If your Christmas viewing has been hit by a bad telly signal this week it seems you are not alone. The British weather appears to be causing some major issues for Freeview and it could mean some homes aren’t getting the crystal clear image they would usually expect. A band of high pressure is currently hovering above the UK and that’s bad news for those wanting to turn into the festive feast of entertainment.

As the BBC explains, “High pressure can cause two potential problems. The first is that you receive a weaker signal, as the signal from your local transmitter is lifted higher into the sky. The second is that the signal from a distant transmitter interferes with your reception.”

The problems started on Christmas Eve and are expected to continue until Friday, December 27.

“Freeview viewers across the UK could see some disruption to their TV reception from Tuesday 24th to Thursday 26th December 2024,” Freevew confirmed in an update on its status page.

“This is due to high pressure which could disrupt the TV signals which Freeview uses.”

Although it’s highly annoying for those wanting to watch the Strictly Christmas special or last-ever Gavin and Stacey, there’s nothing homes can do to sort the issues. It’s simply a waiting game for the high pressure to move on.

One thing you don’t want to do is start trying to retune your screen as this will simply waste time and have no effect on the TV.

“You are advised not to retune your TV during this time – reception will be restored once the high pressure passes,” Freeview said.

If you have an internet-connected telly with Freeview Play you can switch to this online service instead or tune into content via online platforms such as iPlayer and ITVX.

High pressure has caused the Freeview signal to have issues throughout the year, and if it’s starting to irritate you, there is now a new alternative. Freely, which is owned by the same team behind Freeview, uses broadband to beam content to tellies rather than a standard over-the-air signal.

That means it isn’t affected by the weather and will continue to show pin-sharp content during storms and high pressure events. Freely offers access to over 40 channels with both live and on-demand content available to view.

You can even pause live telly, see what’s on now and next via the telly guide and get recommendations for new things to watch.

We’ve got full details about Freely here.