Retuning
If you get your digital TV signal through an aerial you will need to retune your digital box or digital TV when switchover happens in your area - it is happening at different times in different parts of the UK. Even before switchover it is a good idea to retune digital TVs and boxes regularly to pick up new channels and any changes to broadcasting signals.
Satellite, cable and broadband boxes get automatically retuned and updated. You do not need to retune them.
Retuning is fairly straight forward however it may affect settings such as your favourites list. This depends on the make and model of your box.
How to do it
With the box and TV switched on, press 'menu' on the remote control and follow the on-screen instructions, or those printed in your manual. The process and the words used may differ slightly depending on the manufacturer, but a typical sequence is
- Press MENU on your remote control
- From the Menu options select 'Installation' 'Set-up' or 'Tuning'. On some devices you may have to scroll down the menu options in order to find these.
- You may be asked for a pin number. This is usually 0000 or 1234, unless you have set your own pin number.
- Select 'Auto set up' or 'Update' to retune. Note different kit may use the words 'Rescan', 'Replace channels', 'Search for channels' 'Automatic search', 'Auto Store', 'Default settings' etc.
- Only select 'manual tuning' if you are looking for a particular frequency such as particular regional services.
Don't worry about warnings like 'pressing OK will remove your channels' - go ahead and press it because they will get automatically replaced - that's what happens in a retune.
Some boxes allow you to "add new channels" but it is often better to do a full retune or re-install, as this ensures old 'dead' stations are removed.
If you need more information, look for it in your instruction manual or contact the manufacturer. See Links for contact details. Also Digital Uk and Freeview have further information and lists of the early digital products, without the 'digital tick' logo, that cannot cope with a retune or signal changes.
Regional services
If after automatically retuning you find you are receiving the wrong regional service, for example Welsh services instead of West TV or Granada TV, you may need to do a manual retune. See Digital UK manual retuning leaflet for their step-by-step guide. Alternatively you can use the “favourites” list, “channel settings”, or “edit channels” to make your preferred services easier to find. Your instruction manual should tell you how to do this.
If you have a fairly recent product and you are located within reach of different TV regions you may be offered a ‘Regional Preference’ choice during the retune process. Choose the region that corresponds to the local news service that you want and continue with the tuning process.