Continuing problems with Dish receivers

[CalBear37]

This is going to be a bit of a rant (sorry). I have always had problems with Dish receivers. I believe I'm on my third Hopper. They always send you refurbished units which means they didn't find the reported problem for that box because it only happened every week or two so there was no way to reproduce the problem. The recent box has two main problems, it occasionally just decides to reboot even if there is a program being viewed or recorded. It did that about 3 times earlier this year but hasn't happened since. The problem that happens on a regular basis is the recording schedule suddenly decides a program has been selected to be skipped by user or is a incorrect event. Sometimes if you try to "un-skip" or record the replacement event it refuses to make the change. The only way to fix that is to delete the timer and reinstall the timer. If you don't catch and fix the error then the program isn't recorded.

Two days ago the program guide only went to 1:30 AM the next morning. Support said turn the box off (standby) and it will redownload the guide. Indeed it did but there were many info not available spots. I had to do that 3 times before I finally got a complete program guide.

I check the recording schedule regularly during an evening of watching and recording. Last night was the "straw that may have broken the camel's back". Two correct programs were to record at 10 PM. The box decided they were incorrect events and crossed them out wouldn't let me reinstate them and wouldn't let me record them manually once they had started.. The only "fix" was to reboot. Then they showed in the "completed area" as incorrect programs and had to be started manually after losing the first few minutes of each program.

I'm sure Dish would be glad to replace my receiver yet again but 15 years of experience with replacement receivers is that they have similar or different intermittent problems. The "rebooting your receiver will fix 50% of the problems" chant by support is just stupid. It doesn't fix the problem it simply restarts the computer and the problem will show up again in a few hours/days/weeks.

So I am seriously thinking of leaving Dish for DirecTV. Perhaps it will have a different set of problems, perhaps not but I really can't take another 15 years of Dish problems and useless solutions.

 

[KAB]

I had three refurb replacements over the last 12 years, and all have been fine. And two years with same Hopper.

 

[CalBear37]

I had three or four replacements over the last 12 years, and all have been better than those they replaced. And two years with same Hopper.

That is somewhat my experience. The replacements always seem better but then develop their own problems. The confusion with what should and should not record is where they all go bad, not often but once or twice a month (in about 200 good recordings per month) is too much for me.

 

[JSheridan]

This is going to be a bit of a rant (sorry). I have always had problems with Dish receivers. I believe I'm on my third Hopper. They always send you refurbished units which means they didn't find the reported problem for that box because it only happened every week or two so there was no way to reproduce the problem. The recent box has two main problems, it occasionally just decides to reboot even if there is a program being viewed or recorded. It did that about 3 times earlier this year but hasn't happened since. The problem that happens on a regular basis is the recording schedule suddenly decides a program has been selected to be skipped by user or is a incorrect event. Sometimes if you try to "un-skip" or record the replacement event it refuses to make the change. The only way to fix that is to delete the timer and reinstall the timer. If you don't catch and fix the error then the program isn't recorded.

Two days ago the program guide only went to 1:30 AM the next morning. Support said turn the box off (standby) and it will redownload the guide. Indeed it did but there were many info not available spots. I had to do that 3 times before I finally got a complete program guide.

I check the recording schedule regularly during an evening of watching and recording. Last night was the "straw that may have broken the camel's back". Two correct programs were to record at 10 PM. The box decided they were incorrect events and crossed them out wouldn't let me reinstate them and wouldn't let me record them manually once they had started.. The only "fix" was to reboot. Then they showed in the "completed area" as incorrect programs and had to be started manually after losing the first few minutes of each program.

I'm sure Dish would be glad to replace my receiver yet again but 15 years of experience with replacement receivers is that they have similar or different intermittent problems. The "rebooting your receiver will fix 50% of the problems" chant by support is just stupid. It doesn't fix the problem it simply restarts the computer and the problem will show up again in a few hours/days/weeks.

So I am seriously thinking of leaving Dish for DirecTV. Perhaps it will have a different set of problems, perhaps not but I really can't take another 15 years of Dish problems and useless solutions.

Most of what you described sounds like software problems which won't be fixed by swapping boxes. The Hopper software is getting better with every new version and the recording bugs you mentioned should be gone in the next version. The Hopper is so incredibly complex with so many features and variables that it's amazing the software works as good as it does.

If you want to see some bugs go ahead and get a Genie from DirecTV. My wife uses one and two weeks ago it just decided it was going to delete half of her DVR timers. She was not happy. If it was a Hopper she could have restored the timers from a remote but DirecTV has no such feature. I could go on with several paragraphs about how the Hopper is better than the Genie so be careful when thinking the DirecTV grass is greener.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Welcome!

I would be more likely to send a tech out then replace the box, as from the description it could be something else from the dish to the house, something as simple as a bad cable somewhere. I have seen other funky things like power glitches cause those issues, such as when your furnase kicks in and it causes the receiver to hiccup due to the brief brownout it just had. Of course these things are harder to track down.

 

[Scherrman]

In my history of being a Dish retailer I have found that when a customer has multiple problems with multiple replaced receivers it's generally due to something else besides the receiver. The cause can be anything from a bad outlet, bad power strip, old cable, bad fittings, bad wall plates, system not grounded, etc...... This may not help solve the problem but it may help lead you in the right direction.

