211 and 722k are both breaking at the same time. Need help, please.

[olfenite]

Two of my receivers seem to be going out at the same time. First, my 722K freezes the picture, the audio continues for a while, and then stops, and then the entire thing reboots. Probably once every two hours. My 211 takes a long time for the channels to change when I push up or down. Then it just goes back to the lowest channel by itself.

It appears that I own the 211. I was unaware of that until I went to the Dish website and looked at the equipment page. I thought I leased everything, but it shows that I own it. The 722K is leased.

I do have Dish Protection Plan.

For the 722K, I want Dish to service it or something. I don't want to buy a replacement, but I want to know first is there anything I can do so I don't have to go through the hassle of sending it back.

As for the 211, I went on eBay to see what was available there. They have good prices, but I do not want to buy one that is being leased. If I buy one anywhere, I want to make sure it is owned. Is there anyway of doing that besides asking the seller and hoping they are honest? Even better yet, since I have Dish Protection Plan, will they help me with my 211?

Also, I do not want to renew my contract. I am near certain that my contract runs out in June or July, and right now Dish and my local FOX are in a contract dispute. I want the option to switch to Directv if the dispute is not cleared up by football season. Will Dish want to renew my contract if I have to send them my 722K or my 211?

Thank you for reading.

 

[KAB]

First, have you pulled the power on the receivers, and plugged back in (hard reboot)? You might get lucky with at least one of them.
Second, your contract is NOT renewed with a replacement receiver. Sending them back is no hassle. They will send you a new unit and you return the old in the box it comes in.
If the reboot does not help, contact one of the DIRT members servicing this forum. Go to the bottom of the Forum page and look for users in RED, then PM them. They will take good care of you.

 

[olfenite]

I've done the hard reboot with the 211, and it helps temporarily, but it starts acting up again. I have not tried with the 722K, but the next time it freezes up, I will try.

If they don't renew contracts when sending a replacement receiver, I'll definitely go that route. What about the 211 though, which somehow is listed as I own it? I don't recall agreeing to buy it, and I never buy anything from Dish. I've always leased. Will there be any trouble trying to get Dish to replace that one? If so, I'd prefer to buy a replacement from eBay or elsewhere because I am going to bet that it is cheaper to buy there than Dish. But I want to make sure I buy one that the seller actually owns and not leases.

Thank you for replying quickly.

 

[KAB]

Leased or owned, they will replace it.

 

[olfenite]

That is great news. I'm going to get in contact with the DIRT team right away. Thank you for your help.

 

[olfenite]

I messaged MattG@ Dish Network about my situation, but no reply yet.

I had to share this though. It froze again just a few minutes ago, so I went ahead and pulled the plug from the electricity. Waited for two or three minutes, and plugged it back in. Now my 722K has a warning on it that looks like it came from an Atari or NES system.

It says (potential private information X'ed out):
Warning 981
Boot Recovery
Bootstrap ID XXXX
Hardware ID XXXX
Receiver ID XXXXXXXX
Vital Program Information
will now be downloaded
into your receiver.
Do Not disturb or unplug
until this screen
disappears.
Then there is a progress bar that does not appear to be moving.

What do I do? HELP!

 

[MaryB@SlingTV]

The 981 message can take up to 4 hours to complete. Please do not unplug the receiver until it completes this process. Matt is off today and will not be in until 2:45pm tomorrow. If you would like this exchange done sooner, please just send me a PM. Have a good night!

 

[olfenite]

I will forward the PM I sent MattG to you. Thank you!

 

[TheKrell]

It froze again just a few minutes ago, so I went ahead and pulled the plug from the electricity. Waited for two or three minutes, and plugged it back in. Now my 722K has a warning on it that looks like it came from an Atari or NES system.

It says (potential private information X'ed out):
Warning 981
Boot Recovery...

Then there is a progress bar that does not appear to be moving.

What do I do?

Congratulations! The firmware on your 722k has been corrupted and it cannot boot. The receiver has gone into the boot recovery portion of the firmware (which I think is not normally touched by firmware upgrades), and it is trying to get a fresh/good copy of the firmware off satellite. This is a small and relatively primitive piece of software, hence the appearance of large text on the screen.

If there is something wrong with your dish and the receiver can't tune in the right satellite transponder and data stream, it will be stuck in the boot recovery screen forever. My daughter once unplugged her 612 in the middle of the night because its noise was annoying her, and she (apparently) did so during a firmware update and it thew the same error. It never got a lock on the right satellite because my separator was plugged in upside down. I flipped it over and it finished recovery and came back fine in about 10 minutes.

