How to get a Sky FTV card in Ireland for £20!

gtg60

So, what is a Sky FTV or Freesat from Sky card?
This is Sky's answer to Freesat and costs a one off fee of £20 (lasts 5~6 years) and if you're using a Sky box without a card for the FTA channels it is a welcome addition because not only will you get these extra channels:
Fiver
Fiver +1
Five US
Five US +1
Sky3
Channel4 HD (If you've a HD box)
But it will give you the correct regions so for here you would get BBC1 NI, UTV etc, you also get to watch all of the channels programming and not end up with certain shows being 'restricted'.
Problem is these cards aren't actually available outside the UK and if you don't have a friend or relative in the UK it's always been difficult/ expensive to get a Sky FTV card, well now you can get yourself one for the paltry price of £20 (I did this last week and it cost €22.86), here's how:

Firstly, goto this webpage:
https://mysky.sky.com/replacecard/get-a-card
And click on the link that says 'Don't have a viewing card?'

Fill in the blanks, carefully following this format:
In About you put your own name
In Your Address Details for:
House name/no* put the first line of your address followed by your town e.g. 1 Any Street, Sometown
Street* put your county e.g. Somecounty
Town* put EIRE
Postcode* put in a postcode from Northern Ireland, just Google for an address and get the postcode from that, it will follow the format BT* ***
In Your Contact Details you can put any made up email address but you MUST have a valid UK phone number, Google again and find a UK company and take the phone number from that, they are generally 11 digits long.
Tick the box to agree to the terms and then click NEXT.
(If you've made a mistake or filled in an invalid phone number or postcode it will redirect you to the same page, change the info until it works).

You will be directed to the Payment page, just fill in your credit card details as normal, it doesn't even matter that it's not an English credit card!
Then click NEXT and wait about a week for the card to arrive in the post.

When the card arrives, put it in your Sky box, if you're lucky it'll work straight away and you'll have UTV on 103 and Channel 5 on 105. If not it'll just say 'This card is not authorised please call broadcaster'.

Before you do call, you'll need to have a few things ready, put the card in the Sky box and press 'Services' then '4' then '5' on your remote, you should be on the SYSTEM DETAILS page.
Turn the caller ID off on your mobile.
Ring the Freesat from Sky number 0044 8442 411602
Pressed button 2 to 'activate new card'
You'll get put through to a rep and just tell them you'd like to 'Authorise your new Freesat from Sky card', they'll probably ask for your name and address, just quote them the name and address from the first line that was on the envelope the new card came in. That should suffice, if pushed follow that up with 'Northern Ireland'
The rep will then ask you to go to your TV and get to system details, you can let them know you're already there and ready to give them the info, they'll ask for practically all the info quoted on that page, read it off carefully. The rep will then tell you it's activated but may take 2~4 hours to work, say 'Thanks very much' and hang up! Usually the card will be activated once you exit the menu but it may indeed take 2~4hours, if it's not make sure you leave it on a Sky scrambled channel like Sky3 until it clears.

And it's as simple as that.

This is a condensed guide from another thread and thanks goes to Mark_irl and babaloushka, if it helps you out please click on the thumps up thanks button.

bmaxi

What if you don't want NI epg? Personally I'd rather suffer death by a thousand cuts than watch UTV.

Tony

The OP has gone to a lot of trouble to write that guide and this is the best response you can come up? Why not just say thanks or better still nothing at all.

Thanks OP

bmaxi wrote: »

What if you don't want NI epg? Personally I'd rather suffer death by a thousand cuts than watch UTV.

gtg60

bmaxi wrote: »

What if you don't want NI epg? Personally I'd rather suffer death by a thousand cuts than watch UTV.

I suppose you could chance putting a UK postcode in, don't know how likely it would be to get to you though. Sure instead of you having to 'suffer death by a thousand cuts' why don't you chance it and let us know how you get on?

