Sky Q customers would be wise to make a simple setting change this month.
Sky Q remains one of the most popular set-top boxes in the UK, and if you happen to have one tucked under your TV, now is a good time to check the settings and make a simple change.
Most homes will be well aware that energy prices have shot up again this month and that means using power will cost a little bit extra each month.
Luckily, there are ways to cut down on your usage and Sky Q has one very nifty trick that should save some pennies off of those electricity bills.
The setting is called “Eco Mode” and it puts the device into a money-saving slumber during the hours of the night when you are unlikely to be watching TV.
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Once switched on, Sky Q heads into a handy a low power mode between the hours of 2.30am and 5:45am.
And don’t worry if you have some early morning recordings set, as the box is smart enough to work out when it’s needed and stay active during those times.
“This is the recommended setting as the box consumes less energy by going into low power mode between 2.30am and 5:45am. It won’t go into this mode until any scheduled recordings are complete,” Sky confirmed.
If you are worried that you won’t be able to watch TV if you suddenly wake up the night – Sky has that covered as well.
Just tap the power button and things will spring back into life. Sky has confirmed that bringing the box out of Eco mode will take a few minutes and if you try to use your Sky Q Mini box before 5:45am, you may experience connectivity issues. To stop this, you’ll need to switch your standby setting to Active or None.
So, how do you switch this setting on?
To enable “Eco Mode” press Home on your Sky Q remote and select Settings, then Setup.
Select Preferences, followed by Standby mode and select the setting you want.
Of course, there are other things you can do to reduce the power being consumed by devices, including switching on “power saving” modes on your TV – which dim the screen to save energy – and turning off consoles when not in use.
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The only piece of tech you really don’t want to turn off is your router.
This flashing black box should be kept powered up 24 hours a day. Hitting the power button can mean vital updates aren’t received during the night.
Constantly switching it on and off again can make your Internet Provider think there’s an issue with the line which could mean speed restrictions are then put in place to keep you online even though there’s nothing actually wrong.