DISH Hacked - Websites are BACK ONLINE!

[Josephinelcajon]

The above was written on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 4:00AM Pacific Daylight Savings Time (GMT -700) and support service from DISH had been awesome as I will briefly mention below. As I mentioned, I was communicating with DISH via Facebook Messenger which I prefer as everything is in writing and it does not require both sides to be available at the same time. So I will post the chat dialogue, all times are Pacific Daylight Savings Time (GMT -700):

DISH response on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 6:22PM:
"I appreciate your patience. I will need to set up a technician visit for you. We want to get this working for you. Please click the link below to provide me with your account information. We would be glad to help. To protect your privacy and personal information, click the link below to provide your information in a secure web browser. You will have 24 hours to fill out the form and submit your information.

http://spr.ly/************

~Zoraida R."

My response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 1:59AM as I wanted to make sure that they actually checked that the TVB JadeWorld (Hong Kong Cantonese Chinese programming) which consists of channels 614-01, 626-01 SD and HD, 626-03, 626-04, 626-06, 626-07 which all used satellite 118 had a working feed and DISH was broadcasting the channels since as the owner and network architect and network engineer of an Internet Service Provider, there can be problems either upstream or downstream to avoid them sending a technician if the problem is actually on DISH's side or between TVB and DISH:
"But before doing that, are you able to verify that those channels are currently actually still working in general on DISH's side?"

DISH response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 6:38AM:
"The channels are working and are available for use.

~Zoraida R."

My response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:18AM:
"Interesting so that means maybe the storm and winds knocked one or both dishes out of alignment as the other satellites 110, 119 and 129 have 10-20 signal strength while 118 shows 0 since that happened after the 10:00am outage."

DISH response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:28AM:
"Yes, we do need to get a technician out there for you. Please click the link below to provide me with your account information. To protect your privacy and personal information, click the link below to provide your information in a secure web browser. You will have 24 hours to fill out the form and submit your information.

http://spr.ly/*************

~Zoraida R."

My response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:49AM:
"Just provided the information... need to clear out the path to the Hopper H3 so the technician can actually walk in without tripping over. I provided the PIN but I need to see the security question to know what to provide for the answer."

DISH response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:49AM:
"Thank you. What is your home address?

~Zoraida R."

I provided the address on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:50AM.

DISH response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:53AM:
"Thanks. The soonest we have available would be for Tomorrow 3/17/23 from 12PM to 5PM. Will this work for you or do you need a different date?

~Zoraida R."

My response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:53AM:
"That should work as it gives me enough time to clean up before the technician arrives."

DISH response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:59AM:
"Great! I have set up the tech visit for you for tomorrow from 12PM to 5PM. However, the system issue prevents me from guaranteeing you an appointment time. Most appointments take 2 hours to complete. Dish will call on the day of the appointment to provide you with a better arrival estimate.
There will be no charge for technician visits at this time; any fees will be waived. We will call you on the day of the appointment to provide you with a better arrival estimate. Someone over the age of 18 must be present for the entirety of the appointment, and any pets must be kept secure. These appointments typically take 2-4 hours to complete.

~Zoraida R."
My response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 8:00AM:
"Sounds good, thanks for the prompt response since I thought with what DISH is going through, it would take a long time for things to be fixed."

DISH response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 8:02AM:
"You're welcome. We’re making progress on the customer service front every day, but it will take a little time before things are fully restored. Thanks for being a valued customer. Have a great day!

~Zoraida R."

My response on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 8:15AM:
"Thanks again for handling this from the beginning."

