Freesat Reviews 

Well what are the so-called boffins at Freesat up to been with Freesat since there they started broadcasting had then a humax box with was very reliable. Then in June I purchased a aris box was pleased at first. Then you could not program what you wanted to record from your phone.wich for me was a good selling point.the last straw was there software update in October so every time I switch on the box it comes up with we are setting up your dish then other times when turning box on the home page appears.before there software update had no problems with the box. Sorry to say that since there update everyone seems to have issues why they had to to do this software updates I’ll never know.it definitely has not improved Freesat service.on the plus side picture quality is good also sound quality is good. But when recording a series the box can’t always cope missing some recordings. Finally Freesat could be such a brilliant service but sorry to say that they at this point in time have lost their way.🙁🙁😢 update 15/12/2024 latest software update 2/12/2024 when turning box on for first time the box displays home page at the same time in background setting up your dish. I tried sorting out this by doing a factory reset but did not resolve the problem.

The hard drive on the first Freesat box I bought died at 14 months so out of warranty.
I hoped this was just bad luck so I bought another one and when I got past 18 months felt a bit of relief.
But at just 25 months the same thing happened.
This means I have spent approximately £300 to get just 3 years of TV.
I contacted Freesat who suggested when I buy my next one I buy extended warranty, but as that is only an additional year it would be £50 wasted if it only last 25 months again.
I find it hard to believe that I am just very unlucky to have the same fault on two boxes bought a year apart. And I will not be buying another one.

Had the freesat box about 2 years now. I was happy with it until October update, now the EPG is AWFUL, writing too small no program information with out pressing additional buttons. Not consumer friendly at all.
The sound quality has always been very poor and no change since update. Certainly won't invest in another box, will be looking at other options.

Paid £229.99 for a Freesat box and within a year a software downgrade (Oct 15th 2024) rendered it virtually useless. The text is too small, the channel icons are minute and impossible to see, the menus hang, series record has a mind of it's own........the list is endless. £230 down the drain.
Read the other reviews before buying, don't just take my word for it.
If Freesat are determined for us to give up on them, just stop selling them. It's simple.
Not fit for purpose.

Since the upgrade in Oct 24 the menu is awful. It is too small, very slow to load and you have to go backwards on the menu to get it to load forwards!?? Who made this dreadful upgrade. It is so bad we are now going to switch to something else. Would rather pay for Sky than use this now.

I've had a Freesat recordable set top box for a couple of years now, and in general I was quite happy with it. On October 15th of this year (2024) there was a software update which has rendered my Freesat box virtually unusable. The EPG is completely different, its slow and quite often just hangs up for no apparent reason, and the only way out is to remove the power and reboot the box.
I contacted Freesat to explain what had happened, and if there was any way to roll back to the previous software, but they were totally uninterested and unhelpful and told me it wasn't possible.
So I'm stuck with a Freesat box which is quite frankly, a piece of junk.

Purchased a Freesat box directly from Freesat as I thought they would be the most reliable source. I was wrong. The box was listed as a refurbished item and was slightly cheaper than a brand new box. However, it was immediately clear that there was a fault with the box - I could not turn it off! After turning off, the box would then continually cycle through off/standby/on modes. I reported this via the support option with Freesat. After following their instructions (turn off and turn on again, reset the box software etc) the problem was still there. I was then asked to send a video to prove what was happening, which I did. I was then sent a prepaid return label to return the box for a refund. Oddly, I was not offered a replacement box, only a refund. After returning the box I then had to wait TWO WEEKS for my refund to arrive. I would not recommend buying anything from Freesat.

It seems obvious to me that Freesat is on the way out. Since getting the recorder box, I have lost channels, lost features (e.g. remote record setup) and following the latest software update, the box freezes and stutters and is basically useless. Series records set up previously, are now unreliable and when I try to reset them, the 'series' option is missing (STVHD) and I can only record a single episode. Their website doesn't help and suggests I use the streaming service. If only we could, with our 1Mbs internet speed! It seems to me that we are all being pushed towards streaming, so that we can't avoid adverts (or pay extra to avoid them) What a disaster of a company.

