# Multiple R-15 failures



## jcfolk (Jun 16, 2006)

I received two brand new R15s the first week of March. I've never had trouble with one of them. (I also got a non-DVR receiver at the same time and have had no problems with it.)

The other one which I'll call UNIT #1 failed around May 15. By "failed" I mean that playback began to freeze, skip, "jittered" etc... for about a week, then the unit failed to reboot...just gave me a blank screen.

I called D* for a replacement, which arrived in two days. UNIT #2 (a "re-furbished" unit) lasted about 2 1/2 weeks, then began to display the same problems and failed again. I was able to do a "disk dump" and get this one to work while I waited for the next one.

UNIT #3 arrived a couple of days later and was bad right out of the box.....no picture, no boot-up, nothing. This was a refurbished unit as well. 

(With this call, I negotiated a free movie package for 3 months, and a 6 month discount---$10 off the normal $12 price---for the sports pack. Big whoop.)

To D*'s credit, they were apologetic, and got me UNIT #4 the very next day---day before yesterday. Another re-furbished one which seemed to work fine initially. I noticed when I got up yesterday morning that it was on. I thought that was strange since I remembered turning it off. 

When I tried to turn it off (actually put it on standby), the blue ring would flash and turn, then it would come right back on. This happened with both the remote and the button on the box. I called cust svc about this and was told this was a new issue, and they asked me to give it a few days to see what happened. I was dubious but agreed, and asked that if this one failed they send me a NEW one. They agreed to that.

This morning I turned on the TV (the unit of course was already on). No picture. Re-booted, initialized, etc... and it worked, but it won't respond to the remote. It will respond to the buttons on the front of the box, but not to the remote. (The remote is fine....it will control my DVD player, TV, and surround sound system just fine.)

So a summary: UNIT #1 (the only new one) lasted 2 1/2 months. UNIT #2 lasted 2 1/2 weeks. UNIT #3 was dead on arrival. UNIT #4 hasn't even lasted 2 1/2 days.

I'm sorry but I don't recall if these were -300s or -500s.

Questions: Has anyone else had multiple problems with refurbished R15s? How should I handle this with D*...? What the heck should I ask for now?

I want to keep D* because they have more channels, are cheaper, and have much better picture quality than local cable.

But switching out units every two weeks with concomitant re-programming offavorites, parental control, etc..., the loss of recorded programs, and just being without the functionality I'm paying for is beginning to be a MAJOR PAIN IN THE BACKSIDE. I just want a reliable unit.

Your suggestions and input are welcome. Thanks.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

I have ZERO answers for you..

I am still on the same unit I got 8 months ago in November, and the second I added in January...



Do you happen to have the problem spot plugged into a UPS?
It is possible that you have an incosistant power supply at that point for some reason, and the unit is rebooting when you are not around.


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## jcfolk (Jun 16, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Do you happen to have the problem spot plugged into a UPS?
> It is possible that you have an incosistant power supply at that point for some reason, and the unit is rebooting when you are not around.


That's possible but unlikely I think. I've noticed no reboots (no missing program guide or other tell-tales) even during thunderstorms, etc... and have had no issues with any other electronics on the same circuit.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

At this point, I would see if you can work out a deal where you can purchase one from a local retailer, and get a credit for it on your bill.

Also, try a RESET EVERYTHING on that newest unit, so it can "reformat" the drive and get rid of any issues that may be lingering in there.


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

jcfolk said:


> That's possible but unlikely I think.


I think the problem is something like that, maybe not that exactly, but something at your house and your setup and nothing to do with the receivers. Dish not grounded properly, one connector on the LNB is bad (you might not noitice as your plain receiver only uses 1 wire not 2, powerstip is bad, etc.....

I am surprised that DirecTV would just keep sending you receiver after receiver and not insist an installer come out to check your setup.

Call them back and tell them to have an installer bring a unit and install it for you and check your wiring.


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

I had a problem with my original, purchased R-15. The problem, I see now, was plainly the same software bugs that affect many of us here. But, before I realized that, I complained and DTV sent me a replacement unit, which was refurb. The replacement unit was DOA: wouldn't record.

I reported the problem to DTV, who sent me another replacement unit. This one was a 500C-R. The "R" indicates refurb but I don't know that the "C" indicates, if anything. This unit occasionally makes recordings that contain an audio artifact that blocks the sound track for about 30 seconds. I called DTV. They won't send a replacement unit since they've already done so once. They insist on a house call. A house call isn't covenient for me at this time.

So, after purchasing an R15, I now have a leased unit that has some sort of hardware defect and runs buggy software. And, DTV's CEO and 2nd-level support crew insist that probems are few, if any, with the R15. I'm _very_ unhappy that I've now let myself be _defrauded_ multiple times.

