VIP222K not working

[digital-gear]

I am trying to get a VIP222K up and running. Have been Dish customer for over 10 years. I hate contracts so bought receiver on eBAY as my current receivers were going south. It was supposed to be new and unopened. When received it looked as described. Got it activated but now unit is not responding to front panel buttons and remote does not work. Only shows Dish info channel.

Power off for several minutes, reset etc yield no change in situation.

Tech support claims it is bad receiver and will not repair even if I pay for repairs. Are there any third party companies that do repairs?

The lack of customer service is rather stunning - I am not a demanding customer but with my previous receiver when the remote went south (it was out of warranty) I was told, "we do not sell replacement remotes..." in essence fo find one your self and don't bother us.

I realize that I did not buy it from them so they can decline warranty service but to not even offer a repair service is unbelievable.

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

 

[boba]

Digital Home Protection Plan (DHPP) cost you $6 per month and can be cancelled after the repair. Call DISH at 800-333-3474 and order the service, a service call is $29.99 under DHPP if you need one.

 

[Jim5506]

If it was new, it is still under warranty and dish should repair or replace it.

If it is not new, the seller should replace or refund your money.

You will find that it is cheaper to lease a receiver from dish than to buy one, especially since the $7 lease fee for a HD receiver is the same as the $7 extra receiver fee you will pay on an owned receiver if it is not your #1 receiver.

 

[digital-gear]

Update on VIP222K receiver issue -

Thanks for the advice everyone - After wasting more time with the unit it is now "kinda of working"

I am able to use the front panel buttons and also the remote control.

I am able to view some channels now but not all.

When running the switch test it tells me that the switch is not working properly. It shows that Sat tuner 2 is not finding any satellites.

I have a Dish Pro Dish with 3 LNB's hooked to:

A 3000 series SD reciver with a powered Dish Pro Adapter to make it work with the Dish Pro (installed by a Dish tech when they upgraded the Dish)

The VIP222K receiver is hooked up to the dish from a single RG6 coax going into the splitter (provided with the receiver) and connected to Sat 1 and Sat 2 using the 6" coax cables also in the box.

Both of the receivers are getting the signal via a dedicated RG6 coax from the splitter box the 3 LNB coax cables go into (sorry it is dark and I need a ladder to get the number off it)

Another weird thing is that when I was doing to some power cord jiggering I unplugged the VIP222K and when I did the signal was lost on the 3000 unit. As soon as the 222 was plugged in the signal came back on the 3000

Will ping Dish Tech support again with the initial problem I got three different answers from three reps.

Anyone have any ideas what is going on?

Thanks!

 

[digital-gear]

Additional Info on VIP222K problem

I rooting around the Dish website it appears that I need to run two cables to the dual tuner rather than using a single cable with a seperator. See attached JPG

I have a single Dish with 3 LNB's into a DP34 switch. I do not have dual dishes as shown in the picture however.

Thanks,
DG

 

[DishSubLA]

I'm not picking on the OP, but this is an excellent example of what was discussed on another thread about one guy being upset that Dish would not allow an upgrade unless Dish performed the install even though the customer considered himself capable of installing the upgrades (new dish and LNBF's, and possible switches) himself. The point if his post was a rant about Dish not letting him do the install himself; he wasn't asking for help. However, from subsequent posts, he demonstrated that he really didn't know how to install the new equipment properly because he thought all the latest Dish technology for HD and SD he bought--unnecessarily as Dish would have paid for the vast majority of it, but he wanted to install it himself--was all still legacy technology. A lot of people in this OP's situation of a box that doesn't seem to work right after self-installation get angry at Dish at this point and cancel their subscription because they think there is something wrong with Dish equipment. This is why Dish can be stubborn about insisting that they do the upgrade install.

Dish installs are far more complex in array of equipment and compatibility than they used to be while at the same time allowing faster and more efficient installs that the latest equipment allows. I'm glad you did some research, but it is unfortunate that you had to waste your time before figuring out the problem. I hope all works well, and you get all your channels and get back to enjoying your TV. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[digital-gear]

VIP222K update

Thank you for your response. I understand your thoughts and agree that if a person does not have a good technical understanding a self install is fraught with problems. This is not the case here:

Several months ago a Dish Tech installed (upgraded) the system to a NEW Dish Pro Dish with 3 LNB's going into a DP34 with two coax lines out of that for the two SD receivers I had. There is no problem with the dish or DP34.

