vip622 freezing up and resetting

[blake616]

My VIP 622 DVR has started to act up. At least once a day the picture will freeze, then the receiver will shut off and reboot. This requires that it acquire the satellite signals - which takes about 10 minutes. The latest twist in addition to this is that is now has to re-download the program guide - another 10 minutes. The left side of the receiver appears warm, so I suspected a thermal issue. The receiver has been in an open front TV cabinet for 3-4 years. I did cut 2 openings in the fiber board of the cabinet to facilitate cooling. This appeared to help for a couple weeks, but now we are back to the freezing/resetting issue.

Is it time for a new receiver? From the posts I've read, the VIP 722 DVR appears to be my best bet for a replacement?

Also, in preparation for this, is there any way to copy my DVR recording to an external hard drive? If so, can someone provide the size drive I would need with some instructions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BeckiB@Dish Network]

It sounds like it may be time to get a replacement receiver. Please send me a PM and I can look into this issue further for you!

 

[blake616]

Thanks Becki. Just sent you a PM

 

[rglore]

My receivers have been rebooting several times a day after the last firmware update. I wanted to see some channels I have locked out and after I unlocked system I had no reboots for a couple of days! Today I re-locked the system and the receiver started rebooting again after a few hours. Others might try this.

 

[Jimmerinwi]

Just be aware if you get a replacement it's going to be another 622. Unless the dirt team can get you swapped to a 722.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[ZachS@DISH]

I just wanted to clarify something, when we create a return authorization (replacement) it would be for the same receiver. It would be no different than calling in and talking to a CSR.

 

[njack11]

My 622 has been doing this too. Started with the last software upgrade to L710.

 

[blake616]

I'm still contemplating what I'm going to do regarding this receiver. Holding off on calling Dish customer service, as my past experiences with them have been painful. In the meantime. I want to do 2 things. I want to be able to check the temperatures of my receiver. I remember reading a post that documented the steps through the menu to do this. Also, I want to start copying my DVR recordings to an EHD in preparation for a replacement receiver. I have also seen forum posts on how to do that, but am unable to find them. Anyone have thoughts on the 2 items above, or do I need to contact dish directly?

 

[MaryB@SlingTV]

I'm still contemplating what I'm going to do regarding this receiver. Holding off on calling Dish customer service, as my past experiences with them have been painful. In the meantime. I want to do 2 things. I want to be able to check the temperatures of my receiver. I remember reading a post that documented the steps through the menu to do this. Also, I want to start copying my DVR recordings to an EHD in preparation for a replacement receiver. I have also seen forum posts on how to do that, but am unable to find them. Anyone have thoughts on the 2 items above, or do I need to contact dish directly?

To check the temperature using the following screen:

By hitting Menu-6-3 This will take you to the Diagnostics screen.
Then select on "Counters"
You will need to Page Down till you get to "Hard Drive counters" It will show HDD High Temp & HDD Low Temp.

To transfer recordings, just hook up an external hard drive to the USB port on the receiver and it will format to the receiver and then you just transfer. this is a very easy process which is outlined here.

 

[blake616]

OK the temps are as follows: Hi Temp =132, Low Temp =96, Ave Temp = 118. Are these within range or is overheating my problem? The receiver did a reset this morning after only being on for about 30 minutes. I realize it never really shuts off, as I can hear the hard drive spinning constantly.
A couple other readings I noticed while scrolling through the diagnostics. Lost Locks : 7 : 78. Does this mean anything? Also my current software version is L710. From reading other posts on this forum, it appears this could be a software issue?

 

[blake616]

Just wanted to finish off this thread with the latest events. My receiver died this afternoon. The hard drive in the DVR went bad. I tried a couple times to reset the receiver by unplugging, but no luck. All of the recordings on my DVR are gone!! After a 45 minute conversation with Dish Customer service, I have a 722K with an OTA module on it's way.

 

[rthomp03]

My receivers have been rebooting several times a day after the last firmware update. I wanted to see some channels I have locked out and after I unlocked system I had no reboots for a couple of days! Today I re-locked the system and the receiver started rebooting again after a few hours. Others might try this.

I unlocked mine as well and have had no freeze/reboots for a week. Haven't been brave enough yet to re-lock.

 

[primo]

The rebooting problem has affected several people since around November. If your receiver reboots at 10:03 PM CST, welcome to the club. There is a thread at www.dishsupport.com that I found today that has much discussion, and possibly a solution. The reboots appear to occur every 4 hours (I've seen 2:03, 6:03 and 10:03 PM CST, adjust for your timezone). This started with a 622, continued with a replacement 722, and two 722k's. You might not know it's happening unless you are watching or recording at those times. The latest I've heard is that disconnecting the ethernet connection will prevent the resets (won't prevent the first one, but may prevent later ones). I'm about to test this hypothesis myself.

Peculiar thing is that not everyone has the problem, which suggests it is probably the way people have their machines set up (not everyone has dishpass timers, for example). It doen's appear to be cabling, lna's antennas, diplexers, surge protectors, etc. If anyone has the answer, I'd love to hear it. Good luck.

 

[primo]

Followup: I checked my receiver at 6:00 CST and it rebooted as expected. During reboot, I disconnected the ethernet, I later checked broadband setup to make sure there was no connection. Then, at 10:00 CST, no reboot! I don't know this prevents all reboots, but it is encouraging.

In thinking about what web communication might cause this, I recall my problems started about the time I signed up for Google TV / Dish integration. I wonder how many others with this reboot problem have Google TV integration. After a week or two, I canceled the integration thinking that was my problem, but the reboots persisted, so I dismissed it. Still, I wonder...