Had box a few weeks and appears power cutting out have followed all Freesat advice. Freesat said there is a problem with box but Currys won't accept this. I have read the If Currys refuses to offer a refund or replacement for a faulty product, despite it being their responsibility under UK consumer law, you can take steps to assert your rights. Here's what you can do:

1. Understand Your Rights

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if a product is faulty, you are entitled to a full refund if you report the issue within 30 days of purchase.

After 30 days, you are entitled to a repair or replacement. If these are not feasible or cause unreasonable inconvenience, you can request a refund.

2. Contact Currys Again

Write a Formal Letter/Email of Complaint: Clearly outline the issue, referencing the Consumer Rights Act. State that the product is faulty and you are requesting a refund or replacement within a reasonable timeframe.

Include proof of purchase, details of the fault, and any correspondence with Freesat admitting the issue.

3. Engage in Escalation Procedures

Ask to Speak to a Manager: Sometimes, issues are resolved faster when escalated to senior staff.

Utilize Currys' Complaints Process: Check their website for the official complaints procedure.

4. Involve Freesat (Optional)

If Freesat has admitted fault, ask them to provide written confirmation. This can strengthen your case when dealing with Currys.
Report to Trading Standards: Citizens Advice can help you file a report with Trading Standards if Currys is breaching consumer Section 75 Claim

Omg why change the format of the channels when it worked I have had a load more problems since you changed the format and my recordings well don't even go there reschedule this that and the other very dissapointed change it back

OK service let down by an awful, buggy box. Planners with "No Data" in the guide, permanently set HDR flags, broken Dolby audio, slow delete of watched programmes... nothing to recommend it, really.

Loss of favourite channels. Slow loading and a re set is often required.

This issue only occured after the unessential update, remember the old adage, if it's not broken then don't fix it,
I loved the way I could record programs when away
from home, now we have a LOW grade system that causes more problems than expected and a loss of many channels.

As soon as it started raining most of the channels can no longer be watched. Some receive sound only some have a totally scrambled picture and some have neither picture or sound. Unless you live in a place where it rarely rains don't buy the Freesat box!!!! A neighbour has a Freeview box hooked to an outdoor aerial and tells me he has never had a problem with reception.

Ordered a Freesat recorder for my elderly mum who’s old one had broken. The box was dispatched quickly but went missing in transit the day before delivery. Contacted Freesat customer service who said they were ‘looking into it’. Gave them a couple of days and called back. They were still ‘looking into it’. Meanwhile my mum has no way to watch TV. After a week they said they had no new information but were ‘looking into it’, I said could I please have a replacement or refund as the original clearly wasn’t turning up. They said no as the were still ‘looking into it’, which as far as I can tell meant doing nothing while waiting for the package to turn up. After over two weeks I got a refund via PayPal as Freesat were doing nothing about it.

**Also, if you’re planning to order one of these boxes do it via Richer Sounds as they offer a 6 year refundable guarantee, and from what I hear these boxes break often.

Since October update it has become unusable , very slow to change channels or do anything else
Also missed recording
The new interface is a big downgrade from the previous one
What have you done Freesat ?

Our first Freesat Recordable 4k 500gb box was bought in late December 2020.

In October 2021, a major fault emerged, in that the box would “freeze” and refuse to start. Frequent calls
went on – and on – and on; with no resolution in sight.

In fact, the problem if anything worsened, with the box having to be manually re-booted some times as many as 7 times in the morning before the set would switch on.

At the end of March 2022 the hard drive failed completely.

A number of calls to Freesat were eventually concluded on 11/04/2022 when a “no quibbles” return and replacement was agreed and a returns label was duly sent to me, so the Box I currently have is a new replacement, sent to me by Freesat in mid-April 2022.

The bottom line, then, is that this “new” box is not much more than 2 ½ years old.

