# What happens if I disconnect my land line?



## revm1m (Jul 2, 2006)

I want to disconnect my lan line , but I wonder what would Directv would do. Do I have to have lan line for Directv? I have all my receivers connected to ethernet.


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## rainydave (May 28, 2006)

I haven't had my dvrs connected to a land line for over a year. No issues, no messages (unlike my DirecTiVos used to do).


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## jab5325 (Apr 15, 2010)

You don't need a land line to use DirecTV (I think that's what we're talking about here).

You don't "need" an internet connection either.

But, if you want to use pay-per-view or order things through your remote control, you need either a land line or an internet connection. They essentially perform the same function. But, of course, if you don't have a land line and use an internet connection for your receivers, your on-screen caller ID won't work.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

The TOS state that you need to have a phone line connected to your receivers, however it appears that DirecTV also considers being connected to the Internet to be acceptable.

- Merg

Sent from my iPod touch using DBSTalk


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## EKrimmer (Mar 21, 2008)

I can tell you that I have never in over 10 yrs had any receivers connected to a phone line. Never had any problem whatsoever.


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## revm1m (Jul 2, 2006)

thanks for all the responses. What about TVmail (messages), would I get those, without land line?


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## cariera (Oct 27, 2006)

revm1m said:


> thanks for all the responses. What about TVmail (messages), would I get those, without land line?


Yes, those are pushed out via the satellite.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Its easy to have a phone line connected to your receiver(s) so you don't violate the TOS.

Whether or not there's a dial tone or service is another different issue. :lol:


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I agree... no problem at all having no phone line if you have ethernet.


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## mashandhogan (Dec 21, 2010)

revm1m said:


> thanks for all the responses. What about TVmail (messages), would I get those, without land line?


Why Would you want to get TVmail?!?:lol:


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## jab5325 (Apr 15, 2010)

The Merg said:


> The TOS state that you need to have a phone line connected to your receivers, however it appears that DirecTV also considers being connected to the Internet to be acceptable.
> 
> - Merg
> 
> Sent from my iPod touch using DBSTalk


Just being curious here, but, do they ever "enforce" that clause in the TOS?

My parents have a 3 receiver SD setup and don't have any internet or phone lines hooked up to their system (they have cell phones) and "DSL lite."


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## MamaBear (Mar 5, 2011)

We haven't had a land line for several years and customer service didn't seem to think that was a problem when we updated our information.


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## revm1m (Jul 2, 2006)

mashandhogan said:


> Why Would you want to get TVmail?!?:lol:


Because sometime they offer free Starz or HBO. Like next week they are offering Fox Soccer Plus for free for a week.


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## revm1m (Jul 2, 2006)

Another question, How does Directv upates the software?


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## bixler (Oct 14, 2008)

revm1m said:


> Another question, How does Directv upates the software?


pushed out via the satellite


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## mashandhogan (Dec 21, 2010)

revm1m said:


> Because sometime they offer free Starz or HBO. Like next week they are offering Fox Soccer Plus for free for a week.


Just curious. Some of us around here have an extreme hatred for TVmail


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

mashandhogan said:


> Just curious. Some of us around here have an extreme hatred for TVmail


If 20 million DirecTV subs were registered users or visitors of this site, there would be no reason for TVmail.....any news is always listed here.


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## CincyJen (Jan 13, 2011)

I'm a new install since December of 2010. Didn't have a land line at the time of install and have no intention of getting one. HR24's are connected via internet, I get TVMail, on demand, and ordered and downloaded "The Social Network" on pay-per-view a few weeks ago without any problems.

As an aside, not a fan of TVMail in general but I did appreciate it when it told me NHL Center Ice and Fox Soccer Plus were running free previews. ;-)


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

jab5325 said:


> Just being curious here, but, do they ever "enforce" that clause in the TOS?
> 
> My parents have a 3 receiver SD setup and don't have any internet or phone lines hooked up to their system (they have cell phones) and "DSL lite."


I don't think it has really ever been enforced. The concept behind it was so that DirecTV can confirm that all the receivers on an account were located at the same location and not being used at different addresses. Basically, it is a way that DirecTV can go ahead and cancel your account if they really wanted a reason to do so, but as long as you aren't violating any other rules they have never seemed to have a problem with it (or the lack of a phone line).