P.S. To rule out problems with your home environment, swap the locations of the two R-15s. If the problem occurs and affects the same location, you can conclude that the problem _is_ due to the environment. Otherwise, the problem is with your luck and DTV's product quality.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

wbmccarty said:


> P.S. To rule out problems with your home environment, swap the locations of the two R-15s. If the problem occurs and affects the same location, you can conclude that the problem _is_ due to the environment. Otherwise, the problem is with your luck and DTV's product quality.


The other thing I'm wondering is what is your usage of these units? Is the one that keeps having this issues used more or have more SL's (or do you add alot of single records or move/add/delete SL alot on it)? Do you do alot of findby's on it? Is it in a cabinet and overheating?


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## carl6 (Nov 16, 2005)

I would concur with Earl's advice to do a reset everything (clear and delete or reformat type of reset). This can be done via menu choices, or by the following procedure: 

1. Press red reset button
2. Watch screen. When it turns from Blue to Black during startup...
3. Press and hold the down arrow and record button on the front of the DVR (not on the remote) for at least 5 seconds.

Once you have done this, use the R15 for a few days and do NOT do any find-by's. Also, limit your series link recordings to a few (2 or 3 a day for example).

If it is working stable for you at that point in time, and if you want to do find by searches, go ahead and try. Also, if you have more you want to record, then try setting up more SL's.

Based on a lot of posts from a lot of people over the past few months, there appears to be a pretty good correlation between lots of series links, and/or doing find-by searches, and problems with the R15. By following the above procedure, and waiting to observe stable operation for a few days before taking those types of actions, you might be able to determine if that is effecting your operation.

Carl


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## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

Here's my advice: get good and pissed off and call DirecTV and unload on them. They need to know that these units are not working properly and do something about it. 

Basically, we're doing DirecTV's job for them by going through all this peer support. I'm not knocking the people here, who have been extremely nice and helpful, but what we are NOT doing is getting the bad news back to the place where it needs to be going.

I got my replacement R15 unit delivered to me by a technician on Tuesday. I told him to take it back as the "reset all" had "fixed" my problems for now. I also let him know that I had had way too many problems with the unit, that he needed to let DirecTV know that I would unsubscribe when the next problem arose, and that I was generally dissatisfied with their service. I don't know if he will pass any of that along, but I feel a little better.

I do know that pulling the plug on our subscriptions WILL send a strong message to the company. And short of that, flooding their help desks with complaints and demands for fixes will gt their attention, too.


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

TheTooleMan said:


> Basically, we're doing DirecTV's job for them by going through all this peer support. I'm not knocking the people here, who have been extremely nice and helpful, but what we are NOT doing is getting the bad news back to the place where it needs to be going.


I agree that we've become part of the problem. We should each call DTV's 2nd-level support crew weekly and complain about the previous week's problems, and continue to do so until the problems are resolved.


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## jcfolk (Jun 16, 2006)

Update:

Called D* and was on the phone with them 50 minutes yesterday. Of course, 25 of that was persuading the cust svc rep that the stupid remote control was NOT the issue.

Current DVR (Unit #4) has two issues: won't go to standby, and won't respond to the remote.

I asked to be sent a NEW unit and was told that they could do that, but that it would extend my 2 year obligation. I told them in no uncertain terms that I would NOT agree to that, given the current situation. They are going to send me ANOTHER refurbished unit, so I asked them if they knew what the definition of "crazy" was. :nono2: 

Did get D* to agree to send out a technician today to look at my setup. (This was done by talking to someone in Customer Retention.) As I expected, there are no external issues (grounding, power quality, etc...) which means that I expect I have just gotten a bad batch----four and counting---of DVRs, although as I said the other original NEW one I received is fine (knock on wood).

To respond to other comments/suggestions:

Bobman: Good suggestion on getting the tech out, but frankly I think I knew more about the setup and potential issues than he did. 

Cabanaboy1977: On the two units in which I suspected hard drive failure, I did use a lot of "find bys" but very few SLs. On both of them I had about 35-40% disk space remaining. Should be no overheating issues; plenty of ventilation.

Carl6 and Earl: I tried the reset everything on Unit #2 and it worked fine until Unit #3 and Unit #4 arrived, which was about a week. Of course that deletes all recorded shows; don't want to have to do that often. This procedure does nothing for the issues with Unit #4.

TheTooleMan: I haven't lost my temper with them yet, but I've come close. If I get told "I apologize for putting you on hold" one more time...... Anyway, I don't want to cancel; I just want a stupid receiver that will work. 

Another note on SLs: The other DVR I have has been kept busy with my wife's SLs----Apprentice, Idol, etc... not to mention Dr. Phil, Oprah, and "Days of our Lives" every single day. It pretty much stays 60-80% full and I've had no issues with this one at all....ever. Plus it's always responded better to the remote and seems to do the FF/REW much more smoothly. ---sigh---


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

TheTooleMan said:


> Here's my advice: get good and pissed off and call DirecTV and unload on them. They need to know that these units are not working properly and do something about it.
> 
> Basically, we're doing DirecTV's job for them by going through all this peer support. I'm not knocking the people here, who have been extremely nice and helpful, but what we are NOT doing is getting the bad news back to the place where it needs to be going.
> 
> ...


