Dish Reliability

[dtgoodtonid]

So, I saw a Dish commercial that said if you lose signal call 800-225-5347, 800 CALL DISH. It says we will receive bill credit(s) for loss of signal.

The most common criticism I hear when I say I have Dish is that, for example, if it sprinkles the signal drops. I always refute that BS and acknowledge that we do have occasional signal loss but it's during an extreme weather event. Without going into the ins and outs of that debate, if you have Dish you know that frequent signal loss isn't true.

Has Dish upgraded their policy? That is a strong commitment that I don't think other providers, like cable, are making.

 

[chiodo]

I don't know I've had Dish for close to 20 yrs and only time I ever experience signal loss was during extreme heavy rain or heavy snowfall on dish, there have been times where my dish went out of alignment cause signal drops, but that was from me sweeping snow off my dish in winter and dish becoming misaligned, I readjusted it so this is no longer an issue. My signal loss has only been for a few hours at most, in which case I have pre recorded shows and movies on my DVR. I also live in WA west Coast so extreme weather like hurricanes and tornado's are non existent in my area.

 

[Radioguy41]

In the last 15 years I've lost signal due to rain about once a year and then only for a short period. And it has to be heavy rain, not just sprinkles. Snow is a different story but a quick sweep with a broom clears that up right away. No complaints.

 

[NYDutch]

Like the others, our "rain fade" experiences over the past 14 years have been minimal, usually lasting just a few minutes. The rare snow on the dish outage times are dependent on how important what we're watching is in relation to how fast me and my snow brush get out there to clean it off.

 

[KAB]

Rain does not block. Clouds do!

 

[macphreak]

I’ve been thinking about switching to Dish from xfinity. My three biggest worries right now are:

1. Signal loss during storms (we do live around some trees which I’ve heard can affect signal as well - we live in Indiana).
2. Carrier disputes. I recall hearing that Dish has blackouts if channels more than any other carrier. Is this still true?
3. Dish as a company. Is software for the hopper (for example) still being actively developed and improved? With Dish losing subscribers by the millions, I’m worried that software updates and innovation will become stagnant.

 

[HipKat]

I’ve been thinking about switching to Dish from xfinity. My three biggest worries right now are:

1. Signal loss during storms (we do live around some trees which I’ve heard can affect signal as well - we live in Indiana).
2. Carrier disputes. I recall hearing that Dish has blackouts if channels more than any other carrier. Is this still true?
3. Dish as a company. Is software for the hopper (for example) still being actively developed and improved? With Dish losing subscribers by the millions, I’m worried that software updates and innovation will become stagnant.

I know Comcast customers that list signal in storms for longer periods.

Carrier Disputes happen to all services, but yeah, Dish has had a lot, specifically with regional sports

Hopper technology is accelerating all the time

 

[ekilgus]

I've only experienced minimal signal loss, and that was due to some really heavy weather/cloud cover so it's no problem for me. I'm not an installer but I would think that a somewhat misaligned dish might experience more frequent weather related signal loss than a well aligned dish. I suppose you can call
dish and ask about acceptable signal strength numbers for your arc and location to determine if any dish alignment is required.

 

[TheKrell]

Rain does not block. Clouds do!

Huh? For me, it's only very heavy rain in the direction of the satellites that cause any dropouts. Clouds aren't enough.

 

[HipKat]

Huh? For me, it's only very heavy rain in the direction of the satellites that cause any dropouts. Clouds aren't enough.

I tell people that rain is to a dish as it is to your windshield, how it displaces your sight, it also displaces the signal. I have seen clouds that are very heavy with moisture, like the storm cells we get in the Midwest lower signal enough to cause some loss

 

[tanman]

Huh? For me, it's only very heavy rain in the direction of the satellites that cause any dropouts. Clouds aren't enough.

It's only been once but I did see a dropout when it was not raining but it was very thick clouds.It was such an odd event I still remember it even though it was years ago.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I say it is 100% reliable right up to when you get rain fade. But it usually recovers the signal after the intense rain settles down. I was on western arc and when I lost Hd channels it would default to the Sd version ,until the hd signal came back up.

 

[scoob83]

Has to be a really, really bad storm to lose signal. I had Comcast before and I had way more outages with them than I have ever had with Dish. This past winter I lost it and went out to check the dish and snow had piled up. Brushed it off and picture came back instantly.

 

[reubenray]

I had a great example of losing the signals yesterday during some storms. I have learned to expect this. But since I moved to NW Arkansas even after the storms has moved away it may take 30 to 60 minutes for the picture to come back. Especially the local channels.

 

[Nebugeater]

I have COX cable to the house for Internet service and DISH for TV. I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have way more outages with COX than with DISH. As a side note, the COX instruction in the area I am in is around 15 years old, and that is the whole community, not just my neighborhood.

 

[HipKat]

The other thing you have to ask yourself is if you stick with cable for TV and Internet and it’s the same cost now as going with Dish for TV and cable Internet, what are you getting for the money that’s different with Dish, as far as equipment, options, billing stability, customer service, all of it. You can’t just look at the money because if the same money puts me in a Corvette or an older pick up truck, I’m taking the Corvette. I know that’s a silly comparison but I’m just trying to make a point.

 

[NYDutch]

We just had a strong thunderstorm wash over us complete with tornado warnings. We lost our Dish service for a whole two minutes, and fortunately the loss was mostly during a commercial break instead of during the movie we were watching.

 

[Tony S]

I live in Connecticut and have had Dish for over 20 years. I have only experienced rain fade a few times in all those years. It has to be raining incredibly hard for the signal to go out, and it only lasts a couple of minutes. I remember a few storms where cable was out for over a week, but it did not affect me because I had Dish.

 

[jerryez]

I cannot remember the last time that I lost signal with Dish, but at least once a week my TiVo loses signal for no reason on an OTA. Usually the weather is cloudless when it happens and I am only 30 miles from the towers with a 30' outside antenna. Broadcasters suck, because they depend on cable to transmit their signal.

 

[Tampa8]

Total bs that DISH loses the signal often. That however assumes the dish is aimed well. I have had Dish about as long as anyone near their beginning. Cable (which often means streaming too) loses signal infantantly more often and for generally longer than the very occasional rain fade.
My experience is Western Arc has less rain fade than Eastern neither a regular occurrence.