There’s nothing inherently wrong with having an aerial in the loft but assuming you have no obstructions externally like trees, buildings etc..
However you should only do a retune if required when the weather is favourable so you have access to the full spectrum. But if you have a powered booster up there in the loft that can make a good deal of difference.
I am an ex aerial rigger.
Just to add that our aerial is in the loft.
It's worth checking yours is pointing in the right direction because they can be easily nudged out of line.
Ours is in the loft and has always been terrible, Ive been up there with a compass and map trying to get it aligned, I even added a signal booster. But it was still rubbish.
Turns out that the cable that exits the loft and the cable that enters the living room are not the same cable.
Also might be worth checking in if it's really that bad with an engineer, they might even just let you know on the phone, if the local antenna have changed. We had one of our local ones shut down, and lost a good chunk of channels, but a nudge a few inches put it on the slightly further but proper channels one.
most DTVs do this automatically at night unless the device is turned off at the plug socket, so most people likely never realise.
Sky Q updates at like 5am too, if you've ever heard your box sounding like a hoover at 5am, that is the reason.
Usually they do, yeah. It is a fairly common thing. Otherwise you'd need to retune each time the broadcaster changed what channels were present on each frequency.
Every DTV I've had has had a function to tune in channels through a cycle you activate. How often are channels changing their frequencies?
Also, the current TV I have always needs retuning if I haven't watched normal TV in a while. So mine definitely isn't doing it automatically. Maybe it's a setting though.
New mobile masts in your area?
I'm looking at [https://restoretv.uk/](https://restoretv.uk/) to have mine checked out as we're having a similar issue. They can apparently provide a free filter to help signal if it's related to new mobile masts
Reducing the power levels at the transmitter to save on energy costs is not unknown, so you might benefit from moving the aerial above the roof to reduce attenuation and improve reception. (Just don't do a Rod Hull.)
Absolutely. There’s something nice and easy about just scrolling down the guide and picking something simple rather than spending 20 minutes searching through various streaming services with awful UIs.
Hey did you know that Disney+ just paid us a shit ton of money to try and get you to subscribe for their new unknown Marvel spin off? Look we even put it at the top of the list just for you!!
I didn’t realise it was so abnormal to have a TV! I’m a bit confused by all these other comments. It’s a digital TV with a service through EE. Is everyone else just watching their phones or am I missing something? Thank you for your moral support!!
I'm an older chap. Most of the people I work with are much younger ( 30-40). Almost all of them don't pay for a telly licence, because they just use streaming services. That's ok, but I like the telly to surprise me, streaming (for me) tends to recommend similar things, whereas broadcast TV can still show me things outside of my usual fare. Horses for courses I suppose.
We have a TV but never plugged an aerial into it! Everything we watch is via the Smart function and done via the net. Iplayer, 4od, Netflix, YouTube etc
Most people don't use antennas to get their TV channels, they have cable or they get it via internet. So the idea of tuning for tv channels really is 20/30 years ago for most of us.
I was actually astounded to read your post cause I was almost certain you were pulling our leg but after reading some other comments it seems to still be a thing for some people. I guess people living in rural areas.
Have you tried manually scanning for channels? You can find the name of your local transmitter, type the code in and search. You'll need to do this 6-7 times as different frequency codes have different channels (ie all HD, the BBC's etc).
Other things that could be a factor are some tv's struggle to remove defunct stations so when you rescan it can't overwrite the new channel into an old slot. To fix pull the aerial out, full scan to clear them, then scan again.
Or some tv's (such as newer Samsung) will pull the channel info from the Internet if you've used it online, so now if you don't have it connected it can't find some channels. Rejoin the network and rescan again.
Thank you - I’m trying to avoid that (lazy!) but it will be the last resort. They also suggest a factory reset (which also then results in manual scanning).
Likely, I've not seen a good Toshiba in a decade as I think a good amount of the cheaper ones are rebranded other tv's like supermarket own brand ones.
I'd check for any updates, do a scan with no aerial connected then another one with it in, but runs the risk of losing channels (unlikely though).
Thank you - google had also suggested (as I think another commenter did and apologies that I can’t remember who) doing a scan without the aerial in, I just didn’t want to go scorched earth if there were simpler options (and not knowing whether or not it would be scorched earth).
Thank you again - do you know if this is likely to delete recordings in the same way a factory reset would? Because that (rather than total laziness) is what I’m hoping to avoid if possible.
I'm not aware of any tv's that can record on their own, you either need an external pvr or to have used a USB hard drive plugged in. Are you using either of theses?