- Merg


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## Kojo62 (Aug 9, 2007)

I've always had a landline phone, but have thought about dropping it for some time. One question for those who don't have one.

Whenever I call DirecTV about my service, the first thing they ask for is my home phone number. They obviously use that for account identification for me.

If you don't have a home phone number, what do they ask you for when you call, or how do you otherwise respond to that question?


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

Kojo62 said:


> I've always had a landline phone, but have thought about dropping it for some time. One question for those who don't have one.
> 
> Whenever I call DirecTV about my service, the first thing they ask for is my home phone number. They obviously use that for account identification for me.
> 
> If you don't have a home phone number, what do they ask you for when you call, or how do you otherwise respond to that question?


Your Cell phone number. You can go to their website and update your profile, including the phone #.


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## BKC (Dec 12, 2007)

revm1m said:


> thanks for all the responses. What about TVmail (messages), would I get those, without land line?


If it stopped the TVmail I would jerk mine out of there in a NY second.


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## marquitos2 (Jan 10, 2004)

You are allright, I didn't have land line for a long time. Never had any problems,I got a cell hone and now I'm got an internet connection


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## dog6869 (Oct 27, 2007)

I am now living in a house that is over 150 years old it never had a land line... But it has a satt dish on it now..


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## sunking (Feb 17, 2004)

They kill a puppy.

I've gone almost 10 years without ever having a telephone or lan connected to any receiver. Well, I played with it a little but then quickly decided that the streamed media playing was horrid so unplugged it again.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

sunking said:


> They kill a puppy.
> 
> I've gone almost 10 years without ever having a telephone or lan connected to any receiver. Well, I played with it a little but then quickly decided that the streamed media playing was horrid so unplugged it again.


I believe the OP had a typo. It's supposed to be land line and not lan line.

- Merg


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Yes I presumed that as well.


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## sunking (Feb 17, 2004)

The Merg said:


> I believe the OP had a typo. It's supposed to be land line and not lan line.
> 
> - Merg


Still applies. I have no phone line anywhere near my receivers. Long cable for the initial install and every blue moon back when updates used to come over the phone line. Have never cared about PPV or their silly "mail" they sent to receivers.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

sunking said:


> Still applies. I have no phone line anywhere near my receivers. Long cable for the initial install and every blue moon back when updates used to come over the phone line. Have never cared about PPV or their silly "mail" they sent to receivers.


Was just pointing out that not having a LAN line is of no concern to DirecTV, while _technically_, having a phone line connected is of concern to them. Obviously though, DirecTV has never seemed too interested in making sure all receivers are connected to a phone line.

Unfortunately today, the silly mail now comes down via satellite so you get it whether or not you have a phone line connected. And having a LAN connection will now let you get DirecTV on Demand, some of which there is no cost for.

- Merg


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## AttiTech (Feb 21, 2011)

Phone line is only used for callbacks for the PPV and Caller ID to work. Ethernet conenction will work in place of it. If you want to order a movie without getting on the computer, set the service phone number on your account to your cell phone number and when you want to order a movie, text "ORDER, BUY, or PURCHASE" to 223322 then just follow the on screen instructions. Quick and easy, I use it all the time. As for HAVING to have a phone line connected, tech get dinged on installs if they don't connect one and that's about it. 

-Atticus


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

AttiTech said:


> If you want to order a movie without getting on the computer, set the service phone number on your account to your cell phone number and when you want to order a movie, text "ORDER, BUY, or PURCHASE" to 223322 then just follow the on screen instructions.


That's a pretty cool trick. Never knew you could do that. I'm guessing that since you are ordering from the cell phone that the purchase is then available on all receivers or is it only available on the first receiver that you complete the purchase on?

- Merg


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## AttiTech (Feb 21, 2011)

The Merg said:


> That's a pretty cool trick. Never knew you could do that. I'm guessing that since you are ordering from the cell phone that the purchase is then available on all receivers or is it only available on the first receiver that you complete the purchase on?
> 
> - Merg


All receivers. Mirroring still works it's just another free way to order a movie if you're lazy like me and don't want to get on the internet. Both internet and texting are free. It's instant and quick. If you know what you want, shouldn't take you more than 3 min or so to send and receive the texts then start watching. If you don't know what you want and your texting service is a little slow should still only take a few more minutes. =] I enjoy using it.

