We’re seeing reports from site visitors and show listeners reporting problems with missing channels such as ITV2, ITV3 and the channel 4 channels on Freeview. Here’s what’s happened…
Channel 4 started running a “+1 service” on Freeview Channel 13 in August. This has meant a reshuffle of channel numbers on Freeview Multiplex 2 (the multiplex carrying the ITV and Channel 4 channels). It seems that some people have seen a loss of ITV2/ITV3 as a result of this reshuffle. The advice is to perform a full re-scan of channels on your Freeview receiver (from your on-screen menu). This should rebuild your channel list, and get Channel 4+1 onto Channel 13, and the ITV channels back in place.
Top Notch Advice!
i tried this and i keep getting “error”when i go to the channel and put “information” i get all the programme times plus 1hour. will this change when bst changes
Worked a treat, many thanks. You have made an old lady very happy!
This has been bugging me for weeks! I went away and came back to no ITV – all sorted now. Thanks!
thankyou for the advice for the itv channels about rescanning as we thought we had lost them for good!
All the multiplex 2 channels disappeared from my epg last night, and depite doing a reset on the box (SonyVTX-D800U) and severeal re-scans, have had no success. All other channels are fine. The system information tells me that the signal strength is “good” at approx 80% and the signal quality is “good” at 100%.
Any news on the current state of MUX2?
Missing mux: Sounds like there’s either a) an issue at your local transmitter, or b) a problem with the way your box is processing the signal.
See http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/reception.html#missing for advice on handling a muissing mux.
gave up on itv channels for last month and jusr read this colume, fantastic retuned and know i have it all back….yay tip top advice
I live in south essex and have recently lost a lot of channels, most notably, ITV and channel 4. This has been going on for at least the past 2 weeks. I have re-canned many times but during a recent rescan, i lost even more channels. Any ideas why ?
We have lost a lot of radio stations recently including radios 1,2 3 and 4 and have lost cbeebies – any ideas
I have a wideband roof top aerial leading to a signal booster box with 4 outputs, 1 and 2 are strong, 3 and 4 are OK. I send 1 to the Sky box then to the DVD recorder then to the TV. I send 2 to the Netgem I-Player with no output so when I turn off the Netgem it doesn’t interfere with the signal quality of the other equipment. I use short thick scart cables or gold-tipped scart cables and UHF cables. See various stores such as Argos, Maplins etc. I do the rescan when I have checked that most channels are showing OK first. I rescan and get 88 TV and Radio channels. My second Netgem I-Player is upstairs. I bring that downstairs, connect it to the signal booster output 2 gold-tipped UHF cable. I rescan and get 88 channels. I take this Netgem I-Player upstairs and reconnect. I sometimes get bad signal messages for ITV and Channel 4 and Channel 5. I leave the Netgem off for a while and these channels return. I lose them later on. The first Netgem downstairs never loses any channels so I record programmes downstairs when I can. I have Sky and Virgin Media set top boxes to get the free-to-air channels. Some are free on Sky and some are free on Virgin Media and Freeview. I get Virgin Media’s phone service plus a loaned set top box for free-to-air shows plus various extras plus 2 MB Broadband for £15.50 a month – see their website: http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/bb_deal.html and I got a free Sky+ box with my 12-month return to Sky 4 mixes £19 a month contract. I can record 2 tv channels or record 1 and watch another. I then copy my recorded shows to the DVD recorder. Freeview set top boxes vary in picture quality reliability so backup set top boxes are helpful. Check Sky promotions eg Recommend a Friend and various 4-month or 12-month contracts. Get what you can, decide to cancel at the end of your minimum contract if you wish. Maybe a freebie will be offered to keep you as a customer. Shop around. Save money. Haggle. If an existing Virgin Media customer, ask to get the new customer discount phone and broadband offer as I did when I phoned using the freecall on 150. Why cancel to start a new contract, have all equipment disconnected and then reconnected and also lose your email account? Virgin Media agreed to my getting this discount. I hope to save £4.50 a month for this 12-month contract. I will renegotiate in October 2008 as they said I could do that, too. Also note, Virgin Media freely repairs or replaces faulty set top boxes but Sky may charge for their repair call. However, this can be legally contested as a set top box should reasonably be expected to last for several years not just for 1 year. Several forums offer advice so Google helps find extra customer feedback suggestions: http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl
Update: I get Virgin Media’s phone service plus a loaned set top box for free-to-air shows plus various extras plus 2 MB Broadband for £15.50 a month – see their website:
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/
then html/internet/bb_deal.html
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/internet/bb_deal.html
Glad to hear others have been having problems with Freeview ITV/C4 channels on multiplex 2. I had had perfect pictures on all channels until last summer when the mux2 channels signal deteriorated to annoying at best and unwatchable at worst but now it has disappeared completely for much of the time. I have tried rescanning but to no effect. I also got the engineer who installed the Freeview aerial originally to come back and check it out. He said a lot of people were having similar problems and he had heard that the transmitter was not operating at full strength because of interference on analogue. He fitted a new booster, charged me nearly £100 and it still made no difference. I phoned the Freeview Helpline. They said there was nothing wrong with the signal in my area, that the cause must lie with my aerial, and as good as called my engineer a cowboy for fitting a booster (he is a member of one of the approved trade organisations!). I am at my wit’s end! Is anyone else in Northern Ireland (specifically Ballymena) having similar problems? Does anyone know what to do to fix them?
Steve I live in Belfast and just today found that Ch 3 and4 were missing. I did an automatic search for new channels with no luck,then I did a completely new installation, still no luck.
Checked all connections from box to aerial did another “New Channel Search” I have now got Ch 3 and 4 back.
So don’t give up keep trying
Who can I /we complain to re signal failures…specifically …ITV and channels 4 and five.This is on going in our area…I am in Congleton, Chehshire. Yet again half way through a film I get the no signal message on screen and thats it for the next day or so….then it miraculously returns. There must be some variation at the broadcast end as my reception hasnt changed. Its odd that sky stations and selling channels on freeview dont suffer from these issues. I am watching on a digital receiver have tried boosters etc to no success. So I repeat – who is responsible and how do I complain to them…
I live in Surrey Quays London and we have been experiencing the same issues with ITVs and Channel 4s. Have called in our estate tv people who boosted the power but still having the problems. This has been going on on and off all summer. Yes who do we complain to?
Peter J: Its odd that sky stations and selling channels on freeview dont suffer from these issues
Not really. ITV and Channel4 seem to be on underpowered MUXes throughout the country. It’s only occasionally I can get ITV1, 2, 3, 4, C4, C4+1, More4, E4 (normally during the day). For the most part I have to live with just ITV2+1 and E4+1 and hope the analogue signal is good enough for ITV1 and C4.
Moving such drivel as Gems TV, Smile, Bid TV, etc. to crap MUXes and putting channels most people actually want to watch on these wonderfully strong signals would be nice. Too many times I’ve noticed something worthwhile on ITV3 (which I’ve been able to watch about 3 times since I upgraded my aerial 2 years ago) that I’ll just have to wait for the DVD for. The London flooding two-parter on Mon and Tues springs to mind…
I can’t help noticing French channels interfering. 5 had ghosting last night yet if we interfered with their broadcasts there’d be hell to pay.
Freeview re-shuffle 25 March 2009, West Dorset area, all ITV, C4, More4 and E4 now gone completely. I notice these are all now on MUX channel 32. The signal for this channel is so poor the freeview box is unable to pick-up anything on channel 32 – why ?
meh, i didn’t notice
but the rest of my family did.