In the dead of night, Sky Glass owners are encountering a chilling mystery: their TVs, seemingly off, suddenly burst to life with the sounds of Channel 4 programmes, turning silence into unexpected drama.
It’s not a burglar, nor a ghost whispering secrets from beyond.
Instead, it’s Gordon Ramsay, his voice booming through the living room, critiquing a dish’s lack of seasoning, or perhaps Phil Spencer, musing about the virtues of kerb appeal.
This bizarre phenomenon isn’t the plot of a new British comedy series but a real issue plaguing users of the Channel 4 app on Sky Glass televisions across the country.
Sky Glass, the broadband-based TV from Sky, was originally released in 2021, and – according to Sky – has since become the best-selling TV in the UK for 2023.
Sky Glass is a 4K TV set that features a QLED HDR display and a built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar with six speakers.
Unlike Sky’s traditional services, Sky Glass doesn’t use a satellite dish – instead, it relies on broadband and streams all the content to the TV, much like other streaming devices like the Amazon Fire TV and Roku – or streaming services like Sky’s own NOW (see our Sky Glass VS Now comparison), and Sky Stream, the streaming set-top box from Sky.
Even the Freeview channels are streamed to Sky Glass via broadband (much like the upcoming Freely service) – therefore there’s no need for an aerial (but there’s still an aerial port on the TV, as a “backup” for when you don’t have an internet connection).
With Glass being a streaming-based device, it also has a long list of streaming apps – and one of those is the Channel 4 app – which has been… misbehaving in recent months.
A Ghost in the Machine?
Imagine settling down for the night, the comforting silence enveloping your home, only to be rudely awakened by the sudden outburst of a television programme.
No, you didn’t leave the TV on by mistake, and robbers who sound like Greg Davies have not invaded your sitting room.
Instead, your Sky Glass TV – in its standby mode – has decided to serenade you with random snippets of Channel 4 programming.
From the Taskmaster theme tune to echoes of shows watched hours earlier, this issue has left many Sky Glass users both bewildered and unnerved.
I have witnessed this personally on multiple occasions – the screen is black, the TV is apparently off – but voices from shows on the Channel 4 app start blasting from the TV’s speakers.
One user shared their eerie experience on the Sky Community Forum:
“When the TV is in standby mode it will occasionally play random bits of TV audio. A short moment ago we had a few seconds of the Taskmaster theme tune.”
Another recounted, “Had the exact same thing happen twice tonight, quite unnerving when asleep. It was audio from a programme we watched a few hours prior.”
This spectral activity seems exclusive to the Channel 4 app on Sky Glass, adding another layer of mystery to the already complex relationship between viewers and the Channel 4 streaming service (previously known as All4).
As we recently reported, an Ofcom consultation says viewers have expressed frustrations with the Channel 4 streaming app (not just on Sky Glass) – citing navigation difficulties, glitchy performance, and an increasingly out-of-touch ad model.
Now, it seems, the app has found a new way to haunt its audience, breaking the silence of the night with unexpected broadcasts.
Attempts to exorcise this digital poltergeist have proven futile for some.
“It’s getting annoying now, and I have unplugged the TV, restarted the TV, and even reset the whole thing, but it still happens during the early hours of the morning sometimes!” lamented another forum user.
This issue, dating back to discussions from November 2023, indicates a persistent problem that has left users searching for solutions and explanations.
Of course, beyond the nuisance factor, this issue could also impact energy usage, potentially affecting your energy bills.
Troubled By Channel 4 Voices – Is There A Fix?
The question of why this is happening remains as mysterious as the problem itself. Theories abound, from software glitches to the possibility of scheduled updates gone awry, but definitive answers are scarce.
For now, one thing that seems to help (sometimes) is to try opening another separate app (on Sky Glass) once you’re done watching something on the Channel 4 app.
So, for example, open BBC iPlayer and start watching something for a few seconds, before you turn off the TV – and that sometimes helps (possibly by removing the Channel 4 app from the recent memory/cache of Glass).
We’ve reached out to Sky for clarification and await their response, hoping for a solution that can put an end to the midnight musings of Channel 4’s programming.
- Update: Sky is saying the company is aware of the sound problem in standby mode, and it is being investigated.
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Sky Glass 2 anyone?
Sky Glass never would be better.
It’s a horrendously over-priced mess of a TV. Poor quality mass-produced components and buggy software in a chunky aluminium shell.
Sky would be better sticking to improving the Stream puck and leaving the TV manufacturing to the experts.
I will never buy a TV with the Sky name on it.