-Atticus


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## Mavrick (Feb 1, 2006)

When my brother in law and sister had their house built about 3 years ago it was not even wired for a landline they just had it wired for Directv and that was it no landline phone wiring in the house at all they don't even have a drop from the street for a landline and have never had an issue with directv.


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## bsprague (Feb 24, 2007)

About half the people I know have dropped land lines because they use cell phones. The ones that do keep land lines seem to have it as part of a triple play with a cable company. So, the probability is that most sat TV watchers don't have cable. So, it seems to me that if DirecTV enforced the phone line deal they might loose half or more of their customers!

Because I travel in a motorhome a lot, I've been wireless for TV, phone and internet for about 5 years. It works fine.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

My landline went away a little over 2 years ago. Previously, all of the receivers were connected to it. Now, they are connected to nothing but the dish and they (or DirecTV) doesn't seem to care at all.

The one thing I did learn is that the software in the one legacy receiver I still have active on my account (a Hughes HIRD) doesn't like not having a phone line connected to it so about every 60 days it shuts down and all the channels display error code 22 (not subscribed). A quick visit to http://www.directv.com/refresh gets it going again almost instantly for another 2 months!


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

Kojo62 said:


> I've always had a landline phone, but have thought about dropping it for some time. One question for those who don't have one.
> 
> Whenever I call DirecTV about my service, the first thing they ask for is my home phone number. They obviously use that for account identification for me.
> 
> If you don't have a home phone number, what do they ask you for when you call, or how do you otherwise respond to that question?


I called and changed our phone number (to a cell), when we canceled our land line. There was no problem doing this at all, and that was via a csr. We have WHDVR with the ICK, so we are internet connected.


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## nitz369 (Dec 15, 2005)

do you you mean LAN line? or land line?


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## matt (Jan 12, 2010)

LOL I'm the odd one out. I'm only 25 years old and I'd rather have a land line than a cell phone. I have both, but I'd turn my cell off if you just about didn't need one anymore. I have to call to be let into the dorm and I travel often, so I need to keep it.

Cell service is just too unreliable. I hate cell phones and if they have more than dial/call/power buttons or no buttons at all the worse they are. Good old land line is always crystal clear on my, you guessed it, Western Electric 2500 phones.


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## rpinnt (Jun 8, 2009)

I am considering dropping my land line, at $70 a month, and was interested in the Verizon Wireless Home Phone Connect. Verizon's disclaimer is that it is not compatible with DirecTv, DVRs etc. If I'm hooked up through ethernet (and I am) should it matter?


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"rpinnt" said:


> I am considering dropping my land line, at $70 a month, and was interested in the Verizon Wireless Home Phone Connect. Verizon's disclaimer is that it is not compatible with DirecTv, DVRs etc. If I'm hooked up through ethernet (and I am) should it matter?


Receivers connected through the Internet get all the features that use the land line. And those features aren't anything exciting IMHO, like ordering PPV through the remote.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

rpinnt said:


> I am considering dropping my land line, at $70 a month, and was interested in the Verizon Wireless Home Phone Connect. Verizon's disclaimer is that it is not compatible with DirecTv, DVRs etc. If I'm hooked up through ethernet (and I am) should it matter?


You would just lose CallerID if thats a feature you want and use.


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## Cyber36 (Mar 20, 2008)

One word............Nothing


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

revm1m said:


> I want to disconnect my lan line , but I wonder what would Directv would do. Do I have to have lan line for Directv? I have all my receivers connected to ethernet.


Your receiver will self destruct in five seconds. As usual if you or any member of your family are caught or killed while disconnecting the land line the secretary will disallow any knowledge of your actions......good luck revm1m


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

MysteryMan said:


> Your receiver will self destruct in five seconds. As usual if you or any member of your family are caught or killed while disconnecting the land line the secretary will disallow any knowledge of your actions......good luck revm1m


Considering what DirecTV said I might lose, this wouldn't have been far from the truth. They told me even Sunday Ticket wouldn't work.

Of course it's not the reality, though I did forget about the loss of on screen caller ID.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> Considering what DirecTV said I might lose, this wouldn't have been far from the truth. They told me even Sunday Ticket wouldn't work.
> 
> Of course it's not the reality, though I did forget about the loss of on screen caller ID.