 

[Rangers484]

If you have not already thought about it, you could be a good candidate for the Hopper/Joey system launching 3/15. The H/J forum has plenty of info on fees/upside/downside of the new system for existing subs.

The replacements units you will get from dish will be "new" to you, or in other words, used/remanufactured.

I have not had good luck with replacement receivers from Dish in the past unless there were new out of the box.

 

[olfenite]

Congratulations! The firmware on your 722k has been corrupted and it cannot boot. The receiver has gone into the boot recovery portion of the firmware (which I think is not normally touched by firmware upgrades), and it is trying to get a fresh/good copy of the firmware off satellite. This is a small and relatively primitive piece of software, hence the appearance of large text on the screen.

If there is something wrong with your dish and the receiver can't tune in the right satellite transponder and data stream, it will be stuck in the boot recovery screen forever. My daughter once unplugged her 612 in the middle of the night because its noise was annoying her, and she (apparently) did so during a firmware update and it thew the same error. It never got a lock on the right satellite because my separator was plugged in upside down. I flipped it over and it finished recovery and came back fine in about 10 minutes.

It was able to download the firmware. I could not tell the progress bar was actually moving since I'm colorblind. The colors screwed em up.

It then took about 20 to 25 minutes for the 722K to get pass the Starting Up... screen. It locked onto the satellites, and I was able to resume watching The Godfather on AMC for 10 seconds. It froze up and rebooted again. The reboots are becoming more and more frequent.

Meanwhile, my 211 is still not functioning properly.

I was in contact with MaryB, and she got me an appointment with a Dish tech on Monday morning. I wish this would not be happening all at one time, but I guess at least there will be one less visit from a technician I have to deal with.

If you have not already thought about it, you could be a good candidate for the Hopper/Joey system launching 3/15. The H/J forum has plenty of info on fees/upside/downside of the new system for existing subs.

The replacements units you will get from dish will be "new" to you, or in other words, used/remanufactured.

I have not had good luck with replacement receivers from Dish in the past unless there were new out of the box.

I don't want to get into a new contract right now as my local FOX and Dish are in a dispute (read more here: http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-forum/278658-local-fox-abilene-tx-dish-dispute.html). I believe my contract runs out in July, and I want the choice to switch to Directv in August so I can watch the Dallas Cowboys if Dish does not agree to a deal with my FOX by then. Since the dispute, I've been looking at Directv's HD channels, and I see more HD channels I'd like to have that they offer that I do not see available on Dish. A switch may be inevitable, even though I really like the Dish technology. Regardless, adding a Hopper/Joey is just not possible until there is an agreement between FOX and Dish. And either way, I can deal with a refurbished for a few months until I officially make a decision.

 

[Foxbat]

Don't unplug your 722 until it manages the firmware update, but when you get the chance, try unplugging both receivers at the same time to remove power from the LNB and switch (probably one and the same depending our your installation). Next, I'd disconnect the 211 and 722 from the satellite coax and run a switch check to clear the switch matrix on each receiver.

Remove the power from both receivers, re-attach the 211 to the coax, plug in into the AC, and re-run the switch check. Then repeat the same process with the 722. That should reset everything without actually wiping out your preferences.

Edit: Oh, I see that you are scheduled with Dish Technical Support. I wouldn't mess with your setup at this time. Best that the tech sees your system at its worse.

 

[gtal98]

Make sure the tech checks the entire system for shorts in the cables. This is the most common reason for receivers constantly rebooting.

 

[olfenite]

The technician was out this morning. He never checked on the actual dish itself. He looked at the 211 briefly, suggesting new batteries for the remote. I told him changing channels was slow on the receiver as well. He looked at it some more and replaced it was a 211K. He did not even inspect the 722K, he just put a new one in and checked I think it was the STB health settings. I do not know if he checked for shorts in the cables or for grounding issues.

I guess I'm going to watch TV for a while and if it acts up again, I'll just send a DIRT member a PM asking to send another tech.

 

[Dishman1978]

The technician was out this morning. He never checked on the actual dish itself. He looked at the 211 briefly, suggesting new batteries for the remote. I told him changing channels was slow on the receiver as well. He looked at it some more and replaced it was a 211K. He did not even inspect the 722K, he just put a new one in and checked I think it was the STB health settings. I do not know if he checked for shorts in the cables or for grounding issues.

I guess I'm going to watch TV for a while and if it acts up again, I'll just send a DIRT member a PM asking to send another tech.

Sounds like he didnt do a thurough enough job checking it out. As soon as you have an issue call back.

If you get a new guy in tell him what the last guy did.

They should all be doing End to End checks.

 

[Jim5506]

Sometimes it is easier just to replace the receivers, than to try any troubleshooting on site and time is money.