IrishHomer

gtg60 wrote: »

So, what is a Sky FTV or Freesat from Sky card?
This is Sky's answer to Freesat and costs a one off fee of £20 (lasts 5~6 years) and if you're using a Sky box without a card for the FTA channels it is a welcome addition because not only will you get these extra channels:
Fiver
Fiver +1
Five US
Five US +1
Sky3
Channel4 HD (If you've a HD box)
But it will give you the correct regions so for here you would get BBC1 NI, UTV etc, you also get to watch all of the channels programming and not end up with certain shows being 'restricted'.
Problem is these cards aren't actually available outside the UK and if you don't have a friend or relative in the UK it's always been difficult/ expensive to get a Sky FTV card, well now you can get yourself one for the paltry price of £20 (I did this last week and it cost €22.86), here's how:

Firstly, goto this webpage:
https://mysky.sky.com/replacecard/get-a-card
And click on the link that says 'Don't have a viewing card?'

Fill in the blanks, carefully following this format:
In About you put your own name
In Your Address Details for:
House name/no* put the first line of your address followed by your town e.g. 1 Any Street, Sometown
Street* put your county e.g. Somecounty
Town* put EIRE
Postcode* put in a postcode from Northern Ireland, just Google for an address and get the postcode from that, it will follow the format BT* ***
In Your Contact Details you can put any made up email address but you MUST have a valid UK phone number, Google again and find a UK company and take the phone number from that, they are generally 11 digits long.
Tick the box to agree to the terms and then click NEXT.
(If you've made a mistake or filled in an invalid phone number or postcode it will redirect you to the same page, change the info until it works).

You will be directed to the Payment page, just fill in your credit card details as normal, it doesn't even matter that it's not an English credit card!
Then click NEXT and wait about a week for the card to arrive in the post.

When the card arrives, put it in your Sky box, if you're lucky it'll work straight away and you'll have UTV on 103 and Channel 5 on 105. If not it'll just say 'This card is not authorised please call broadcaster'.

Before you do call, you'll need to have a few things ready, put the card in the Sky box and press 'Services' then '4' then '5' on your remote, you should be on the SYSTEM DETAILS page.
Turn the caller ID off on your mobile.
Ring the Freesat from Sky number 0044 8442 411602
Pressed button 2 to 'activate new card'
You'll get put through to a rep and just tell them you'd like to 'Authorise your new Freesat from Sky card', they'll probably ask for your name and address, just quote them the name and address from the first line that was on the envelope the new card came in. That should suffice, if pushed follow that up with 'Northern Ireland'
The rep will then ask you to go to your TV and get to system details, you can let them know you're already there and ready to give them the info, they'll ask for practically all the info quoted on that page, read it off carefully. The rep will then tell you it's activated but may take 2~4 hours to work, say 'Thanks very much' and hang up! Usually the card will be activated once you exit the menu but it may indeed take 2~4hours, if it's not make sure you leave it on a Sky scrambled channel like Sky3 until it clears.

And it's as simple as that.

This is a condensed guide from another thread and thanks goes to Mark_irl and babaloushka, if it helps you out please click on the thumps up thanks button.

Thanks a milliion and well done i rally appreciate this info and assistance.

Just curious GTG60 do you know will the card record on a + box??

Dman001

Is it £20 or €20 for the card? I have €20 on a 3V card and Id be tempted to get one.

Tony

IrishHomer wrote: »

Just curious GTG60 do you know will the card record on a + box??

Afraid not , a sky sub is needed for this AFAIK although someone recently did allude to recording some FTA channels without a sub.

IrishHomer

I just ordered one i will be sh****ng bricks though calling Sky

bmaxi

Tony wrote: »

The OP has gone to a lot of trouble to write that guide and this is the best response you can come up? Why not just say thanks or better still nothing at all.

Thanks OP

I'm not ungrateful to the OP, I'm just stating a fact and posing a question, I don't need lectures on how to use prose, I'll know where not to go. If the OP is not offended, why should you be?