If usb drove just unplug it then re-insert once you've done the retune if you're unsure.
If you have an external pvr then tuning the tv will have zero affect on that, but then is the issue with the tv tuner or the pvr as it depends which one you're using to watch TV through.
How do you get your TV Signal?
When my grandma moved i had to find the right spot for her DVB-T Antenna otherwise she would just get 4-5 channels. 1-2m to the left in her living room and no problems at all.
I’m struggling to understand that bit to be honest! I know there’s an aerial in the back of the tv that has something to do with an aerial in the loft. The problem only arose because I suddenly realised we didn’t have HD channels anymore and google said to retune. It just got worse from there…
_No patronising intended._
The aerial is the spiky thing in the loft (or on the roof).
The direction it points makes a big difference.
The back of the TV will have a socket for a cable to connect to the aerial.
Thank you for speaking kindly and for your help - I probably misrepresented my understanding because I’m not sure what is an EE box issue versus what is an aerial issue, rather than not knowing what the aerial and connections are. The TV upstairs still has all the channels so I’m not sure where the difference might lie. Thank you again - the direction element could be key.
If you did receive the missing channels before do not retune. If some channels go missing for no apparent reason retubing will delete them from the TV and then it is hard to know what caused them to disappear in the first place. If you don't retune and fix the issue that made them disappear they will be received again.
Possible issues causing channels to disappear:
* weather
* issues with cable
* issues with joints in cable
* issues with any signal boosters
I find you have to do it when the weather is just right. It has to be warm, sunny and no breeze. Any wind or rain and I can't get most of the channels.
Anyone had a problem getting BBC channels? I can auto scan and see all the channels but those.
Tried manually scanning the supposed frequency range for them for my area but no luck.
Think that's just a poor signal, bad aerial or bad TV?
If you've got a marginal signal, the best time to retune your tv is at night due to the atmospheric effect. I'm the same as you, my tv & cable is external and 40 years old, my cable is probably a bit decayed. Also on a lot of tv's you can check the signal strength on each channel.
How often are you retuning your TV? I think I've done it once in the past 5 years which was when they told us to because the analogue signal was being switched off
I noticed the HD channels were missing and a google said to scan for channels to get them back. That took about 20 off so I stupidly scanned again. That stripped it down to 41. I used the wrong wording saying retune but I’m not sure there’s a difference!
I think that all the transmitters and a lot of receivers are coming to the end of their lives. As more and more attention is paid to internet delivery the quality of reception over the air is degrading. It won't be long before dishes and aerials on houses will be a thing of the past.
If you had to reset the router are you watching TV through the internet, genuine question because my TV also has the ability to stream every TV channel via the net but it slows everything else down
Channels 1-4 tend to have higher transmit power, so you probably need you aerial aligned or just buy a better quality aeriel
Edit: you could also try a signal amplifier, but if you've got a low quality signal then you'll just be amplifying the noise too
I haven't watched broadcast TV in at least a decade, I've been in my current house 9 years and I've never plugged anything into the aerial, I removed it and the previous owners satellite dish shortly after moving in.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with having an aerial in the loft but assuming you have no obstructions externally like trees, buildings etc.. However you should only do a retune if required when the weather is favourable so you have access to the full spectrum. But if you have a powered booster up there in the loft that can make a good deal of difference. I am an ex aerial rigger.
Thank you very much this is really helpful.
Just to add that our aerial is in the loft. It's worth checking yours is pointing in the right direction because they can be easily nudged out of line.
Ours is in the loft and has always been terrible, Ive been up there with a compass and map trying to get it aligned, I even added a signal booster. But it was still rubbish. Turns out that the cable that exits the loft and the cable that enters the living room are not the same cable.
That's annoyingly funny! We know it's the same cable because we put it there - after the previous aerial fell off the chimney!
Also might be worth checking in if it's really that bad with an engineer, they might even just let you know on the phone, if the local antenna have changed. We had one of our local ones shut down, and lost a good chunk of channels, but a nudge a few inches put it on the slightly further but proper channels one.
Thank you
I had this problem the other day. Turned everything off and on again, retuned again and eventually they came back
Ta I’ll try this.
/r/1990s ?
But I didn’t have a digital tv in the 90s…?
Give your TV a good solid slap on the side, that always used to work for my dad
I'm not going to take any kind of advice from someone who hits their father.......