 

[Hall]

In my history of being a Dish retailer I have found that when a customer has multiple problems with multiple replaced receivers it's generally due to something else besides the receiver. The cause can be anything from a bad outlet, bad power strip, old cable, bad fittings, bad wall plates, system not grounded, etc

 

[CalBear37]

+

Most of what you described sounds like software problems which won't be fixed by swapping boxes. The Hopper software is getting better with every new version and the recording bugs you mentioned should be gone in the next version. The Hopper is so incredibly complex with so many features and variables that it's amazing the software works as good as it does.

If you want to see some bugs go ahead and get a Genie from DirecTV. My wife uses one and two weeks ago it just decided it was going to delete half of her DVR timers. She was not happy. If it was a Hopper she could have restored the timers from a remote but DirecTV has no such feature. I could go on with several paragraphs about how the Hopper is better than the Genie so be careful when thinking the DirecTV grass is greener.

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately the problem with missing scheduled recordings has been going on for all 15 years. It was particularly bad last night.

 

[charlesrshell]

+

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately the problem with missing scheduled recordings has been going on for all 15 years. It was particularly bad last night.

Did you use the same power strip?

 

[CalBear37]

In my history of being a Dish retailer I have found that when a customer has multiple problems with multiple replaced receivers it's generally due to something else besides the receiver. The cause can be anything from a bad outlet, bad power strip, old cable, bad fittings, bad wall plates, system not grounded, etc...... This may not help solve the problem but it may help lead you in the right direction.

All Hoppers were installed by a Dish technician. The TV, DVD player, Roku are all using the same connections and cables.

 

[CalBear37]

Did you use the same power strip?

Yes and its not a strip, just a "multiplier" into the wall socket. It has no function other than to supply power to the sockets.

 

[charlesrshell]

Yes and its not a strip, just a "multiplier" into the wall socket. It has no function other than to supply power to the sockets.

Wouldn't hurt to try another multiplier, you never know. Is your Dish grounded? You may have a static issue going on.

 

[CalBear37]

Wouldn't hurt to try another multiplier, you never know. Is your Dish grounded? You may have a static issue going on.

So consider that static could cause a program to be listed as skipped by user. Then the user tries to change that to don't skip and it won't change. Exactly that same subtle software error was caused multiple times by static and every thing else works fine. Not likely. Unfortunately the only grounding is through the electrical system ground.

 

[KAB]

+

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately the problem with missing scheduled recordings has been going on for all 15 years. It was particularly bad last night.

All the more reason to be suspect about your electrical.

 

[CalBear37]

All the more reason to be suspect about your electrical.

I don't understand. The especially bad was it did it to 2 programs usually its only 1 program. Other than that the weather is fine, no wind, nothing going on with use of electricity. When pretty much the same thing happens with programming the recorder there is a problem with the equipment. If it were bad connections somewhere then various random problems would occur.

 

[Hall]

...the problem with missing scheduled recordings has been going on for all 15 years.

All Hoppers were installed by a Dish technician. The TV, DVD player, Roku are all using the same connections and cables.

Dish technicians aren't electricians. Those other devices aren't computers with hard drives, which is what a DVR is, after all.

In these 15 years, this the same house ? Same circuit or even the same outlet ?

Can you test/check the outlet or circuit ? See what kind of voltage it has (too low or too high can make a computer act flaky). Is it truly grounded (just because it's a 3-prong outlet doesn't mean it is)?

 

[CalBear37]

Dish technicians aren't electricians. Those other devices aren't computers with hard drives, which is what a DVR is, after all.

In these 15 years, this the same house ? Same circuit or even the same outlet ?

Can you test/check the outlet or circuit ? See what kind of voltage it has (too low or too high can make a computer act flaky). Is it truly grounded (just because it's a 3-prong outlet doesn't mean it is)?

Not the same house. It was built in 98. Several computers are running with no problems just like the other video equipment. Some sort of electrical problem wouldn't cause the same software problem every few weeks. It would cause other problems in the Hopper and other equipment. Its a bad software design.

 

[Bobby]

Yet that same design is all across the country and no one else has it....

 

[Hall]

it occasionally just decides to reboot

This could be electrical or it could be a defective receiver. Rest assured, that's not a software feature !

The problem that happens on a regular basis is the recording schedule suddenly decides a program has been selected to be skipped by user or is a incorrect event.

This is a known issue. There is updated software being tested but I don't know if they fixed this or not. I haven't rec'd it yet nor do I catch it happening very often. I have seen it at least once though.

Two days ago the program guide only went to 1:30 AM the next morning. Support said turn the box off (standby) and it will redownload the guide. Indeed it did but there were many info not available spots. I had to do that 3 times before I finally got a complete program guide.

Check your signal strength. Post the numbers here.

 

[CalBear37]

Yet that same design is all across the country and no one else has it....

Could be. I've had exactly the same problem with 3 different Hoppers installed by Dish technicians. Its a subtle software problem not some random glitch in the operation of the box.