Tony

I'm not offended. I'm not lecturing you I also asked a question, is that the best response you could have come up with? If you dont want to watch UTV then come up with another solution and as the OP says let us know how you get on.

bmaxi wrote: »

I'm not ungrateful to the OP, I'm just stating a fact and posing a question, I don't need lectures on how to use prose, I'll know where not to go. If the OP is not offended, why should you be?

ScrubsfanChris

Good job OP, Thanks.
Now if they would add E4 HD

baubl

Tony wrote: »

Afraid not , a sky sub is needed for this AFAIK although someone recently did allude to recording some FTA channels without a sub.

what is a sky sub, also, can i get a fta card that include rte1 rte2 tv3 as well as other channels, if so where can this be obtained

Dman001

You need to subscribe to Sky to access the recording feature on a Sky+ Box. You have to subscribe to SKy to get the Irish channels too.

Finne1993

Tony wrote: »

Afraid not , a sky sub is needed for this AFAIK although someone recently did allude to recording some FTA channels without a sub.

I have an old blue sky viewing card that allows me to record the FTV and FTA channels on a sky+ box, thanks to steveon for informing me some FTV cards will work on Sky+ but as far as I know it would have to be an old UK subscription card that was paired up to a Sky+ box but the sky sub was cancelled and the Sky+ features remain active when cancelled.
Its probably a long shot but it would be interesting to see what would happen if I got one of the new cards and paired it up to a Sky+ box when I make the phonecall to activate it?

Apogee

Finne1993 wrote: »

Its probably a long shot but it would be interesting to see what would happen if I got one of the new cards and paired it up to a Sky+ box when I make the phonecall to activate it?

A FTV card is not the same as an ex-subscription UK card, despite the fact that both will provide you with the FTV channels. The ex-sub would have had Sky+ recording facilities enabled on it at some point, but the same is not true for the FTV card.

tomslick

Just ordered one now so hope it gets here.

nikon1000

It's worth mentioning that the same card will put ITV 1 London on channel 993.

gtg60 wrote: »

I suppose you could chance putting a UK postcode in, don't know how likely it would be to get to you though. Sure instead of you having to 'suffer death by a thousand cuts' why don't you chance it and let us know how you get on?

d

bmaxi

Tony wrote: »

I'm not offended. I'm not lecturing you I also asked a question, is that the best response you could have come up with? If you dont want to watch UTV then come up with another solution and as the OP says let us know how you get on.

It's not my response, I intended no offence or ingratitude with that, it's your interpretation of my response.
If the OP is offended or thinks I'm ungrateful then I apologise but let him say it.

gtg60

bmaxi wrote: »

What if you don't want NI epg? Personally I'd rather suffer death by a thousand cuts than watch UTV.

Your tone was a little aggressive in fairness but I see your point, I grew up with BBC Wales and HTV so never took to UTV. Of course most people on here actually grew up with UTV so that's why they are interested in it.

I used the UK postcode to get something from the UK once, so it's worth a punt but I was only going to recommend the way that me and the other guys have already had success with.

Either way regional variations don't bother me as I don't use my Sky FTV card in a Sky box, so I can put any BBC or ITV in my list of channels using ANY FTV card.

Apogee

Thanks to gtg60 for the guide and Mark_irl and babaloushka for drawing attention to this in the earlier thread.

Just a reminder - make sure you note down the valid UK telephone number you entered when signing up for the card, as they may request this as verifcation when getting the card activated.

bmaxi

gtg60 wrote: »

Your tone was a little aggressive in fairness but I see your point, I grew up with BBC Wales and HTV so never took to UTV. Of course most people on here actually grew up with UTV so that's why they are interested in it.

I used the UK postcode to get something from the UK once, so it's worth a punt but I was only going to recommend the way that me and the other guys have already had success with.

Either way regional variations don't bother me as I don't use my Sky FTV card in a Sky box, so I can put any BBC or ITV in my list of channels using ANY FTV card.

