We had a message from a parent trying to find a way to remove the various adult channels, premium rate ‘phone girl channels, so that her children couldn’t get to them by accident.
Removing channels from Sky
On older boxes, there is no way to remove channels from the Sky line-up. All available channels are listed by default and there is no way to remove channels from the Electronic Programme Guide.
On newer boxes, such as the Sky+ HD box, there is an option to remove Adult Channels from the channel list and the Electronic Programme Guide. To do this, do the following:
Press TV Guide
- Scroll right to the “Parental” option
- Enter your PIN when prompted
- Select Remove Adult Channels
The way to handle this issue, is to use Parental Control. You can specify that your Sky box’s 4 digit PIN number needs to be entered each time you (or your children) try to access a channel or TV show that’s intended for an older audience.
How to use Sky Parental Controls:
Each version of Sky box is slightly different, so these instructions may not completely match your set-up. To access the Parental Controls settings on a Sky+ HD box, do the following:
- Press TV Guide to get to the on-screen guide
- Scroll to the ‘Settings’ option
- Choose Parental Controls
Here you will find the following options:
Adult: The option to remove all adult channels from the channel list and programme guide
Viewing: The option to prevent access to programmes over a certain age-limit without a PIN, e.g. U, PG, 12-and-over, 15-and-over or 18-and-over
Channel: PIN-protect certain channels on a per-channel basis – You can use the yellow and blue buttons to block a channel always, or just between 8pm and 6am
Other: Includes: PIN on pre-watershed playback (recorded content), PIN entry before going online and PIN-protect programmes marked as ‘Keep’. There’s also the option to enable ‘Spending Protect’, so that you don;t exceed a daily spend on pay-per-view content.
Once you have made the changes you require, on some boxes you have to remember to press the green button on your remote control to save the changes.
I access Sky through my Now TV box . I niw have to enter a pin when l watch for example Magnum PI As a 71 year old this is annoying How do I turn off parental control through my Now TV Box?