Sky Card - "wrong viewing card" message - Germany

We all know that Sky cards are 'married' to the box they are used in.

My question is:

How long can a SkyBox be powered off for before the card becomes 'divorced' from the Skybox, and you need to call Sky to get it 'married' again?

Wibs

Switching the box off for a long period does not so much "divorce" the card, but leads to a period of separation. The card receives regular refresher signals from Sky every 1-2 days to keep it active. If it does not see this refresher signal for a continuous period of 3-4 weeks it will disable itself for premium channels only. Sky call this "Level 1 disable" It will fail to receive the refresher signal if the box is disconnected from mains power, if it is not in a Digibox or if the dish is not connected or correctly aligned. Once in this partially disabled state the card can be re-enabled by simply re-inserting it into the active Digibox, or powering up the box normally. The refresher signal will normally come through in 36-48 hours and the card will re-enable, so no need to call Sky (but if you want the service back sooner they can manually force a refresher signal to be sent). Of course, if the Sky account is deactivated, e.g. because it has been suspended (by Sky or the customer) or is in payment default then the card will have all channels disabled ("Level 2 disable") pending correction of the problem. If an account is cancelled completely ("Level 3 disable") the customer still cannot see subscription channels but free-to-view channels remain. Strangely enough, the "marriage", such that it is survives, in that the card is still technically tied to the Digibox it was previously used in even if the card or account is cancelled - free-to-view channels are still available and are tied to the geographical area of the card origin. A card is only truly "divorced" from a box when a replacement or alternative card is married to it.

The reason I ask is that my colleague unplugged his Sky+ receiver, with his Sky Sports subscription card in it, and brought it to Germany, on a Sunday. On the Thursday I installed it for him, but when we tried to select Sky Sports 1 (his normal favourite channel) we get this:

Error Message

(Ignore the Sky Movies, I just borrowed this image from Bavaria Satellite TV (please forgive me), the error message is the same as we got when selecting Sky Sports 1)

The card was removed, cleaned, reinserted, and nothing. We left it in for an hour or so, to see if it became active, but it didn't. Did we not leave it in long enough?

Is this error above an example of unpairing, separation, or something else?

Wibs

That is quite simply (as the message says) a case of the wrong card being used in the box. The card being used is simply not paired to that box so does not belong to that box, or another card has been married to the box in the meantime (meaning the previous card is truly "divorced"). Could it be your friend has multiple boxes ("multiroom") and has mixed up the cards? Or has he mistaken the correct card for another.

In this period of card changeover could it be that he has recently had an new card which is now tied to the box and is trying to re-use the old card?

If you can see other non-premium Sky channels then this implies the card/account is still active (and excludes the last suggestion), but it simply in the wrong system.

This message will only go away if someone contacts Sky with card and system details to correctly pair it to the system which implies a good excuse for the hardware change.

Perhaps the box is upset at having the card withdrawn from its slit and then being left in the dark for several days, only to have the card violently reinserted again? Might it want to rest for a while, have a long hot bath, and eat some rocky road ice cream?

No, YorkshireLad, he is quite adamant that he has only the one box at home, only the one card, and that he simply unplugged the receiver, with the card still inside, and brought it to Germany (as he was not going home the following weekend, and wanted to watch something live on Sky Sports 1.

Does the card need the satellite to send any kind of keep-alive or refresh signal if a receiver has been powered off for some time?

He gets BBC1,2,3, ITV1,2,3, Channel 4, Channel 5, but I think you do not need a card for those anyway? Can you suggest a non-premium channel that I can test to show that the card/account is still active?

Wibs

The receiver has been off for less than a week. The card would not close down in that time. I know of no other reason to see that message than that the card is the wrong one. If he can get BBC, ITV, etc. then the satellite is correctly aligned. Sky 1 is an example of a non-premium encrypted channel (in fact almost any Sky channel except Movies and Sports). If this works then the card and subscription is valid (but in the wrong box), if it doesn't then the card is disabled or cancelled.
If the problem persists he will need to contact Sky to cross reference box details and card number and see where the problem lies.

I assume, of course we are referring to the right card in the right slot - i.e in the slot behind the hidden flap, and NOT in the revealed slot marked "interactive card", just in case he has the right card in the wrong slot and the wrong card in the right one.

I would also presume he cannot pause, record on any channel or playback previous recordings he might have made.

This is a common problem with the New white cards...

As long as he knows all his Sky details, With-hold the Number on his mobile, and call sky.

It would be better than asking here, as Sky will KNOW the deffinate answer without lots of Presumptions being thrown about the place.

A common problem that a new white card works one day, then a few days later becomes the wrong card for the system it previously worked in?
Curious....

UPDATE

I checked the non-premium channels too, Sky 1 was also not available, only BBC1,2,3, Ch4 and Ch5. Strangely, ITV West (S) (EPG 103 on his box) was also not available, but the regional ITVs (London, Anglia, etc in the EPG 900s) were all available.

However, the box has been connected at my home for the last couple of days, and when I got home from work last night all channels were now back!

No call to Sky has been made.

So it looks like the card was simply inactive (rather than divorced) and I just needed to leave it longer to get a refresh signal.

Strange to get a 'This is the wrong card for this set-top box' error message though.

Wibs

a "Wrong card for this box" message won't go away with any refresher signal. It needs manual attention from Sky.They will need special signals to the box to pair it to the card and to do this they need the box system details from the subscriber or a callback over the telephone.
Is it a (new) white or (old) blue card in the system?

There are a few other issues with the New White cards...

Many people have reported perfect veiwing.. then the Next minute " This Programme is not available" On EVERY channel.

I bet its a white card and a Sky related "Over air software upgrade" bug that was sorted by Sky "on the fly"

It is a white card.

Wibs