On my 4th or 5th VIP622 replacement! I cry Uncle...

[emtownsend]

I recently had another 622 die on my only to have the replacement die on me 1.5months later.
I believe I have had at least four, probably closer to six, 622's since I purchased my first one back when they were introduced. Is there any way to know? Just curious if they track that stuff.
I feel they should give me a different model due to the erratic behavior of the 622's. I have lost so many recorded shows and had to go without for many days waiting for the new one and had to spend hours on the phone to get it swapped and then again to get it connected.
Has anyone been able to get Dish to upgrade them without charge?

 

[MaryB@SlingTV]

Hi emtownsend, I would like the opportunity to look into this issue for you. Could you please Private message me your account # or phone#, so I can review your account. Thank you!

 

[sA :: Shaggy]

The 622's Failure rate is as high as the Rockies. Best thing to do is to get a 722k installed. much more stable and seeing at most they have been remanded once, not 6 times like the 622.

 

[shorrock]

Have a field tech out. I had to go through seven of them, and finally had a tech roll out dropped a new 722k in. Said that it's because the refrubs are getting worse as they get older.

 

[ESPNSTI]

4-6? That seems like a lot, I've had one fail (HDMI port), but the replacement has now been running for years without a problem.
Have you've ruled out problems with the environment (power surges / bad wiring / overheating / etc...) ?
I bought myself one of these

and right after that I have had a lot less problems with recordings and weird problems (but that just as easily could have been software updates).

 

[tom231]

My 622 has been running perfect for about 4 years now. But I distinctly remember the tech saying that I was lucky I got a new one and not a refurb as he was un-boxing it.

 

[Laddyboy]

4-6? That seems like a lot, I've had one fail (HDMI port), but the replacement has now been running for years without a problem.
Have you've ruled out problems with the environment (power surges / bad wiring / overheating / etc...) ?
I bought myself one of these

and right after that I have had a lot less problems with recordings and weird problems (but that just as easily could have been software updates).

I'm not sure many people will want to spend $900 for that APC surge protector/line conditioner/battery backup unless they have a lot of other really expensive electronic equipment in addition to the E* receiver.

 

[ESPNSTI]

I'm not sure many people will want to spend $900 for that APC surge protector/line conditioner/battery backup unless they have a lot of other really expensive electronic equipment in addition to the E* receiver.

Well right, I have my HDTV, A/V receiver, PS3, internet equipment and NAS hooked up to it as well in an equipment rack (see here).
Obviously there are cheaper options for this sort of thing as well. The main reason I bought it was to not lose recordings during power outages / hiccups, but I was somewhat surprised that the power conditioning portion of the device seemingly made a difference in the reliability of the 622.

 

[cpdretired]

Are you overheating the unit by stacking A/V units on top of each other? Is there proper ventilation?

 

[KyDave]

Strange how some have just the worst luck with these boxes. I have had my ONLY box since March of '07 - almost 4 years - no hardware issues at all.

 

[markcosenza]

I've had the same 622 as well at least for 4 years, however, it does have a bad problem where after a few days, it erases whatever is on my EHD. (I've since moved my EHD to my 722 and no issues with the EHD.)

 

[tedb3rd]

Just FYI: We had a bad power inserter on our DPP-44 switch and that wacked out 3 of our 622 (would work for a while but then would get stuck in endless reboot cycle and would NEVER recover) receivers before I convinced them to TRY sending a new switch/inserter to see if that worked. I changed the inserter and it worked fine for years until we decided to upgrade to 722. No problems since.

 

[Tampa8]

I would be looking into it being some problem at your site causing them to fail.....

 

[mrplow]

I had 2 622, one worked great the other got replaced 5 times. They thought there was a problem with my setup, so I changed rooms and the good one was still good and the new one died. Number six was a 722, no more problems.

 

[ekilgus]

I'm not sure many people will want to spend $900 for that APC surge protector/line conditioner/battery backup unless they have a lot of other really expensive electronic equipment in addition to the E* receiver.

I got one of those because I have what I would characterize as Upper mid range level equipment and this unit produces pure sine wave power instead of a stepped approximation sine wave of the less expensive backups. Big bucks to be sure but in the long run, I think it's worth it.

 

[emtownsend]

I got an email back from Mr. Kliewer. He said he contacted the director of that department to make sure I never get bothered by the non-returned equipment charge again. Also, he offered to replace my 622 with a 722. Very nice. I thanked him profusely and welcomed the equipment swap.

These 622's have failed in dedicated in-wall theater setup as well as just sitting under my TV. I have very good, forced ventilation into the in-wall setup and I have it connected to one of those expensive line conditioner/surge suppressor rack mounted units like the one pictured. I think anyone who has not had trouble with their boxes should count their blessings!

Thanks to Mary also for her help!

 

[emtownsend]

Just FYI: We had a bad power inserter on our DPP-44 switch and that wacked out 3 of our 622 (would work for a while but then would get stuck in endless reboot cycle and would NEVER recover) receivers before I convinced them to TRY sending a new switch/inserter to see if that worked. I changed the inserter and it worked fine for years until we decided to upgrade to 722. No problems since.

This is interesting to note.... Thanks. My last 622 to be replaced had the endless reboot problem. Hum...

 

[emtownsend]

While a bit dated in this shot (The power unit and fans remain in the current setup, but now, all the equipment is now newer. The 622 lives where the 211 is in this shot), this shows my in-wall setup.


And a more distant view:


I really need to update my photos!

 

[ekilgus]

So basically the statement that there are no longer any "new" 622's, only refurbished ones, is true. I think if i needed a replacement for my 622 I would insist on at least a 722.

 

[TheForce]

Here's the story behind the endless reboot problem.


In Fall of 2009, I went through this too. I had an original 622 go bad due to hard drive failure and requested a replacement after a little over a year. No problem with the exchange but the replacement failed in a constant reboot after a day of use. This followed with 6 replacements all with the same problem over the next 2 months. The TSR's were not able to help and their only recourse was to just exchange the unit paying for shipping. None I spoke with cared about the cost of the continued shipping. I finally got in touch with an old friend I knew for many years at Echostar. He is one of their higher ranking engineers. He knows my engineering background, and listened to my story and decided to check into what I felt was the problem--

My assessment was that the 622 had a bad connection on the power supply board that when it got old, and overheated many times would form an intermittent connection. As the 622 warmed up the metal connectors in that molex expanded, lost tension and became intermittent. In the refurbishing of returmed 622's they have a by the book procedure to follow as a general rule based on failures, which unfortunately did not include a power supply connector replacement. Hard drive was the main item replaced, tested briefly for powerup and then cleaned, repacked and made ready for reshipment to customers. They never ran the unit for a day to detect a heating and intermittent power supply connector. BTW- while keeping a 622 cool from new condition, may help prevent this, if your 622 was one that had suffered high running temps for many months, it would have the problem and pass through the QA procedure at Echostar. The failure of the 622 power supply connector became a self fulfilling event. IN early December, 2009 I was told Echostar had confirmed this to be the root cause of the reboot and added the exchange of the power supply connector as part of the refurb process. Unfortunately, they did not recall all that were in inventory, only replaced the connectors on the units that were returned after the procedure change. I'm certain many with intermittent power supply connectors are still in the loop.
I agree that the best solution for you is to request a 722 or 722K for your trouble. I did but it took an act of the executive's office to get it done. Even with my insider connection to Echostar, I had to go through the proper channels to get the 722. Some here, I understand made deals with an installer and that works too, but it may require greasing the palms of the installer to get him to do you a 722 favor.