Planning to settle in for some telly in the coming days? You might want to have a backup plan at the ready, as Freeview has issued a warning about potential disruptions to TV reception across the UK.<\/p>\n
Yes, it\u2019s happening again. Freeview viewers may need to brace themselves for interrupted viewing from today (Friday, October 10) through to Wednesday, October 15, 2025, all thanks to high atmospheric pressure playing havoc with TV signals.<\/p>\n
Depending on where you live and how severe the conditions get, you could lose access to some Freeview channels in your area \u2013 or in worst cases, find your reception disappearing altogether.<\/p>\n
And as always with these events, Freeview has issued important guidance on what you should NOT do if this affects you (see full details below).<\/p>\n
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If this all sounds familiar, that\u2019s because it is. We\u2019ve seen these weather-related disruptions multiple times before<\/a>, as they happen several times a year. So here we go again.<\/p>\n Why Does Weather Affect Freeview Reception? <\/p>\n Freeview<\/a> serves millions of British households with free-to-air TV channels and radio stations, but it\u2019s not immune to the whims of nature \u2013 especially atmospheric conditions.<\/p>\n Under normal circumstances, the TV signals broadcast from transmitters across the UK travel relatively straight from the transmitter to your aerial<\/a>. This direct path ensures stable and clear reception under typical weather conditions.<\/p>\n High atmospheric pressure throws a spanner in the works. It creates what\u2019s called a \u201ctemperature inversion\u201d \u2013 basically, a layer of warm air sits above a layer of cooler air near the ground, flipping the normal pattern where air gets cooler as you go higher.<\/p>\n This warm air layer acts like a lid, trapping the cooler air below. More importantly for Freeview viewers, it affects how TV signals travel.<\/p>\n Rather than travelling in their usual straight trajectory, the signals start to bend or refract. They get trapped in this atmospheric layer and can travel much further than they\u2019re supposed to \u2013 sometimes hundreds of miles beyond their normal range.<\/p>\n This causes issues when these wayward signals interfere with transmissions from other, distant transmitters. Under normal conditions, these far-away signals wouldn\u2019t affect your reception, but during high pressure events, they suddenly turn up and cause problems.<\/p>\n The result? Pixelation on your screen, certain channels becoming temporarily unavailable, or in severe cases, complete loss of reception.<\/p>\n The disruptions can affect both Freeview and YouView<\/a>, but they shouldn\u2019t affect Freesat reception<\/a>, which relies on different types of signals.<\/p>\n These problems also won\u2019t affect viewers who are getting Freeview channels via broadband, on Sky Glass<\/a>, Sky Stream<\/a>, EE TV\u2019s IP channels<\/a>, or the Virgin Media Stream box<\/a>.<\/p>\n The BBC has even created a helpful video, hosted by Matt Taylor from BBC Weather, that explains why high pressure weather conditions can affect Freeview reception on your TV:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Do NOT Retune Your Freeview Device This Week <\/p>\n Here\u2019s the important bit: if your Freeview reception goes bad this week, resist the urge to retune your device.<\/p>\n I know \u2013 retuning is usually the first thing you\u2019d do when channels go missing or reception gets dodgy. But in this specific situation, it\u2019ll only make things worse.<\/p>\n When you retune during high pressure disruptions, your device might lock onto those interfering signals from distant transmitters instead of your proper local ones. Then, when the weather returns to normal and those far-away signals disappear, you\u2019ll be stuck with the wrong configuration.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve already gone ahead and retuned (it happens), there\u2019s not much you can do except wait until the high pressure passes \u2013 likely by Wednesday, October 15 or possibly Thursday, October 16. Once things settle, you should then retune again to get back to normal.<\/p>\n You can find more information on how to retune your device in Freeview\u2019s retuning help section<\/a>.<\/p>\n What Can I Watch If My Freeview Channels Are Down? <\/p>\n If you can\u2019t get some (or all) of your Freeview channels this week, don\u2019t panic \u2013 there are workarounds. You can still watch many of the main channels via broadband, even if the aerial signal is playing up.<\/p>\n If you have a Freeview Play device<\/a> that\u2019s connected to the internet \u2013 whether that\u2019s a box like the Manhattan T4-R<\/a> \/ T3-R, or Humax Aura<\/a>, or a Freeview Play TV \u2013 you can watch the streaming versions of the main broadcast channels via apps like BBC iPlayer, ITVX, Channel 4, etc.<\/p>\n You can also find streaming apps for all the public service broadcasters, and several other big Freeview channels, on streaming devices<\/a> like Amazon Fire TV<\/a> and Roku<\/a>, and on most Smart TVs.<\/p>\n And as always, other TV services shouldn\u2019t be affected by this issue \u2013 so you can continue to watch Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+ and all the others.<\/p>\n The Future: Freely Offers A Weather-Proof Alternative <\/p>\n These recurring weather disruptions do highlight one of the advantages of internet-based TV services such as Freely.<\/p>\n Freely launched in April 2024<\/a> \u2013 a new service from Everyone TV (the company behind Freeview and Freesat) that provides live channels and catch-up content entirely via broadband, at no extra cost.<\/p>\n Because Freely delivers everything over the internet rather than through aerials and terrestrial transmitters, it\u2019s completely immune to these atmospheric pressure problems.<\/p>\n No aerial means no weather-related interference \u2013 whether it\u2019s high pressure in October or heatwaves in summer.<\/p>\n The service has already attracted over half a million weekly users in its first year. It\u2019s available on smart TVs from manufacturers like Hisense, Bush, Panasonic and others.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Manhattan T3-R (Left) \/ Manhattan T4-R <\/p>\n
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