# Still getting several reboots a day



## Squiglee (Jan 20, 2004)

I posted on this a few weeks ago (screeching sound and black screen). My problem has remained in that my 622 randomly gets a black screen (sometimes with no sound and sometimes with nasty screeching noises). A power button reboot gets the machine back to normal in a few minutes. Or, if left alone it will reboot itself after a few minutes. This happens a once or twice a day (occsionally more frequently).

Dish tech sup again (yesterday) told me that this issue will be fixed in the next software upgrade. I hope so. 

Anyone else having this issue?


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## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

Are you hearing the screech on TV1 or TV2?


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## DAG (Feb 7, 2006)

Squiglee said:


> I posted on this a few weeks ago (screeching sound and black screen). My problem has remained in that my 622 randomly gets a black screen (sometimes with no sound and sometimes with nasty screeching noises). A power button reboot gets the machine back to normal in a few minutes. Or, if left alone it will reboot itself after a few minutes. This happens a once or twice a day (occsionally more frequently).
> 
> Dish tech sup again (yesterday) told me that this issue will be fixed in the next software upgrade. I hope so.
> 
> Anyone else having this issue?


I had the same problem, same frequency too. Dish replaced my 622 after software version L355 did not fix it. The new box has not done it all in 10 days now. I still have occasional lip sycn issues and occasional loss of sound (with normal video) which is fixed by simply changing channels forward and back. The reboot problem is fixed. My "counters" screen shows no PWR watchdogs at all and only one miniwatchdog. With the first 622, I was up to 40 PWR watchdogs in 10 days.

It seems that some 622s clearly have hardware problems.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

Had the same problem last night. I was watching a recorded show and my wife and I were laughing and enjoying ourselves and then suddenly: SSSSSCCCCCCRRRRREEEECCCHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the screen went black. The dogs started barking, my kid woke up and my wife looked at me and said : You paid how much money for this receiver? This was a new bug for me. 

I thought I eliminated the sound drop outs by switching to pcm only but now the screech black out screen takes its place. So lets see how many bugs do I have now? 

1. Audio snap crackel pop - eliminated with the 355 software update. (FIXED)
2. Video freezes - require a REBOOT. 
3. NO sound at all on tv2- requires a REBOOT.
4. Sound drop outs over dolby digital sound- changed to pcm temporarily to avoid this problem. 
5. Video stuttering /lip synch issues on all channels- requires a REBOOT. 
6. And the latest .....Black screen followed by SCREECHING SOUND- requires another REBOOT. 

And the next software update will fix all of these problems?

I've said it before and I'll say it again : How come they can't just load the same exact software as the 942 into this box when it first came out? The 622 receiver is exactly the same as the 942 except the new mpeg 2 hd channels disquised as mpeg4 channels . How hard is it to do this?


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## LtMunst (Aug 24, 2005)

Mike D-CO5 said:


> The 622 receiver is exactly the same as the 942 except the new mpeg 2 hd channels disquised as mpeg4 channels .


Not exactly. The 622 has a different hardrive, an extra modulator, extra video outputs and a totally different video chipset. I would imagine the motherboard is very different as a result.


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## Squiglee (Jan 20, 2004)

Well after three black screens with wickedly annoying noise (one of which happened with about 25 minutes of a program buffered - which was lost of course) within three hours, I called again. This time they are sending a new box. Should be here Wednesday. I will update with either "same ol ****" or "no more problem" with reboots.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

fascinating - ive had my receiver all of 4 days and i have experienced the screeeeeeeeeeeching twice already - and the unit has reboot itself a few times already as well...

i had company over on sunday too and as they were ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the capabilities of my new hd-dvr - click - screech - how annoying (and embarassing)...

anyway - im just joining this thread to see if the new box actually fixes the problem or not - im thinking about calling in to get a replacement as well...


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## Tidefan (Mar 24, 2006)

My 622 was installed on Saturday 3/25/06. I am getting the black screen with screeching noise about 3 to 4 times per day. I will be monitoring this thread to see if a new box will fix the problem. I am not convinced that this is a software issue.


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## Bill R (Dec 20, 2002)

I am not having the problem described in this thread but for those of you that are it is important to note what channel you were watching when the problem occured. According to someone that I have been talking to, DISH is aware of a problem like this that occurs when the signal from an OTA drops (or is just on the "fringe"). 

Also, according to the same person, a software update for the 622 will be released "soon" and "soon" may be as early as the end of this week.


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## David-A (Feb 21, 2006)

My first 622 rebooted itself 6 or more times a day for a month. Sometimes it rebooted a couple times in 30 minutes. There was no pattern of what it was doing when it rebooted that I could find and believe me I tried. It would even reboot when it was in standby. I'm quite sure it was not OTA related.

I installed the replacement 622 last Saturday and it has not rebooted by itself once. If you read the comments of those half dozen or more people on this forum that have had their 622 replaced because of the rebooting problem I think you'll find that it has always solved the problem. 

It is possible that a software work-around might be found for this problem (as an embedded software engineer I've written code to get around hardware problems many times), but the 622 rebooting problem itself is almost certainly hardware.


