# On my 4th 522 in last 6 months. is there a Recall?



## danpedraza (Sep 16, 2004)

The same problem happens on all the dvr 522 boxes. Hard drive will fail and you get odd functions like video and no sound or vice versa. Resets of boxes that seem to be stuck in a reset loop. Everytime i call dish network tech sopport they are very good and knowledgable. They said i had hard drive failure 4 times already. This idea of leasing boxes is great because they do replace the boxes but with re-manufactured equipment made in mexico. Is this a widespread problem on the 522 series dvr? Its getting a little annoying losing all your recordings and paying $12.95 for shipping. Im actually starting to re-consider digital cable.


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## Bob Haller (Mar 24, 2002)

When its a repetive failure they will waive shpping. Lets just say I am experienced in this area

My 522 has spazed twice now with no audio, is this a sign of a drive failure? The drive has lots oif recordings....


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## boba (May 23, 2003)

danpedraza said:


> The same problem happens on all the dvr 522 boxes. Hard drive will fail and you get odd functions like video and no sound or vice versa. Resets of boxes that seem to be stuck in a reset loop. Everytime i call dish network tech sopport they are very good and knowledgable. They said i had hard drive failure 4 times already. This idea of leasing boxes is great because they do replace the boxes but with re-manufactured equipment made in mexico. Is this a widespread problem on the 522 series dvr? Its getting a little annoying losing all your recordings and paying $12.95 for shipping. Im actually starting to re-consider digital cable.


READ THE FORUM COMMENTS on 522!!! You are just experiencing wonderful DISH engineering. This receiver is almost 2 years old and shares the same software with the new 625, why do people continue buying it?


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## JonBlack (Feb 24, 2005)

danpedraza said:


> The same problem happens on all the dvr 522 boxes. Hard drive will fail and you get odd functions like video and no sound or vice versa. Resets of boxes that seem to be stuck in a reset loop. Everytime i call dish network tech sopport they are very good and knowledgable. They said i had hard drive failure 4 times already. This idea of leasing boxes is great because they do replace the boxes but with re-manufactured equipment made in mexico. Is this a widespread problem on the 522 series dvr? Its getting a little annoying losing all your recordings and paying $12.95 for shipping. Im actually starting to re-consider digital cable.


Press them NICELY and they will waive the shipping charges. Also, some of CSR's will give you an additional credit on your bill. On my 522 replacement they CSR took off $10 on bill for my inconvenience.


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## ColoradoDBS (Jul 5, 2005)

JonBlack said:


> Press them NICELY and they will waive the shipping charges. . .


more accurate words have not been said. csr's don't care when you yell at them, they are much more likely to waive fees or go the extra mile for customers they aren't being yelled at by.

and if this fails dhpp is $5.99/month with no commitment and provides free shipping and can be added/dropped at any time. $5 to downgade programming is cheaper than shipping.


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## fshagan (Aug 6, 2005)

I burned up 3 501's before I figured out that I had a short in my phone line. I was pretty sure that I had clean power ... didn't have a UPS in line, but did have a good APC surge protector. But I later found out the phone line was shorted out, causing a lot of static and feedback. I suspect ... but can't verify ... that the phone line input on the receivers is not protected by reciever and the unit can be shorted out this way.

I have a 721 on order, and will be installing a UPS with phone jack on it to try and head off problems.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

fshagan said:


> I burned up 3 501's before I figured out that I had a short in my phone line.
> 
> I have a 721 on order, and will be installing a UPS with phone jack on it to try and head off problems.


It sounds like you have a PROBLEM on your phone line but it isn't a short. If your phone line was shorted you would not be able to get dial tone on ANY phone. If your line was crossed (with some A.C. or D.C. circuit or some other phone circuit) it could cause the problem you describe. Putting in a UPS with a phone jack will likely NOT solve your problem. If your phone line is crossed with some other circuit you need to call your local phone conpany and have them look into the problem. Your circuit could be crossed anywhere between the central office and your home.


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## fshagan (Aug 6, 2005)

Thanks for the info, Bill. I assumed it was an intermittant short ("crossed"), but now that I think about it, the line does go dead when you short it. Its a persistent buzzing on the line that gets much worse when it rains.