There was a time when sports packages would not work or would quit working. Had it happen to me once, several years ago, when one my receivers became disconnected from the phone. Have not had it since and I've been without a landline for 4 years now.


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## skatingrocker17 (Jun 24, 2010)

I've never once had a phone line plugged into my receivers. I've only got ethernet plugged into one.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

raott said:


> There was a time when sports packages would not work or would quit working. Had it happen to me once, several years ago, when one my receivers became disconnected from the phone. Have not had it since and I've been without a landline for 4 years now.


I'm sure at some point it did. When I first got DirecTV, I needed a phone line connected to get updates on my DirecTIVO. I got the warning last year I think, just ignored it.


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## maartena (Nov 1, 2010)

The ONLY reason you would need to (temporarily) connect a land line and/or internet line to a box, is to activate it when you set it up. 

You can order PPV by calling into their customer service, or by using the cell phone app.

Without internet you can't do VOD stuff, but other then that, a line is not required to watch television. In the OLD days, (and I suspect the TOS still reflects that) a phone line was used to download TV Guide data once a week or so, but even that is pushed down via satellite now-a-days.


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## maartena (Nov 1, 2010)

skatingrocker17 said:


> I've never once had a phone line plugged into my receivers. I've only got ethernet plugged into one.


Me neither. I have internet-connected (through DECA) HR24 and H21, but I also have a SD receiver in one bedroom, and it was never connected to anything but the DirecTV cable. I think the installer guy actually activated it with a phone call, so you won't even need a phone line for that anymore as I stated above.


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

What is TOS?


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## FHSPSU67 (Jan 12, 2007)

JACKIEGAGA said:


> What is TOS?


Terms of Service


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

Thanks Fred


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## ricochet (Aug 21, 2006)

Why does everybody get to brag about violating the TOS by not having a phone line and yet anybody who wants to replace a noisy fan in a leased receiver gets jumped on and threads shut down?


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

ricochet said:


> Why does everybody get to brag about violating the TOS by not having a phone line and yet anybody who wants to replace a noisy fan in a leased receiver gets jumped on and threads shut down?


Perhaps it's their way of showing you they have a sense of humor.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"ricochet" said:


> Why does everybody get to brag about violating the TOS by not having a phone line and yet anybody who wants to replace a noisy fan in a leased receiver gets jumped on and threads shut down?


Having them connected to the Internet does the exact same thing as connected to a phone line in terms of DirecTV security, one IP address or one phone number.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> Having them connected to the Internet does the exact same thing as connected to a phone line in terms of DirecTV security, one IP address or one phone number.


But still technically against the TOS.

The TOS needs to be changed.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

raott said:


> But still technically against the TOS.
> 
> The TOS needs to be changed.


I guess I really don't read it that way:
"If we detect that any receiver is not regularly connected to a land-based telephone line, we may investigate and, if it is determined that the receiver is not at the location identified on your account, we may disconnect the receiver or charge you the full programming subscription price for the receiver."

So they reserve the right to investigate it, but you're in the clear if they find the receivers are in the same location.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

maartena said:


> In the OLD days, (and I suspect the TOS still reflects that) a phone line was used to download TV Guide data once a week or so, but even that is pushed down via satellite now-a-days.


No DirecTV receiver has ever received guide data via the phone line. It's been sent via satellite since day one. Also, software updates have also always been sent via satellite. Tivos needed to call in to begin the process, but the software was already sitting on the hard drive.

The only thing the phone line was ever used for was to send data back to DirecTV.


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## gphvid (Jun 19, 2007)

I think it is the only way DirecTV knows you've purchased PPV or any other of the programming stuff that you can with your receiver without having to first call in. I remember buying a couple of PPV movies years ago when I had the LAN line disconnected. When I finally connected it, the next month's bill included the charges for the PPVs.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

gphvid said:


> I think it is the only way DirecTV knows you've purchased PPV or any other of the programming stuff that you can with your receiver without having to first call in.


The Internet connection also takes care of this.


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## ricochet (Aug 21, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> Having them connected to the Internet does the exact same thing as connected to a phone line in terms of DirecTV security, one IP address or one phone number.