This was working perfectly. Was, that is, until a new software upgrade was imposed in October 2024. Since then, the box has been responding sluggishly, recordings have failed for no reason, and earlier in the week, when, for the first time since the “upgrade” we attempted to access the “on demand” service, the box didn’t seem to want to respond and then crashed completely. End result; no box, no TV.

The conclusion of my conversation at 0915 13 Nov, with Duncan, and after repeated attempts for a factory reboot failed, I am now told that because this box is out of warranty, there is nothing that Freesat can do and the only advice Duncan could give, was to buy a new box.

This is totally unacceptable. Even the Freesat Warranty webpages – under the “what are my legal rights” heading – concedes that there must be a satisfactory quality of the goods provided and a reasonable expectation that these last for a reasonable length of time. Here in England, this is generally deemed to be six years.

This box has clearly failed within this period and as this - in my view – resulted from some change that the October update caused within the system, I hold Freesat fully accountable. Even if this cannot be proven I still have a legitimate expectation, in law, that the goods should be of a satisfactory quality and last for a reasonable length of time.

In the meantime, I will have to buy a new box. I will retain the receipt and pursue a case for full compensation through the Small Claims Courts if necessary. A copy of this email will also be sent to my solicitor; BBC’s Watchdog; and Trustpilot.

Freesat Reply:
"We have looked at your case, however we would be unable to overturn the initial decision to reject the exchange request due to being too far outside of the warranty period. As the original purchase date was December 2020 this would now be nearly 4 years since purchase.
Even if we were to assume the replacement date of April 2022 as the beginning of warranty, this would still be too far outside of the warranty period as the replacement box would then be 2 years and 7 months old, making it nearly 19 months outside of an assumed warranty period.
Our decision is final.
Although we wouldn't expect our units to develop this type of fault, all units are sold with a one-year warranty as standard, although outside or this time we will always look to help our customer where we can, unfortunately this isn't always successful."

My Reply (15/11) to Freesat:
Your reply is unsatisfactory.

For your information, since my earlier email I have had to buy a new box from Currys. Based on my experience with Freesat to date, I also took up an extended 5-year guarantee with the retailer at an extra £60. At the point of installation, yesterday, the October update (that I maintain has some inherent faults) was not yet patched in and everything was working perfectly. Since the update has kicked in, later in the day, there have been – again - some noticeable glitches. The ones I’ve seen so far are (a) the System information tells me I have a 1-cable standard input, when I have 2. (b) the box will not allow me to view certain channels while recording another. i.e. I cannot view Channel 5 while recording BBC1; I can, however, watch ITV3 while recording BBC1. Something is very wrong, somewhere! (c) will not load up programme guide straight away. (d) message "setting up the dish"!

Lastly, during my discussion with your customer service advisor Duncan, I was told that there were no known issues with the new update – “we would have had calls” – this is totally untrue! I refer you again to Trustpilot.

I bought a Freesat 500GB Recordable box for £229 in September last year
In March there was no sound coming from the box and after help from the help team still no sound, the sound came back after a month and all was well until last week when again no sound and again the help team couldn’t help, also told that the box may be replaced.
Got an e mail today saying that as the warranty ran out in and they would not be replacing my broken box.
So after spending £229 I now have a useless Freesat box
I feel so let down by Freesat who are not interested in customer service
SO PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THIS COMPANY - DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK

Awful customer service products and services avoid at all cost

January 26, Freesat have still not fixed the dish set up every time you start the box, calling them is pointless as they just don't care, just avoid them. May 2025, it's still terrible and Freest are still hiding behind the sofa to scared to come out to face it's customers, that says it all. Terrible since the software update. Avoid at all costs. Set top boxes now have to set up your dish on a daily basis, the program information either does not load or is incomplete, avoid. Your better of using an old Sky box. Very interesting how Freesat is not responding to any negative comments on here or anywhere else on the internet, is it a possibility Freesat is in trouble?

One word to say awful how this company is still trading god knows