Hopper and Joey problems - live TV and DVR playback freezing and pixelating

Snoozer

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Jul 1, 2004
70
4
Can't figure out what's going on. Thinking it might have been some recent software updates because I noticed remote control response was sluggish lately so changed batteries but nothing improved. Yesterday live picture and DVR playback started to freeze momentarily with some pixelating. Rebooted both Hopper and Joey with no success. I know others have had similar problems in the past but couldn't find any solutions mentioned on here. Any Ideas?
 
Failing hard drive? (hopefully not) Is there good ventilation around the unit....
 
Failing hard drive? (hopefully not) Is there good ventilation around the unit....
I have the Hopper located in a walk in closet so lots of room and temperature not a problem as far as I know. Joey is in an open bedroom
 
Can't figure out what's going on. Thinking it might have been some recent software updates because I noticed remote control response was sluggish lately so changed batteries but nothing improved. Yesterday live picture and DVR playback started to freeze momentarily with some pixelating. Rebooted both Hopper and Joey with no success. I know others have had similar problems in the past but couldn't find any solutions mentioned on here. Any Ideas?

Hello Snoozer. Sluggish remotes can be frustrating. We're here to help.
New software might cause a slower response time. Great guess, but we're not showing reports of that being the case. It's possible, I'll go over some other things first.

The most common reason is the antenna. Please be sure the Hopper antenna is securely twisted in and as straight up as possible. No wires or cables should be touching it, as that will interfere with the UHF signals from the remote.

If that doesn't solve your problem, next step would be to go to each device, bring up the system info screen and unlink or unpair the remote. Then simply re pair them to each unit.

If this doesn't solve your sluggish remotes, feel free to private message me. We can then access your account and equipment.
 
Hello Snoozer. Sluggish remotes can be frustrating. We're here to help.
New software might cause a slower response time. Great guess, but we're not showing reports of that being the case. It's possible, I'll go over some other things first.

The most common reason is the antenna. Please be sure the Hopper antenna is securely twisted in and as straight up as possible. No wires or cables should be touching it, as that will interfere with the UHF signals from the remote.

If that doesn't solve your problem, next step would be to go to each device, bring up the system info screen and unlink or unpair the remote. Then simply re pair them to each unit.

If this doesn't solve your sluggish remotes, feel free to private message me. We can then access your account and equipment.

Hi Mark - A sluggish remote isn't a big concern right now. " Yesterday live picture and DVR playback started to freeze momentarily with some pixelating. Rebooted both Hopper and Joey with no success. I know others have had similar problems in the past but couldn't find any solutions mentioned on here".
 
Hi Mark - A sluggish remote isn't a big concern right now. " Yesterday live picture and DVR playback started to freeze momentarily with some pixelating. Rebooted both Hopper and Joey with no success. I know others have had similar problems in the past but couldn't find any solutions mentioned on here".
Ok. Let's get this taken care of. Please PM me. We'll address with with you.
 
Hi Mark - A sluggish remote isn't a big concern right now. " Yesterday live picture and DVR playback started to freeze momentarily with some pixelating. Rebooted both Hopper and Joey with no success. I know others have had similar problems in the past but couldn't find any solutions mentioned on here".

Sounds like a hard drive on the way out (been there)
 
Never did get any help from DIRT team. I sent then a PM as requested but it took like 10 minutes between replies and I just didn't have the time. Guess it was a busy day for them. Does anyone have any tips on troubleshooting to see of this could be a hard drive failure like Tampa8 and darrengs suggested?
 
I would suggest moving anything you want to keep to an EHD, and if you can't get DiRT here, then use Twitter. Or you could try chat.
 
Can't figure out what's going on. Thinking it might have been some recent software updates because I noticed remote control response was sluggish lately so changed batteries but nothing improved. Yesterday live picture and DVR playback started to freeze momentarily with some pixelating. Rebooted both Hopper and Joey with no success. I know others have had similar problems in the past but couldn't find any solutions mentioned on here. Any Ideas?
Hi Snoozer,
I went through the same thing. Most probably the problem is the disk drive on the Hopper. Replacing the Joey did no good. Only by replacing the Hopper did the system come back to working without problems. You will not get an error message. First, copy all the programs you want to keep to an external drive while that is still working. As far as I can tell there are no user accessible ways to run diagnostics on the drive. I think 99% of the time replacing the Hopper will fix things assuming you have checked all the connections.
 
Hi Snoozer,
I went through the same thing. Most probably the problem is the disk drive on the Hopper. Replacing the Joey did no good. Only by replacing the Hopper did the system come back to working without problems. You will not get an error message. First, copy all the programs you want to keep to an external drive while that is still working. As far as I can tell there are no user accessible ways to run diagnostics on the drive. I think 99% of the time replacing the Hopper will fix things assuming you have checked all the connections.
Well, after six months, I would hope he figured out and resolved the problem by now.
 
Hi Snoozer,
I went through the same thing. Most probably the problem is the disk drive on the Hopper. Replacing the Joey did no good. Only by replacing the Hopper did the system come back to working without problems. You will not get an error message. First, copy all the programs you want to keep to an external drive while that is still working. As far as I can tell there are no user accessible ways to run diagnostics on the drive. I think 99% of the time replacing the Hopper will fix things assuming you have checked all the connections.

Among various other complaints, this was something that was happening with both my Hopper w/sling and super Joey. After a tech visit just before Christmas, he also concluded that my hard drive was failing. I ordered an EHD and will be copying my recorded content to save for my replacement Hopper.
 
Among various other complaints, this was something that was happening with both my Hopper w/sling and super Joey. After a tech visit just before Christmas, he also concluded that my hard drive was failing. I ordered an EHD and will be copying my recorded content to save for my replacement Hopper.

Have you resolved your issue? I'm having the same problem and suspected the hard drive, but also thought it could have been software related.
 
Hi ferl,

I just completed the transfer of my Hopper recordings to a 2 TB EHD. Finished a few hours ago. Been waiting to see a DIRT member come online to set up the shipping of my replacement Hopper (if they do that). But I haven't seen anyone in red letters come onto the forum. Not sure if I should keep watching for a DIRT member or just do a chat with a rep through Dish's main website?

In any case, I'm going to request a Hopper 3 since they have to replace my failing HWS. Don't know if they'll do it, but it doesn't hurt to ask. LOL

When the tech was here -- and on the phone with his superior -- they both said I probably have a failing hard drive. I have had lots of problems with the Super Joey, especially when trying to use the backward button (to jump back 6 seconds), etc.

When I asked if this would also require a new Super Joey, they said no. The Joey's function is done through the Hopper, so the Hopper was the culprit for all my problems with both units.

So your problem is probably hardware related also. Good luck!
 
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