External GenieGo support being withdrawn

[rad]

Got an e-mail from DIRECTV this morning that had this line in it:

You will not be able to use your GenieGO hardware after 10/18/2016 so we recommend completing the above steps as soon as possible.

The prior instructions were on how to get a Genie to provide the GenieGo function. I wonder how DIRECTV will handle the folks that have a GenieGo and only HR2X's, will they give them free upgrades to HR44/HR54's so they have the capability? This also screws over folks that have Genie's and HR2X's in their networks since the Genie's won't be able to transcode recordings from the HR2X's.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I'd call customer service. Maybe they will upgrade you to a genie for free

 

[Hutch1814]

I'd call customer service. Maybe they will upgrade you to a genie for free

Claude, this isn't comedy hour! Directv/ATT knows nothing of the word "free". They'll make people pay for the upgrade with a discount I'm sure. I'm more curious about people that paid that $150 for the genie go

 

[rad]

I don't know about that, got free upgrade to a HR54.

 

[jcrandall]

Likely free Genie with two year contract if you've been with them a while and only have HD-DVR.

 

[Bogy]

I got my GenieGo free about a year ago as part of an upgrade, so at least I'm not out any money, but I am frustrated that DirecTV has taken a step backward, unless you watch on an iPad, iPhone, or android device. The GenieGo app for Windows devices is no longer supported. My tablet happens to be Windows 10. So not only can I not watch my locals or RSNs on my tablet or laptop, I can no longer access the playlist on my DVR on either device. The android app works fine on my android phone, but I liked being able to use the TV Anywhere on a screen bigger than 6".

 

[Fashionita]

Hi, I'm new here. I am one of those affected. I bought the GenieGo a couple of years ago after my dad died and we turned the Dish off at his house. Wanted to be able to watch TV when we went over to clean out the house. It worked better than I expected considering I was having to use my phone for the internet connection.

Anyways, the letter that states "We'd like to offer you a complimentary upgrade, without a new programming commitment, so that you can continue to enjoy your shows and movies on the go."

While I would prefer the option of watching on my Mac, I'm ok with just being able to watch on my tablet. My concern is with the upgraded receiver. I currently have the HR34-700 model. When we agreed to contract with DirecTV I was specific in that I required that I be able to offload programming I had recorded onto the receiver onto my DVD player/recorder. While they tried to tell me after they had installed it that I couldn't do that, I told them it was a deal breaker and the salesman had promised me that it would be no problem. If I remember correctly, they put a splitter on the signal coming out of the receiver so that the signal goes both to my TV and to my DVD recorder. My question is, with the new receiver, will this setup continue to work, or have they figured out some way to scramble the signal coming out of the receiver that my recorder won't be able to unscramble, but the TV be able to?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[EarDemon]

This is the first I've heard of the discontinuation of the GenieGo. I have not received any letter or email about this. I purchased one a few years ago NIB really cheap on eBay. I'm guessing that it 'fell of the back of the truck'. Thought it would be really cool to play around with, but I was underwhelmed. The quality of the video I thought was awful, even on a 6" phone. I don't care to watch TV on anything but a TV, but I thought it would be nice to watch my goofy 'reality' shows on like Pawn Stars and Storage Wars, where I don't necessarily care about quality, at work during lunch or waiting for food at a restaurant. I barley used the thing, and last year when I switched all of my home networking gear from consumer Linksys stuff to Cisco Small Business, I never bothered to re-establish the port forwarding and whatever else was needed for the GenieGo to work out of the home.

Does anyone have any more information about this? I have an HR34 and HR24, and have been wanting to get rid of the HR34 in favor of the HR44 or preferably 54 for a long time now. Having an orphaned GenieGo, would this be the best opportunity to attempt to get a free or decent priced HR54.

 

[Fashionita]

My guess is that you didn't receive an E-mail because you didn't buy your GenieGo from DirecTV, which would also probably mean you wouldn't get a free receiver upgrade.

 

[EarDemon]

If I remember correctly, the GenieGo had to be registered with my DirecTV account, so there should be a record of me having one. Not sure why it would make a difference who I bought it from. I'll give them a call tomorrow or Monday.

Admittedly, I haven't followed this stuff that closely in a while. Do the new Genie's have the Genie Go feature built into them or something?

 

[Fashionita]

I guess my take on it would be why would they give you a free upgrade if you didn't spend money with them to get the Go, but I could be wrong. What they are doing is replacing the GenieGo with a new version of the DirecTV App. In order to use the full functionality of the App, you will need to upgrade your receiver.