This is not true. You could easily have receivers all over the country that as far as DirecTV could tell were all coming from the same place. Phone lines are also (in theory) used for location information to enforce blackout restrictions. This would also be easy to fake if IP addresses are used.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why nobody cares about the land line. Heck, all my receivers are in a central wiring closet 2 feet from where my land line comes into the house and I can't even remember if I bothered to connect the phone to them or not. I just think there is a little bit of a double standard when so many people climb up on their high horse whenever somebody mentions opening up a leased receiver.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

ricochet said:


> You could easily have receivers all over the country that as far as DirecTV could tell were all coming from the same place.


It would not be easy. It wouldn't even be possible with a SWM system, because the receivers talk to eachother over the coax. Even without SWM, you'd have different signal strength readings, especially with the spot beams. And the receivers do send signal strength information to DirecTV, so it's not like I'm reaching here.

If DirecTV wanted to, it would be trivial for them to see that the receivers were not in the same location.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> I guess I really don't read it that way:
> "If we detect that any receiver is not regularly connected to a land-based telephone line, we may investigate and, if it is determined that the receiver is not at the location identified on your account, we may disconnect the receiver or charge you the full programming subscription price for the receiver."
> 
> So they reserve the right to investigate it, but you're in the clear if they find the receivers are in the same location.


Thanks, you are correct. I think they have changed it since the last time I looked. The first part of the paragraph actually states that for "optimal performance" it should be connected to a phone line. It appears it is no longer a requirement.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/legal/customer_agreement


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

ricochet said:


> This is not true. You could easily have receivers all over the country that as far as DirecTV could tell were all coming from the same place. Phone lines are also (in theory) used for location information to enforce blackout restrictions. This would also be easy to fake if IP addresses are used.
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I understand why nobody cares about the land line. Heck, all my receivers are in a central wiring closet 2 feet from where my land line comes into the house and I can't even remember if I bothered to connect the phone to them or not. I just think there is a little bit of a double standard when so many people climb up on their high horse whenever somebody mentions opening up a leased receiver.


I don't think most people would know how to fake their public IP address. I know I'm not sure how I'd do it right off, though admittedly my TCP/IP certifications expired long ago.

But in a normal config, they would know the receivers were in the same place as most people only have one public IP. Networking different locations together to have the same address isn't likely something they run into much.

Besides, in an Ethernet config, they do reserve the right to investigate the locations of the receivers. Personally, I haven't gotten a visit from them, but I'm more expecting a visit from the nice folks at the FCC to check into my unlicensed radio station than DirecTV checking in on me. And that's a really low chance.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

raott said:


> Thanks, you are correct. I think they have changed it since the last time I looked. The first part of the paragraph actually states that for "optimal performance" it should be connected to a phone line. It appears it is no longer a requirement.
> 
> http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/legal/customer_agreement


Though here is another question on the subject. At one point I believe installers got into issues if not enough of their install jobs called in over the phone line. I wonder if this is still true?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> Though here is another question on the subject. At one point I believe installers got into issues if not enough of their install jobs called in over the phone line. I wonder if this is still true?


Highly doubtful. The DirecTV installers I've dealt with in the past few years on new installs haven't cared at all. And with the number of landlineless homes getting larger by the day, it simply wouldn't make sense to continue enforcing that rule.


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## ricochet (Aug 21, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> I don't think most people would know how to fake their public IP address. I know I'm not sure how I'd do it right off, though admittedly my TCP/IP certifications expired long ago.
> 
> But in a normal config, they would know the receivers were in the same place as most people only have one public IP. Networking different locations together to have the same address isn't likely something they run into much.
> 
> Besides, in an Ethernet config, they do reserve the right to investigate the locations of the receivers. Personally, I haven't gotten a visit from them, but I'm more expecting a visit from the nice folks at the FCC to check into my unlicensed radio station than DirecTV checking in on me. And that's a really low chance.


I was thinking VPN back to one location rather than trying to fake a public address. I absolutely agree that they aren't going to come check up on the locations of your receivers because they really don't care enough to do it. They also don't really care if you replace a fan or a hard drive in your leased receiver (*). What they care about is you not trying to reverse engineer the box to somehow circumvent their DRM or steal their IP.

