Sky's encryption system is very strong indeed, espcially after Sky replaced ALL of the viewing cards back in 2004 (I think) when they thought the previous encryption system was in danger of being cracked. NOW TV Entertainment Pass for Sky’s TV channels including Sky Atlantic – £9.99/month; Amazon Prime Instant Video – £79 for a year, which comes down to £6.5/month – you get TV programmes + movies. This comes down to a total of £25.48 per month. (Even if you add a ONE TIME cost of a streamer – even a more expensive one – the. You can stream your favourite channels, including free-to-air favourites like ITV and Channel 4, and depending on your Sky TV subscription, great dramas on Sky Atlantic and live sport on Sky Sports. I would be using the Sky Go app on my Ipad Pro, buy the adaptor and watch it through the TV via the ipad app. Registered in England and Wales.
Last updated on July 18th, 2017
A rumour is spreading across social media that claims that SKY customers can unlock all of the channels on their SKY box simply by plugging their SKY TV remote into an available port on their broadband router with an Ethernet cable.
TL;DR – the rumour is false. There is no Ethernet port on the back of the remote, and following the instructions towards the end of the message will likely change the code your SKY remote uses to operate a TV set, meaning it may stop operating your TV set.
The rumour – (which appears to have originally appeared online in an article titled “This Sky Engineer Just got Fired & Released A Secret Hack To Get FREE Sky TV“) – claims that a relic feature that allowed SKY engineers to check faults across all SKY channels is still accessible by plugging the remote control into a router to download a firmware patch from SKY’s “central server”, which then unlocks all the channels.
The rumour can be seen below –
Secret life hack to get FREE Sky TV, that BSkyB don’t want you to know.
After being a Sky Tech since BSkyB digital launched in 1998, as part or the original tech team we were taught about a secret menu on the remote which is used to unlock all the Sky channels on a viewing card to allow access to ALL the Sky channels for testing and monitoring purposes.
Many people may remember that Area engineers like myself would turn up with laptop in hand to visit customers with faults that were escalated up from your standard Field Engineer to investigate symptoms that may be due to local interference.
This action was enforced at the time by OFCOM if the customer complained , and with the use of a Spectrum Analyser, and the Clients receiver, all channels could interrogated for cross modulation, interference and any other faults that would cause pixelation or loss of viewing, with a report submitted to prove BSkyB’s digital coverage was not at fault to avoid heavy fines.
What BSkyB does not want customers to know is that they still build this feature into the remote, hence the LAN port that is built into every Sky remote to date.
And the best thing is, there is no need for a Laptop to programme the remote at this is all performed over IP to a central server based at Sky when Sky HD was launched, using the same technology that On Demand utilises.
And better still, you do not even need an active Sky subscription, this will work on Cards that have been killed by Sky as the agreement from Ofcom has to also cover what was known at the time as Freesat from Sky.
By simply connecting the remote into a spare port of ANY router will download a firmware patch, this includes ANY broadband modems from any provider and only requires plugging in, the remote will do the rest automatically.
This will take around 60 seconds, but leave for up to 5 minutes to be on the safe side.
Now Press TV, Select and Red together, TV, and 0000, then Select will unlock all your Sky Channels for Free!!
You will know this has worked if the remotes LED lights blinks back at you.
Enjoy!
After being a Sky Tech since BSkyB digital launched in 1998, as part or the original tech team we were taught about a secret menu on the remote which is used to unlock all the Sky channels on a viewing card to allow access to ALL the Sky channels for testing and monitoring purposes.
Many people may remember that Area engineers like myself would turn up with laptop in hand to visit customers with faults that were escalated up from your standard Field Engineer to investigate symptoms that may be due to local interference.
This action was enforced at the time by OFCOM if the customer complained , and with the use of a Spectrum Analyser, and the Clients receiver, all channels could interrogated for cross modulation, interference and any other faults that would cause pixelation or loss of viewing, with a report submitted to prove BSkyB’s digital coverage was not at fault to avoid heavy fines.
What BSkyB does not want customers to know is that they still build this feature into the remote, hence the LAN port that is built into every Sky remote to date.
And the best thing is, there is no need for a Laptop to programme the remote at this is all performed over IP to a central server based at Sky when Sky HD was launched, using the same technology that On Demand utilises.
And better still, you do not even need an active Sky subscription, this will work on Cards that have been killed by Sky as the agreement from Ofcom has to also cover what was known at the time as Freesat from Sky.
By simply connecting the remote into a spare port of ANY router will download a firmware patch, this includes ANY broadband modems from any provider and only requires plugging in, the remote will do the rest automatically.
This will take around 60 seconds, but leave for up to 5 minutes to be on the safe side.
Now Press TV, Select and Red together, TV, and 0000, then Select will unlock all your Sky Channels for Free!!
You will know this has worked if the remotes LED lights blinks back at you.
Enjoy!
Of course, the rumour is false, and fails to make sense on a number of levels. Perhaps most obviously, you can’t plug your SKY remote into your router because the remote actually doesn’t have an Ethernet socket built into it. The socket at the back of the remote inside the battery compartment is not an Ethernet port, and an Ethernet connector will not fit inside it since it is too small, and does not contain 6 male pins, which the socket requires.
