Sun outages
What are Sun Outages?
In the spring and fall, when day and night are about the same length, the sun crosses the equator and traces an arc that places it directly behind geostationary satellites. This means that the orbital position of the satellite and the sun are in one line.
This can momentarily disrupt satellite reception and cause a phenomenon known as a solar or sun outage. Our satellite dish receives signals from both, but the more powerful sun overrides the desired signal, causing a loss of service.
This article will answer questions you may have about how sun outages can temporarily impact your service.
When do sun outages happen and how long they last?
Sun outages occur every year in fall and spring, and last approximately a week each time. Solar interference this spring will take place between February 28 through March 8, 2025.
The exact time and duration will vary from channel to channel. This is due to channels being received off different satellites in the arc. Each satellite is affected at a different time as the sun moves across the satellite arc.
The approximate times for signal loss will be between 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM ET or 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM CT9:00 AM and 4:30 PM CT9:00 AM and 4:30 PM CT7:00 AM and 2:30 PM PT and will last for approximately five to fifteen minutes depending on the size of the dish.
What kind of outage/interference can I expect?
During sun outages, the channels affected will display pixelation, go to a black screen or the picture may freeze for a brief period of time.
How can I tell if it's caused by a sun outage or something’s wrong with my cable?
Factors identifying interference as a likely sun outage:
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- A sun outage happens only during the day between 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM ET or 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM CT9:00 AM and 4:30 PM CT9:00 AM and 4:30 PM CT7:00 AM and 2:30 PM PT (no sun, no interference)
- A sun outage will be brief, lasting for just a few minutes—from approximately five to fifteen minutes.
What should I do during a sun outage?
Solar satellite interference is out of the control of service providers. We apologize for any disruption of this type and can assure you this is a temporary disruption.
The best course of action is patience as your signal gets back to normal typically within five to fifteen minutes.
Contact us if you have questions about sun outages.
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