My building recently had an unplanned upgrade to SWiM. (I'll skip the details). As part of that, they replaced the old multiswitch with a Zinwell SWiM msplit8ro-03. When the tech was out, he explained that one of my two receivers (D11) would no longer function. I thought, fine, I'll just get a new one. I am also looking into MRV and tying into the internet for on-demand. However DTV wants a 2-year contract to activate a new receiver. Not a huge deal, since I've been with DTV for over a decade. But AT&T Uverse is rolling out, and I don't want to lock myself in for 2 years. Is there any way to get the D11 to function (converter box, etc)?
Can I get an older receiver to work with SWiM?
- Thread starter hdrider
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Depending on the reasons for the upgrade, you may be able to swap the D11 for a D12, which is SWM-compatible, without a new commitment (this is being done for whole-home DVR upgrades). Additionally, there are 3 legacy ports on a SWM8, which may be a solution for you.
hdrider,
if the d11 is marked as owned this is what you do
Get protection plan
wait 30 days for it to kick in ( this is important )
complain your D11 no longer gets a signal
They will replace the reciever with a d12 unit and there will be no 2 year contract
if its leased just call can complain about 771 searching for satellite signal. they will swap it out for free no 2 year.
But if you say I need a d12 bluntly they are gong to treat it as an upgrade and charge you a 2 year ext though for sd equipment it only 12 last time i checked
if the d11 is marked as owned this is what you do
Get protection plan
wait 30 days for it to kick in ( this is important )
complain your D11 no longer gets a signal
They will replace the reciever with a d12 unit and there will be no 2 year contract
if its leased just call can complain about 771 searching for satellite signal. they will swap it out for free no 2 year.
But if you say I need a d12 bluntly they are gong to treat it as an upgrade and charge you a 2 year ext though for sd equipment it only 12 last time i checked
The reason is a bit complicated. This is a small apartment building which I own and also live in. A tenant switched from Comcast to DTV, and when the tech was out, he indicated that the work order told him to upgrade the dish, etc. to SWiM. The tenant contacted me because they do not have permission to change out dishes, access wiring panels, etc. The tech explained SWiM to me, and since I try to keep the technology current, it sounded like a good idea, especially since it was free, including the new multiswitch.
Can you explain more about the legacy ports? I cannot find them on the multiswitch, they all look the same. The multiswitch is this one:
Zinwell Split 8 Z 8 Way Wide Band Splitter
I am looking at having them back out for a whole-home DVR installation and connecting to the internet for on-demand. But when I called about that, my understanding was there is a 2-year commitment, (for the new receiver, I think.) However, customer support seems confused.
That is not a multiswitch; that is a splitter. The SWiM multiswitch looks like this:
DIRECTV SWM-8 Single Wire Multi-Switch (8 Channel) (SWM-8) - DIRECTV - SWM-8 -
and it will have four coax cables coming into it from the dish. If you only have one cable coming from the dish to your splitter, you probably have the SWiM LNB, which look like this:
DIRECTV SL5-SWM SlimLine Single Wire Ka/Ku Five LNB With Built-In Multiswitch (SL5-SWM) - DIRECTV Slim Line - SL5-SWM -
or this:
DIRECTV SL3-SWM SlimLine Single Wire Ka/Ku Triple LNB With Built-In Multiswitch (SL3-SWM) - DIRECTV Slim Line - SL3-SWM -
If this is the case, there are no legacy ports on the SWiM LNB, and no way to connect your D11 to it.
Yes, they installed the new SWiM dish with one wire to the splitter, rather than the 4 used previously. So no way to get the old receiver to work?
I know. I would pass on the MRV, if I could avoid the 2-year contract by getting the old receiver to work. It sounds like I would have been better off leaving the old dish in place, and just purchasing a new SWiM Multiswitch myself. That would have given me SWiM plus legacy ports...
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You have two options:
1) Replace SWiM LNB with non-SWiM LNB on the dish
-- Install SWiM8 multiswitch, run 4 coax from non-SWiM LNB to it
-- Run coax from legacy port on SWiM8 to your D11
-- Wait all day for tech to come to your home to do this for you.
or
2) Replace D11 receiver with a D12 and keep your current setup.
It's all up to you...
It is an owned box and yeah simple enough to go without DTV service in that room for 30 days. But it is a bit of a lie, and if anybody checks they will know darned well that the box stopped working before I signed up for the protection plan. However I am taking it under consideration.
To be honest we dont care....
You tell us that it gone 771 and you put the d12 from ther other room on the same line and it works. we will just drop ship you a new box.
on site techs really dont care they would just swap out close the ticket and be on with there next job.
You can probably even get them to give you the replacement before the 30 days but I say 30 days because not everyone is qualified to recieve a courtsey deal while in the initial 30 days.
You tell us that it gone 771 and you put the d12 from ther other room on the same line and it works. we will just drop ship you a new box.
on site techs really dont care they would just swap out close the ticket and be on with there next job.
You can probably even get them to give you the replacement before the 30 days but I say 30 days because not everyone is qualified to recieve a courtsey deal while in the initial 30 days.
I have been told that if you don't have the protection plan, they will still replace the receiver for a $19.99 shipping charge (the replacement will be leased but with no commitment).
Not simple at all involves a lot of downtime, 30+ days, and paying for all that time but not getting programming on the receiver.
Well, I guess I've got my answer on this.
I'm seriously considering trying to get DTV back out to put up the 4-output dish. It seems like they really screwed me when they took it down and threw it in the trash. With the SWiM dish I'm limited to 8 tuners and can't use legacy tuners, when all I really needed to do was get a SWiM multiswitch and save both myself and DTV a whole lot of time and expense for nothing. Why is DTV doing this? It makes no sense.
See my other thread on additional issues around this:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-forum/221355-multiple-apartments-one-dish-mrv-demand.html
I'm seriously considering trying to get DTV back out to put up the 4-output dish. It seems like they really screwed me when they took it down and threw it in the trash. With the SWiM dish I'm limited to 8 tuners and can't use legacy tuners, when all I really needed to do was get a SWiM multiswitch and save both myself and DTV a whole lot of time and expense for nothing. Why is DTV doing this? It makes no sense.
See my other thread on additional issues around this:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-forum/221355-multiple-apartments-one-dish-mrv-demand.html
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