You may well have seen adverts offering to bypass Sky's encryption service and get free access to premium channels. I wouldn't recommend these, Sky work hard to ensure their systems work and you only see what you pay for

However it is perfectly legal to retune your digibox to the hidden free channels. Then you can view other regions local news programmes, and watch local sports events not shown in your area.

Make sure your Sky box is on and your TV is tuned into it.

Press the Services button near the top of your Sky remote control then press 6 (Other Channels). You may well see some extra channels here already. This is where your new channels will be stored, when you want to watch them come here to select your chosen channel. It is not possible to store extra channels in the main body of channels, these are predetermined by Sky.

Ok, now use the Back Up button to get back to a picture and follow the instructions below to set up your new channels.

1. Press the Services button near the top of your Sky remote control. This brings up a menu.

2. Press button 4 , this brings up the System Set Up menu.

3. Press button 4 again, this brings up the Add Channels menu. These are the settings you need to alter to tune in the channels you want. Refer to the lists below to find the values you need for the following steps.

4. Use the number buttons on the remote to enter new Frequency. Now step down to the next box using the Down Arrow.

5. Check what Polarization you need. If you need to change the default setting do so by pressing the Right Arrow. Now step down to the next box using the Down Arrow.

6. Check what Symbol Rate you need. If you need to change the default setting do so by pressing the Right Arrow. Now step down to the next box using the Down Arrow.

7. Check what FEC you need. If you need to change the default setting do so by pressing the Right Arrow. Now step down to the next box using the Down Arrow.

8. You should now be in the Find Channels section. Press the Select button, your box will now hunt for available channels and after a short delay will display those available.

9. Use the Up / Down Arrows to select the channel you want to store, now press the Yellow button to put a tick by it. Repeat this step for all the channels you want to store. Finally press Select to store your channels.

10. Go back and repeat this process for channels you want that are listed below on different frequencies.

That's it, to watch these channels follow the instructions at the top of this page. To find out what's on in different regions I recommend downloading Digiguide from www.digiguide.com

I suggest you hang on to these instructions; it is not unknown for Sky boxes to occasionally lose these extra channels without warning.

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