There is another possibility I can think of. About the time I got Google TV, I also signed up for Blockbuster Movie Pass. Maybe Blockbuster is the problem. Can anyone else with the problem make that correlation?

primo

 

[TheForce]

Thought this was resolved!

I ran into this issue several years ago after about a year after the 622 was released. I went though 6 622's replacements all with the same problem. I also had an insider connection with Echostar team and called the guy on the phone to unload my problem. After some discussion we agreed that the most logical problem cause was the simplest one which was a power supply intermittent connection. Dan said he would go to work on it and in a month they determined that the internal heat would cause a power supply connector to fail and become loose. Any slight vibration would cause the power to be momentarily disconnected and reset the entire DVR. Cold, the metal in the connector would shrink and tighten the connection. As the metal became aged, it would lose it's springy properties and the problem became worse. So why did the replacements all have bad connectors? Didn't Dish refurb them? Answer- when Dish does a refurb it is after evaluation and most all the DVR's with this problem performed fine for a few days after starting up from cold. After a week or so of running warm to hot ( normal) the connection would become loose. So, the short time the 622 was on the refurb bench, the problem was never detected. Dan told me they had changed their policy and would begin to replace all the connections in the power supply with different ones that should maintain connection through the heat cycle and last. Every 622 would be fixed this way before being sent out. So, I get one of these and after 6 bad ones, the one with the different connector lasted. But as part of my deal with them, Dan promised to get me a 722K and 2 OTA tuners as an exchange. I still have the 722K today.
BTW- Dan is a long time employee of Echostar and has appeared many times in the audience of Tech Chat. He is not a CSR or entry level tech. He was able to get action.
I hope this story helps you getting your problem resolved.

 

[TNGTony]

My 622 has frozen up and rebooted several times since November. The last time it did it was last week. The biggest issue I have had since the new firmware update is the receiver getting "confused" when I switch between the OTA tuner and TV1 when surfing channels while TV2 is recording something.

 

[primo]

I don't think what I've seen, and what others have seen is an intermittent problem. My receiver was rebooting at 3 minutes after the hour, every four hours, like clockwork. This started with a 622, continued with a refurb 722, then a new 722k and now a second 722k. If I disconnect the ethernet, the reboots stop. If I reconnect, the reboots recur. What really convinced me was a thread in dishsupport.com where a guy in LA had reboots at 8:03 PST, a guy in Denver had reboots at 9:03 MST, and mine occur at 10:03 CST. All of us have them repeat every 4 hours. All of us stopped the problem by disconnecting the ethernet.

I contacted DISH broadband support and gave them this information. The tech I spoke with was unaware of this problem, but agreed to pass the information on. Maybe this will get a solution started.

 

[942owner]

Misery loves company--at 3 minutes past the top of the hour

I don't think what I've seen, and what others have seen is an intermittent problem. My receiver was rebooting at 3 minutes after the hour, every four hours, like clockwork. This started with a 622, continued with a refurb 722, then a new 722k and now a second 722k. If I disconnect the ethernet, the reboots stop. If I reconnect, the reboots recur. What really convinced me was a thread in dishsupport.com where a guy in LA had reboots at 8:03 PST, a guy in Denver had reboots at 9:03 MST, and mine occur at 10:03 CST. All of us have them repeat every 4 hours. All of us stopped the problem by disconnecting the ethernet.

I contacted DISH broadband support and gave them this information. The tech I spoke with was unaware of this problem, but agreed to pass the information on. Maybe this will get a solution started.

I've been having the freeze/reboot issue as well with my 722. The most notable is at 8:03 a.m. PST. It's like clockwork; the morning conversation goes like this:

Wife: Hey, the DISH just froze.
Me: What time is it?
Wife: 8-o--oh yeah, *THAT* bug

I had a fun time during Christmas, with a houseful of guests over, explaining why the holiday program they were watching suddenly winked out at 3 minutes past the hour. Needless to say, it made a big impression on the guests.

Unlike other intermittent issues, this one is quite repeatable and predictable and is appearing on multiple receivers. It should be able to be debugged with this kind of reproduceability.

 

[topcat5]

My 622 has recently started freezing and rebooting as well. Picture just freezes in place for a minute or so, then it reboots and goes through the entire satellite acquisition process. Really annoying if you are watching something in the buffer because of course, it gets wiped.

It happened earlier this morning but there seems to be no pattern to it. I think it started 2-3 weeks ago and I don't think it is heat related. The unit is in a ventilated area and given that it is winter, it's cooler than usual where it's located. It's been pretty solid for the 4.5 years I've had it so either it's just worn out or there was a software change that is causing the problem.

Maybe it's time to start looking at a replacement.

 

[942owner]

Followup: I checked my receiver at 6:00 CST and it rebooted as expected. During reboot, I disconnected the ethernet, I later checked broadband setup to make sure there was no connection. Then, at 10:00 CST, no reboot! I don't know this prevents all reboots, but it is encouraging.

In thinking about what web communication might cause this, I recall my problems started about the time I signed up for Google TV / Dish integration. I wonder how many others with this reboot problem have Google TV integration. After a week or two, I canceled the integration thinking that was my problem, but the reboots persisted, so I dismissed it. Still, I wonder...

There is another possibility I can think of. About the time I got Google TV, I also signed up for Blockbuster Movie Pass. Maybe Blockbuster is the problem. Can anyone else with the problem make that correlation?

primo

I don't have Google TV, Sling, Blockbuster, or any of the other premium packages, and I have the x:03 reboot issue. I'll try the disconnect-LAN cable method and see what happens. It's easy to test this hypothesis since the failure is so easy to produce.