Sky Glass Televisions Disabled By Tech Fault

Hundreds of Sky smart television and streaming-service users have reported technical faults with their devices, apparently following an automated software update.

Hundreds of users reported issues to Downdetector, with users taking to online forums and social media to say their devices would not switch on.

“My Sky Glass has suddenly started refusing to switch fully on,” a user wrote on a Sky community forum. “Only the red front light comes on and then dims to almost out and then fully lights up again.”

Glass is the company’s smart television integrating its own streaming service and those of partners such as Netflix and Disney+.

Technical fault

Another user posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, showing a Glass device failing to turn on with the red standby light slowly flashing.

“Rang Sky and was on hold for 20 minutes, to be cut off and told ‘We are exceptionally busy, ring back later.’ Sky chat not available,” another user wrote.

The firm apologised for the issues without offering details as to the cause.

“We are sorry that some Sky Glass and Stream customers are currently experiencing issues when trying to switch on their devices,” the company said in a statement.

Stream is the company’s hockey puck-like device that adds streaming services to any television.

The firm advised users to conduct a factory reset of their devices, which removes updates and restores the device to its default settings, before taking the television through a set-up process and re-installing updated software.

Factory reset

The process involves unplugging the device at the mains, pressing and holding the standby button at the bottom-right of the television, then plugging it back in and keeping the standby button depressed until the device’s LEDs flash.

The recovery process can take up to 15 minutes on slower connections, Sky said.

Users said their devices worked again after a reset.

Sky launched the Glass television in October 2021.

Under a strategy announced in 2019, the company is positioning its streaming services as the future of its services, succeeding the satellite-based television offerings that gave the firm its name.

Sky also offers broadband and mobile services.