Get Free Cable
April 11th, 2007 by AndyI must start by saying that by doing this without paying for cable, you are in effect “stealing”. While I don’t want to publicly endorse theft, I will still show how to get cable just in case your provider makes a mistake, or if you want to adjust connections to get clearer reception. Use this information for whatever personal ends you may have.
Legality aside, I do think it’s bullshit that you have to pay for cable TV. To me, television should be like radio – that is, either free and paid for by advertising, or without advertising and carrying a subscription fee. That’s my moral justification anyway, there are many more excuses out there if you even feel the need. On to the good part…
Cable signals are sent to every house, all the time. This is excellent for people who don’t want to pay for them. Those houses without cable subscriptions have filters installed which prevent the signal from leaving the cable box and entering your house. These cable boxes can take many forms, but are generally plastic structures located on front lawns or attached to the side of your house. Many neighbourhoods are wired so several (usually 3) houses connect in one box, so your box might not be on your actual property. These boxes can be especially hard to find in townhouse complexes, but they’re around, you just have to do some looking. Here are some examples, including a box with the cover removed:
Once you find your box, you need to open it up and remove the filter. Filters are tubes of metal which block some or all of the signals passing through them. For example, “basic” cable is provided by attaching a filter which prevents the higher channels from passing through, so if you are already paying for a basic package, removing your filter can upgrade your cable for free. The pictures below are a few filter examples – the red filter limits you to basic cable, the smaller silver filters block signals altogether.
Now that you know what you’re looking for, hooking up the cable is very simple. As you can see in the above pictures, several houses connect within one box. Each input is labeled with address numbers, so finding yours shouldn’t be too hard. Otherwise, just remove filters until you’re getting cable in your house. The very simple process is pictured below, although you may need pliers to unscrew the filter from the cable box. After removing the filter and connecting your cable directly to the box, you should be able to receive every cable channel in your house. If not, you may need to look for a second box, as some houses have filters installed in both a box on the side of the house as well as in a box on the street.
That’s the basic process, it will work anywhere as long as you can find your cable box. Please don’t hesitate to reply with any questions, comments, or tips.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
So what’s the deal with the little gray box? Do you know what kind of tool it takes to open it? Mine has some weird bolt thing holding it shut.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Hello, Is it true that if you cancel your tv cable and have the hi-speed internet only that
this will provide both tv and internet signals??
also, cable boxes can also be up on the pole along the phone lines is that true ?
thanks
August 20th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
I know the gray box is generally bolted closed somehow, but I have honestly never really tried to open it with anything but my hands. If you push the sides of the cover inwards it doesn’t take too much to pop one of them open to expose the wires inside.
Also, I have heard that this can also give you free internet, but I don’t have much information about this. If I come across any better resources I will update this page with some links. But if you keep cable internet and cancel the TV portion of the package, you can just remove the filter and start getting the TV signal again for free.
Finally, cable boxes can sometimes be up phone poles, but if this is the situation the filters are almost always installed where the cable enters the house - this is how it is for the house I am currently at. I guess this is supposed to make life easier for the cable technicians, and it sure makes life easier for you as well.
March 16th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
the filter i have is hard to take out it just keeps turning and turning,i guess it’s called a stopper,i don’t know what to do
March 30th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I’ve never heard of a stopper, but then again I’m far from an expert on this stuff. I know sometimes you have to grab the filter at the base and make sure you hold the screw part of the cable itself, because they will just spin and not unscrew. I needed 2 pairs of pliers to get it at my house. If you’re really stuck you can probably just pull the filter off (brute force), take it inside and unscrew it from what was attached to the cable (some kind of male connector), and then just push the connector back into the cable and screw it into your house. It’s a pretty simple system if you play with it for a bit.
May 31st, 2008 at 8:41 pm
i have both the green box on my lawn and the grey box on the side of my house. Which 1 do i open. Also how do u break into the grey box, it seems to me like you need a key of some sort to open it.
June 1st, 2008 at 1:58 pm
anderson: chances are very good that if you haven’t removed a filter before, it is in the grey box at the side of the house. It usually gets put in at the green box only after they suspect tampering has happened. (As a side note, the cable guys came back within a few weeks of me removing the filter from the grey box the first time, and installed a filter in the green lawn box. I just took it out from there afterwards, and they never bothered me again.) Anyway, you can use a screwdriver to pry open the grey box, or just muscle it open (my preferred method). It’s pretty strong, you won’t break anything, and then you can just reattach the cover so it looks like nothing happened. Best of luck.
June 2nd, 2008 at 4:18 pm
i live in a condo complex. i have the green box and the grey box. i dont see a filter in the grey box so i assume it is in the green box. how do i get in it?
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:36 pm
It probably just lifts off. If it’s a metal box, there might be a hinge involved. They’re pretty straightforward…
June 5th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
How about getting the filter off, hollowing it out somehow, and than making a straight thru connection, and put it back on!!! Than it LOOKS like there is a filter, but in reality it is just an empty case with the wire sticking straight thru!