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## Squiglee (Jan 20, 2004)

We do not get OTA channels where I live. The problem happens when watching any sat channel, when watching a recorded show, and it even happened at least once when the unit was not on but was recording off of a timer (the recorded program showed up as two entrys with a 3-4 minute missing part).

I noticed that others have said that the replacment unit has seemed fix this problem so I finally stopped having faith in the software issue fix story and insisted on a new unit. Should be here today or tomorrow. I will update my experience after a few days online with the new unit.


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

After 4 weeks with my 622 and software L355 actually making the reboot problem somewhat worse, I called tech support this morning. I had a complete log of the 25 reboots I witnessed plus the counter numbers. After requesting the full software and boot numbers the tech put me on hold and said he would check whether a replacement unit was needed. He came back and said they would ship the replacement and it should be here Thursday or Friday. 

My 622 was an early one. I received it 2/16, although it wasn't installed until 2/28. I got the impression there are units out there that they have determined have a hardware problem. Hopefully by waiting a few weeks I'll get a replacement that doesn't have a problem. Just hope I'm not trading one problem for another. While others have reported serious audio problems since L355, I've only had one audio problem, and that was on replay of one recorded movie.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

BillJ said:


> After 4 weeks with my 622 and software L355 actually making the reboot problem somewhat worse, I called tech support this morning. I had a complete log of the 25 reboots I witnessed plus the counter numbers. After requesting the full software and boot numbers the tech put me on hold and said he would check whether a replacement unit was needed. He came back and said they would ship the replacement and it should be here Thursday or Friday.
> 
> My 622 was an early one. I received it 2/16, although it wasn't installed until 2/28. I got the impression there are units out there that they have determined have a hardware problem. Hopefully by waiting a few weeks I'll get a replacement that doesn't have a problem. Just hope I'm not trading one problem for another. While others have reported serious audio problems since L355, I've only had one audio problem, and that was on replay of one recorded movie.


wow - all of this is pretty disheartening - i just received my receiver on 3/23 (one day before my install of 3/24) - since then, its already rebooted in front of me 4 times - and it didnt record one show on monday (just got a black screen with no audio in place of the show)

ill give them a call tonite and demand another receiver - sheesh - dish network is really droppin the ball here - first their customer service goes down the tubes and now their most anticipated receiver seems to be faltering (although, out of the 4 receivers ive had, only one was worth anything - and now that ive had it for over 2 years, it too is starting to have problems)

oh well - c'est la vie in dish network land


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## JmC (Jun 10, 2005)

My first 622 was installed on 03/12. It was received on the Wednesday before. I talked to an advanced tech regarding the video being left shifted as well as the top and bottom being clipped. After jumping though a few hoops (she wanted me to reconnect the 811 so she could rule out the TV) a replacement 622 was shipped.

The replacement had the original problem as well as 3-4 reboots per day. I was shipped another replacement. The reboots are gone. The video issue is still present, but only shows up when set to 1080i.


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## cfisher (Sep 7, 2004)

I'll have to add my $.02

My 3rd replacement seems to have also done the trick. 

I was getting several "Screechers" a day and several other reboots also.

Now, the only thing I did different this time was NOT hook up my OTA antenna.

Maybe that's just a little Voodoo...but I don't care - 3 seems to be the charm for me.


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## liferules (Aug 14, 2005)

cfisher said:


> Now, the only thing I did different this time was NOT hook up my OTA antenna.
> 
> Maybe that's just a little Voodoo...but I don't care - 3 seems to be the charm for me.


I have to agree, my problems didn't start until I hooked up OTA. I tend to think their is some problems with fluctuating reception which causes audio/video and reboot problems...


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## Guragu (Feb 15, 2006)

Just to eliminate a cause... i suffer from the screeching reboot problem as well. I do not have OTA hooked up at all.


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## Tidefan (Mar 24, 2006)

I got a black screen and screeching again this morning. It happened exactly as it did the day before. I had a timer set for 6 AM CST on Turner south. I was watching ESPNHD when the timer fired. The channel changed to Turner South and about a minute later I got the black screen with screeching. Same channel, same time, different day. 

I called tech support and talked with a guy who was very familiar with this problem. He said it is a widely reported problem that it is absolutely related to a software issue. He also said the problem should be corrected in the next software release which may come down by the end of the week.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

Tidefan said:


> I called tech support and talked with a guy who was very familiar with this problem. He said it is a widely reported problem that it is absolutely related to a software issue. He also said the problem should be corrected in the next software release which may come down by the end of the week.


wow - what the heck is going on with dish's customer service? i also called in last nite to tell them that i was having the EXACT same problem - this csr stated that it was definitely a HARDWARE issue! he quickly set up for a replacement unit to be sent to my home...

totally bizarre - there doesnt seem to be any rhyme or reason to any of this


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## Lorax (Apr 22, 2002)

Kricket said:


> wow - what the heck is going on with dish's customer service? i also called in last nite to tell them that i was having the EXACT same problem - this csr stated that it was definitely a HARDWARE issue! he quickly set up for a replacement unit to be sent to my home...
> 
> totally bizarre - there doesnt seem to be any rhyme or reason to any of this


interesting - I would lean toward software related from what I read - you wouldnt think a CSR couldnt make this assumption - there must be some technical documentation that says its hardware for them to send out another unit...Then again - this happened to mine and it died 24 hours later.....


