where can I see if I can get freeview in my area without upgrading my aerial?

Answer 1

We have excellent Freeview reception. Our aerial is at least 12 years old...

Check out the website below for current coverage.

Answer 2

The freeview website will be able to tell you the strength of your signal, based on your postcode. However, there's no way of telling whether your aerial is strong enough based on the information on that site.

However, I can suggest something that could help you resolve this issue at no cost to yourself. Do you have a friend, relative or neighbour who has a freeview box? If so, could you borrow their box, plug it into your aerial, and check the reception? This will immediately tell you if your aerial is up to the job of broadcasting digital signals. It doesn't matter what the text box is like (features, etc), as the signal strength is the same, whether it's a basic Freeview, a mid-range or a top of the range model. Don't forget to give the box back, though!

Answer 3

You could look at the BBC website.

This will give an idea about reception. However, they will recommend that you do uprate your aerial, (it's the common sense thing to do, unless you have a stonking signal).

Obviously, you could try Freeview without the aerial upgrade, then do it if necessary.