DirecTV Self Install?
- Thread starter JB884
- Start date
- Latest activity Latest activity:
- Replies 11
- Views 30K
- Status
If you have an owned not leased receiver with a clear account you can get a new access card for $20.00 and get it activated. You will not be eligible for any come on offers though. Also the receiver has to be of the newer generation. I wanted to do that since I have 6 DTV receivers I got from people. The newer D-10's had balances (friend found them in the trash) and the 2 older receivers that were clear they said was too old to activate because of a guide issue. I ended up signing up for the leased receiver with a 2 year contract to get the good price for the 1st year.
You can buy your own equipment if you want, but I don't know why you would want to pay full price when it's possible that D* would give you discounts on it.
You could schedule an install and see if the guy will sign off on it and leave the equipment, but they generally don't like to do that as they want to be SURE you have a solid signal when they leave.
You could order the install and have them set up the dish and you the rest, I guess.
What I did was had the guy come out and I already had a dish up there so we just connected it to that. He then gave me a new 18" dish and a Slimline 3 plus coax and told me I could do a better job then him. He was more interested in my 12 foot bud and other dishes I have then installing Direct. He was a cool installer and I got the deal I wanted on price plus got to do my own stuff my way. I mostly needed him to give me a receiver and authorize it for the first time. If you get a cool installer like I did they will work with you since it was a cakewalk for him since he did mostly nothing really and got a education on the big dish.
One funny thing was every SD feed I showed him on my bud and FTA setup he kept on thinking it was HD since it was so clean and clear.
Master feeds are a good thing
One funny thing was every SD feed I showed him on my bud and FTA setup he kept on thinking it was HD since it was so clean and clear.
Master feeds are a good thing 
Yes, you can "buy" (which really means lease at the same rate that D* gives you). You can then self-install and call to activate the receivers. I did this as I needed 4 HD/DVRs and 3 other receivers. Their basic free install does not cover wall fishes or attic runs or other complicated installs, which I needed and only 4 receivers.
So I ordered from a website provider who drop-shipped the hardware (cheaper than D*'s price), I installed them per my specs (wall fished, attic runs, extra cables, dish mount etc.) and then called to activate once I had good signal. You need to be able to know how to run the right kind of lines and obtain a good signal to do this - but if you can, it gets you setup the way you want.
So I ordered from a website provider who drop-shipped the hardware (cheaper than D*'s price), I installed them per my specs (wall fished, attic runs, extra cables, dish mount etc.) and then called to activate once I had good signal. You need to be able to know how to run the right kind of lines and obtain a good signal to do this - but if you can, it gets you setup the way you want.
DTV still runs a credit check even if you dont own your own equipment and if you dont have the credit then the charge a big activation fee even if you own up to date equipment
What is unclear in your question is what you want to accomplish with your self-install. I didn't want to pay $60 an hour for someone to do the in-wall work so I did that all ahead of time. The installer will check your work for compliance with their standards and make the proper modifications where necessary. On my installation he wanted a redo on the main line to the splitter and replaced a connector that was not a high frequency (blue center) unit. That was it. Everything went very well and I am certainly glad I had a professional do the actual installation. Plus, he used a very rugged mount on the eves that you can't even buy on the satellite supply sites. I also learned some very valuable lessons on installation in case I want to expand my system in the future. Finally, "Whole Home DVR" takes a special start-up sequence that I learned while he was on the phone with his tech support.
I consider myself rather tech savvy, but I am very glad I had the professional installation. The education value was great.
I consider myself rather tech savvy, but I am very glad I had the professional installation. The education value was great.
raoul5788 is correct. At some point you will need a contract. Unless you are trying to circumvent the rules. If this is not a "standard" installation and you wish to run the wires inside yourself - then make sure you use the correct wire - and no splices.
Most view all as simple cost. There is no cost advantage reason to do all yourself if you are going to begin a new contract. If you or your spouse have finished your contract time and you own your own equipment then the story changes ever so slightly.
I was just kind of curious whether they allowed self installs anymore. Back around 2000 I got a system online and installed it myself when they had their 4 month promotion with Sunday Ticket. After the 4 months I canceled the regular programming and kept only the Sunday Ticket which has worked ever since. Obviously they no longer allow you to subscribe to Sunday Ticket only.
The equipment is SD only and I am looking to see what options I would have to upgrade to HD. Unfortunately it looks like anything I would do would force me into a 2 year commitment and I would no longer be able to have the "stand-alone" Sunday Ticket.
JB
The equipment is SD only and I am looking to see what options I would have to upgrade to HD. Unfortunately it looks like anything I would do would force me into a 2 year commitment and I would no longer be able to have the "stand-alone" Sunday Ticket.
JB
- Status
