Before every December holiday we hear the same question: "Can I use my DStv decoder at another house Gansbaai side, like the family place in De Kelders?" The short answer is yes. Your decoder is not locked to one address. But it only works at the second house if three things line up: a working dish, the right cabling and the right setting on your DStv account.
Quick answer: Yes, you can use your DStv decoder at another house or holiday home. The other house needs a correctly aligned dish, a compatible LNB and a cable that reaches the TV. On your DStv account you can then switch your package to a Holiday Home decoder, or reconnect it and pay for both. If your decoder is linked in XtraView, sort that out with DStv before you pack it.
Think of the decoder as the radio and the dish as the aerial. The decoder carries your smartcard and your account. The dish, LNB and cable belong to the building, and they do all the hard work of catching the signal.
So before anything else, check what is waiting at the other end. Here is what the second house needs:
Many holiday homes around Kleinbaai and Franskraal already have a dish from a previous owner. That is a good start, but an old dish is not always a working dish. If the house has never had DStv, you will need a proper DStv installation in Gansbaai before the decoder is of any use there.
There are two ways people do this. Some carry their main decoder from home to the holiday house and back. Others keep a second decoder permanently at the holiday house and register it on their account as a Holiday Home decoder.
The second way is far less work. Nothing gets unplugged, nothing rattles around in the boot, and the cables at both houses stay where they belong. You then turn the holiday decoder on or off from your phone.
This is where most trouble starts. In XtraView, the primary decoder sends a "heartbeat" to the secondary decoder. If the secondary decoder cannot hear that heartbeat, it stops working. Take a secondary decoder to another house and it will go dark.
DStv's advice is to contact them to remove the travelling decoder from your XtraView set-up. If you take one decoder away often, DStv recommends making that decoder the primary. Our guide on XtraView heartbeat errors and fixes explains the primary and secondary roles in plain terms.
DStv gives you a few ways to watch away from home. Each one suits a different kind of household. This table sums them up.
| Option | What happens | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Switch from main account | Your package moves to the Holiday Home decoder for the dates you pick. The home decoder is off. | The whole family is away and nobody is watching at home. |
| Reconnect packages | Both decoders stay on. You are billed for the extra days at the holiday house. | Someone stays home, or a house sitter is using the main TV. |
| Carry your main decoder | Same decoder, same account. It only needs a compatible dish at the other house. | Occasional trips to a house with a tested dish. |
| Stream on the DStv Stream app | Watch on a phone, tablet or laptop over the internet. No dish needed. | Short stays, or houses with good fibre but no dish. |
One detail catches people out. When you switch, DStv takes your current package from the home decoder and does not adjust your billing. That is why you must upgrade before you switch, not after.
If you are moving for good rather than visiting, the steps are different. Our DStv relocations and reconnections service removes, refits and realigns the system at your new address.
Follow these steps in order. Most failed holiday weekends we see come from skipping step one or two.
You can also manage holiday viewing through DStv's WhatsApp self service on 060 060 3788. The full official steps are on DStv's holiday viewing help page.
Step six trips up more people than you would expect. If you are unsure which socket is which, our guide to DStv decoder cables and connections shows what goes where on each model.
Want the holiday house ready before you arrive?
We check the dish, the cable and the decoder at your second home so the TV works on the first night, not the third.
When the TV stays blank, work back through the steps. The error on screen usually tells you which step failed.
If the decoder shows a message about services, the problem is on the account, not the roof. DStv's own help pages say an E16 error can be cleared through the DStv app or any of their support channels.
A "no signal" message means the decoder is not getting a feed from the dish. No account change will fix that. Common causes are a dish knocked off line by wind, water inside the cable or an LNB that does not suit the decoder.
An Explora connected to an older single-output LNB is a classic example. If you are not sure what is on the roof, read about the DStv Smart LNB and when homes need one.
If you skipped step three, a secondary XtraView decoder will lose its heartbeat away from home. The fix is to have DStv unlink it, or to take the primary decoder instead. Remember the decoders left at home also stop if you take the primary away.
A decoder that has been unplugged for months, or moved to a new dish, may open its installation screens. Choose the settings that match the LNB at that house. Our walk-through of the DStv installation wizard steps shows where people usually get stuck.
The steps above work anywhere in the country. What makes the Overberg coast different is what happens to equipment between visits.
Houses in Kleinbaai, Franskraal and Pearly Beach sit right in the salt spray. A dish that nobody looks at for six months can rust at the bracket, and an uncovered cable end lets moisture creep inside. We explain what to watch for in how salt air damages satellite setups.
The south-easter and winter fronts also push dishes slightly off line. A tiny movement is enough to lose the picture, and you will not see it from the ground.
Power cuts and surges are hard on decoders that are left plugged in at an empty house. Unplug the decoder when you leave, or fit a surge protector.
If you are moving permanently between houses, from town to Masakhane or up the Overberg coast, our DStv relocation checklist for moving house covers what to sort out at both ends.
For a house that has stood empty all winter, a quick visit from our Gansbaai DStv installers before the season is usually cheaper than a lost long weekend.
Local tip: When you leave the holiday house, unplug the decoder and screw a cap or a short piece of tape over the cable end. It keeps salt and damp out until your next visit.
Most account problems you can sort out from your phone. Physical problems are different. Call us if any of these sound familiar:
We check the dish with a signal meter, replace tired cable and connectors, and test the decoder on a live channel before we leave. We always tell you what we found and what we fixed.
Setting up DStv at a second house near Gansbaai?
Tell us the decoder model and where the house is. We will tell you what it needs before you travel.
Getting DStv working at a second house is mostly about preparation. Check the dish, sort out the account and give the signal time to arrive. Do that, and your first evening at the coast starts with the TV on.
Yes. Your decoder will work at another house if that house has an aligned dish, a compatible LNB and a working cable. Your account must also be set up for that decoder, for example through DStv's Holiday Home option.
Not as a secondary decoder. A secondary decoder needs the heartbeat from the primary and stops working without it. Contact DStv to remove it from XtraView, or take the primary decoder instead.
Only if you choose Reconnect. Reconnect keeps both decoders on and bills the extra days. Switch moves your package to the Holiday Home decoder and turns the home decoder off, so you do not pay for both.
Log in to MyDStv on the website or the DStv app. Open your Holiday Home decoder, choose Manage, then Move Package and confirm. Your package goes back to your main decoder at home.
Make sure the decoder is on with the smartcard inserted, then wait up to 20 minutes. An E16 error can be cleared through the DStv app. A "no signal" message points to the dish or cable instead.
Not on a decoder. Without a dish you can stream channels on the DStv Stream app over the internet. For decoder viewing, the house needs a dish installed and aligned.
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