Freeview warning: UK heatwave could cause reception havoc, but DON’T retune your telly

Freeview is warning customers that TV signals could be affected for multiple days due to the ongoing UK heatwave. As the temperatures could hit a record breaking 40C next week, Freeview is warning that customers could be impacted by signal disruption over the course of five days. However, if Freeview customers do experience problems with their TV reception during the UK heatwave they’ve been told not – as they’d usually do – to retune their tellies.

Freeview said the TV signals they use could be affected by high pressure in some parts of the country between Friday July 15 and Tuesday July 19.

And while customers may be tempted to retune their tellies once this hits, Freeview said reception will be restored once the high pressure passes.

If you do experience any problems with your Freeview TV signal during the next few days you can simply turn to the internet-powered Freeview Play service instead.

You can also download the Freeview app onto your mobile smartphone or tablet to watch Freeview content online. You can see full details here.

In a post online Freeview said: “Freeview viewers across parts of the country could see some disruption to their TV reception from Friday 15th July to Tuesday 19th July. This is due to high pressure which could disrupt the TV signals which Freeview uses.

“You are advised not to retune your TV during this time – reception will be restored once the high pressure passes.

“If you have an internet-connected Freeview Play TV, or one that has the players available to view, you will still be able to watch live and on-demand content from the likes of BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4 or My5.”

For anyone that sees their Freeview service disrupted during the heatwave, here’s information on how to watch Freeview online on different platforms…

HOW TO WATCH FREEVIEW ONLINE – FREEVIEW PLAY

If you have a Freeview Play capable device then when you use the service for the first time you’ll have to set it up.

Your device will talk you through how to do this, with users having to enter a password for their Wi-Fi to connect. You will only need to do this once and details for your home network is usually found at the bottom of your modem.

Once you’ve done this the easiest way to access Freeview Play TV is to tune into channel 100.

You will be able to watch content from the following players…

BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4, My5, UKTV Play, CBS Catchup, Horror Bites, Pop Player, BBC Sounds, Explore Freeview Play, STV

HOW TO WATCH FREEVIEW ONLINE – MOBILE APP

There is also a free Freeview app for iOS and Android which lets you watch Freeview programming.

This app just requires Android OS 4.4 KitKat and above or an iPhone or iPad running iOS 11 and above.

Simply download these apps from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to get started. You will be able to watch on demand programming as well as live TV, plus you’ll get an easy to access TV guide which helps you plan what to watch.

With the Freeview mobile app you’ll be able to watch BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 programming as well as access other channels such as Dave, Paramount Network and STV.

HOW TO WATCH FREEVIEW ONLINE – WEB BROWSER

Freeview can also be accessed via your web browser. Simply head to the Freeview website, log into the channel player and then watch your favourite show.

You can watch programmes from these channels on the Freeview website…

BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC News, BBC Parliament, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC Scotland, BBC ALBA, ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVBe, CITV, STV, Channel 4, Film4, More4, E4, 4Seven, 5, 5STAR, 5USA, 5SELECT, Paramount, Drama, Dave, Yesterday