What you'll notice
Channels that used to work now show an error saying the subscription is not active, often across the whole package at once.
Why it happens
The account is genuinely unpaid or suspended, a payment has not reflected yet, or the entitlement update has not reached the decoder because it has been switched off or has poor signal.
This one deserves a plain answer, because people pay for callouts that were never going to help.
Check the account first
Log in to the self-service app or portal and confirm the account is paid and active. If a payment went through in the last day or two it may not have reflected yet. This costs nothing and it is the single most likely explanation.
Then give the decoder a chance to catch up
If the account is definitely active, leave the box powered on and tuned to a working channel for at least thirty minutes. Entitlement refreshes arrive over the satellite feed and the decoder has to be on, with signal, to receive one. Boxes that have been off during a holiday or a move very often just need this.
When it is us
If the account is active and thirty minutes on air changes nothing, the likely cause is signal that is adequate for a picture but not stable enough to carry entitlement data reliably. That is a genuine installation fault and exactly what we are for. Tell us on the phone that you have already confirmed the account and done the refresh, and we will arrive knowing what we are looking for.
How we fix it
We separate the two possibilities definitively: if the decoder has good signal and has been on long enough to refresh, the problem is on the account and no installer can fix it. If signal is marginal, that is our job and we fix it.
Still not working?
If the checks above haven't restored your smart card, this usually needs a technician. Our DStv Error Code Repairs service covers exactly this fault — from R450, quoted upfront.