EchoStar's Dish Network Receiver hibernates after daily system updates unless manually reactivated by subscriber. Ripoff Englewood Colorado
Dish Network recently changed its receiver updating process, but in a way that effectively adds a burdensome new condition to my satellite service -- they now require me to be home each day to manually reactivate my receiver or the satellite service I paid for will be cut off. This isn't just affecting my account, but appears to affect all Dish Network subscribers.
If I fail to reactivate after each daily 2:15 a.m. update, the receiver goes into hibernation and shows only a Dish Network screen saver until I reactivate the box by pressing the "Select" button on his remote or receiver faceplate.
This makes unattended recording via VCR all but impossible, and denies me the ability to record shows airing after 2:30 a.m. unless I stay up to reactivate my receiver. I now am missing shows I used to be able to record.
This receiver hibernation problem also affects people with Dish's top-of-the-line DVR service when they attempt to record one-time events like movies or sports when they are away from home. But it doesn't seem to affect DVR instructions to "Record all episodes of (Show X)."
I buy my service by the month, not the day, and as long as I pay my bill I should have the right to uninterrupted reception of any channel in my programming package for however many hours or days I want it to play. When they cut off my paid-for service because I'm not home every day to request it be continued, they are ripping me off.
Herb
Vermontville, Rhode Island
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
James
Guthrie,Oklahoma,
U.S.A.
screen saver
#8Consumer Comment
Mon, March 03, 2008
this feature is the inactivity standby ( screen saver )option. the dvr's have the ablity to off this feature. in the on screen menu it is called the "inactivity standby".push menu then preferences then inactivity standby. this will allow you enable / disable this feature. you can also change the number of hours before this feature activates. you can set this to 8 hours. but some of the receivers like the 301, 311, 322 i have'nt found any way to turn them off. i wish dish would upgrade these receivers . so a customer can turn off this feature. not knowing what receiver you have. i hope this helps you and others.
Conk98
Washington Court House,Ohio,
U.S.A.
dish network auto-update
#8Consumer Suggestion
Sat, February 23, 2008
You can shut off the auto update. Go to menu then system setup then installation then goto update and select disable. what you will have to do is once a week manually shut off you reciver to get your updates.
Joseph S.
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Reboot not necessary ,,,
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 09, 2007
Actually, my point was that if you're not using your satellite receiver, you should maybe just shut it off ... You know, you leave the room, you turn off the light and/or the TV, don't you? I don't know for sure if this will correct the problem or not. I just don't seem to have that particular problem with my DVR, and I have had mine for five years.
Joseph S.
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Reboot not necessary ,,,
#8Consumer Suggestion
Tue, January 09, 2007
Actually, my point was that if you're not using your satellite receiver, you should maybe just shut it off ... You know, you leave the room, you turn off the light and/or the TV, don't you? I don't know for sure if this will correct the problem or not. I just don't seem to have that particular problem with my DVR, and I have had mine for five years.
Mike
Radford,Virginia,
U.S.A.
A very raw deal.
#8Consumer Suggestion
Mon, January 08, 2007
I'm glad I don't have DISH any more. This is just plain wrong. You entered into the contract expecting CONTINUOUS reception as much as possible. This is not an unaviodable glitch, it is by design. It's enough to warrant demanding a cancel of your service if they can't resolve the problem.
You might see what happens if you pull the plug on the receiver either before the update or while it's hibernating and then plug it back in. If that causes it to eventually start receiving your favorite channel again, you could use a mechanical wall timer to turn it off and back on every night. This is a totally kludgey workaround that should not be necessary. There may also be one of the more expensive universal remotes that can be programmed to set your reciever to a certain channel at a certain time. Again a kludgey workaround and money you shouldn't have to spend.
Herb
Vermontville,Missouri,
U.S.A.
Hibernating Receiver Point Missed
#8Author of original report
Mon, January 08, 2007
Your suggestion missed the main point. A subscriber shouldn't have to reboot his satellite receiver every day in order to continue to receive his programming.
The daily reboot requirement makes unattended recording of shows all but impossible. A person can't go away for several days and still record shows that play while he's away from home. That didn't used to be the case with Dish service.
Surely there must be some way to update receivers that doesn't require a daily reboot.
Joseph S.
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Hibernating receiver
#8Consumer Suggestion
Sun, January 07, 2007
According to the TechForum [which airs every other month on Ch. 101], you need to shut off your receiver [place it in the Standby mode] every night to avoid the 'screensaver' and allow the receiver to get its necessary downloads in order to update the Electronic Program Guide [EPG]. Otherwise, your receiver will not be able to record one-time events.