Disabling the famous " Spot Beam "

[bbd24]

I have two homes. One in Northern Cali and one in Southern Cali. There about 6 hrs away from eachother by car. My question is this : How can I disable this spot beam junk on my local channels ?

Each time I head down to Southern Cal I have to call in and change my service address so that the locals appear there. Same with NorCal. Is there a way around this ? I don't want to keep calling in and changing my address if a weekend visit arises and what not . In fact, one CSR had the nerve to tell me on the phone that my account could be cited because I was calling and changing the address too much. I told them , " What ? " I don't think they understand why I have to call. They probably don't have directv and don't realize theres a spot beam out there which locks out my locals if I'm not in that area. I told them to disable it and help me out so I don't have to contact them at all. Or put something on there website I can edit so I can get my LOCALS !

Theres got to be a better way.

 

[mfortsch]

Do you get the EAST COAST network feeds in HD.........thats what I do.
mike
mf at lugan dot com

 

[iwc5893]

I have two homes. One in Northern Cali and one in Southern Cali. There about 6 hrs away from eachother by car. My question is this : How can I disable this spot beam junk on my local channels ?

Each time I head down to Southern Cal I have to call in and change my service address so that the locals appear there. Same with NorCal. Is there a way around this ? I don't want to keep calling in and changing my address if a weekend visit arises and what not . In fact, one CSR had the nerve to tell me on the phone that my account could be cited because I was calling and changing the address too much. I told them , " What ? " I don't think they understand why I have to call. They probably don't have directv and don't realize theres a spot beam out there which locks out my locals if I'm not in that area. I told them to disable it and help me out so I don't have to contact them at all. Or put something on there website I can edit so I can get my LOCALS !

Theres got to be a better way.

The correct answer is to have two accounts - one for each address. Then you suspend the account for the home you are not at and unsuspend the account for the one you are going to. This will eliminate the issue of you attracting attention from D*'s Signal Integrity division. And yes, the CSR was correct. You can run into issues with D* if you are constantly "moving".

 

[forecheck]

Depending on if you want local news and non-major network stations in SF, you can always just leave your address as the LA one and you will still get NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox from LA in SF.

 

[Larry]

Depending on if you want local news and non-major network stations in SF, you can always just leave your address as the LA one and you will still get NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox from LA in SF.

And...if you leave your address alone, you might be able to get your locals at the other location with an OTA antenna.

 

[Tower Guy]

I have two homes. One in Northern Cali and one in Southern Cali. There about 6 hrs away from eachother by car. My question is this :

Each time I head down to Southern Cal I have to call in and change my service address so that the locals appear there. Same with NorCal. Is there a way around this ?

I'd install an over the air antenna for locals on one of the two locations and simply leave the account active for the other area.

 

[basshive]

Theres got to be a better way.

There is, stop trying to defraud D* by trying to have service in two locations and paying for one. Seriously, how can you expect them to not look negatively on what you are doing?

Just suspend one account and active the other as needed.......

 

[acd22]

There is, stop trying to defraud D* by trying to have service in two locations and paying for one. Seriously, how can you expect them to not look negatively on what you are doing?

Just suspend one account and active the other as needed.......

He's not trying to defraud anybody. He thinks that he, not his house, bought D*. And he thinks it's reasonable that when he's in either one of his houses that he should be able to get what he paid for without the bother of calling D* each time. He's right.

D* needs to realize that lots of people live in two places and they should have some solution other than the very time consuming (for them) and expensive (for D*) of calling each time they go from one place to the next.

 

[basshive]

I am pretty sure what is paid for is service at ONE location. I might be wrong but I think that is the case. If service is being paid for in both locations then by all means that is a different story and yes a nicer workaround would be welcomed. If you put up your own setup in another location to use the same account then I would say Directv has every right to take issue with it.

 

[jpn]

I have two homes. One in Northern Cali and one in Southern Cali. There about 6 hrs away from eachother by car. My question is this : How can I disable this spot beam junk on my local channels ?

You may be able to do it without calling. Use the DirecTV website to change your service address; then use the website to re-authorize your IRD's. If it works at least you avoid the CSR's. I agree with you: D* should make provisions for people who own multiple properties.

 

[bbd24]

There is, stop trying to defraud D* by trying to have service in two locations and paying for one. Seriously, how can you expect them to not look negatively on what you are doing?