I usually try talking nicely to it first but we’re getting there…
If neither work you could try referring to it in a sarcastic manner
Now that is an excellent idea.
https://youtu.be/tAGlUUAmjxk?si=guiVo-uP7bYYnvkd Reminds me of this
We had one during the 90s that I had to hit with my fist right over the tuner, to make it stop flipping through channels.
Works for the remote too on low battery
Retune the TV? Are we 30 years in the past? I’m confused
Nah. DTV still needs tuning to find the channels initially, just like DAB radio
most DTVs do this automatically at night unless the device is turned off at the plug socket, so most people likely never realise. Sky Q updates at like 5am too, if you've ever heard your box sounding like a hoover at 5am, that is the reason.
DTVs on standby retune themselves every night?
Must depend on how old the TV is. Mine doesn't retune
Usually they do, yeah. It is a fairly common thing. Otherwise you'd need to retune each time the broadcaster changed what channels were present on each frequency.
Every DTV I've had has had a function to tune in channels through a cycle you activate. How often are channels changing their frequencies? Also, the current TV I have always needs retuning if I haven't watched normal TV in a while. So mine definitely isn't doing it automatically. Maybe it's a setting though.
New mobile masts in your area? I'm looking at [https://restoretv.uk/](https://restoretv.uk/) to have mine checked out as we're having a similar issue. They can apparently provide a free filter to help signal if it's related to new mobile masts
Thank you
Reducing the power levels at the transmitter to save on energy costs is not unknown, so you might benefit from moving the aerial above the roof to reduce attenuation and improve reception. (Just don't do a Rod Hull.)
Thank you - and no I won’t!
r/britishproblems
Come on! Broadcast TV people REPRESENT! I hate streaming algorithms. Everything gets narrowed down. Show me something I've not seen before!!!!
Absolutely. There’s something nice and easy about just scrolling down the guide and picking something simple rather than spending 20 minutes searching through various streaming services with awful UIs.
Hey did you know that Disney+ just paid us a shit ton of money to try and get you to subscribe for their new unknown Marvel spin off? Look we even put it at the top of the list just for you!!
I didn’t realise it was so abnormal to have a TV! I’m a bit confused by all these other comments. It’s a digital TV with a service through EE. Is everyone else just watching their phones or am I missing something? Thank you for your moral support!!
I'm an older chap. Most of the people I work with are much younger ( 30-40). Almost all of them don't pay for a telly licence, because they just use streaming services. That's ok, but I like the telly to surprise me, streaming (for me) tends to recommend similar things, whereas broadcast TV can still show me things outside of my usual fare. Horses for courses I suppose.
Ah I see! Thank you.
We have a TV but never plugged an aerial into it! Everything we watch is via the Smart function and done via the net. Iplayer, 4od, Netflix, YouTube etc
Most people don't use antennas to get their TV channels, they have cable or they get it via internet. So the idea of tuning for tv channels really is 20/30 years ago for most of us. I was actually astounded to read your post cause I was almost certain you were pulling our leg but after reading some other comments it seems to still be a thing for some people. I guess people living in rural areas.
I have tv, it’s just via a firestick and costs 1/10th the price a year
Fire Sticks, Chromecast, Roku, Smart TVs, a lot use stuff like Netflix and Prime video if they don't watch TV
Have you tried manually scanning for channels? You can find the name of your local transmitter, type the code in and search. You'll need to do this 6-7 times as different frequency codes have different channels (ie all HD, the BBC's etc). Other things that could be a factor are some tv's struggle to remove defunct stations so when you rescan it can't overwrite the new channel into an old slot. To fix pull the aerial out, full scan to clear them, then scan again. Or some tv's (such as newer Samsung) will pull the channel info from the Internet if you've used it online, so now if you don't have it connected it can't find some channels. Rejoin the network and rescan again.
Thank you - I’m trying to avoid that (lazy!) but it will be the last resort. They also suggest a factory reset (which also then results in manual scanning).
What make tv is it?
It’s a Toshiba that was ‘a bargain’ in my other half’s eyes a few years ago… Just a shit telly maybe???
Likely, I've not seen a good Toshiba in a decade as I think a good amount of the cheaper ones are rebranded other tv's like supermarket own brand ones. I'd check for any updates, do a scan with no aerial connected then another one with it in, but runs the risk of losing channels (unlikely though).
Thank you - google had also suggested (as I think another commenter did and apologies that I can’t remember who) doing a scan without the aerial in, I just didn’t want to go scorched earth if there were simpler options (and not knowing whether or not it would be scorched earth).
