# Stability of sling addon to Hopper?



## BobSp (Aug 27, 2007)

Hi,

I'm a long-time slingbox user (attached to DirectTV HR box), who has recently switched to Dish and the Hopper/Joey. I have the new slingbox which is this thin, little device connected via USB to the Hopper.

My old sling setup was very reliable. I could go months without using it and then go on a business trip and it would be there waiting for me. 

My new sling setup is very unreliable. It has worked maybe 1 in 5 times I have tried to access it from my Apple or Andriod devices, and I haven't been able to connect in the last week or so. By "not working" I mean that I can connect and see the list of shows available, but video will not play on my iPad, iphone, or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Is everyone else experiencing instability problems with Sling attached to the Hopper, or is my situation unique?

Should I unplug it from USB for 10 seconds and plug in again when I see the connection failures?

Many Thanks...


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## dunkonu23 (Sep 11, 2006)

From my iPhone, mine is extremely reliable. I haven't had to power off or otherwise reset anything on the iPhone. My iPad is a different story. After I select a channel, then decide to watch something else, the app will hang in a loop with the previously watched channel repeating about 10 seconds of video. The only cures I've found for this are:

1. Power off. It will happen the next viewing sessiojn.
2. Exit the app. Enter the app and then select "live". That will get the last tuned channel. I will repeat this for each channel I want to watch until I have to power off.

As I wrote, none of this happens on the iPhone app. I have an iPad 2 and 3rd Generation iPad's. My iPhone is an iPhone 4s. All are on the latest iOS. 

So, yeah, it appears to have problems for me, but only with the iPad app.

Scott


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Many H2k users reporting this ... I would call CSR and force them to open a ticket for Software Dept.


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## tommiet (Dec 29, 2005)

Same problem here.... works about 50% of the time and I TRY to use it daily.


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

I just tested my sling to my Hopper and I was able to view Live TV and a DVR recorded movie without a problem. At home I'm able to use my iPad to connect to my home network and sling to my Hopper.

Those of you having issues, please PM me your login information so I can test your sling ability with my equipment here. Please let me know. Thanks.



tommiet said:


> Same problem here.... works about 50% of the time and I TRY to use it daily.


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## dunkonu23 (Sep 11, 2006)

Thanks for calling, Ray. MUCH appreciated. On my iPad, I deleted and reinstalled the app, same thing. I'm certain it will get fixed.

Scott


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## wtrjock (Feb 9, 2007)

I have tried last night and today to use my sling in the hopper. I am connecting from Android. I am able to see my recordings. When I pick a recording to watch all I get is a Spanish music channel and the speed is stuck at 40kbps on either WiFi or 3g. I tried a hopper power cycle this morning....no help. I will try to unplug and replug the sling adapter tonight.

Any one else having this issue?


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

Scott,

You're welcome. I'm here to help. Is this the software version for the application you have on your iPad: 2.9.22/1.0.29? I tested mine the past two nights and I didn't have any problems connecting and staying connected. Are you attempting to connect on your home network or while away from home? If you haven't tried from your home network, please try connection that way. Please let me know. Thanks.



dunkonu23 said:


> Thanks for calling, Ray. MUCH appreciated. On my iPad, I deleted and reinstalled the app, same thing. I'm certain it will get fixed.
> 
> Scott


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

I have the Hopper and Sling Adapter, too. I'm able to sling using my laptop, PC, iPad, and Android device. Would you PM me your login information so I could test your account to see if I can determine the problem? Have you tried unplugging the Hopper for 10 seconds from your electrical outlet to have the Hopper reboot? Please let me know. Thanks.



wtrjock said:


> I have tried last night and today to use my sling in the hopper. I am connecting from Android. I am able to see my recordings. When I pick a recording to watch all I get is a Spanish music channel and the speed is stuck at 40kbps on either WiFi or 3g. I tried a hopper power cycle this morning....no help. I will try to unplug and replug the sling adapter tonight.
> 
> Any one else having this issue?


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

Just finished my install this morning and I'm seeing a similar problem. The Android dish app (I can't use the web page - is says I don't have any receivers right now) says "Activating... Locating... Starting..." then a message pops up on the TV saying a remote viewer has connected, then nothing. After a minute or so I get a "your receiver must not be connected to the internet" message. This is all on a very fast local network.

I'll try rebooting after the Master's finishes recording...


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## dunkonu23 (Sep 11, 2006)

Hey Ray, 

It's 2.9.22. On my home network. I just deleted and reinstalled the app again. All is well! Thanks, sir!

Scott


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## tommiet (Dec 29, 2005)

Ray [email protected] Network said:


> I just tested my sling to my Hopper and I was able to view Live TV and a DVR recorded movie without a problem. At home I'm able to use my iPad to connect to my home network and sling to my Hopper.
> 
> Those of you having issues, please PM me your login information so I can test your sling ability with my equipment here. Please let me know. Thanks.


