Bad HDD or Bad Hopper 3?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Charlie knows the future. I wish he would share with us!

He is playing his cards close to his vest. But now that he is out being close on going bankrupt for at least a few years, I would say DISH's future looks brighter then DIRECTV's.

 

[Paul289]

Ok guys, so before I have to contact and deal with DISH, I am trying to troubleshoot if I have a hard drive issue or an issue with the Hopper 3 itself.

Hopper 3, about 8 years old I believe, no Joeys. I did replace a failed hard drive about 5-6 years ago. Current software is H387. No error codes or error messages but I have done a couple hard resets restoring to factory settings but problems remain and are as follows:

• Unit won't always wake up from standby. It shows the sleep/screen saver but unit won't respond or wake up when pressing the "Sat" button on remote. I have to press the red reset button on the Hopper 3 to reboot it then it works, for a while.
• Paused channel won't always start playing when paused for the max 60 minutes. I will switch back to a paused channel (maxed at 60 minutes) and it just hangs there and won't do anything, won't skip forward or play.
• Sometimes when skipping forward 30 seconds on a paused show, it will instantly advance all the way to live with just one skip press.
• Sometimes when a show is paused and I skip forward several key presses, it acts like it is stuck in a loop and will actually skip backwards to where it was when I started.
• Sometimes a recorded show is not actually recorded. It will display it is there in the DVR menu screen but if I try to play, it says "recording not available" or something similar.
• Usually when any of the above issues occur, the whole unit becomes very sluggish and takes forever to respond to any user input. I have to reset the unit from the red button on the Hopper 3 to make it work again.

As I said, no Joeys, and it's been the same installation for several years. No hard drive errors or messages. Factory resets don't seem to help. I don't know if DISH will replace The Hopper 3 with a new unit (I've heard they just use reconditioned ones) or if I should just buy my own new one and get it activated or if this is just an ongoing software issue yet to be resolved. Just wanted to know what you all think.

Any ideas? Thanks

If the Hopper3 came installed with your Dish service then it is Dishes responsibility to make sure it works and to send you a replacement Hopper3. (only if it fails on it own and nothing out of dishes control) The first thing is to call Dish and ask for tech support tell the tech your problems with the Hopper and how long it been happing. The tech will remotely connect to the hopper to test it and if the tech sees the same problems. If the Tech finds the same and is unable to fix the problem they will send you a replacement with no fuss. If they do not then you need to insists that they send a replacement anyway. If they still say no then tell them that you will be canceling your service with Dish. At that point they will either send you a replacement or send you to the retention dept. If sent to retention you will need to be firm on letting them know that all you want is a 16ch Hopper3 replacement (they may send you a hopper daul if you don't state a 16ch Hooper3) without a 2-year contract or you will cancel. Since they do not want to lose you, they will do as you ask at that point. If you plan to stay with Dish into the future than what is the problem with a new 2-year contract that you can usually get the 2-to-3-year price lock and free movie channels for 3 months?


I had some similar issue with my hopper 3 as well and all it needed was a hopper3 update to fix it. Some times that Hopper3 does not update as it should and you need to manually click on the update in the menu one or two times until it tells you its up to date.

I have a post about possible Dish operations cutbacks and not getting new updates that can cause Hopper3 to have minor problems.

 

[HipKat]

He is playing his cards close to his vest. But now that he is out being close on going bankrupt for at least a few years, I would say DISH's future looks brighter then DIRECTV's.

Well it better brighten back up pretty soon, I have about 2 techs per day not getting routed because of the lack of work.

TBH, I think Dish has missed a golden opportunity by wasting money on a Wireless Spectrum that's going nowhere. A Wireless cell service that isn;t good service. Tablets for every tech will all the sales and services we offer - that almost NO techs use, a Hopper Duo that doesn't improve the customer experience enough to justify the cost, when a Hopper Sling or Three for only $5 a month is a MUCH better experience, and could have used ALL that money in R&D and Marketing. MVDDS , which went nowhere. Dish Fiber which never lived up to expectations and is no longer installed at new properties.

For one, put a damn Optical Out on Wallys. It's so stupid to NOT have one.
Two, use all the rest of those millions of dollars on the Hopper Four that would have everything from the Plus as an OEM installed software and not a stand-alone device like the Joay 4's have and market the HELL out of the marriage of Streaming and Terrestrial TV.
"Stream your favorite shows while recording the basketball game to watch at your convenience" without having to use more than 1 remote, all in ONE device!"

 

[Almighty1]

While on the subject of DISH replacing Hopper 3's with refurbished ones. Am I correct that to the visual eye, it will look new with no scratches or marks and it's just the unit had been used before or is it like Xfinity where old boxes do have marks all over the place?

 

[HipKat]

While on the subject of DISH replacing Hopper 3's with refurbished ones. Am I correct that to the visual eye, it will look new with no scratches or marks and it's just the unit had been used before or is it like Xfinity where old boxes do have marks all over the place?

YMMV

 

[Almighty1]

YMMV

Hopefully they will note the condition so that when one needs to hand it back to them, the customer won't get charged for physically damaged equipment.