I assure you I didn't intend to be aggressive or offensive, I'm sure lots of people would share my opinion of UTV. My reply was directed at the thread, not specifically at you. I asked what I considered a straightforward question and stated the reason why. Perhaps I could have phrased it differently but I honestly didn't see anything wrong with what I wrote.

wheelieb

Can you get sky1, 2 etc, sifi and rest with this card or just Five, fiver etc?

Tony

bmaxi wrote: »

Perhaps I could have phrased it differently but I honestly didn't see anything wrong with what I wrote.

Fair enough

gtg60

wheelieb wrote: »

Can you get sky1, 2 etc, sifi and rest with this card or just Five, fiver etc?

Just the FTA channels and those extra's listed, please read the first post carefully.

Doesn't every UK address have a Road or street in the name?

So for the people here that live in a rural area and would use an address like

Townland
Village
County

would need to use:


Townland Road
Village
County


How do the Sky reps on the phone not cop on to the fact the town is called EIRE?
Or that the county is not a UK county?

Anyway if it works, good stuff - thanks for the tip OP!

FREEBBC

gtg60 wrote: »

So, what is a Sky FTV or Freesat from Sky card?
This is Sky's answer to Freesat and costs a one off fee of £20 (lasts 5~6 years) and if you're using a Sky box without a card for the FTA channels it is a welcome addition because not only will you get these extra channels:
Fiver
Fiver +1
Five US
Five US +1
Sky3
Channel4 HD (If you've a HD box)
But it will give you the correct regions so for here you would get BBC1 NI, UTV etc, you also get to watch all of the channels programming and not end up with certain shows being 'restricted'.

If you want to waste £20 for a sky card that you only watch the BBC and ITV's

please refer here

Save you £25 from UPC.

If your lazy to tune them channels in, grab a freesat box then

snaps

FREEBBC wrote: »

If you want to waste £20 for a sky card that you only watch the BBC and ITV's

please refer here

Save you £25 from UPC.

If your lazy to tune them channels in, grab a freesat box then

No Viva, Five R, Five USA, CH4 HD, Sky 3, on Freesat. Plus freesat has a very lmited red button interactive service compared to the full interactive on a sky box.

Finne1993

Ordered one there now myself for the hell of it, the folks still have a blue FTV card that works no problem and no "insert new sky viewing card" message coming up yet (Won't be long till it does I suspect) and it will be a good replacement for them.
I would'nt be surprised if this avenue is closed by Sky soon enough, this big town called EIRE might set a few alarm bells ringing!

JDxtra

Thanks OP.

I wonder if it would possible to activate a UK subscription on these cards? Without a UK bank card and a UK phone line is this possible?

The reason I ask is that an NI subscription would be useful as you will also get RTE in the EPG.

I assume the only reason Sky operate this scheme is to keep people away from the Freesat system. They can then easily convert users to a full subscription as the box and card are already in place.

gtg60

JDxtra wrote: »

I wonder if it would possible to activate a UK subscription on these cards? Without a UK bank card and a UK phone line is this possible?

I am thinking that it is all down to the Postcode, I reckon if you followed the guide and input a UK postcode then you'd be grand, it's how likely that you'd be to actual receive the card in the first place would worry me.

And you're correct, this is all about converting people to subscribers, they could easily sort the channel list so you only see what you are able to watch but how often do you see something listed on a channel you don't get? Happens to me all the time...

cc

Got my card today using the op's method. Had to ring sky to get it activated, but was really easy. She just asked for the viewing card number etc and details from the system screen, then my name, first line of my address and 'postcode'. She also asked to confirm my phone number, so remember to make note of your chosen UK phone number Was activated straight away.

I choose to use a NI postcode, as the ex-subscription card i had been using was an east midlands one, so now i have BBC NI, UTV as default. Also worth noting the RTE channels are on the EPG now in the 160's. Any chance these could ever become FTV for 'NI' sky subcribers in the future?

edit: just to note also, I didn't put "EIRE" in the address,I just put in my full Irish address and finished it off with a Belfast post code. On the envelope the post code was scribbled out and 'ROI' was written in biro.