Sky TV Outage: Thousands Still Affected by Technical Issues with Sky Q
May 16 ,2025
London, UK – Sky TV subscribers across the UK have faced significant service disruptions since Thursday night, with thousands continuing to report problems into Friday morning, despite the company’s assurances that the issue had been resolved.
The outage began around 9 p.m. BST on Thursday, rapidly affecting tens of thousands of customers. By 10:30 p.m., Downdetector—a popular platform that tracks service interruptions—had recorded over 26,000 reports of users unable to access their Sky Q services. Although the number of complaints decreased overnight, by Friday morning over 2,500 users were still experiencing issues, indicating the problem was not entirely resolved.
What Users Experienced
According to multiple customer accounts, Sky Q boxes either repeatedly crashed or failed to load live TV and streaming content altogether. Some subscribers reported persistent "no signal" messages, while others found their Sky Q boxes turning off just minutes after booting up—even after performing routine resets.
A typical user complaint posted on X (formerly Twitter) read: “@skytv sort SkyQ please. I have no signal at all. I’m sat in my living room staring at a blank TV. My SkyQ box turns on and after 2 minutes goes off again with the 'no signal' screen. I’ve tried everything. Please fix it.”
The Suspected Cause
Sources familiar with the issue suggest that a technical fault may have caused some Sky Q units to enter a prolonged standby mode, rendering them temporarily unusable. While Sky has not provided a detailed technical explanation, it confirmed that the problem affected a portion of its customer base.
However, customer feedback on social platforms tells a different story. Many users expressed frustration not only with the disruption but also with Sky's lack of timely communication during the outage. “There’s clearly a serious nationwide problem with #SkyTV this evening,” one user posted, “but Sky hasn’t acknowledged it on their website, X, Facebook or anywhere else. Very poor customer care.”
Workarounds and Recommendations
Sky has advised affected users to perform a manual reset by powering off their Sky Q boxes at the mains for at least 30 seconds before switching them back on. While this process, known as a “power cycle,” resolved the issue for some, many others reported no improvement after trying the fix.
On various online help forums, users attempted to troubleshoot the issue collectively, offering temporary solutions—but with mixed results. The outage's intensity appeared to peak around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, with a brief lull overnight. However, issues spiked again around 2 a.m., and by 7 a.m. Friday, complaints had resumed, according to Downdetector data.
One frustrated customer joked online Friday morning: “Might have to buy a piano today if Sky doesn’t come back on.”
Customer Frustration Mounts
Sky customers have grown increasingly vocal about the incident, especially given the company's slow response. Many noted the absence of any proactive communication or service status updates on Sky’s main platforms during the critical hours of the outage.
The incident comes as a reminder of the heavy reliance households have on digital TV and streaming platforms. For many, a temporary disruption to television service can feel like being cut off from key sources of entertainment and news—especially when no clear timeline for resolution is provided.
As of Friday midday, the situation appears to be improving for a large portion of users, although some Sky Q subscribers still report difficulties. Sky has yet to issue a follow-up statement detailing the root cause of the outage or steps to prevent future disruptions. In the meantime, affected customers are encouraged to continue monitoring official Sky support channels and attempt the recommended reset procedures if necessary.