So here are the events that happened on Friday, March 17, 2023:
At 8:00AM: I see in USPS Informed Mail that my DISH Paper Statement is arriving which is just in time as my bill is always created on the 2nd of the month and due on the 17th of the month. I did not receive any emails from DISH that was mentioned by others as my last e-mail about the bill was ready was on February 4, 2023 and the last communications by email from DISH was for "Get the best of DISH's Outdoor Pack on sale" was on February 23, 2023 at 7:03AM
At 9:18AM: USPS delivers my mail and surely enough, the DISH paper statement has arrived with the creation date of March 2, 2023 and due date of March 17, 2023 which meant it arrived on the due date just in time.
At 2:07PM: The DISH technician arrives and basically disconnected the RG-6 coaxial cable from the Hopper H3 and then connected it to his diagnostic equipment to look at the signal levels which were 0 for satellite 118 and almost non-existent for satellites 110, 119, 129. He then connected the coaxial cable back to the Hopper H3 and looked at the satellite signal levels which read as follows:
11 for 110
0 for 118
13 for 119
18 for 129
so he went to get his extension ladder at 2:09PM and climbed the roof. Then the next thing I know, there was heavy drilling from 2:15PM-2:45PM. He came back to let me know at 2:45PM he was done and had me tune to 626-01 on the tv to show it works and then said he's leaving and went to get his ladder. I asked what the problem was and he said the 118 dish broke in half from the storm which was replaced and he also replaced the LNB on the other dish handling 110, 119, 129 which was also damaged.
After he left, I checked the network signals and saw the following readings for the satellites:
30 for 110
40 for 118
30 for 119
35 for 129
It appears the coaxial cable was extremely loose as I can still turn it about 20+ times before using a Crescent adjustable wrench to tighten another 1/4 of a turn and then got the following signal levels:
68 for 110
53 for 118
45 for 119
57 for 129
My setup for reference is mentioned here:

Hopper 3 Not Compatible with International Channels?

Hi, I just had an online chat with the Customer Rep to upgrade to the Hopper 3. I was told that I would never be able to add International Channels if I upgraded to the Hopper 3. Right now I get my International Channels through Sling TV, but I want to keep option to switch back to my Dish...

www.satelliteguys.us

I am pretty impressed at how fast the response was from DISH on Facebook Messenger when the same representative handled everything for the entire two days and also for how fast they actually fixed the problem.

I have a few questions for HipKat:
1) When DISH techs align the dish, do they actually check the signal levels after the dish but before it reaches the STB?
2) I did not ask if the technician was actually a employee or not but I noticed that unlike the previous two visits, one in November 2012 for the original DISH install of the Hopper 2000 and DISH service and the second time in February 2016 to replace the Hopper 2000 and upgraded to the Hopper H3, the vans all were DISH branded and used Little Giant Multi-position ladders while in this case, it was a white van that did not have any livery.
Thanks!

I just had Dish out yesterday to adjust my dish or point it. My mount moved from the storms. I have always seen them use a meter at the dish using a short cable then go to the receiver to check signal is good by using the receiver's meter. Only if there is a difference will they check the coax and splitters from the dish. Do you suspect a bad line between the dish and receiver?

A in house (Dish employees) will be in a Dish van clearly and permanently decaled with the big logo. Never any magnetic sign. And never a blank van. Its hard to describe the difference from there. Vans are kept fairly organized with a rack system inside. It certainly sounds like you got a sub-contractor. They can be just as good or bad as Dish.

 

[rvvaquero]

Nothing else gets authorized

Not true.

I very seldom stream anything since I have poor slow internet. Two days ago, I went to FX online through my Firestick to complete watching a movie I had started on my Wally receiver. First, I added the FX app, then I declared my DISH subscription. It authorized without issue.

Incidentally, I enjoyed the movie "Green Book" with Viggo Mortensen. I had recorded it on the Wally, but for some reason it cut the last thirty minutes off.

 

[Almighty1]

I just had Dish out yesterday to adjust my dish or point it. My mount moved from the storms. I have always seen them use a meter at the dish using a short cable then go to the receiver to check signal is good by using the receiver's meter. Only if there is a difference will they check the coax and splitters from the dish. Do you suspect a bad line between the dish and receiver?

A in house (Dish employees) will be in a Dish van clearly and permanently decaled with the big logo. Never any magnetic sign. And never a blank van. Its hard to describe the difference from there. Vans are kept fairly organized with a rack system inside. It certainly sounds like you got a sub-contractor. They can be just as good or bad as Dish.

I have no idea since I didn't actually watch the guy work so not even sure what he really did but looking at the Ring videos, I can only see him carrying the 3 head LNB to but not from his truck but never saw him carry a DISH to/from his truck. I just know the guy always carry his meter between the truck and the roof.

I couldn't see the inside of his van from the videos but the ladder is way longer than his vehicle as it can handle 20+ feet in height. You are right it could be a sub-contractor since he never introduced himself as from DISH as he was still trying to figure out my name for the first 10 seconds. Here is a screen capture from the Ring Doorbell video so the only way you can tell he was affiliated with DISH directly or as a sub-contractor was the logo on his shirt.

