You’re using your Sky remote wrong – real meaning of every button revealed

YOUR Sky TV remote probably has a few tricks you didn’t know about.

We reveal some of the hidden meanings behind lesser-used Sky buttons.

Sky Q Touch TV remote

The Sky Q Touch remote is the one with the big touch circle in the middle of it.

There are two types: one with buttons on the circle, and one without.

But they’re largely the same in terms of design and functionality.

Look below the touch circle and you’ll find a button on the right side with three horizontal dots.

This is called the Sidebar button and you may have never used it.

But it opens the Sidebar, and from there you can launch apps like Sky Sports.

At the bottom of the remote, you’ll see a button with a question mark on it.

This is an Accessibility button, and lets you quickly turn subtitles on or off. Very handy!

Your TV remote should also have a voice button on the side.

It’s possible that you’ve used this already to find a TV show or change channel.

But you can also use it to quickly skip ads on pre-recorded content.

Simply say “skip three minutes” and that should take you past most ad-breaks.

And finally, that big Sky logo at the top of your remote is actually a button.

Yes, it’s not just a logo: it will take you straight to your recordings.

It also brings your TV remote control out of standby.

Sky Q TV remote

The regular non-touch Sky Q TV remote swaps the touchpad out for physical buttons.

All of the above tricks will still work, with one caveat.

It’s possible that you have a Sky TV remote without a voice button, so might not be able to access the spoken controls.

One more trick

If you lose your remote control, there’s an easy way to get it back.

The remote has a built-in speaker that can beep if you’ve lost it.

All you need to do is activate the feature using your Sky box.

The remote control will beep loudly for 30 seconds, allowing you to quickly locate it.

It means you’ll spend less time frantically turning sofa cushions upside down.

If you’ve lost your Sky Q remote control, don’t panic.

First make sure your house is quiet, so you can hear the beep.

Then press the Q button on the front of your Sky Q box.

After a few seconds, your paired Sky Q Touch / Sky Q remote with Voice Control will beep.

This beeping will only last for 30 seconds, so if you don’t find it in that time, you’ll need to restart the process.

If it doesn’t work at all then it’s possible that your Sky Q remote is out of battery.

It’s also possible that the Sky Q remote is no longer in the building, and can’t be reached by the Sky Q box.

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