# Weird R15 Support Question



## spexet (Jan 12, 2007)

Is anybody here having problems getting broken R15s replaced?

I've got an R15-500 that reboots itself 4 or 5 times a day.

But that's not the weird part...I have Protection Plan service, so I called DirecTV yesterday to report that I have a broken DVR.

OK, first they asked the usual litany of questions....is the unit plugged in, is the power strip turned on, etc., etc. After answering positive to all their questions, they said they'd escalate the issue to 2ND LINE TECHNICAL SUPPORT, and they'd call back in 24 hours.

That was sort of strange for me, but OK...I'm used to just getting replacement receivers shipped to my home as they break.

OK, so I waited. 24 hours passes...no call. I call DirecTV, and ask them what's up.

I ask them to send out a replacement box. Instead, they decide that I need a SERVICE CALL.

"But can't you just sent out a replacement box?"

"No, it's our policy to send out a service technician in cases like this."

Is this a common experience for people? My DirecTV setup is self-installed, I don't need a service technician...just curious as to what other's experiences are.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

That actually does sound like their normal procedures..
Including the tech role, to check the system out before replacing.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

Earl Bonovich said:


> That actually does sound like their normal procedures..
> Including the tech role, to check the system out before replacing.


Hmmm. I suppose if the customer has the protection plan...but what about if the customer doesn't? They certainly aren't going to pay $$$ for some "service technician" to come out and tell them they need a replacement R15.

I certainly wouldn't.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

It's probably more cost effective for them to send out the tech if you have the PP as it might only cost them the $70 as opposed to the cost of a new (refurbished) receiver plus shipping.

- Merg


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

The Merg said:


> It's probably more cost effective for them to send out the tech if you have the PP as it might only cost them the $70 as opposed to the cost of a new (refurbished) receiver plus shipping.
> 
> - Merg


I know if DirecTV was going to send the van out to my house there better be an R16 on board!.


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## MountainMan10 (Jan 31, 2008)

I think it is good for them to send a service rep.

A number of years ago I had problems with a Tivo. Every non-dvr receiver in my house worked great, strong signals, no issues. They even worked when place in the same location as the Tivo. The Tivo however couldn't get a strong signal and I got a lot of pixelation and lost a lot of recordings. After replacing the Tivo several times D* sent a service rep and he discovered that the problem was a bad dish.

My point is, sometimes it is not the box. It may be the dish, lnb, multiplexer, cables, dish alignment. Sometmes it takes a service call by a competent rep with the right equipment to determine the real problem.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

The Merg said:


> It's probably more cost effective for them to send out the tech if you have the PP as it might only cost them the $70 as opposed to the cost of a new (refurbished) receiver plus shipping.
> 
> - Merg


I'd be surprised if R15's cost D* more than $70 per unit to produce. Even if it did, I doubt the current value of a refurbed discontinued DVR is more than $70. Of course that's just my opinion.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

MountainMan10 said:


> I think it is good for them to send a service rep.
> 
> A number of years ago I had problems with a Tivo. Every non-dvr receiver in my house worked great, strong signals, no issues. They even worked when place in the same location as the Tivo. The Tivo however couldn't get a strong signal and I got a lot of pixelation and lost a lot of recordings. After replacing the Tivo several times D* sent a service rep and he discovered that the problem was a bad dish.
> 
> My point is, sometimes it is not the box. It may be the dish, lnb, multiplexer, cables, dish alignment. Sometmes it takes a service call by a competent rep with the right equipment to determine the real problem.


How does a Dish become bad? Unless it's physically damaged or deformed? All it does is reflect the signals and focus them on the LNB, doesn't it?
Maybe the output of the mutiswitch was marginal and the TIVO was less tolerant than the other receivers? Thus, replacing the dish (LNB's & multiswitch) fixed the problem?
Still, you're right. Sometimes you're better off having a tech come out.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

And if the tech comes out and determines that it has something to do with the wiring or the dish, the PP will cover that repair in full.

And I'd hafta think that the R15's cost more than $70 to produce if to own them it costs almost $600. My guess is that if they sold them outright, the profit margin on them would be very small, thus the idea of the leasing model and thus basing their profit margin on the programming packages and add-ons.