This is what the two dishes 1000.2 and 500+ looks like from Google Maps Street View before yesterday when looking at it from the street on the front side of the house, you can actually see the coax cable on the back of the black dish after he fixed it. The in-house DISH technicians seems to do a better job as you can't see the wires except the ones that go down the wall from the roof to get to the receiver as there is no wall jack since the RG6 seems to go directly through the wall with a RF-6 plate to the back of the receiver directly.

 

[sam_gordon]

When DISH techs align the dish, do they actually check the signal levels after the dish but before it reaches the STB?

That would be the proper way to do it, whether you're working on a Dish dish, a DirecTV dish, or a BUD.
A) You want to minimize the amount of items that can interfere with the signal (cable runs, ends, combiners, etc).
B) It's a pain trying to make adjustments in one location and see the results in another location.

 

[Almighty1]

That would be the proper way to do it, whether you're working on a Dish dish, a DirecTV dish, or a BUD.
A) You want to minimize the amount of items that can interfere with the signal (cable runs, ends, combiners, etc).
B) It's a pain trying to make adjustments in one location and see the results in another location.

That's what I thought and hopefully that was what was done. What is a BUD exactly?

 

[sam_gordon]

That's what I thought and hopefully that was what was done. What is a BUD exactly?

BUD = "Big Ugly Dish"... huge C-band dishes that people had in their backyards to pick up "wildfeeds" (feeds that weren't scrambled) before the advent of DBS.

 

[Jon J]

BUD = "Big Ugly Dish"... huge C-band dishes that people had in their backyards to pick up "wildfeeds" (feeds that weren't scrambled) before the advent of DBS.

Charlie got his start in satellites selling BUDs door to door in Middle Tennessee.

 

[Almighty1]

BUD = "Big Ugly Dish"... huge C-band dishes that people had in their backyards to pick up "wildfeeds" (feeds that weren't scrambled) before the advent of DBS.

Ah I remember within the last 14 years, I was still mailed catalogs that was a retailer for BUDs and other parts for the BUDs.

 

[Almighty1]

Charlie got his start in satellites selling BUDs door to door in Middle Tennessee.

Must be a southern thing as Comcast started as American Cable Systems in 1963 which was a small cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi which was not very far from Memphis, Tennessee. I was born in Jackson, Mississippi.

 

[HipKat]

I just had Dish out yesterday to adjust my dish or point it. My mount moved from the storms. I have always seen them use a meter at the dish using a short cable then go to the receiver to check signal is good by using the receiver's meter. Only if there is a difference will they check the coax and splitters from the dish. Do you suspect a bad line between the dish and receiver?

A in house (Dish employees) will be in a Dish van clearly and permanently decaled with the big logo. Never any magnetic sign. And never a blank van. Its hard to describe the difference from there. Vans are kept fairly organized with a rack system inside. It certainly sounds like you got a sub-contractor. They can be just as good or bad as Dish.

Using the signal meter on the receiver is not going to give accurate information. The tech should use his meter at the cable going into the receiver where can more accurately see issues with high dBM's, LNB drift or signal loss over the length of the cabling.

BTW, I work for a sub, we have the same Pro-master vans, with the same labeling so you wouldn't know unless you saw the off-white decal on the back with company name

 

[HipKat]

I have no idea since I didn't actually watch the guy work so not even sure what he really did but looking at the Ring videos, I can only see him carrying the 3 head LNB to but not from his truck but never saw him carry a DISH to/from his truck. I just know the guy always carry his meter between the truck and the roof.

I couldn't see the inside of his van from the videos but the ladder is way longer than his vehicle as it can handle 20+ feet in height. You are right it could be a sub-contractor since he never introduced himself as from DISH as he was still trying to figure out my name for the first 10 seconds. Here is a screen capture from the Ring Doorbell video so the only way you can tell he was affiliated with DISH directly or as a sub-contractor was the logo on his shirt.

View attachment 161146
This is what the two dishes 1000.2 and 500+ looks like from Google Maps Street View before yesterday when looking at it from the street on the front side of the house, you can actually see the coax cable on the back of the black dish after he fixed it. The in-house DISH technicians seems to do a better job as you can't see the wires except the ones that go down the wall from the roof to get to the receiver as there is no wall jack since the RG6 seems to go directly through the wall with a RF-6 plate to the back of the receiver directly.

