Over-the-air television is as popular as ever. For cord-cutters, it’s a way to supplement their Netflix, Hulu or Amazon subscriptions with live shows. For sports fans, they can attend a number of major events, from NASCAR races to NFL games.
While using the antenna it is free, it is not free from maintenance. TV stations sometimes spin on different frequencies and this means that your television’s settings may no longer be accurate. You may disappear from stations or lose access to the ones you thought you had dialed.
This is an especially big deal right now as there are a whole host of stations rolling out over the next few years. Luckily, keeping your free TV pipeline open is easy. We’ll show you how you can rescan and get all the latest channels.
TV spectrum auction
First, let’s look at why so many stations are jumping. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conducted a spectrum auction in 2017 aimed at expanding mobile broadband services. The result was that around 1,000 stations voluntarily gave up their current broadcast channels and opted to switch to new channels. Some stations have also opted to go off air.
These changes only affect those who use antennas for free over-the-air broadcasting. Satellite and cable customers don’t have to worry about this as their services will handle the changes behind the scenes.
The transition period covers a large part of the time, occurring in a total of 39 months beginning April 2017. Many stations will alert their viewers of any upcoming changes, so keep an eye on your favorite channels. They will be running daily on-air announcements about the transition at least 30 days before the change.
Re-scan your TV’s tuner to add new channels
The good news is that antenna users don’t have to go out and buy any new gear. Your regular television and antenna setup will continue to function, but changes will be in full swing by the end of the year, so you’ll need to make a significant move. This is called rescanning.
Rescanning is the process of asking your television’s tuner to check the current channel lineup. This will pick up any changes and allow you to access stations that may have been moved around. It’s a good idea to rescan from time to time, but it’s especially important now that there are so many stations switching to different frequencies.
For more specific information, visit the FCC TVAnswers.org website and enter your zip code to find out which stations are running and when they are doing so.
RELATED: These streaming apps can help you cut the cord.
how to rescan
The rescanning process may vary depending on your television, but following a few basic instructions will get you to the right place.
Using your remote, go to your TV’s main menu. View channel scanning settings. Different manufacturers use different terms for this. For example, with some Samsung TVs, you’ll find this under the Broadcast menu listed as “Auto Program.” It may be listed under tuner settings or under “Channel Scan” or another similar term.
Start the scan and let it do its job. You may need to have some patience. It may take several minutes for the television to complete the scan. As a bonus, rescanning can help you pick out stations and subchannels that are new or that you missed in your previous scans.
With all the changes coming to broadcast channels, you will probably need to rescan more than once. Go ahead and give it a try now, but don’t forget to check back and rescan to get the latest updates in the future as well.
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