- Merg


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## putty469 (Jun 5, 2007)

Since you are having problems with several reboots a day, and are willing to have a replacement sent, perhaps you should try a reset everything? It's an option under Menu -> Setup -> Reset. I only say that because I had an R-15 doing the same thing, and 2nd line tech support asked me to do that prior to sending a technician. It worked, and the unit has been fine since, albeit with all of the recordings and settings erased.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> That actually does sound like their normal procedures..
> Including the tech role, to check the system out before replacing.


Really??? I have a Hughes Tivo that was inactive in my closet (goes in the garage for the spring). Anyway I pulled it out and set it up to get the update, it sat on the "Welcome powering up" screen all night, I called D* the folowing evening (lastnight) according to my tracking number my new Owned R15 will be here tomorrow..... No escalation.


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## spexet (Jan 12, 2007)

An update: The technician came out here to the house. After I described the problem to him, he pulled a brand new R15 out of the truck and installed it. He called DirecTV, deactivated the old (broken) receiver, and activated the new one. Simple enough...

Simple enough, that is, until I decided to watch TV elsewhere in the house. A few days ago, I activated a new HR20. It worked great...until I went back there today to watch TV. It had a blank screen with a 726 message.

I called up DirecTV to see what was going on. It turns out that they DEACTIVATED the HR20! Er...OK, well please reactivate the HR20, so I can watch some TV. Thank you very much! It took 30 minutes, two customer service reps, and a couple of power cycles before they got the receiver working correctly again.

But wait, it gets even better. For the hell of it, I decided to check my account on the web page. It turns out that not only did they reactivate my HR20, but they also (re)activated an old SD-DVR40 receiver that I had DEACTIVATED AND REPLACED 3 months ago! And charged my account to boot. Another call to customer service to get that one straightened out.

Sheesh...I've had pretty good luck with DirecTV service up until today. I guess every organization has it's off days, but this one takes the cake. I'm afraid to even look at the lease vs. non-lease thing on my bill...God only knows what I'll find.


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## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

Well my R15 got here today and after it is done with the blue screen at start up it powers off and won't turn on again, you have to RBR then it does it all again and powers off...... Replacement is on it's way...


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

spexet said:


> An update: The technician came out here to the house. After I described the problem to him, he pulled a brand new R15 out of the truck and installed it. He called DirecTV, deactivated the old (broken) receiver, and activated the new one. Simple enough...
> 
> Simple enough, that is, until I decided to watch TV elsewhere in the house. A few days ago, I activated a new HR20. It worked great...until I went back there today to watch TV. It had a blank screen with a 726 message.
> 
> I called up DirecTV to see what was going on. It turns out that they DEACTIVATED the HR20! Er...OK, well please reactivate the HR20, so I can watch some TV. Thank you very much! It took 30 minutes, two customer service reps, and a couple of power cycles before they got the receiver working correctly again.


You know, now that I jog my memory, the only time I've had real screwups with my account is just AFTER one of their "professional installers" visited. And the only time I allowed that to happen was when I had no choice (like getting two free R15 DVR's via offers which REQUIRED a visit).

Every time they ADDED the DVR instead of REPLACING an owned receiver that was retired. The last time, I ended up with the protection plan despite NOT checking that box or allowing it.

Fortunately, I checked "recent activity" on the website RIGHT after each visit. And the CSR I talked to each time was very helpful in getting things straightened out. One was so upset after learning about the unapproved protection plan that I ended up with a premium channel for 3 months for free!

However, I must admit, your experience really "takes the cake"


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## dmurphy (Sep 28, 2006)

ThomasM said:


> However, I must admit, your experience really "takes the cake"


Could be worse...

I had a DTiVo that failed, so I ordered an R15 replacement with the protection plan. Simple, right?

Well, not really.

When I called to have the R15 activated, and the DTiVo deactivated, it turns out the DTiVo was the primary receiver on my account (I have 7 receivers). So, in the process of removing the DTiVo, they deleted -my whole account!-.

They needed to 'rebuild' it from the ground up. I lost my Total Choice Plus package. I lost my DVR Lifetime subscription. My TiVos weren't recording for days because they somehow added the "monthly" DVR subscription wrong, and forgot to add the TiVo piece.