Problem it... its hit and miss. May work now and when I try the next day its DOA. Only a power off, back on fixes the connection issue for me. Always seems to work after a HARD reboot.


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

Mine is behaving very oddly. I left the DVR and TV off for a few hours and tried again with everything off (standby). I grabbed my android phone, launched the Dish app, and when I selected a show from the DVR (Die Hard), it started playing but not the show I selected - all I got was Sirius salsa radio playing. I walked in to the den to write this post and a few seconds later I heard Die Hard starting up. Seems like progress - but then I stopped that, and selected a different show, all I got was more Die Hard for 5 minutes. Then I turned on the TV and DVR and tried again. The player immediately stops and I got a no signal message from the Dish app.

Very frustrating...


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## homeron (Oct 17, 2007)

"wtrjock" said:


> I have tried last night and today to use my sling in the hopper. I am connecting from Android. I am able to see my recordings. When I pick a recording to watch all I get is a Spanish music channel and the speed is stuck at 40kbps on either WiFi or 3g. I tried a hopper power cycle this morning....no help. I will try to unplug and replug the sling adapter tonight.
> 
> Any one else having this issue?


Yes I have the same problem with a mine coming up to Spanish music and I would get frustrated my family was just laughing at me getting mad. Mine is happening on an android once I got on dish online that seemed to fix the problem when I went back to the android. I still think us early adapters to this hopper are beta testers too many problems. So I think for five months of free HBO would be good


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

Well I tried rebooting, resetting the network, unplugging the sling, etc and nothing is working. I either get Spanish music or it's saying I'm not connected to the network. Sometimes if I let it sit for a few minutes, it will decide that maybe I am connected to the network and show me the DVR contents but then I'm back to Spanish music if I get anything at all.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

Mess ...


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## dunkonu23 (Sep 11, 2006)

I'm thinking there's a problem with the Android app. On the iPhone, I have no issues. On the iPad, after deleting and reinstalling the app twice, it has worked perfectly. The only thing I've noticed, which I was told was normal, is the delay and subsequent playback of the last channel selected for about 10-20 seconds. After that time elapsed, it goes to the selected channel. This happens on the iPhone and iPad, and again, Ray told me it was normal. One thing I do is log off after every session. I don't get dumped to the spanish music channel at all, though. It always starts on the last channel I selected, then switches.

Scott


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

dunkonu23 said:


> I'm thinking there's a problem with the Android app.


I'm thinking you are correct. I can access my shows and watch them on my desktop using dishonline.com just fine and the quality is good (way better than the quality I was getting on my 4.5" phone screen the one time the android app worked).

Of course the whole point of sling'ing is that I want to watch stuff when I'm not at home so this doesn't really help (just shows it's probably the android app). I tried using dishonline.com from my android tablet but that doesn't work because the plugin required is only available on mac and windows.

So it basically seems like the sling box is worthless unless you have an iphone/ipad...


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## wtrjock (Feb 9, 2007)

I fixed my sling Spanish radio problem last night. After starting the dvr program I was put on the radio channel. I typed in a different channel, and the sling changed to that channel and immediately started my dvr program. Now I can connect just fine and watch anything. Such a weird problem. Hope it helps you.


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

wtrjock said:


> I fixed my sling Spanish radio problem last night. After starting the dvr program I was put on the radio channel. I typed in a different channel, and the sling changed to that channel and immediately started my dvr program. Now I can connect just fine and watch anything. Such a weird problem. Hope it helps you.


Thanks - that may have done the trick for me as well. After doing that I haven't seen the Spanish radio problem at all and I've been able to watch several shows. I even got good quality over a 3G connection on my phone.


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## fredpb (Aug 30, 2007)

Problems here too. It also seems to have a problem deleting stuff.


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## wtrjock (Feb 9, 2007)

I am pretty disgusted with the Dish Android app. Everytime I try to connect to my dvr...I get the message that my dvr is not connected. Then I spend way too much time trying to refresh and reselect my reciever to get it to turn green. I just want to watch a show on my tablet in my bedroom. Dish needs to fix this app! So frustrating to have technology that is a tease because it doesn't work 100%


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

wtrjock said:


> I am pretty disgusted with the Dish Android app. Everytime I try to connect to my dvr...I get the message that my dvr is not connected. Then I spend way too much time trying to refresh and reselect my reciever to get it to turn green. I just want to watch a show on my tablet in my bedroom. Dish needs to fix this app! So frustrating to have technology that is a tease because it doesn't work 100%


I think it might be improved with some kind of progress bar or status display. When I launch it, it almost always tells me my DVR is not connected to the internet. I usually click on the guide, wait 30 sec or so, then click a live tv show and hit watch. Sometimes it says OK and starts, sometimes it tells me I'm not connected. I go back to the guide, wait another 30 sec or so and try again. Once I get live TV playing, I can select something from the DVR and it will work.

