How to Troubleshoot Satellite TV
There are really only so many things that can go wrong with satellite TV. You have the receiver, coaxial cable and the dish itself. Connections may become lose inadvertently at the rear of the receiver and strong winds can knock out the alignment of the eyes on the dish. These are all easy to correct.
Troubleshooting Satellite TV Cables and Connections
- Inspect the connections at each end of the cable.
- Check the cables for your satellite TV at the receiver, wall connection and satellite dish ends. Your setup many include a connection at the wall or not. Make sure everything is screwed in tightly. If this is a new install, ensure the coaxial cable center wire is long enough to make contact.
- Wiggle each connection while someone is watching the TV. If the picture or service is disrupted while you jiggle, there is a bad connection there.
- Replace a cable if in doubt. They are not too expensive and this could save a lot of aggravation. A cable may have broken somewhere along the line.
Troubleshooting Reception
- Get into the signal strength tester on your receiver with your remote control.
- Go to Menu-->Parental, Favs, Setup. Then go to System Setup-->Satellite-->View Signal Strength--> Signal Meters. The setting and control names may be slightly different depending on which services you have.
- Pay attention to the signal meter. It should be green or somehow indicate that you have full reception. If not, loosen the bolt and nut at the dish that allows you to adjust it.
- Adjust your satellite dish if your signal strength is too poor for reception. This usually requires only a slight adjustment. You need one person to adjust while the other person monitors the signal strength indicator at the TV.