 

[EarDemon]

I called up a little while ago and was able the get a free upgrade, after dealing with the HR34 since it first came out. The rep wanted to give me a HR44, but I told him that I may be getting a 4KTV in the coming months, and he said he could get me a free HR54 and 4K Genie Mini, but I declined the 4K Genie Mini for now. I after the initial conversation I was transferred to the department were I had to confirm my name, address and agree that the receiver was leased not owned. And then that's where the fun began.

The guy could barley speak English and I could not understand much of what he was saying. I asked if the new DVR would be installed professionally of if they would just send me the new one, and I'd send the HR34 back. I had no clue what he said in response to that, and I stayed on the line and he kept asking me if there was anything else he could help me with, and I kept asking the same question. Finally I hung up, called back right away, got someone who spoke English, explained my situation, she then transferred me back to the same department, and the new guy asked me the same questions. I interrupted, and asked my question again. I'm pretty sure he said it will be sent FedEx and I'll have it in 3-5 business days. Then I asked if I would have any problem using the HR54 in-conjunction with a SWM8 with a Slimline 5 and WorldDirect Dish for 95, and I could not make out a single word of his response. Guess I'll find out.

AT&T, please hire people who speak English or bring support back to the US. This is extremely frustrating.

 

[Fashionita]

That's great. Yeah, I hate that AT&T bought DirecTV. My husband tried their UVERSE internet service and they couldn't even get the bandwidth to the house, yet the manager kept telling him he was getting what he paid for even though it was obvious he wasn't. Then they tried to charge him for removing it. Plus, they disconnected my phone in the process.
Did you check to see what the price differential would be for the HR54? I have read it is much more expensive.

 

[texasbrit]

There is no price differential for the Hr54...

 

[EarDemon]

I have read it is much more expensive.

Where did you read that? As Texasbrit said there is no monthly price difference. Why would there be, it's the same product line, just two generations newer.

 

[Jimbo]

I called up a little while ago and was able the get a free upgrade, after dealing with the HR34 since it first came out. The rep wanted to give me a HR44, but I told him that I may be getting a 4KTV in the coming months, and he said he could get me a free HR54 and 4K Genie Mini, but I declined the 4K Genie Mini for now. I after the initial conversation I was transferred to the department were I had to confirm my name, address and agree that the receiver was leased not owned. And then that's where the fun began.

The guy could barley speak English and I could not understand much of what he was saying. I asked if the new DVR would be installed professionally of if they would just send me the new one, and I'd send the HR34 back. I had no clue what he said in response to that, and I stayed on the line and he kept asking me if there was anything else he could help me with, and I kept asking the same question. Finally I hung up, called back right away, got someone who spoke English, explained my situation, she then transferred me back to the same department, and the new guy asked me the same questions. I interrupted, and asked my question again. I'm pretty sure he said it will be sent FedEx and I'll have it in 3-5 business days. Then I asked if I would have any problem using the HR54 in-conjunction with a SWM8 with a Slimline 5 and WorldDirect Dish for 95, and I could not make out a single word of his response. Guess I'll find out.

AT&T, please hire people who speak English or bring support back to the US. This is extremely frustrating.

This has been an issue LONG before att took over.

 

[Fashionita]

Where did you read that? As Texasbrit said there is no monthly price difference. Why would there be, it's the same product line, just two generations newer.

Sorry, I guess I misread. You only have to pay more if you actually use the 4K service.

 

[EarDemon]

Well this is disappointing. After requesting an HR54, and being assured by the phone rep I would get one. I got an HR44. A used, reconditioned HR44 with scratches all over the top, and no information on how to send the HR34 back. And I'm guessing I will have to pay return shipping. I'm a little nervous sending the HR34 back and having DirecTV claim they never received it. At least when a tech comes to the house to swap receivers you get a receipt and its his problem if it goes missing.

 

[Zashel]

yea at this point all 44's are refurbs. the only thing that sucks if is if you DO get a 4k, and subsequently a c61k, you'll lose your recordings again (unless they get a cloud backup feature going). and you should be able to use your SL5 + international just fine for NOW, because all the 4k prog comes in on the 99 slot, but they may change that in the future in which case you will likely lose your international progamming when they change you over to a RB5.

 

[Jimbo]

Well this is disappointing. After requesting an HR54, and being assured by the phone rep I would get one. I got an HR44. A used, reconditioned HR44 with scratches all over the top, and no information on how to send the HR34 back. And I'm guessing I will have to pay return shipping. I'm a little nervous sending the HR34 back and having DirecTV claim they never received it. At least when a tech comes to the house to swap receivers you get a receipt and its his problem if it goes missing.

The people on the phone have NO way to know what recvr you will get, other than the same type .... as sad as it is.
It all goes by what the tech has on the truck when he gets there.
As for sending the HR34 back, you should be getting a box in the mail to return it, with a postage paid return label ... you won't pay to return anything.

I have sent back MANY boxes over the years without ever having an issue.