Sky TV remains down for thousands of customers after an outage left tens of thousands unable to watch shows.
People began reporting issues with the satellite television service just before 9pm, according to outage tracker Downdetector.
Only an hour and a half later, nearly 30,000 people were having problems with Sky, with a small number reporting a total blackout of services.
Most Sky TV users said they were struggling to watch live shows as it kept crashing, which was bad news for anyone tuning in to the Eurovision semi-finals.
Others said they cannot access content despite their internet connection being fine.
Viewers were greeted with the message on their set-top box: ‘You can’t watch TV at the moment due to a connectivity problem.’
After trying to unplug their TVs and check their remotes have batteries, users said that their Sky Q boxes would crash when booted up.
Trying to load recorded shows on the box triggered a ‘Please wait…’ message.
As one Sky subscriber said around midnight: ‘@SkyHelpTeam What the hell is going on with your Sky Q boxes tonight, having to reset every 10 mins, half the time it doesn’t recognise the remote.
‘Is Sky the latest to be hacked or is it just bad maintenance or system upgrades?’
Is it still down? Latest updates
While the number of affected customers lowered overnight, issues have been climbing since 2am.
As of 6.29am, more than 2,000 people are unable to switch on Sky TV.
Around 5% of users are reporting problems with Sky Broadband.
What caused the mass outage?
Why so many subscribers lost access to Sky is unclear. The company has yet to issue a public statement or say when services will be restored.
Sky has been approached for comment.
What can people do?
A user on the Sky Help Forum recommended that people do a ‘power cycle’.
The simple troubleshooting method involves switching off the Sky Q box, unplugging it from the mains, then switching it back on.
The user added: ‘Allow for box to load and quickly get into settings.’
How do I complain to Sky? And can I get compensation?
There are several ways to lodge a complaint to Sky:
- Call Sky on: 03337593848
- Onlien form: http://www.sky.com/help/complaints
- Write: Customer Complaints, Sky Subscriber Services Ltd, PO Box 43, Livingston, EH54 7DD
- Or message Sky via the company’s messaging service. Open from 8.30am to 7.30pm every day.
You might be entitled to compensation if your TV or internet goes down for a certain length of time.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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