When the picture goes wrong
Most aerial problems announce themselves the same way: a screen that freezes for a second, little squares smeared across a face, a channel that says no signal while the one next to it is fine. Behind those symptoms there’s a short list of causes, and nearly all of them can be put right without replacing the whole system.
We repair TV aerials for homes, landlords and small businesses across Essex, East London, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The engineer starts at your TV and works outwards, through the wall plate, the cable, any amplifier in the loft and finally the aerial itself, measuring at each stage. That way you pay for the part that has actually failed, not a guess.
Fault finder
What’s wrong with your picture?
Pick the closest match to see what usually causes it, what to try first, and how we’d fix it.
What usually goes wrong
Water in the cable or a joint
The commonest repair we do. Sun cracks the outer sheath, rain gets in at a joint, and the signal weakens every time it’s wet. We cut back to dry cable, fit sealed connectors or run a fresh length down the wall.
An aerial knocked off line
Wind slowly turns an aerial on its clamps. A few degrees off the transmitter can leave just enough signal on a calm day and nothing in bad weather. We realign it with a meter and tighten everything up.
A failed amplifier or power unit
If every TV in the house dropped out at once, check the box in the loft. Amplifiers and their plug-in power supplies wear out, and a replacement with a 4G/5G filter often brings back lost channels too.
Storm damage
Snapped elements, a bent pole, a chimney bracket that has pulled loose. We make the installation safe, replace what’s broken and, if the old bracket or stack isn’t sound, fit a new mounting that is.
Lost channels after a retune
When a whole group of channels disappears together, one multiplex has gone. An old narrow-band aerial or a weak margin is usually behind it. We test which group is missing and fix the cause, not just retune.
One room with no picture
If only one TV is affected, the fault is close to it: a fly lead, a wall plate, a splitter or a loose connection behind the set. A quick test at the socket tells us which, and the fix is usually small.
How a repair visit runs
Tell us the symptoms
Call 0800 559 3914 or send a WhatsApp. Which TVs are affected, which channels, and whether it changes with the weather all help us bring the right parts.
We measure at the TV first
Signal strength and quality at the socket show straight away whether the fault is inside the house or up on the roof.
Then the loft and the roof
Readings either side of any amplifier or splitter, then at the aerial, pin the fault to one component.
You agree the repair
We explain what has failed and what it takes to fix it, and agree it with you before any work goes ahead.
Fixed and proven
Once the repair is done we retune every set and show you the readings, so you can see the margin is back.
Faults that come and go with the weather
A picture that’s perfect on a dry summer evening and breaks up every time it rains is one of the most useful clues we get. Intermittent faults like that nearly always point outdoors: moisture creeping into a joint or connector, or a signal margin so thin that the slight loss in wet air tips it over the edge.
Wind does its own damage. A loose clamp lets an aerial creep round a little with every gust, so the picture gets gradually worse over a winter rather than failing all at once. Coastal homes from Southend to Felixstowe see it faster, because salt air corrodes fixings and connectors, and exposed farmhouses out on the flat land of the Dengie or the Fens catch the full force of a westerly.
In summer, trees coming into leaf can soak up a weak signal between the house and the transmitter. If your reception dips every year in May and recovers in autumn, a taller pole or a higher-gain aerial usually cures it for good.
Repair or replace?
We repair first wherever it makes sense. A sound aerial with a bad cable joint only needs the joint; a good amplifier with a dead power unit only needs the power unit. There’s no point in renewing parts that are working.
Sometimes the aerial itself is the problem. Old group aerials were made for a narrow band of frequencies and can miss multiplexes that have moved since they went up. Corroded elements, a cracked dipole box or a rotten mast lose signal in ways that can’t be patched. In those cases a modern wideband aerial costs little more than a repair and will last far longer, and we’ll tell you so plainly. You decide.
TV aerial repair questions
Why does my TV say no signal on every channel?
If every TV in the house is affected, start with any amplifier: check it has power and its light is on. If it has, the fault is usually the main cable or the aerial itself. If only one TV is affected, try another lead and socket before calling us.
My picture only breaks up when it rains. What causes that?
Almost always moisture getting into the cable or a connector outside, or a signal so weak that wet weather pushes it under the line. It’s a repair, not a reason to replace everything.
Is it safe to leave a storm-damaged aerial?
If it’s hanging loose or the pole is bent over, keep people away from below it and call us. We’ll make it safe first, then repair or replace it.
Can a repair bring back missing channels?
Often, yes. Missing channels usually mean one multiplex is too weak. A realignment, a new amplifier with a mobile filter or a wideband aerial normally brings the whole group back.
Do you repair aerials you didn’t install?
Yes. Most of the aerials we repair were put up by someone else, sometimes decades ago.
Do you repair communal aerials in flats?
Yes. Shared systems fail in the same ways, just with more sockets affected. See our commercial page for communal systems.
How do I book a repair?
Call free on 0800 559 3914 from any phone, or book direct on WhatsApp and we’ll arrange a time.