017, 18:04	#4
sworks Been absent for a while… Rover 75 Tourer, Classic mini Cooper S, Abarth 595 competizione, MG TF and a Hyundai Tucson PHEV Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cumbria Posts: 13,065 Thanks: 1,033 Thanked 1,686 Times in 1,040 Posts	We had an issue with a massive delay in pressing the remote buttons and something happening, looking on line it just needed a programme rebuild which sorted it __________________ ................................................. 'Marmite' Possibly one of the most famous 75 tourers produced! left the production line as the last of only Three Rover 75 tourers produced in Trophy Yellow. 48 hours later Longbridge closed. The last sold ordered 75 Tourer. Paid for by the Phoenix Four and handed over by John Towers to the Warwickshire Northampton Air ambulance service as a Rapid Response vehicle

7th March 2017, 07:40	#9
uk_dave&gill This is my second home .. Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Town Posts: 4,166 Thanks: 1 Thanked 189 Times in 105 Posts	Next time I am round at her house, we'll have a go at phoning Sky (don't want to do it from here as they always ask to speak to the account holder, fair enough) Ideally though, if they can help, I'd hope that there are a few new boxes floating around their warehouses, as a secondhand one might throw up exactly the same issues as she had before! (no disrespect meant to the one that g.mc.g has in his loft as I'm sure that one is fine!) __________________ Dave

6th March 2017, 17:17	#2
Rooney Suspended MG ZT 135+ Rover 75 CDTi Tourer, 75 2.5 V6 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: County Antrim Posts: 2,027 Thanks: 835 Thanked 882 Times in 557 Posts	They're plug & play so any sky + box that hasn't been blocked would work for her - have you not still got your old one? You can buy them on gumtree and eBay pretty cheaply, sky won't supply a sky + box now because they're going to end technical support for them in 2019. If you get stuck I have one in my loft that you could have for the cost of postage.

6th March 2017, 18:11	#5
Rooney Suspended MG ZT 135+ Rover 75 CDTi Tourer, 75 2.5 V6 Saloon Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: County Antrim Posts: 2,027 Thanks: 835 Thanked 882 Times in 557 Posts	TBH I hated Q when we got it - love it now. I'm sure your mum will get to grips with it - it just takes time. And time invokes new features such as the shows selected for you which learns from your viewing habits and makes suggestions based on them. If it were me, I'd be encouraging her to hang in there

7th March 2017, 06:06	#8
Kennyeth This is my second home No more Rover Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Posts: 5,881 Thanks: 1,625 Thanked 1,308 Times in 998 Posts	I can understand why people well into their senior years struggle with tech. I am fairly savvy with it and the first couple of months was a whole lot different to the Sky+ and even now I forget to jump back from delete and have to go and un-delete sometimes I would call Sky, they are very good, well I have always found them to be good. As suggested, there are thousands of older boxes up and down the WWW. Ken.