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## DAG (Feb 7, 2006)

Lorax said:


> interesting - I would lean toward software related from what I read - you wouldnt think a CSR couldnt make this assumption - there must be *some technical documentation* that says its hardware for them to send out another unit...Then again - this happened to mine and it died 24 hours later.....


Bingo. I've thought this for some time. I bet there is a series of boxes that tech support knows are problematic and they replace them. These boxes have the reboot problem and it is worsened by poor signal, etc. Mine was a problem one. The replacement is not (but still has audio issues, video skipping, etc-likely software). I have had NO reboots since the replacement, and yesterday my fox OTA had no signal at all for hours (their problem) and I did not reboot.


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## Kricket (Nov 18, 2005)

odd that they wont just come out and recall the bad units - it would save a lot of headache - im really having a problem with dish's csr's lately - it seems like they are just around to cause more of a headache - granted, the tech support people are MUCH better than the run-of-the-mill csr's (in fact, everytime i call from now on - im going straight to tech support) - but still, it seems like a LOT of people have been getting the run-around with these new units

i actually set a poll up in the general dish discussion forum in order to determine approximately how many people are having problems - id appreciate it if everyone here contributed...

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=55574


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## Lorax (Apr 22, 2002)

Kricket said:


> i actually set a poll up in the general dish discussion forum in order to determine approximately how many people are having problems - id appreciate it if everyone here contributed...
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=55574


I use SBC-ATT/Dish - I think its a different set of CSRs.....Compared to DirecTV (I changed over from D*) they arent very good tho....


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## Tidefan (Mar 24, 2006)

I called tech support again this morning after several instances of the black screen of death. This time I was told that my 622 was defective and that I will receive a new 622 on Tuesday. I hope this solves the problem!!


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## Squiglee (Jan 20, 2004)

I got a new unit the same day that the new software spooled so I am not sure which (or both) has been responsible for NO PROBLEMS. We went thru two days without a single re-boot. We were doing sometimes three or four a day and always at least two.

Happy to report that the black screen of death (usually accompanied by screeching sound) has not occured in the 48 or so hours since I replaced our 622.


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## Jerry G (Jul 12, 2003)

Squiglee said:


> I got a new unit the same day that the new software spooled so I am not sure which (or both) has been responsible for NO PROBLEMS. We went thru two days without a single re-boot. We were doing sometimes three or four a day and always at least two.
> 
> Happy to report that the black screen of death (usually accompanied by screeching sound) has not occured in the 48 or so hours since I replaced our 622.


My replacement 622 arrived Thursday night and the new software on Fri. No reboots since Thursday night. Like you, I can't tell if it was the new 622 or the software, but either way, if the reboots are over, I'll be real happy.


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## Mike D-CO5 (Mar 12, 2003)

REBOOTS now up to at least once a day or more. Audio drop outs gone but have been replaced by video jerkiness on ALL channels including ota channels. Have to reboot everyday by 6:30pm in order to prevent any problems during my primetime shows. It already reboots in the morning on its own during the morning updates.

Major annoyance*******


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## DAG (Feb 7, 2006)

I locked up twice yesterday, but the box recovered by rebooting on its own each time. I had no freezeups at all with this box (#2) on previous L355. Good news is no video stuttering or audio dropouts yet though.

edit......

One more lockup so far this afternoon, but no audio issues.

It is clear that this update has NOT solved all the issues DISH.....

Back to the bench!


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

I'm hoping my reboot problem has been solved too. 

Installed a replacement Thursday afternoon. No reboots Thursday night, but a strange experience Friday AM. Brought the unit out of standby and got a screen saying "Must have a phone line connnected". I did have the phone line connected and it tested okay on Thursday. Selected 'Test', my only option, and the unit went to acquiring signal and locked up at '0 of 5' for 5 minutes. Powered it off via remote, then back on, and this time it rebooted, then acquired signal okay. Counter now showed 1 AC PWR watchdog. Meanwhile I learned L356 was being spooled to some units, but I still had L355. Possibly my earlier problem in starting the unit was due to interrupting spooling of L356??? Anyway, I powered down via remote after an hour. A few hours later the unit came out of standby just fine but the counter now showed 2 AC PWR watchdogs. L356 was now installed so I believe that triggered the second reboot.

No reboots since Friday morning and no audio problems. Either the replacement unit or L356 seem to have fixed the problems (knock on wood). I'll ship the old unit back to E* tomorrow.


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## David-A (Feb 21, 2006)

I had no reboots on my replacement 622 for the first 12 days. During this time all counters showed no activity. I had declared victory. However, in the last 3 or 4 days I've had at least 3 reboots and all sorts of counter activity (watchdogs and others). The timing would suggest a connection with L356 software upgrade but that may be coincidence.


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