(*) Just don't break the box. In the case of replacing a faulty fan or failing hard drive it saves them a hardware swap out so that probably would offset the occasional person who attempts to open their box using only a hammer and a chisel.


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## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

Jeremy W said:


> It wouldn't even be possible with a SWM system, because the receivers talk to eachother over the coax.


They may "talk to each other", but it has NOTHING whatsoever to do with keeping them authorized on a given account.



> And the receivers do send signal strength information to DirecTV, so it's not like I'm reaching here.


If there is NO phone or LAN line connected to any of them, please explain how you think D* would be getting that info you speak of??? 



> If DirecTV wanted to, it would be trivial for them to see that the receivers were not in the same location.


Again, keeping in mind the ONLY way they can send info back IS through a phone or LAN connection, how exactly would that work w/out such a connection???


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

dishrich said:


> If there is NO phone or LAN line connected to any of them, please explain how you think D* would be getting that info you speak of???


The whole point of this tangent is making the receivers seem like they're coming from the same public IP address. That necessarily means that the LAN is connected, and the receivers are able to access the Internet.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Don't know if it's been answered yet, but no you don't need the land line.


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## codespy (Mar 30, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> ........ Also, software updates have also always been sent via satellite. Tivos needed to call in to begin the process, but the software was already sitting on the hard drive...........


Somewhat true, but in my experiece when the S/W updates were taken out of the stream from time to time (like long after the DIrecTiVo 6.2, etc. initial push update), the S/W of DirecTiVo's going from 3.1 to 6.x were happening strictly over the phone line.

I have changed many of hard drives to larger ones in the past to prove this, while of course staying in good standing with TOS.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

jab5325 said:


> But, of course, if you don't have a land line and use an internet connection for your receivers, your on-screen caller ID won't work.


I don't think caller ID works at all if you don't have a land line....


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Unfortunately today, the silly mail now comes down via satellite so you get it whether or not you have a phone line connected.
> 
> - Merg


Actually the messages (now called TVmail) ALWAYS came from the satellite. And in the past, some receivers even had a LIGHT on the front panel that said "message" to remind you to read it!! I had one of those and always did read the messages-but of course back then they were IMPORTANT messages-not just ads for "free previews" and stupid reminders of what to do if you move to keep your service. You would only get 1 or 2 messages a month also unlike today.


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## Tisby (Jun 4, 2010)

Jeremy W said:


> Highly doubtful. The DirecTV installers I've dealt with in the past few years on new installs haven't cared at all. And with the number of landlineless homes getting larger by the day, it simply wouldn't make sense to continue enforcing that rule.


Nope, DirecTV still requires it as part of our contract. I believe it's like 30% or 40%, but I'm not sure. Only on Upgrades & New Installs. Connected via the internet counts the same as a phone line. Granted, we're an HSP but I would suspect that O&O requires it as well. We're told on a regular basis that we hook-up more than O&O and we still need to do more...


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Tisby said:


> Connected via the internet counts the same as a phone line.


Right, I was specifically referring to the phone line. All of the installs I was referring to in that post were connected to the Internet.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

ThomasM said:


> I don't think caller ID works at all if you don't have a land line....


You can make it work with some of the VOIP setups, if the VOIP hardware provides for pseudo analog dialtone for analog phone devices.


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## lesz (Aug 3, 2010)

CCarncross said:


> You can make it work with some of the VOIP setups, if the VOIP hardware provides for pseudo analog dialtone for analog phone devices.


That is correct. The DIRECTV caller ID works perfectly with my Vonage VoIP phone service. Also, the results of a receiver/DVR system test indicate that it recognizes the Vonage connection as a working phone line.


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## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

rpinnt said:


> I am considering dropping my land line, at $70 a month, and was interested in the Verizon Wireless Home Phone Connect. Verizon's disclaimer is that it is not compatible with DirecTv, DVRs etc. If I'm hooked up through ethernet (and I am) should it matter?





CCarncross said:


> You would just lose CallerID if thats a feature you want and use.


FWIW, I just got Verizon Home Phone Connect, and Caller ID still works fine. However, since it's essentially a cell phone, it only shows the number, not the name. That's a small trade-off considering my land line was costing me $50/month, and HPC is only $10/month which is much less than any VOIP service.


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