Your Sky Q box is packed with hidden features – these are the 6 you don't want to miss

Unlock Hidden Potential: Essential Sky Q Features You Need to Know

Despite the rise of streaming services, Sky Q remains a popular choice for television viewers in the UK, offering a robust satellite TV experience. Celebrating nearly a decade as a leading entertainment platform, Sky Q boasts a built-in hard drive for seamless content recording, convenient Sky Q Mini boxes for multi-room viewing, and an intuitive voice-activated remote control. Users enjoy access to a vast array of live channels, premium sports and movie options, on-demand programming, and integrated streaming platforms. For those who prefer the reliability of satellite, Sky Q continues to deliver a feature-rich viewing experience.

Maximize Your Sky Q Experience: Top Hidden Features

If you’re content with your current Sky Q setup and haven’t yet transitioned to Sky Stream or the latest Sky Glass Gen 2 TV, you might be overlooking some valuable, lesser-known functionalities. This guide from Express.co.uk highlights six of the most useful hidden Sky Q features and provides instructions on how to access them.

Virtual Remote Control via Sky Go

• Hidden Sky Q Remote: Your Phone as a Controller

Did you know your smartphone can act as a virtual Sky Q remote? By using the latest Sky Go app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device, you gain instant control of your TV. This is ideal for those moments when the physical Sky Q remote is misplaced and your phone is within reach.

To activate this feature, ensure your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your Sky Q box. Open the Sky Go app, tap the cog icon in the top left corner, and scroll to ‘Sky Q Remote‘. This will launch the virtual controller on your screen. For even quicker access, look for the small remote icon at the top of the Sky Go app, next to the search function; tapping this icon will immediately display the controller.

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Quick Access to Recordings

• Instant Access to Recordings with the Sky Logo Button

The Sky logo on your Sky Q remote isn’t just decorative. Pressing it instantly takes you to your ‘Recordings’ menu, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple menus to find your saved programs.

In addition to the logo button, voice search provides another convenient method. Simply press and hold the microphone button and say commands like “Go to recordings,” “My recordings,” “Take me to recordings,” or “Open my recordings” to access your saved episodes, films, and on-demand boxsets.

Remote Finder Function

• Locate a Lost Remote with the Box’s ‘Q’ Button

If you’ve misplaced your Sky Q remote, finding it is straightforward. Pressing the ‘Q’ button on the front of your Sky Q box will activate a beeping sound from a small speaker on the remote, similar to a car alarm for your remote.

Sky designed this feature to quickly locate remotes that have slipped between sofa cushions or are hidden in other out-of-sight locations. To stop the beeping, press any button on the remote once you’ve found it.

Energy Saving Eco Mode

• Reduce Energy Consumption with Eco Mode

Sky Q includes an ‘Eco’ mode that can help decrease your energy consumption, potentially lowering your electricity bill. This setting puts the set-top box into a low-power sleep state during the night, reducing energy usage when the TV is typically not in use.

The ‘Eco’ mode is located within the ‘Preferences’ section of the settings menu. Sky recommends enabling this feature. When activated, the device automatically enters a low power mode between 2:30 am and 5:45 am, times when most viewers are unlikely to be watching television.

Dark Mode for Enhanced Viewing

• Enhance Visual Comfort with High Contrast Dark Mode

For users seeking a change from the standard blue Sky Q home screen, a ‘High Contrast’ mode offers a sleek dark theme. This feature transforms the blue background to a deep black, similar to smartphone dark modes. Beyond aesthetics, Sky Q‘s ‘High Contrast’ mode is designed to improve accessibility for visually impaired users, as the black background with white text provides enhanced readability compared to the default blue interface.

Enabling High Contrast Mode:

• Press ‘Home’ on your Sky Q remote and select ‘Settings’.
• Navigate to ‘Accessibility’, then ‘High contrast’, and switch the setting from ‘Off’ to ‘On’.
• Press ‘Dismiss’ to return to live TV and enjoy the new dark mode interface.

Voice Control Mastery

• Unlock Hands-Free Control with Voice Commands

For a more streamlined user experience, utilize Sky Q‘s voice control capabilities. Avoid button presses and menu navigation by simply speaking commands to search for content, control playback, find recordings, and launch apps. Explore these voice command examples:

• Launch apps: Say “Netflix” or “YouTube”.
• Change channels: Say “Sky Atlantic” or “ITV”.
• Play recordings: Say “Play Top Gun.”
• Use playback commands: Say “Play,” “Pause,” “Skip four minutes.”
• Change accessibility settings: Say “Subtitles on.”
• Search for content: Say “House of the Dragon” or “Spider-Man”.