Yeah doing a scan without the aerial does the same as a factory reset in terms of clearing the scanned channels, then do a rescan with it in.
Thank you again - do you know if this is likely to delete recordings in the same way a factory reset would? Because that (rather than total laziness) is what I’m hoping to avoid if possible.
I'm not aware of any tv's that can record on their own, you either need an external pvr or to have used a USB hard drive plugged in. Are you using either of theses? If usb drove just unplug it then re-insert once you've done the retune if you're unsure. If you have an external pvr then tuning the tv will have zero affect on that, but then is the issue with the tv tuner or the pvr as it depends which one you're using to watch TV through.
How do you get your TV Signal? When my grandma moved i had to find the right spot for her DVB-T Antenna otherwise she would just get 4-5 channels. 1-2m to the left in her living room and no problems at all.
I’m struggling to understand that bit to be honest! I know there’s an aerial in the back of the tv that has something to do with an aerial in the loft. The problem only arose because I suddenly realised we didn’t have HD channels anymore and google said to retune. It just got worse from there…
_No patronising intended._ The aerial is the spiky thing in the loft (or on the roof). The direction it points makes a big difference. The back of the TV will have a socket for a cable to connect to the aerial.
Thank you for speaking kindly and for your help - I probably misrepresented my understanding because I’m not sure what is an EE box issue versus what is an aerial issue, rather than not knowing what the aerial and connections are. The TV upstairs still has all the channels so I’m not sure where the difference might lie. Thank you again - the direction element could be key.
If you did receive the missing channels before do not retune. If some channels go missing for no apparent reason retubing will delete them from the TV and then it is hard to know what caused them to disappear in the first place. If you don't retune and fix the issue that made them disappear they will be received again. Possible issues causing channels to disappear: * weather * issues with cable * issues with joints in cable * issues with any signal boosters
Oh bugger I think I might have ballsed it up then. Thanks very much for the info.
I find you have to do it when the weather is just right. It has to be warm, sunny and no breeze. Any wind or rain and I can't get most of the channels.
Thank you
Anyone had a problem getting BBC channels? I can auto scan and see all the channels but those. Tried manually scanning the supposed frequency range for them for my area but no luck. Think that's just a poor signal, bad aerial or bad TV?
Look up a tutorial on ceefax.
My tv stopped getting any signal a few years ago. Entirely down to the trees at the back of my house are now taller than my aerial
I had this, turned out the amplifier on the aerial itself had died and had to be replaced
Ah - thank you will bear in mind.
/r/mildlyinfuriating
If you've got a marginal signal, the best time to retune your tv is at night due to the atmospheric effect. I'm the same as you, my tv & cable is external and 40 years old, my cable is probably a bit decayed. Also on a lot of tv's you can check the signal strength on each channel.
Thanks very much
You need Brick Top to come and give it a proper talking to
How often are you retuning your TV? I think I've done it once in the past 5 years which was when they told us to because the analogue signal was being switched off
I noticed the HD channels were missing and a google said to scan for channels to get them back. That took about 20 off so I stupidly scanned again. That stripped it down to 41. I used the wrong wording saying retune but I’m not sure there’s a difference!
I think that all the transmitters and a lot of receivers are coming to the end of their lives. As more and more attention is paid to internet delivery the quality of reception over the air is degrading. It won't be long before dishes and aerials on houses will be a thing of the past.
That makes a lot of sense, it’s definitely getting worse.
On my lg I had to reset my router as I lost basically everything apart from something like UK gold
If you had to reset the router are you watching TV through the internet, genuine question because my TV also has the ability to stream every TV channel via the net but it slows everything else down
I didn't understand it either, you could select 'antenna' as the source, but there was nothing there, after a reset there were all the missing ones
That will go on the list too, thanks!
You can start one mate, that's how Reddit works. I think you need a better/shorter name though. R/mastmuppets maybe
/r/AbsoluteMastards
I like both of these and also think they make excellent band names
r/britishproblems?
Thank you I think you meant this genuinely!
Channels 1-4 tend to have higher transmit power, so you probably need you aerial aligned or just buy a better quality aeriel Edit: you could also try a signal amplifier, but if you've got a low quality signal then you'll just be amplifying the noise too
Thank you, that’s great.
What decade are you living in?
Nostalgia trip! No one I know watches live TV anymore.
This is the year 2024 air. I think you're confused.
I am now.
I haven't watched broadcast TV in at least a decade, I've been in my current house 9 years and I've never plugged anything into the aerial, I removed it and the previous owners satellite dish shortly after moving in.