After months and months of haggling, calling, nagging, and exasperation, I finally got the DVR Lifetime restored. And both the "DirecTV Plus" and "TiVo" DVR's work finally. I needed to quote the DirecTV Customer Agreement verbatim before they would budge on the DVR Lifetime - they kept telling me that it was only good for the TiVo devices.



> If you paid a "lifetime service fee," you will not be charged a fee for your *DIRECTV DVR Service* as long as you maintain television programming service from DIRECTV on the same account. If you disconnect your DIRECTV television programming service and later reconnect on the same account, your DIRECTV DVR service will be reconnected and you will not be charged a fee for DIRECTV DVR Service.


That doesn't mention TiVo at all! Finally after haggling with a supervisor, they gave in.

At this point, I'm still stuck on Choice Xtra (same package as Total Choice Plus, but for more money.), and I just threw in the towel on that. They just couldn't get it right, so I gave up trying. But at least the DVR Lifetime was recovered - that was the big one for me.


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## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

dmurphy said:


> Could be worse...
> 
> I had a DTiVo that failed, so I ordered an R15 replacement with the protection plan. Simple, right?
> 
> ...


Ah, yes, I know how that works (but fortunately, it wasn't as traumatic for me).

When one of the "professional installers" appeared to install a DVR, they ADDED it as I previously mentioned instead of REPLACING an existing owned receiver. As it turns out, that old legacy owned receiver was my PRIMARY receiver. Oh-oh!

Yep, just like you described, they had to COMPLETELY DELETE my account and RESTART IT FROM SCRATCH. Fortunately, I dumped Total Choice Plus in favor of the FAMILY package earlier so I didn't have any "grandfathered" package or service to worry about. But it still was a hassle.


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## 412808 (Feb 28, 2008)

The Merg said:


> And if the tech comes out and determines that it has something to do with the wiring or the dish, the PP will cover that repair in full.
> 
> And I'd hafta think that the R15's cost more than $70 to produce if to own them it costs almost $600. My guess is that if they sold them outright, the profit margin on them would be very small, thus the idea of the leasing model and thus basing their profit margin on the programming packages and add-ons.
> 
> - Merg


When it comes to selling the ProPlan, the typical practice is to sell the value. With the current service call price up to 79.99, the protection plan pays for itself with just one service call. (5.99x11 - first month is free! = 65.89). Its a full coverage insurance policy for your D* system.


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

412808 said:


> When it comes to selling the ProPlan, the typical practice is to sell the value. With the current service call price up to 79.99, the protection plan pays for itself with just one service call. (5.99x11 - first month is free! = 65.89). Its a full coverage insurance policy for your D* system.


The first month is Free?.DirecTV's Protection Plan does not activate for 30 days.During the 30 days DirecTV will reduce the service call to $14.95.:welcome_s


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Back to the OP, DIRECTV found that most of their subscribers actually liked the service call, and it saved a lot on sending out new hardware when people just hadn't plugged stuff in right. Here at DBSTalk we're in the technical minority, and have to live with that.


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## rudeney (May 28, 2007)

qwerty said:


> How does a Dish become bad? Unless it's physically damaged or deformed? All it does is reflect the signals and focus them on the LNB, doesn't it?
> Maybe the output of the mutiswitch was marginal and the TIVO was less tolerant than the other receivers? Thus, replacing the dish (LNB's & multiswitch) fixed the problem?
> Still, you're right. Sometimes you're better off having a tech come out.


Over the years, I've had my "dish" replaced twice. Symptoms were horrible pixilation on my UTV units, but no problems on my non-DVR receivers. Of course it was really the LNB that went bad, but the tech replaced the whole thing, mounting and all. I also had one multiswitch replaced, and I had two failed UTV's replaced with refurb UTV's and eventually three UTV's replaced with R15's. I have no problems paying for the PP.


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## 412808 (Feb 28, 2008)

Jhon69 said:


> The first month is Free?.DirecTV's Protection Plan does not activate for 30 days.During the 30 days DirecTV will reduce the service call to $14.95.:welcome_s


its 19.95, price went up. (19.95/79.95)


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