Some Freeview customers in Wales have found themselves left with no TV channels since a scheduled update on Wednesday.
Others have had access to different channels at different times. Radio stations are also said to have been affected.
Confused customers turned to Facebook to work out what was going on and concerns were raised online by pensioners who live alone and rely on their TV for company.
People also commented that they were concerned that Freeview didn’t schedule updates at times that wouldn’t affect elderly viewer’s entertainment.
Ian Wish commented on Facebook yesterday saying: "They were still messing about with the signal this morning. So maybe another retune later on today.
"I agree that they are really inconsiderate when it comes to the elderly in scheduling these annoying updates."
This is why you need to own a TV licence:
The disruption was caused by changes to TV signals at local transmitters. Around 200,000 homes are supplied by the transmitters but it is unclear how many of these have been affected by retuning issues.
A spokesman for Freeview said: "Advertised changes to Freeview signals were carried out in the Swansea area on Wednesday as channels at some local transmitters moved to new airwaves.
"Viewers receiving their signal from these may need to retune to continue watching. The changes were required by Government to prepare for the launch of future mobile broadband services and have been taking place across Wales and the rest of the UK region by region."
The company also confirmed that all engineering work had been completed as planned.
What you need to do to keep accessing Freeview channels:
On the Freeview website, it says: “ Changes are being made to the way some channels are broadcast on Freeview . You may need to retune your TV equipment to continue watching programmes when these take place in your area.”
There is a video to watch on the website with instructions on how to retune your TV in 4 steps :
- Press menu or home on your remote control
- Select set-up , installation , settings or similar (if password needed, try 1234 or 0000)
- Select first time installation (sometimes called factory reset , full retune or auto-tuning )
- If asked to delete existing channels, press OK and your retune should start automatically
Advice is also included for specific TV brands.
If retuning doesn’t restore your channels, there is an FAQ section, or you can call the Freeview Advice Line free on 0808 100 0288.
You may also be eligible for free in-home support, including aerial work if needed.
