Renewing DStv, GOtv and Startimes online

Cable renewal online is faster than any other route and gives you a receipt, which matters when a provider disputes that you paid.

How to renew

1. Open Cable TV and pick your provider.
2. Enter your smartcard or IUC number. On DStv it is the smartcard number; on GOtv, the IUC.
3. Tap Verify. The account name and current bouquet come back.
4. Renew the same bouquet, or choose a different one.
5. Pay. Activation is usually immediate.

When the decoder still shows an error

E16, E48-32 and similar codes usually clear on their own once activation propagates. If the picture has not returned after a few minutes:

1. Leave the decoder on and wait five minutes — activation is pushed over the air.
2. Power-cycle it: off at the wall for thirty seconds, then on.
3. Check the dish or aerial has not moved. A payment cannot fix a signal problem.

Changing bouquet mid-cycle

Providers apply their own pro-rata rules to a mid-cycle change, and those rules are theirs, not ours. Changing near the end of a cycle is generally cleaner than changing just after a renewal.

Keep the receipt

Every renewal is recorded in your history with the smartcard number, amount and timestamp. That record is what settles a dispute about whether a payment was made.