Hopper 3 IR receiver disabled on some units? Looking for technical information

[Dish Fan]

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone with deep Hopper 3 experience can help solve a mystery.

I currently own several Hopper 3 receivers, and I've noticed something interesting:

• Some Hopper 3 units receive infrared (IR) commands with no problem.
• Other Hopper 3 units, same model, completely ignore IR commands.
• All of them work perfectly with RF voice remotes (52.0 / 54.x).

I've already confirmed that:

• The IR remote itself works.
• The IR commands are correct (verified with a learning remote).
• The non-working Hopper responds normally over RF.
• Factory reset and software updates do not change the behavior.

I also found that some Hopper 3 units have the external Remote Antenna connector, while others don't, although I understand that's for RF, not IR.

What makes this even more confusing is that I've seen references suggesting that unpairing the RF remote may re-enable IR reception on some Hopper 3 units, but I haven't been able to reproduce that consistently.

So my questions are:

1. Is IR hardware present in every Hopper 3, or were there hardware revisions without an IR receiver?
2. Is IR controlled by firmware?
3. Is there a hidden Diagnostics or Service menu that enables or disables IR reception?
4. Has anyone seen different behavior between different software versions?
5. Is there any known procedure to force a Hopper 3 back into IR mode?

I'm not asking how to pair an RF remote. I'm specifically trying to determine why two Hopper 3 receivers of the same model behave differently with infrared commands.

This discussion is purely for educational purposes and out of technical curiosity. It all started after a friend asked me why two Hopper 3 receivers of the same model behaved differently with IR remotes, and I realized I couldn't find a definitive technical explanation. I'm simply trying to better understand how these receivers work.

Any technical information, service documentation, engineering notes, or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[HipKat]

There's a setting in the Remote section to toggle IR on and off, and all Hoppers should have the antenna.
You're digging WAY too deep into this.

 

[Bobby]

All Hoppers should have the antenna. It is how the Hopper communicates with the Dish remotes, models 40, 54, and 60. It is a specialized antenna and you must use the one that is designed for the Hopper. As HipKat mentioned you can enable IR by using the Dish remote and pressing Home twice, go to Remote Control, and drop down the list to Infrared Reception and turn it on.

 

[Dish Fan]

All Hoppers should have the antenna. It is how the Hopper communicates with the Dish remotes, models 40, 54, and 60. It is a specialized antenna and you must use the one that is designed for the Hopper. As HipKat mentioned you can enable IR by using the Dish remote and pressing Home twice, go to Remote Control, and drop down the list to Infrared Reception and turn it on.

Thaks so much for your response...

Thanks for the information.

That's actually part of what I'm trying to understand.

On my system, the Joeys have the Infrared Reception option exactly where you described.

However, one of my Hopper 3 receivers does not have that menu item at all. It's simply not there under Home > Settings > Remote Control.

Has anyone seen Hopper 3 units where the Infrared Reception option is missing? If so, do you know what determines whether that menu is available (software version, hardware revision, receiver configuration, etc.)?

 

[Jim5506]

Mine has the Infrared Reception under the Advanced section at the very bottom.
There are three choices under advanced: 1)HDMI-CEC, 2)Limited Mode, and 3)Infrared Reception.

 

[Almighty1]

Other than what others have said, even with a Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus setup which is Home once -> Cogwheel and then Dish Settings, then Remote Control, the IR is in the same section. The DISH Remotes should be 40, 50, 52, 54 and 60. How many Hopper 3's do you have, when were they acquired and are they all at the same location? I always thought 2 Hopper 3's was the maximum others such as charlesrshell had as a configuration. Can you take a photo of the Hopper 3's without the External Remote Antenna connector? What software versions are on each of the Hopper 3's?

 

[Astroman3427]

Wish I knew who to send this to at Dish ??

Hopper3 software H711. Since this upgrade there is a bug in the Hopper's IR receiver. The issue is with the IR receiver going to sleep and being slow to wake up and start responding to IR signals. Problem happens with remotes from OFA and Logitech as well as the Dish 21.1.in IR mode. Is this still an open issue?
Called support today. Half hour later I was told that IR is no longer supported. Tech refused to log a ticket to report this request.
Thanks, Alan

 

[cpdretired]

Wish I knew who to send this to at Dish ??

Hopper3 software H711. Since this upgrade there is a bug in the Hopper's IR receiver. The issue is with the IR receiver going to sleep and being slow to wake up and start responding to IR signals. Problem happens with remotes from OFA and Logitech as well as the Dish 21.1.in IR mode. Is this still an open issue?
Called support today. Half hour later I was told that IR is no longer supported. Tech refused to log a ticket to report this request.
Thanks, Alan

I'm using a Logitch Harmony One remote. The IR works perfectly.

 

[reubenray]

I'm using a Logitch Harmony One remote. The IR works perfectly.

I am using a Logitech Harmony 665 remote and it works only after quickly pushing several buttons where before firmware 711 it worked perfect.