I was present during the install and was able talk with the tech. The tech was the one that recommended I get the receiver off of eBay. I dislike with a passion companies (cell carriers also come to mind) like Dish that want to "own" the customer by requiring multi-year contracts so decided to buy off eBay fully aware of potential problems that arise.

I have been working in tech since the early 80's, run the media systems for my church, and have been a licensed radio operator for 30 years. Installing a new receiver is NOT rocket science.

I will stand by my assertion that tech support at Dish is poor. I am NOT saying they did not try but after getting 3 different answers from 3 techs I have to question the level of training they are given.

There is almost NO technical information on the Dish website. In the 140 page 222K manual more space is devoted to using programing than technical issues that might arise. Perhaps Dish considers themselves to be another Apple where everyone is considered to have marginal abilities by the company so all products and services are aimed at the lowest denominator.

Also if you refer back to my original message you will note that when one of my remotes died and I wanted buy a new one I was told, "we do not sell replacement remotes..." in essence fo find one your self and don't bother us. An IR remote is about $5 in the quantities Dish uses and the RF ones maybe double that. Remotes die, get liquids on them, get stepped on - there is simply no excuse for Dish not to have an online store where customers can buy new ones.

Peace,

 

[KAB]

You can buy dish remotes all over the place, like Dishstore, one of our sponsors. Why does Dish have to be the one you buy it from?? I applaud Dish for NOT providing much on-line tech support. Too many "experienced" people who will screw things up and blame Dish, then want them to fix it for free.

 

[old corps]

Strange response re. the remotes you wanted to purchase.Just in the last year or so I've called and purchased three 21.0 remotes from them because I wanted the newer learning features. No problem and many others that post here have done the same. You must have got a real ding-dong for a CSR. My luck with support has been very positive as of late but I've been through a couple of horrendous nightmares with 'em as well. Hope your install is ok now!

Ed

 

[old corps]

You can buy dish remotes all over the place, like Dishstore, one of our sponsors. Why does Dish have to be the one you buy it from?? I applaud Dish for NOT providing much on-line tech support. Too many "experienced" people who will screw things up and blame Dish, then want them to fix it for free.

Gotta say that I've had a couple of installers out in the past that REALLY screwed things up. I'm FAR from a tech but I knew way more than they did. It CAN and does go both ways.

Ed

 

[n0qcu]

Strange response re. the remotes you wanted to purchase.Just in the last year or so I've called and purchased three 21.0 remotes from them because I wanted the newer learning features. No problem and many others that post here have done the same. You must have got a real ding-dong for a CSR. My luck with support has been very positive as of late but I've been through a couple of horrendous nightmares with 'em as well. Hope your install is ok now!

Ed

Not only that but you can now sign in to your account online and buy remotes ($19.95) and other accessories. Manuals, cables, etc.

 

[old corps]

Not only that but you can now sign in to your account online and buy remotes ($19.95) and other accessories. Manuals, cables, etc.

Yeah, just noticed that today.

Ed

 

[Jim5506]

With the DP 34 switch you MUST run two cables from the switch to the 222.

Only with Dish Pro Plus (DPP34 or DPP44) can the switch band stack the signal and use one wire and the seperator.

 

[digital-gear]

That was the problem -

With the DP 34 switch you MUST run two cables from the switch to the 222.

Only with Dish Pro Plus (DPP34 or DPP44) can the switch band stack the signal and use one wire and the seperator.

That was the problem and I am now a happy camper with fully functional VIP222K!

Digital-Gear

 

[jlhugh]

i had a 522 replaced recently that i purchased on ebay years ago. it had been sitting for a while and i decided to re-activate it for the kids, well something was wrong with it and after the tech on the phone could not get it working he said they would replace it and did. so the techs you talked to were the wrong ones apparently. good to see you got it working.