stuckinstandby    

How do I find out if the software in my Sky box is up to date?

This question crops up regularly on forums, mostly when people buy second-hand boxes off eBay or dust down an old box that’s been in storage for a while.

Most of the time people look for the EPG Version Number displayed on the System Details page and accessed as follows:

Services >> 4. System Setup >> 5. System Details

The latest EPG Version Number for standard Sky boxes (ie not Sky+ or Sky+ HD) is likely to be 3.8.8. If older EPG software is installed (earlier than 3.4.4b) you may find you are unable to access certain channels, especially radio stations. Here are some of the signs: missing channels from 204 – 999, no radio channels, no menu music, losing channels after a few days and occasional lock-ups.

If you’re in this situation the best thing to do is a forced software update, but if the box is old you may find that Sky have stopped transmitting software updates in the forced update stream (Pace 2600C1 boxes, for example, have this problem). In that case, the best solution is just to leave the box plugged in (standby is fine), connected to a satellite feed and eventually it should receive an update. This will probably take several weeks. There are reports of some boxes being unable to update at all because they’ve missed to many interim updates.

What’s with the other numbers?

The numbers on the System Details page can be confusing. You would think Version Number would tell you the software version number, but it actually relates to the hardware version of the box. The first four characters of this identify an exact model of box and the last the hardware revision, eg 9F05xx is a Pace 2500S3. The Model Number is more like a firmware version and it varies between manufacturers and models.

Sky EPG Version History

I’ve built this list up from various sources around the internet, but it seems that some versions were manufacturer/model specific so the true picture is a bit murkier. If anyone has anything to add to this section please leave a comment and I’ll update it appropriately.

EPG: 2.5.9, OS: 1.2S1B7
Date: August 1999
Description: Favorites Feature, Info on current channel, Search & Scan banner info extended, 1st EPG option renamed ‘All Channels’, Sky Open, Sky Sports Extra support. more

EPG: 2.6a.9, OS: 1.2S1Bg
Date: January 2000
Description: Change to Dialing Prefix, non-subscribed Channels display description of channel with phone number. more

EPG: 2.6b10, OS: 1.2S3Bu
Date: July 2000
Description: Introduced new Box Office Ordering system, Digital Subtitling, A-Z Menus. more

EPG: 2.7a.*2, OS: 1.2S3Bu
Date: October 2000
Description: Introduced bug fixes, as well as a new menu for the Interactive button. more

EPG: 2.8b*, OS: 1.2S4BC
Date: November 2001
Description: Signal strength and Picture Quality indicators bug fixed. more

EPG: 3.0.11*, OS: 1.2S4Bj
Date: September 2002

EPG: 3.0.12, OS: 1.2S4Bj (possibly only for Amstrad DRX300, Panasonic TU-DSB30 more)
Date: October 2002
Description: Aspect ratio switching bug fixed, TV Link bug fixed. more

EPG: 3.1a.5, OS: 1.2S4BP / 1.2S4BQ
Date: November 2002
Description: Added the current month to the end of the date and time on the EPG and the search & scan banner. more

EPG: 3.1a.6, OS: 1.2S4BQ (Amstrad DRX400, Panasonic TU-DSB30)
Date: November 2002

EPG: 3.2.11, OS: 1.2S4F1
Date: March 2004
Description: Box office period increased to 7 days, toggle Reminders and AutoView directly from the Search & Scan banner, new ‘Online Restriction’ screen to PIN-protection for interactive application phone calls, telephone line is not connected banner on power-up, option to change picture format for TV attached via tvLink, Low Battery Indicator message updated, Euro symbol replaces EUR, reactivate AutoView when tuned away, Interactive Card Slot activated though no new functionality. more

EPG: 3.2.11, OS: 1.2S4F3
Date: May 2004
Description: Fix for intermittent switch off. more

EPG: 3.3a.6, OS: 1.2S4F9
Date: April 2005
Description: Preparations for new EPG.

EPG: 3.3b.5, OS: 1.2S4FB
Date: August 2005
Description: Can now remove the Adult channels from the EPG via Parental Control.

EPG: 3.4.4b, OS: 1.2S4FE
Date: February 2006
Description: Main menu split over two screens, New categories and re-organised sections, 4-digit radio channels, 50 Favourites instead of 20; Favourites-only EPG. more

EPG: 3.4.4e, OS: 1.2S4FH (Amstrad DRX550)
Date: ?
Description: ?

EPG: 3.5.3, OS: 1.2S4FH
Date: October 2006
Description: System health check added

EPG: 3.5.4, OS: 1.2S4FH (Pace 2500)
Date: August 2007
Description: ?

EPG: 3.6.4.18, OS: 1.2S4FI
Date: March 2008
Description: Unknown changes – nothing visible anyway.

EPG: 3.7.6, OS: 1.2S4FJ
Date: November 2008
Description: New Auto Standby feature added.

EPG: 3.8.8.ns, OS: 1.2S4FM
Date: March 2010
Description: this update may have been withdrawn due to problems.

Other sources:
uk.tech.tv.sky
CielPlus
eBay Guide: Technical Hints about Sky Digiboxes by startca

Tags: 3.4.4b, 3.5.3, 3.6.4.18, 3.7.6, amstrad, box, ebay, epg, grundig, pace, panasonic, services, sky, sony, system details, system setup, thomson, toshiba, versions

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 22:21 and is filed under info, sky. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.