Sky cancelled - still use Q box?

[stabilio]

I just cancelled Sky Tv after 20+ years and there email says I need to return all our mini boxes but not the main Sky Q box.
Does anyone know if I can still use the Q box to get the free terrestrial channels inc BBC/ITV HD and other HD channels in general?

[Lo-Fi]

Pretty sure they'll want the main box back as well. They're quite forceful with their "the box is on loan to you and must be returned" ste.

[dave123456]

Yep. I had this, the box they sent was only big enough for the mini box so that’s all I sent.

I then had everything confined to storage so had to insist the q box had been sent as I wasn’t emptying out the storage unit to find it. But it went on for a couple of weeks. They are more than welcome to it when I retrieve it…

[chrisch77]

Having recently binned off Sky too, I can also confirm they want you to send the main Q box back as well as any mini boxes, with the threat of financial penalties if you don’t.

[dave123456]

Not sure it would work anyway, I may be wrong

[FourWheelDrift]

If Q doesn't work or they want it back just get a cheap Sky HD box off Ebay for £30 plug it into your dish and you will have all the freeview channels plus all the HD channels of BBC1, 2, 3, 4, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, C4, QuestHD. Just no recording or live pause.

Alternatives are Freeview (need an aerial), who regularly need retuning because their channels change and you will wonder where ITV went one day.
Freely (online streaming) another freeview service that you can currently only get on certain TVs, or a Roku Stick via an app, but not on an Amazon Fire Stick even though Amazon Fire TVs work.

[WrekinCrew]

FourWheelDrift said:

If Q doesn't work or they want it back just get a cheap Sky HD box off Ebay for £30 plug it into your dish and you will have all the freeview channels plus all the HD channels of BBC1, 2, 3, 4, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, C4, QuestHD. Just no recording or live pause.

Only if you have a hybrid LNB. A Sky HD box won't work with the standard Sky Q wideband LNB. However the "Freesat 4K" boxes do.

[chrisch77]

FourWheelDrift said:

If Q doesn't work or they want it back just get a cheap Sky HD box off Ebay for £30 plug it into your dish and you will have all the freeview channels plus all the HD channels of BBC1, 2, 3, 4, ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, C4, QuestHD. Just no recording or live pause.

May not be so simple, as I believe you will also need to change the LNB on the dish back to an ordinary quad LNB instead of the bipolar Sky Q one, or else the HD box won't get any signal.

[stabilio]

chrisch77 said:

Having recently binned off Sky too, I can also confirm they want you to send the main Q box back as well as any mini boxes, with the threat of financial penalties if you don’t.

I thought that would be case too but the email says they don't need the main Q box but do want the mini boxes back:

There’s no need to return the following Sky equipment:

Sky Q 2TB UHD Non-HDR

You won't be charged a non-return fee for this kit. All we ask is that you recycle it responsibly should you choose not to keep it. If you're unable to recycle the equipment, you're still welcome to send it back to us.