Troubleshooting tips for intermittent satellite signal

Prior to proceeding with the following troubleshooting steps, be sure to consider the following:

How is the weather in your area?
If your area is experiencing inclement weather and your signal only became intermittent when the bad weather started, you may just need to wait for the signal to clear up.

Is there something blocking the satellite dish?
If the dish is visible to you, take a look at the sky in the direction it’s facing. Could something such as a tree or snowdrift be blocking the way? Anything that could be blocking your satellite dish could be causing an intermittent signal with your satellite set-top box.

Is the issue happening on only one set-top box?
If you have multiple satellite set-top boxes and the problem is only occurring on one, try swapping it with another set-top box in the house to see if the issue persists with the line or only that set-top box.

Troubleshooting Tips

If your satellite signal issue persists or is affecting all satellite set-top boxes, take the following steps to try to rectify it:

1. Verify connections at the set-top box and (if possible) at the LNBF or multiswitch.
2. Trace the coaxial line from dish to set-top box and bypass any splitters, joiners, or surge protectors on the line.
3. Inspect the coaxial line for an RG specification written on the side. Shaw Direct requires an RG rating of RG6 or higher to work. RG59 cable will tend to work for a short time on some channels before burning out.
4. Check for possible interference issues in the house and/or close to the dish, such as anything that transmits an RF frequency (e.g., radar stations, CB radio, or smart meters).
5. If only some channels are intermittent, please take note of which channels those are.
6. Try unplugging the set-top box from the power for one minute and plugging it back in.

If the above tips did not correct the issue, you may need to refresh your set-top box.

Find more set-top box troubleshooting tips with our Satellite set-top box FAQs.