Why Your TV Picture May Be Interrupted by the Sun
If you notice slight pixelation, freezing, or a brief loss of picture on some TV channels over the next few days, the sun may be the reason!
Each spring and fall, a natural event called a sun outage can temporarily interfere with satellite TV signals. It happens when the sun lines up directly behind a satellite that delivers television programming. The sun’s powerful energy briefly overwhelms the satellite signal being received here on Earth.
What might you notice?
During a sun outage, you may experience:
- A pixelated or “blocky” picture
- A frozen screen
- Brief audio problems
- A channel temporarily going completely out.
These interruptions typically last only a few minutes, and different channels may be affected at different times because TV networks use different satellites.
Is there anything that I should do?
No. There’s no need to restart your TV equipment or change any settings. Once the sun moves out of alignment with the satellite, the signal should return to normal.
Sun outages are a natural, temporary, and unavoidable phenomenon that affects TV service providers across the country, usually near the spring and autumn equinoxes.
If a TV service interruption lasts longer than expected or continues throughout the day, contact Red River Communications so our team can help determine whether something else is causing the issue.