That's a retailer or a sub who is able to use a personal vehicle, but definitely not an in-house tech and both in-house and out-sourced techs are apt to do nice, clean and terrible looking cabling

 

[Almighty1]

Using the signal meter on the receiver is not going to give accurate information. The tech should use his meter at the cable going into the receiver where can more accurately see issues with high dBM's, LNB drift or signal loss over the length of the cabling.

BTW, I work for a sub, we have the same Pro-master vans, with the same labeling so you wouldn't know unless you saw the off-white decal on the back with company name

Good point. In my case, he only did that at the beginning before he went to fix things. I would think the better way to do it is to check the signal at the earliest point that can be checked and then work to the end of the cable going into the receiver to see if things don't change too much and then if it does, it is either the cable or something more upstream.

For some reason, I always thought you actually worked with DISH directly, ofcourse this is based on memory from at least 6-7 years ago. I know with Comcast, the real Comcast vehicles will say Xfinity on it while the contractors will
say Comcast on it and then another name in a smaller print.

 

[Almighty1]

That's a retailer or a sub who is able to use a personal vehicle, but definitely not an in-house tech and both in-house and out-sourced techs are apt to do nice, clean and terrible looking cabling

That's interesting and you are right as it depends on that individual's personality. I know with the D*TV installation in 2009, it was a contractor as they even had their companies sticker with contact information on the DVR and said to call that if I had any issues within the first x amount of days. When it's a service call, are the techs supposed to have any paperwork to either give the customer or sign?

 

[tanman]

BUD = "Big Ugly Dish"... huge C-band dishes that people had in their backyards to pick up "wildfeeds" (feeds that weren't scrambled) before the advent of DBS.

I first got a BUD right when HBO scrambled.Didn't matter there was plenty more to watch.Plus the "backhaul"feeds where you saw and heard "behind the scenes" stuff that wasn't meant for public consumption was tons of fun.

 

[Juan]

Maybe the next Hopper version will have a cloud DVR instead of built-in that performs just like it does now. Skip back/forward, autohop, etc. Same UI. Now that would be kool.

You need internet

 

[Juan]

True, but I’m sure they’re also trying to figure out the best way to spin it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well i think they will ignore it and only offer free credit protection to those who call and complain...just like a local channel dispute

 

[Juan]

Must be a southern thing as Comcast started as American Cable Systems in 1963 which was a small cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi which was not very far from Memphis, Tennessee. I was born in Jackson, Mississippi.

But there were no satellite or cable only channels back then...just better OTA reception

 

[Josephinelcajon]

I continue to see lower call wait times and they are able to do more each day. They all just want to go back to normal and they all really appreciate our patients and understanding. One tried to apologies to me and I stopped her and said "There is nothing you did I fully understand" (I could hear a big sigh of relief) My tech described this attack as "massive" and "destroyed every system Dish owns "He also claimed that 110 did for a couple of days had a much lower signal strength"

I have no idea since I didn't actually watch the guy work so not even sure what he really did but looking at the Ring videos, I can only see him carrying the 3 head LNB to but not from his truck but never saw him carry a DISH to/from his truck. I just know the guy always carry his meter between the truck and the roof.

I couldn't see the inside of his van from the videos but the ladder is way longer than his vehicle as it can handle 20+ feet in height. You are right it could be a sub-contractor since he never introduced himself as from DISH as he was still trying to figure out my name for the first 10 seconds. Here is a screen capture from the Ring Doorbell video so the only way you can tell he was affiliated with DISH directly or as a sub-contractor was the logo on his shirt.

View attachment 161146
This is what the two dishes 1000.2 and 500+ looks like from Google Maps Street View before yesterday when looking at it from the street on the front side of the house, you can actually see the coax cable on the back of the black dish after he fixed it. The in-house DISH technicians seems to do a better job as you can't see the wires except the ones that go down the wall from the roof to get to the receiver as there is no wall jack since the RG6 seems to go directly through the wall with a RF-6 plate to the back of the receiver directly.

View attachment 161147

The bluejeans and shoes give it away. Dish requires black pants and black shoes. Some subs do as well. His van is absolutely not Dish. They still can be excellent and sometimes better.

 

[Josephinelcajon]

Charlie got his start in satellites selling BUDs door to door in Middle Tennessee.

Absolutely did!

 

[Jon J]

Absolutely did!

His territory included Oak Ridge...the Atomic City.

Drive around Anderson and Roane counties and you still see BUDs Charlie probably sold.