Just suspend one account and active the other as needed.......

Defraud ? How about them screwing me out of the channels I pay for !!! I pay for the channels already. Its not my fault there setup is terrible. I shouldnt have to call everytime I move in order to get the locals. In fact, most of the time, I'm calling twice because the CSR won't re-send the signal correctly.

I like the idea of getting 2 accounts and suspend the one account not in use. However, don't I have to still call to make an account active ?

 

[bbd24]

I am pretty sure what is paid for is service at ONE location. I might be wrong but I think that is the case. If service is being paid for in both locations then by all means that is a different story and yes a nicer workaround would be welcomed. If you put up your own setup in another location to use the same account then I would say Directv has every right to take issue with it.

Oh yeah, I'm only paying one bill. One account. No reason to have 2 bills when its just me in each location. My beef is that I have to call in each time to get my locals. All the other channels work fine. But when I'm in Norcal and my service address is reading SoCal, I turn to my locals and get " Searching for Signal " . No picture.

 

[bbd24]

You may be able to do it without calling. Use the DirecTV website to change your service address; then use the website to re-authorize your IRD's. If it works at least you avoid the CSR's. I agree with you: D* should make provisions for people who own multiple properties.

Yeah, I've looked at that website up and down and there isn't a place to change your service address. I can change my billing address, but it doesn't solve anything.

I think you can only change your service address by phone.

 

[ONUOsFan]

Oh yeah, I'm only paying one bill. One account. No reason to have 2 bills when its just me in each location. My beef is that I have to call in each time to get my locals. All the other channels work fine. But when I'm in Norcal and my service address is reading SoCal, I turn to my locals and get " Searching for Signal " . No picture.

So, let me get this straight... you have two receivers listed on the same account, but they're actually in different parts of the state?

Yeah, can't imagine why they would have a problem with that... good grief.

 

[jpn]

I like the idea of getting 2 accounts and suspend the one account not in use. However, don't I have to still call to make an account active ?

Once you've got (2) active accounts, I wonder whether you can suspend either until their service commitments have been met.

The one-service-address argument raises more questions:

• how do people with mobile (SUV/RV) units handle it?
• Do they get to have one account for their home and mobile unit?
• If the mobile unit is on the 'home' account, why can't a second home be handled in the same manner?
• If the mobile unit requires its own account
  • is it subject to any service commitment?
  • Can it be suspended as-needed?

 

[ONUOsFan]

He's not trying to defraud anybody. He thinks that he, not his house, bought D*. And he thinks it's reasonable that when he's in either one of his houses that he should be able to get what he paid for without the bother of calling D* each time. He's right.

D* needs to realize that lots of people live in two places and they should have some solution other than the very time consuming (for them) and expensive (for D*) of calling each time they go from one place to the next.

This is a great idea. I think I'm going to hook up receivers at my multiple properties as well. Never mind that my parents, my wife's parents, my cousin and my best fried actually live in those other properties...

I'm kidding of course, but hopefully you get the idea. If they allowed you to do this, they have no way to ensure they are actually getting paid for services they are providing to multiple locations. Whether you like it or not, you are paying to provide service to your house, not to you as an individual, wherever you may roam...

 

[atp1313]

How do people with RV's do this? Can you see about setting up a "nomad" account that is simply updated with each "current/final" location?

 

[iwc5893]

I like the idea of getting 2 accounts and suspend the one account not in use. However, don't I have to still call to make an account active ?

Yes, but they're less likely to give you grief over it.

 

[jpn]

If they allowed you to do this, they have no way to ensure they are actually getting paid for services they are providing to multiple locations.

I see your point, but there is a way to ensure that you aren't stealing service: require proof of ownership/residency. Require the customer to provide current utility bills, and possibly closing documents for properties you own.

It's not a big deal. When I bought my house the prior owner failed to disconnect the security system and refused to reset the disable code. The security company was contractually obligated to keep the prior owner's service active until I could prove ownership of the house. All I had to do was email them a scanned copy of the accepted offer sheet. There is no reason D* can't do the same.

 

[harshness]

How do people with RV's do this? Can you see about setting up a "nomad" account that is simply updated with each "current/final" location?

RVs are a special case that has changed radically recently. The new language of the T&Cs suggest that you can only have one receiver on an account that has the RV designation and you must qualify under the FCC RV exception to get DNS locals.