One tech I spoke to told me they induce a load on the line to reduce the capacitance since the lines are so long in my area (waaaaay too far for DSL). With dial up, the fastest connection I could ever get was 26,4. I have replaced all the telephone wiring with Cat 5 wire since I had the 501, but still have the "noise" on the line, even when I plug a phone into the service jack at the side of the house. The phone company, Verizon, claims the service is adequate for the requirement they have to meet ... 1200 baud or voice communication. 

It may not have been the phone line at all ... but could I have had three 501s in a row with the problem? None of my modems or computers hooked up to that line ever had any problem.

I'm thinking I won't attach a phone line to my 721, but then doesn't Dish limit the unit some way if you do that (no extended guide or something?) Perhaps I'll get one of those phone line extenders so I know it isn't actually plugged into the phone line.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

fshagan said:


> Thanks for the info, Bill. I assumed it was an intermittant short ("crossed"), but now that I think about it, the line does go dead when you short it. Its a persistent buzzing on the line that gets much worse when it rains.
> 
> The phone company, Verizon, claims the service is adequate for the requirement they have to meet ... 1200 baud or voice communication.


You are welcome. If you have a buzz on the line it could mean that it is crossed with some power source or something else or, which is likely the case, it was not properly engineered. Mention to Verizon that you are not satified with their service and if they don't correct the problem you are going to contact your state's PSC or PUCO. That should light a fire under their ass and get the problem fixed. There is NO excuss for noise on the line no matter how far you are located from the central office (and tell them that is coming from a retired engineer who worked for over 30 years for the local phone company).



> I'm thinking I won't attach a phone line to my 721, but then doesn't Dish limit the unit some way if you do that (no extended guide or something?) Perhaps I'll get one of those phone line extenders so I know it isn't actually plugged into the phone line.


The only thing you lose if you don't attach a phone line to a 721 is the ability to order PPV. The extended guide comes from the satellite, NOT over the phone line so you won't lose it.

Some of the wireless (power line) phone line extenders don't work very well on a noisy line. If you buy one make sure you can take it back if it doesn't work on your line.


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## fshagan (Aug 6, 2005)

Bill R said:


> Some of the wireless phone line extenders don't work very well on a noisy line. If you buy one make sure you can take it back if it doesn't work on your line.


Well, if I don't lose anything by not having the phone line hooked up, I won't worry about it. We never order PPV from DISH anyway. I will give Verizon a call again (we were slated for conversion to FTTP in 2005, but they pushed it back ... I'm sure they're not investing in infrastructure until they make the fiber push next year or the year following. But the noise on the line is unacceptable in any case.)


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

fshagan said:


> Well, if I don't lose anything by not having the phone line hooked up, I won't worry about it.


You should be aware that you _may_ get a call from the "receiver audit team" if you have several receivers and don't have a phone hooked up to one (or more) of them. There is a discussion about that here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=44580


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## fshagan (Aug 6, 2005)

Well, that's not a problem ... but it is an interesting issue. You could get three people together and split a bill three ways.

I wonder if plugging in a receiver every now and then and letting it dial out would satisfy them? I do have the 1000 plugged in to the phone line, and every now and then in the middle of the night I hear it clicking as it calls out. We don't buy PPV, so I suspect it just "checks in".


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## phat_b (Apr 19, 2005)

fshagan said:


> ...a persistent buzzing on the line that gets much worse when it rains...
> 
> ...but still have the "noise" on the line, even when I plug a phone into the service jack at the side of the house...


Generally this is an indication that the cable run (usually underground) from your NID (the box on your house) to the telco's termination point (usually a grey or green box sticking out of the ground) has a broken jacket. It gets worse when it rains because water is getting to the copper and causing a partial short. If this cable is buried it could have been caused by someone nicking it with a shovel, backhoe, or a ground bore. Either way, I'd complain to your telco until they resolve the problem. I doubt you have a power line crossed with your pots line because all devices that connect to the telephone network are supposed to have their telco port electrically isolated from the power supply / house ground.


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## Roger Tee (Feb 22, 2004)

until the 522s start causing deaths due to rollovers or the gas tank leaking and causing a fire no recalls will happen. :lol: To be serious now:

IOW no i don't think they'll be any recalls. OTOH Dell among others has recalled laptop parts for a fire or shock potential so I could be wrong.

It would have to be a health issue such as shock or fire not something like the hdd dying.

Cheers


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