# 211 "Blackout"



## shultz (Jun 21, 2006)

Well, i knew it...i've had 2 vip211's since may, been braggin that i've never had a problem with either one! That changed last night.. My wife and i were watching the travel channel when all the sudden the tv just goes black! The light on the receiver was still on, so i just set there to see what would happen. After about 2 minutes, the receiver shut down, light went off for a few minutes, then came back on, (like it did a reboot by its self) I got the "looking for satellight" message, then a "updating program guide" and everything was ok for about an hour, then it did it again! This time i just got up and unpluged the receiver for about 30 seconds, and so far everything has been working normal. It just did it on this one receiver (so far). Anybody have any ideas as to what might have caused it??


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

Sounds like a ECM(Electronic Counter Measure) which the result is the BSOD(Black
Screen Of Death).DISH does this because their encryption system has been broken
so they roll the keys to foil the pirates.All you should need to do is a soft reset to
restore programming unless your a pirate.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Actually sounds like a reset bug that I though had been smushed.

After running so well for so long it is odd that it would start now. But every receiver (no matter how stable) can get corrupt data from time to time. The key would be if it happens again. A manual reboot (hold the power switch) might clear the cobwebs.


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## jwjensen356 (Apr 11, 2006)

Jhon69, are you pulling our leg or does E* occasionally do this deliberately? These occasional black-outs drive my wife nuts. She wants simple-to-operate hardware (like a refrigerator, open-the-door, close-the-door). She gets outraged when I have to do a reset.

John


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## shultz (Jun 21, 2006)

Thanks for the help..i don't know what happened, thats the only time the one receiver has done it! I'll quit braggin on them now...i thought about a manual reboot, but at the time, the look i got from the "ole lady", i just grabbed the power cord! So far today its been working just like it use to. And no jhon69, i'm not a pirate....aaarrr thanks again matey's


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

jwjensen356 said:


> Jhon69, are you pulling our leg or does E* occasionally do this deliberately? These occasional black-outs drive my wife nuts. She wants simple-to-operate hardware (like a refrigerator, open-the-door, close-the-door). She gets outraged when I have to do a reset.
> 
> John


No I'm not pulling your leg I don't get that personal.E* does ECM's deliberately for
security.In fact this is one of the reasons I'm now with D*and shultz I didn't think
you were a pirate I was talking to the pirates.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Rolling codes is part of any good security system ... kinda like changing your password from time to time. E*'s receivers are _designed_ to roll with the codes. An encryption change should not require a reboot or reset of any kind.

Using a hacker term such as 'ECM' does carry the weight of accusation. It is inaccurate in this situation and isn't a term that should be tossed around lightly. ECMs are other measures - not simply changing the codes.

There was a time where E*'s attempts to fight hackers killed subscribers boxes. That time is in the past. It's time to retire the thought that an 'ECM' would hurt a subscriber box - and stay away from that accusation.

Thanks


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## esteps (Jul 12, 2006)

Happened to me twice last night, except the screen went black and stayed black. I fiddled around with it and finally discovered that the best and easiest solution was to unplug.
esteps



shultz said:


> Well, i knew it...i've had 2 vip211's since may, been braggin that i've never had a problem with either one! That changed last night.. My wife and i were watching the travel channel when all the sudden the tv just goes black! The light on the receiver was still on, so i just set there to see what would happen. After about 2 minutes, the receiver shut down, light went off for a few minutes, then came back on, (like it did a reboot by its self) I got the "looking for satellight" message, then a "updating program guide" and everything was ok for about an hour, then it did it again! This time i just got up and unpluged the receiver for about 30 seconds, and so far everything has been working normal. It just did it on this one receiver (so far). Anybody have any ideas as to what might have caused it??


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

OK so there must be a BUG in the system.Everyone that this is happening to needs to contact DISH tech support cause they think everything is working fine
until they get flooded with calls by DISH subscribers.Only then will they come up with a fix to solve the problem.


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## gjh3260 (Mar 19, 2006)

I have had my 211 since mid-April with no problem until about a week ago when I i got the black screen twice while changing channels. The power button remained on. I held the power button for 5 seconds until the system rebooted, acquired the signals and downloaded the guide. It has been working fine since then.


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## mabrandt (May 1, 2006)

I had this same trouble last night, but only on stations off of 129. I would scroll thru channels and then all of a sudden, the BOS. I did a check switch and discovered I lost 129 for a while. I have read there are problems with this satellite with it moving.


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## intrac (Apr 2, 2006)

Same problem happened to me yesterday afternoon, and once last week.

It happened when I was watching an HD channel, then surfed to the SD channels, when the picture disappeared, followed by the sound.

Then it rebooted.


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