My guess is that it just takes a long time to connect to the DVR and because they're telling you it's not connected it seems like it's not working. Mine has been pretty reliable if I give it more time but it is confusing and a little annoying.


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## bnborg (Jun 3, 2005)

This seems like the same problem as 722k always appears offline? and Sling [adapter] drops connection.


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## wtrjock (Feb 9, 2007)

I ran into an interesting issue this evening that I am trying to understand. I had the usual issue with not seeing my dvr on my android tablet in the Dish app, but the interesting part is that I could watch live TV from my hopper with the dish app. I am trying to figure out how I can watch live TV from the dish app, but it shows offline when I tried to see my dvr. Does this mean that the Hopper is offline, but the SA was online? That doeant make sense since the SA is connected via USB to the Hopper.

To fix the issue, I had to reset network on the Hopper. Reset connection didn't work. This is a pretty big road block if I want to use the SA outside my house. 

I did notice a reboot function on dish online that I might be able to use remotely if the hopper is not recording.


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## sporttster (Apr 19, 2012)

I just got Dish installed today. A Hopper and two Joeys and the Sling adaptor, which I was REALLY looking forward to. Needless to say, the Sling isn't working at all. I've got plenty of speed on the net, 25mbs down/4 upstream. On Wifi at home and cannot for the life of me connect either via the app or dishonline. Neither one will connect to anything. Initially on the app I would click on a show and it would pop up some mellow music channel! I thought WTH is this? So I tried a different channel, same thing! So I cleared data on the app, and now I don't get anything. I uninstalled, reinstalled nothing. I unplugged the reciever-waited-nothing. I cleared network on the menu of the hopper, TWICE...nothing. It refuses to connect to this fricking thing and it's ticking me off! I've checked router settings, chatted with tech support three times. This is a terrible way to start a relationship with a customer!! I'm so tempted to ditch Dish and go DirecTV because of this and I haven't even had the stupid thing for a entire day yet! If this is the start, what am I getting myself into?!? A nightmare???!


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## wtrjock (Feb 9, 2007)

See my post on page two of this thread...it got me off the Spanish station


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## sporttster (Apr 19, 2012)

What do you mean you 'typed in a channel'? You can't do that on the Dish app. And I'm not trying to watch a DVR program. I'm simply trying to watch ANYTHING! I can't get it to do anything. And the strange thing is I can't get Dishonline to do anything, either. What gives? Neither of them connect for me!


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## TD22057 (May 24, 2007)

sporttster said:


> What do you mean you 'typed in a channel'? You can't do that on the Dish app. And I'm not trying to watch a DVR program. I'm simply trying to watch ANYTHING! I can't get it to do anything. And the strange thing is I can't get Dishonline to do anything, either. What gives? Neither of them connect for me!


Relax - there's no need to wig out just yet.

Open the dish app, wait for it to log in. Click menu, guide. You should get a full program guide. Then wait 30 sec or so. Click on a channel, any channel, then click watch. It will probably tell you your dvr is not connected. Click back. Wait 10 or 15 seconds and click refresh. Then click menu, my DVR. If it says you're not connected, click back and wait 15 more seconds and repeat. At some point it your DVR programs will show up. Then click menu, guide and select live tv on some channel. Wait 15 seconds or so and it should work. That will get you off the xm radio channel.

Once you successfully get something besides the radio, you can watch live TV (via the guide) or a program (via my dvr). Also, once the program starts, it may take 5 or 10 seconds to switch to the proper channel so be sure to wait.

The real issue is that it takes a long time to get the initial connection and for commands to actually take affect. So you will get a lot of "you're dvr isn't connected messages" - the key is to have patience - at some point it will connect and then everything is fine. The Dish online web site is similar - it takes a long time to get the connection set up.


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## sporttster (Apr 19, 2012)

Most of the time the app works. I connect, get on and can watch fine. But again, tonight trying to connect remotely via my RAZR which I've done many times fine yet tonight the sucker refuses to connect! I've checked my phones connection and it's great. Have tried SEVERAL times in different ways to make it work and it absolutely will not. The most it will do is pop up a blue screen saying 'weak or no video signal' which, again, is wrong as my bars on the phone are great. Did a speedtest and it was the same it always is in this area. Tried reloading, different stations, closing and reopening, direct channel input, the DVR, clearing data and logging back in. Nothing works. What is WITH this thing? :nono2:


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