FTA What to do next?

Hobart

I recieved a FTA card today, bought it off another boards user. So what do I do next with it? How do I set it up on my home system? Is there an idiots guide somewhere here that will point me in the right direction, nothing in the stickies seem to go into it? I tried searching for FTA, but no 3 letter searches allowed so I'm stumped . Thanks in advance for the replies.

Hobart.

Ronan|Raven

You bought a ftv card for the uk channels yes? If so then just bang it into the reciever and leave it for a while and it should update assuming it hasnt been in use for a while. After a while you should get the channels onto your epg or so my understanding is of it.

Hobart

Thanks for the reply. So do I have to remove my sky card and slot the card into that slot, or should I insert the new card in the other slot on my decoder? It's a pace box btw.

ShaneOC

You have to remove your subscription card and put in the FTV card. Also disconnect the phone line to the digibox (if connected) while the FTV card is in the box.

Hobart

Thanks for that Shane.

Ulsterman 1690

If you are using a UK FTV card outside the UK its important to
MAKE SURE YOU DONT HAVE THE PHONELINE PLUGGED INTO THE BOX while youre using it

If you have the box less than a year though make sure you plug the line back in when youre not using the FTV card

intersplat

Ulsterman 1690 wrote:

If you are using a UK FTV card outside the UK its important to
MAKE SURE YOU DONT HAVE THE PHONELINE PLUGGED INTO THE BOX while youre using it

Why is that Ulsterman ?

Ulsterman 1690

Because if the box dials up sky theyll know (through caller id) that the card is being used outside the UK and could switch off your card.

Granted its more likely to happen to people using subbscription cards in mainland Europe but they could if they wanted to get nitpicky use it to catch out UK FTV cardholders in the Republic

intersplat

So your telling me that when the box dials 0800 it will get through to the Sky modem in the UK ? Have you tried dialing 0800 in the republic ?

The numbers for dialing are stored in the card not the box. When you insert the card in the box it can only ring a UK number . So for it to dial 0800 731 xxx is impossible from a landline in Ireland. A prefix of +44 would have to be inserted then the 0 stripped . I think not....

Ulsterman 1690

Surely Sky can signal the box to dial 0044800, 1800 or whatever it likes in the same way that they can signal the box to activate/deactivate cards put red dot logos on screen, update software or regionalise the EPG ????

Tony

Ulsterman 1690 wrote:

Surely Sky can signal the box to dial 0044800, 1800 or whatever it likes in the same way that they can signal the box to activate/deactivate cards put red dot logos on screen, update software or regionalise the EPG ????

why would sky signal a box to dial 0044? Its more likely that when callback fails when dial tone is present it may deactivate the card. Best to leave it disconnected from landline

intersplat

Tony wrote:

why would sky signal a box to dial 0044? Its more likely that when callback fails when dial tone is present it may deactivate the card. Best to leave it disconnected from landline

In that case they would deactivate thousands of boxes across the UK that are not connected
properly . Oh and to getting back to the point why in the first place would they ask a freesat box to do a call back ? Look it just does not happen. But if you must unplug the line unplug the esb as they might report you and don't ever tell your granny as the sky police will be around.

Tony

intersplat wrote:

In that case they would deactivate thousands of boxes across the UK that are not connected
properly ..

what do you mean "not connected properly", they will either have dial tone or they wont. They may initiate a callback to collect data, who knows, in any case there is no need to have a phoneline connected when using an FTV card so safer just to disconnect. There have been cases where sky cards and freesat cards have been deactivated when the phone line was connecte and located in the wrong jurisdiction, very rare but it can happen so why take the chance

byte

I suppose, Sky aren't going to know if there's a dialtone, as it can't dial a 0800 number from ROI, and thus has no way of telling if there's a dialtone. Then again, maybe it's part of the software, "if dialtone is detected but callback fails after X tries, decommission the card" . (does even adding a 0044 prefix make any difference due to the number being freefone in UK only?)

Ulsterman 1690

RE 0800 numbers being free in UK only
There are at least two ways around this
Set up an Irish 1800 number ot
set up an international freephone 00800 number

Or just let it dial the UK 0044800 number as a chargable call given that the viewer "isint supposed to" use the FTV card outside the UK in the first place

legend99

If its a new FreeSat card from Sky you actually need to ring them up to activate it right? it doesn't just self activate?

Macy

legend99 wrote:

If its a new FreeSat card from Sky you actually need to ring them up to activate it right? it doesn't just self activate?

Yeah, even if it does say it will self activate on the letter :rolleyes:

You need the version number and serial number of the box (services, 4, 5 I think), and obviouly the card number.

Also, last card I activated they were looking for the software version as well (same page as the version and serial number). Probably to do with the software updates...