How to Add Channels on OpenView: Easy Steps for St Helena Bay

This is our guide on how to add channels on OpenView St Helena Bay homeowners can follow without a callout. We get this call often, and the fix is usually quicker than people expect. Usually nothing is broken. The decoder just needs a fresh scan, an activation or a better signal.

A typical Saturday on the West Coast: the channels are gone

Picture a Shelley Point holiday house locked up since Easter. The family arrives, switches on the OpenView box and gets one channel or a "No Signal" message.

Or a home in Laaiplek after load shedding, with half the channels missing. Or a Stompneus Bay cottage where the south easter has pushed on the dish all week.

All three homes ask us how to add channels on OpenView again. The answer is almost always one of four things: an unfinished scan, a decoder that needs activating, a dish that has moved, or salt in the cable and connectors.

The first two are free to fix and take a few minutes. If the problem is the dish, we explain how to tell, so you do not climb a ladder for nothing.

How to add channels on OpenView: what it really means

On DStv, adding channels means paying for a bigger package. OpenView works differently. There are no monthly fees, no contracts and no packages to buy.

According to OpenView, the bouquet currently has over 20 TV channels and 28 radio channels, including SABC 1, 2, 3 and e.tv. OpenView may add or remove channels from time to time. So when people ask how to add channels on OpenView, what they really need is to get the decoder to find and show channels it is already allowed to play.

Still weighing up the two platforms? Our guide to OpenView vs DStv in St Helena Bay compares channels, costs and the dish side by side.

Channels you cannot add to OpenView

You cannot add DStv channels to an OpenView decoder. They run on separate systems. There are also no paid sport or movie channels on OpenView to switch on.

The +More option on newer decoders

The newer OpenView decoder, model KSTB6168, can connect to your home WiFi. Once connected, the +More button on the remote gives you on demand movies, series and catch up. OpenView notes that data costs apply. This is the only real way to "add" more viewing to an OpenView box.

How to add channels on OpenView, step by step

This is how to add channels on OpenView using OpenView's own help guide. Work through the steps in order and stop as soon as your channels are back.

Step 1: Restart the decoder in the right order

The first lesson in how to add channels on OpenView is the restart. It forces a fresh scan.

1. Unplug the power cable from the back of the OpenView decoder.
2. Unplug the dish cable (marked LNB IN or DISH IN).
3. Plug the dish cable back in first. Make sure it is pushed in straight and screwed tight.
4. Plug the power back in and wait. The decoder reboots and scans on its own.
5. When the scan is done, check whether your channels are showing.

This restart clears "No Signal", "No Channels" and "Searching for Signal" messages in many homes, including after load shedding.

Step 2: Activate if you only see channel 100

Channel 100 is the OpenView welcome channel. If that is all you get, the decoder works but is not activated, and no amount of scanning will help. Press HELP on your remote and write down the STB number. Then dial *120*6843*1# on your cellphone and follow the prompts, using that STB number.

OpenView says the channels can take up to 5 minutes to appear. The decoder may reboot and update during activation, so leave it alone. We cover the full setup on our OpenView HD installation page if you would rather we handled it.

Step 3: Clear error codes by phone

Some messages mean the decoder needs its authorisation refreshed. OpenView lists these errors: 200, 206, 69, 20, E04 and E06. To clear them:

1. Dial *120*6843*1# on your cellphone.
2. Choose option 2 to clear error codes.
3. Enter your postal code and follow the prompts.
4. Enter your STB number when asked.
5. Wait 5 to 10 minutes for the message to clear.

Step 4: Check the signal before you scan again

Press HELP on the remote. The signal strength and quality bars are at the bottom of the screen. OpenView says both need to be above 75% for smooth viewing.

If both show 0%, OpenView's advice is a factory reset, using the steps in your decoder's user manual. If the reading is still 0% after that, the fault is in the dish, the LNB or the cable, not the decoder. Remote not responding while you try these steps? Our guide on a remote that stops working has checks that suit most remotes, OpenView ones included.

Smart LNB homes: the OpenView setting most people miss

Many St Helena Bay homes have a DStv Explora with a Smart LNB on the dish. Add an OpenView decoder to that dish and it may show the logo, then "No Signal". The decoder is simply looking for the wrong type of LNB. If you are working out how to add channels on OpenView on a shared DStv dish, check this first.

How to add channels on OpenView with a Smart LNB

OpenView's guide for the KSTB6168 decoder gives this fix:

1. On the remote, press 0, 9, 8, 7 to open the LNB setting menu.
2. Change the LNB type to SATCR.
3. Start a channel scan.
4. When the scan finishes, the promo channel plays. Activate as in Step 2 if needed.

On a dish with an older Universal LNB, you can skip this step.

One dish, two decoders

OpenView and DStv use the same IS-20 satellite, but on different frequencies. OpenView confirms you can run both from one dish with the right LNB. A dish that is slightly off may still show DStv but drop some OpenView channels, which is why one platform can work while the other does not.

St Helena Bay signal tips before you rescan

Knowing how to add channels on OpenView only helps if the dish delivers a clean signal. If it is weak, every new scan finds the same short list. Here on the West Coast, three things cause most of that.

Wind moves the dish

Wind across the bay nudges a dish a few millimetres at a time, which is enough to lose channels. If your OpenView signal slowly got worse after a windy spell, the dish probably needs a proper re-aim with a meter, which our satellite dish alignment service does on the spot.

Salt air eats connectors

Salt reaches every bracket and F connector near the water, from Britannia Bay to the Paternoster side. Green or white crust on a connector lets water into the cable and the signal drops. We explain what lasts in our guide to salt air and satellite dishes.

Rain fade is temporary

Heavy rain weakens the satellite signal and the picture breaks up. OpenView advises waiting for the rain to stop before calling anyone. If the picture keeps freezing on clear days too, our article on picture freezing and pixelating walks through the likely causes.

Your options: fix it yourself, call OpenView or book a local installer

Not every problem needs a technician. Most people asking how to add channels on OpenView can fix it from the couch. Use this table to see where yours fits. Prices are at the time of writing (October 2026).

If the decoder itself is the problem, OpenView lists the decoder from R799 on its website, at the time of writing (October 2026). That price excludes the dish and installation.

For anything in the bottom half of the table, our local DStv installers in St Helena Bay bring a signal meter, marine grade connectors and spare cable. We check the reading at the dish, replace corroded connectors and show you the final signal level.

Checklist: how to add channels on OpenView without a callout

Keep this list near the TV. It is how to add channels on OpenView in the right order, and most families are done in fifteen minutes.

• Is it raining hard? Wait for it to clear first.
• Is the dish cable tight at the back of the decoder?
• Did you restart with the dish cable in first, then the power?
• Do you only see channel 100? Activate with *120*6843*1#.
• Is there an error code? Clear it by phone with option 2.
• Is your dish on a Smart LNB? Press 0987 and set SATCR.
• Are signal strength and quality both above 75%?

For holiday homes and rentals

Houses in Velddrif and Shelley Point often stand empty for months. OpenView says the decoder updates its software in the early hours, so leave it plugged in for a night after you arrive. Our holiday home TV setup guide covers how to leave a system ready for guests.

When to stop and call us

If every box above is ticked and the signal is still low, the fault is outside the house. That is the point to book DStv installation in St Helena Bay from a team that works these roofs every week.

For OpenView's own help pages and error list, see the OpenView help FAQs.

Once the signal is right, how to add channels on OpenView stops being a weekend problem. It becomes a two minute restart.

How to add channels on OpenView: common questions