August 26th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Generally, you can boil the filter for about an hour, then reinstall after drying, and it will no longer filter anything, as the resistor inside burns out in the extreme heat and it will only act as a passthru.
August 30th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I live in a apartment building and I do not know where the box is located; do you have any ideas where it may be?
September 1st, 2008 at 9:01 am
At what time does videotron cable guys starts their shift and/or whats the earliest? because A filter was put on the cable between 5:30am and 6:00am…and I was wondering if this was normal routine and if so should I be worry? Or should I simply consider that the videotron cable guy I have paid 50$ a veeeerrryy long while ago to take the filter out had a changes of mind and came back to put it back.
September 1st, 2008 at 9:19 am
Chris (Boil the filter august 26 2008)
Have you ever seen inside the cylinder? Because If you had you wouldnt have recommended to boil teh filter…
the filter is made of 2 parts:
the body (cylinder) and the actual filter inside the cylinder. Even if you take out the filter out of the cylinder by breaking the head of the cylinder, the opening of the cylinder is made smaller than the cable line in a way that the cable line itself cannot go through it.
So you really need a dummy filter if that actually exist.
September 8th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
My cable comes in off my phone cord and into a reciever in the house looked around and didn’t see a filter anywhere. Do you know if its still possible?????????
September 10th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
If I have removed the filter, can I just buy a digital cable box to start receiving digital cable and stuff?
September 10th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
So I already had Internet through my cable line and I in my backyard (where the green box has been conveniently placed) and took the filter off. It was a 42/550 data only filter but now my internet doesn’t work. cable comes in quite clearly though. Anyone got any ideas why my internet won’t work now?
September 11th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Sarah- cable comes in off the phone cord? are you SURE? never heard of this before (though I’m no cable expert)
Brian- I think digital cable is more complex than that, but I’m not 100% sure. If you try it and are successful, please let us know.
Danny- other than stating the obvious, that the filter was probably involved in allowing you internet access, I don’t know what to say. Ideas anyone?
wow. responding to three people with not a single line of anything useful. sorry people.
September 11th, 2008 at 4:52 am
When I first had basic cable installed at my house 9 years ago (mainly just to get high speed internet) they did it in a snow storm and never installed a filter. I got all the channels for a couple years. They finally did an audit and came out and put on a filter. I eventually opened the gray box on my house (little lock part broke right off) and removed the filter. It’s been this way for the past 6-7 years. Well I came home yesterday to find a cable van outside my home and they had put a filter back on and bolted the box shut. I think the guy was on a pole behind my house when I got home. He eventually knocked but I didn’t answer. Can Charter fine me for this? There was a standard flyer in my mailbox that stated during a check they had discovered I was getting some services not in my subscription plan and the unauthorized services had been terminated - call if there was an error and then it offered some specials to sign up for some other packages. I was surprised they went through my gate into my fenced back yard with no one home. Can they do that?
I am already looking into satellite and DSL internet. I’m just hoping not to get fined. Anyone else get caught with their filter off? Should I worry?
September 12th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Do you think a digital cable filter will work even though I have a reciever in the house???
September 17th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Follow up - no word from the cable company. Woo hoo!! Looks like I’m going Satellite now. I want DVR.
September 19th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Congrats, and good to hear. See, everyone - getting free cable’s the way to go.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
The put a redtag on your line if they find you stealing cable, its like a warning that if you do it agian they will investigate. In really shitty parts of town I see red tags everywhere, people try to tap in at various locations. But this guide is right tapping into the box is always the best its even better if you rip of all the numbers on the lines to piss the technician off because it makes it harder to figure out. also you could spray it down with a lot of sticky shit. hope this helps people.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 am
The thing that keeps spinning is not a filter, it is a locking terminator that can only be removed with an Ltt-7 tool.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I have gotten into the box outside. There is a silver filter or stopper on the connector. I tried to get it off, it just spins and spins. I’ve tried to pull on it with a lot of force. Anyone have any other ideas??
October 1st, 2008 at 2:11 am
“I’ve tried to pull on it with a LOT of force.”
You need more force. Trust me.
Nathan
October 1st, 2008 at 10:48 pm
try putting your cable wire on the end of the locking terminal tightly than try spinning the lock off that’s how I got mine off within seconds unless the cable tech put mine on wrong than I’m pretty sure this is the trickand why would the lock have threads on the end of it and like someone else said be sure to remove all house number good luck
October 5th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
I just purchaed an LTT-7 tool. It should be coming in the mail shortly. Hope it works. Thanks
October 11th, 2008 at 12:41 am
Man, you all rock…. I’m going for the gray box tomorrow!!!!!! Thanks………
but, why do the cable guys go on the pole when they shut off the cable?????