Rescan TV Antenna Channels
Get better, stronger antenna signal on Denver Channel 7 ABC!
Denver channel 7 ABC and channel 2 CW have recently updated their equipment at the antenna transmitter towers to give their viewers better and stronger antenna signal. While this is great news that 4K free TV signals are over the air, you will lose signal temporarily and need to rescan to get these channels back. Rescanning is also a great thing to do every 6 months, as new free channels are added to the antenna all of the time. See below-almost every major network has changes frequencies in the last year.
Rescanning your TV or DVR is easy to do and takes only a few minutes. No new devices, equipment or services are needed to rescan! Please note this process varies by the hardware you are using and the best source for help will be directly from the hardware manufacturer. StreamWise Solutions, formerly freeTVee, is not a TV service nor a hardware provider, but has posted the following info as a helpful free resource.
Why you need to rescan your antenna
Denver channel 7 and channel 2 CW have changed frequencies, which means you will need to rescan your TV or DVR to keep receiving these free channels via your TV antenna. The channel number on your TV will stay the same, all of these frequency changes are happening behind the scenes.
Here are a few simple steps to make sure you don’t lose antenna channels. This is only needed if you use a TV antenna, streaming services are not affected and do not need any type of rescan.
Identify how your antenna is hooked up
How is your antenna hooked up? Does it connect to a DVR like a Fire TV Recast, Tivo, etc. or is it hooked up to a digital converter box or TV directly? It’s important to note that if you have multiple TV, it could be both. Find your setup below to get instructions on how to rescan for missing antenna channels.
1. Antenna is wired directly to TV via coax cable (you use the original TV remote to watch antenna channels)
You have a basic old school setup of TV antenna plugged directly into your TV. As an example, you have an indoor antenna (not recommended) or outdoor antenna wired via coax cable from the wall jack directly into your TV or digital converter box.
If this describes your setup, start by grabbing your original TV remote that came with your TV. Make sure your TV is on the correct input or source of “TV”. Access the menu settings and rescan for antenna channels. TV settings and menus vary by TV and digital converter box, but this video covers the basics.
2. Antenna is hooked to a DVR (Recast, Tivo, etc.) (you use a Fire TV or Tivo remote to watch antenna channels)
You have your antenna hardwired into a DVR like a Fire TV Recast, Tivo, etc. (you do NOT use the remote control that came with your TV to watch antenna channels.
Hardware Specific Rescan Info
- If you have a Fire TV Recast DVR click here for specific Amazon Fire TV Recast DVR rescan instructions.
- If you have a Tivo DVR click here to see specific Tivo DVR rescan instructions.
- Do a google search for other DVR manufacturers by name with “rescan instructions” to find specifics for your DVR.
- Some channel guide data might not populate right away, but should update over time based on where your TV or DVR gets their guide data from. After doing a rescan double check to make sure your series records are still being recorded, if not you may need to cancel the old series recording and setup a new one.
- Most TV stations moving will result in stronger signal and more new channels, however some TV stations might move to lower power or go off the air. Antenna reception will vary by situation (home location, TV, etc) but in order to get the best reception we always recommend an Outdoor Whole Home Antenna.
Recent TV provider channel changes
- Denver Channel 7 ABC and channel 2 CW upgraded their transmitter towers. Read our blog here.
- FOX Denver Channel 31 has moved, click here for more info from FOX 31
- NBC Channels 9.4, 20.1 & 20.2 have moved, click here for info from NBC the TV provider.
- ABC Channel 7 have moved, click here for more info from ABC the local TV provider.
- PBS Channels have moved, click here for info from PBS the TV station provider.
- NBC Colorado Springs Channel 5.1 has moved, click here for more details.
- ION, KCDO, etc. (smaller low power channels) 59, 3, 26, 28, 16, etc. have or will be moving over the next few years, so we advise you to rescan every 3-6 months to find new or missing channels.