We spoke to a SKY engineer who asserted that the socket is actually designed to allow SKY to upload programming codes for the latest television models so the remote can control the latest television sets without having to manually input the code for a specific TV model.
What’s more, it is the viewing card inside the SKY box that decrypts the signal from SKY, not the SKY remote, so regardless of what you download to your SKY remote, it wouldn’t have any effect on what the viewing card can or cannot decrypt from SKY.
It seems the message is some kind of prank by the original uploader to see how many people they could dupe into trying to jam an Ethernet connector into the back of their SKY remote control and programming their remotes to work with the 0000 code (which appears to be the code associated with Sony TVs.)
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Want to watch Sky TV without signing up for a year-long subscription? Our handy guide will show you how.
With a huge selection of entertainment, movie and sports channels to choose from, it's easy to see why Sky TV is so popular. But the prices for a full Sky subscription can be eye-watering.
While the lure of shows such as Westworld and Game of Thrones can be appealing, the thought of being tied in to an expensive contract can feel off-putting. The good news is you don't have to take out a long Sky subscription to watch Sky channels.
Read on for more information on TV services that will let you watch Sky TV without a Sky subscription, including Now TV, Virgin Media and TalkTalk.
Use our round up of the best and worst TV and broadband providers to discover how satisfied Sky customers are in comparison to those with other suppliers.
Try Now TV
Now TV is an internet TV streaming service powered by Sky. It offers live streaming and on-demand content from popular Sky channels - so, you can watch Sky shows as they're going out live, or catch up on them at a later date.
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Crucially, you don't have to be a Sky subscriber to use Now TV. Instead you simply buy 'passes' for a day, week or month to access the channels that you want. When your pass expires it rolls over into a monthly subscription fee, but you can cancel at any time. See how Now TV compares to popular streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, using our TV streaming service reviews.
Streaming services broadcast over the internet, so you don't need a satellite dish to watch Now TV (though you do need a broadband connection of at least 2.5Mbps or a mobile signal of 180Kbps if you plan to watch using 3G or 4G).
You'll also need a device that can use the Now TV app. Some smart TVs come with this preinstalled, but if yours doesn't, you can watch Now TV in a few different ways.
One of the easiest, cheapest ways to watch Now TV is to buy a dedicated Sky Now TV box or smart stick, which cost as little as £15. This may even include a trial of free passes to watch the content, which in effect pays for the cost of the Now TV box itself.
A YouTube box will also give you access to the Now TV app - or you can install the app on a tablet, smartphone or PC.
Find out more in our guide: What is Now TV?
Hack Sky Vpn
Add Sky channels to a service from another provider
If you've already got a TV subscription with a different provider, such as Virgin Media or BT TV, you can add most of Sky's channels to these services.
To do this, you add a 'bolt on' to your existing pay TV service. For example, you can pay BT £16 a month to add 11 Sky Movie channels to your package. There's usually no contract to do this, you just pay on a monthly basis.
If you're looking for some channels to keep the little ones happy, you can simply add children's channels to yourTV and broadband bundle - for example TalkTalk's Kids Boost adds nine children's channels, including Nickelodeon, Boomerang and Cartoon Network.
Use a shared Sky subscription
If a friend or family member already subscribes to Sky, then you can register as a secondary user and still watch Sky shows.
Now TV (see above), for example, allows you to register up to four compatible devices (such as a Now TV box, a laptop, or a tablet). The service lets you watch programmes on two devices at the same time, so four members of an extended family won't all be able to tune into Game of Thrones simultaneously on different devices.
Alternatively, Sky Go is a streaming service that allows Sky subscribers to watch programmes away from the home. This lets Sky customers register two devices (or four, if you pay more for Sky Go Extra).
In effect, this would let you log in to watch Sky programming if you used the account details of a family member who has a Sky subscription. However, users are meant to be part of the same household as the primary Sky account holder, according to Sky.
Read our Sky TV and broadband review to find out what Sky customers had to say about the service they receive in our latest satisfaction survey.
...or, stick with Freeview
How To Get Free Sky Tv Hack
If you decide that none of the above options work for you, then one alternative is to stick with Freeview. It may not offer the same sports or movie range as Sky, but it still gives you a huge selection of channels for no cost at all (other than the charge for a TV licence).
With the addition of a Freeview PVR, you can pause, rewind and record live TV, as well as setting a planner and series-link. These are all features you would get with a Sky box. You won't, however, have access to the same sports, movies and entertainment channels. Head to our round-up of the Best Buy Freeview PVRs to see which models impressed the experts in our lab.
If that's not enough for you, and you want even more channels, then Freesat offers more than 200 channels and on-demand TV from the likes of the BBC and ITV. To get it, you just need a Freesat box or a TV with Freesat built-in, plus a Freesat satellite dish. As with Freeview, there's no ongoing subscription cost. Read in depth reviews of all the latest models using our Freesat PVRs and set top box reviews.
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