Peculiar issue since latest software

Radioguy41

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Pub Member / Supporter
Aug 7, 2008
2,795
2,768
Lehighton, PA
A couple of weeks ago a message popped up on the screen that it was going to update the software and do a harddrive check. It did it's thing and ever since then my unit is on every morning when I get up even though I make certain it's off when I go to bed. It's a VIP211k. Anybody else seeing this?
 
Been a while since I had a 211, but have you tried unplugging power from the receiver for a couple minutes then plugging back in? That would do a full reset and might clear it out.
 
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I never had a VIP211k, but I was wondering if it has a setting for when to do the nightly update. If it was set for a time in the early morning, then the receiver could still be on when you get up. I know that sometimes some settings inadvertently get changed when the receiver updates. If the VIP211k has a setting for when to perform the nightly update, it would be worth checking to see if that is the problem.
 
It sounds like the update made your ViP211k function just like my Wally. I have two of them with external hard drives connected, and they always turn themselves on each morning after the nightly update. This has been going on for about a year now, so I am starting to think this was intentional.
 
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It sounds like the update made your ViP211k function just like my Wally. I have two of them with external hard drives connected, and they always turn themselves on each morning after the nightly update. This has been going on for about a year now, so I am starting to think this was intentional.

Maybe they made it that way for commercial accounts who want the receiver to always be on.
 
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Maybe they made it that way for commercial accounts who want the receiver to always be on.
Maybe, but commercial accounts would not necessarily have a hard drive connected to each receiver. Without the hard drive connected, this behavior does not occur. Also, commercial accounts would be more likely to leave the receiver on an audio music channel all of the time. When I try that, some mornings I wake up to an Error message on screen, and no music. So, this seems like the exact opposite of what would be expected to happen if I had a commercial account.
 
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Maybe, but commercial accounts would not necessarily have a hard drive connected to each receiver. Without the hard drive connected, this behavior does not occur. Also, commercial accounts would be more likely to leave the receiver on an audio music channel all of the time. When I try that, some mornings I wake up to an Error message on screen, and no music. So, this seems like the exact opposite of what would be expected to happen if I had a commercial account.

I'm with you about the hard drives but commercial accounts aren't necessarily tuned to music channels. In fact some receivers are in a head end type environment with each receiver providing a different channel.

All that said, it's probably just a bug. :biggrin
 
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A lot of people would want their receiver to perform that way, have to give it a try
In my case, although the receiver is turned on and displaying Live TV, it is not fully awake until I actually press a button (any button) to wake it up. In other words, it is not recording Live TV in the buffer when it is in this state.
 
In my case, although the receiver is turned on and displaying Live TV, it is not fully awake until I actually press a button (any button) to wake it up. In other words, it is not recording Live TV in the buffer when it is in this state.
Wouldn't want it to record, just auto on
 
Wouldn't want it to record, just auto on
Okay. Well, like I said, this only happens with a hard drive connected. So, I do not really see the point of the auto on, if it is not going to record so I can skip back or rewind to see what I missed. If you like it performing this way, then at least it makes someone happy. :)
 
Yeah, I think it's EHD related. It started happening right after the popup that said it was going to perform a harddrive check. The very next morning it was on and I thought I had just forgotten to turn it off but it soon became apparent there was an issue. Good to know it's not just me.
 
Each morning when I press the remote power button, it turns my TV on and the Hopper3 off even though I turned the Hopper off at bedtime. I have to push the select button to keep the Hopper from going to standby. It is suppose to update at 4:00 am.
 
This is wearing thin, it's still on every morning even though I make absolutely certain it's turned off at night. No timers, no nothing, it just turns itself on sometime during the night. Come on Dish fix this, you messed it up when you did the software update and whatever you did to "check" my harddrive.
 
This is wearing thin, it's still on every morning even though I make absolutely certain it's turned off at night. No timers, no nothing, it just turns itself on sometime during the night. Come on Dish fix this, you messed it up when you did the software update and whatever you did to "check" my harddrive.
Unfortunately, it is the daily hard drive check that is causing your receiver to turn itself back on. If you happen to be awake at the time that the daily reset is set for, you can watch the steps it takes for yourself to verify this. There are only two solutions to this issue:

1) Unhook your hard drive overnight, so your receiver will act as a non-DVR when it does the daily reset.
2) Switch to a DVR with a bulit-in hard drive (and the associated monthly fee) since they do not have this behavior of turning themselves back on.

If you are waiting for another software update for a ViP receiver, that may come somewhere around the twelfth of never. :biggrin
 
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I guess my questions would be, why do they feel it necessary to check MY harddrive every night in the first place, and why after all this time? If your opinion about VIP software updates is valid then why did they feel it necessary to implement this one that screwed it up? Why not leave well enough alone? I don't believe in accepting screwups by shrugging my shoulders and saying "Well that's just the way it is." Nope, sorry, they messed it up and it's their responsibility to correct it.
 
I guess my questions would be, why do they feel it necessary to check MY harddrive every night in the first place, and why after all this time? If your opinion about VIP software updates is valid then why did they feel it necessary to implement this one that screwed it up? Why not leave well enough alone? I don't believe in accepting screwups by shrugging my shoulders and saying "Well that's just the way it is." Nope, sorry, they messed it up and it's their responsibility to correct it.
I am just saying, since they apparently do not feel the need to fix this issue on the Wally (which is one of their newer, top-of-the-line budget receivers) after I started having this issue more than a year ago, then fixing it on a ViP211k is probably not a very high priority for them. As for why they implemented this in the first place, I have absolutely no clue. Whatever their reason, I still suspect that this was done intentionally.
 
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Your receiver is always on even when it is in standby . So, why does it matter if it is "on" in the mornings. I doubt that it uses any more electricity. My TiVo does not even have an off button, but you can put it in standby for whatever reason, I do not know.
 
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