Because presuring DirecTV will only make the fixes better! It's ust so clear to me now.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

jcfolk said:


> ...which means that I expect I have just gotten a bad batch----four and counting...


Well, they're refurbs for a reason. Someone else had problems with them.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

qwerty said:


> Well, they're refurbs for a reason. Someone else had problems with them.


And it's still yet to be determined if Refurb = Refurb or Refurb = Repackaging.


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## wbmccarty (Apr 28, 2006)

qwerty said:


> Well, they're refurbs for a reason. Someone else had problems with them.


Based on my own experience with replacement units that turn out to be refurbs, I am suspicious whether DTV's procedure for handling returned units involves anything other than applying a "refurb" sticker, reboxing the unit, and returning it to inventory. Apparently, the same guys who do the software testing also do the hardware testing.


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## Edmund (Apr 17, 2003)

jcfolk said:


> Update:
> 
> Called D* and was on the phone with them 50 minutes yesterday. Of course, 25 of that was persuading the cust svc rep that the stupid remote control was NOT the issue.
> 
> Current DVR (Unit #4) has two issues: won't go to standby, and won't respond to the remote.


Are sure the remote and receiver are on the same address? Try programming AV1 or AV2 with code 00002, see if the receiver responds.


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## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

A _refurbished _unit may be one from a former D* subscriber, where they just wiped off the fingerprints and put it in a fresh box. Or maybe they're passing on someone else's problems to you.

The tech who delivered my replacement unit said that R15's are backordered, thanks in part to high demand due to the World Cup games. (Maybe that's just his opinion - he's Hispanic, and I am in Houston, TX, after all...) I told him then that D* will have a lot more pissed-off customers if they continue to do the same lousy job of support on the unreliable R15 that I've experienced so far.

I just thought of something... Does D* offer support in Spanish? Perhaps you'd get a bilingual person in the USA if you press that option instead of someone in India with the English option! :hurah:


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## jcfolk (Jun 16, 2006)

Edmund said:


> Are sure the remote and receiver are on the same address? Try programming AV1 or AV2 with code 00002, see if the receiver responds.


Absolutely positive. But as I said, it took me 25 minutes to persuade the customer rep that I was right....programming 00001, then 00002, etc.... trying the whole procedure with a different remote.....taking the batteries out and resetting the remote......

The tech who came to the house yesterday tried it, too.

Again, absolutely positive it's not a problem with the remote.


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## jcfolk (Jun 16, 2006)

TheTooleMan said:


> A _refurbished _unit may be one from a former D* subscriber, where they just wiped off the fingerprints and put it in a fresh box. Or maybe they're passing on someone else's problems to you.
> 
> I just thought of something... Does D* offer support in Spanish? Perhaps you'd get a bilingual person in the USA if you press that option instead of someone in India with the English option! :hurah:


I don't know what they do with the refurbished units, but as I said when I received Unit #3 it was DOA. Either it broke in transit and was broken when it left D*'s possession.

As far as customer support goes, I've never spoken to anyone other than an American. Haven't had a rep with an Indian, Hispanic, or other accent.


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## pentium101 (Nov 19, 2005)

TheTooleMan said:


> I just thought of something... Does D* offer support in Spanish? Perhaps you'd get a bilingual person in the USA if you press that option instead of someone in India with the English option! :hurah:


That's so sad, but true. I'm not sure about D*, but it seems that more and more companies are going that route. :nono2:


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

jcfolk said:


> As far as customer support goes, I've never spoken to anyone other than an American. Haven't had a rep with an Indian, Hispanic, or other accent.


I think that part of the conversation stems from a previous joke about their customer support being in India. I have no idea where their customer support actually is.


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## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

qwerty said:


> I think that part of the conversation stems from a previous joke about their customer support being in India. I have no idea where their customer support actually is.


The first-line tech support people speak with an Indian accent. I didn't ask, but assumed they were in India, considering the trend today. When I got transferred to the complaint department, I asked if she was in India, and she said no, she was in Idaho.


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## jcfolk (Jun 16, 2006)

TheTooleMan said:


> The first-line tech support people speak with an Indian accent. I didn't ask, but assumed they were in India, considering the trend today. When I got transferred to the complaint department, I asked if she was in India, and she said no, she was in Idaho.


Customer support is likely scattered around...makes them more difficult to target. :lol: Guy I talked to last week was in Oklahoma City.


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

jcfolk said:


> Customer support is likely scattered around...makes them more difficult to target. :lol: Guy I talked to last week was in Oklahoma City.


As a matter of fact, i think I heard that a Call Center is part of the 1000 new jobs comming to Denver.


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## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

Check out http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20060626,00.html

We've probably talked to her!


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## qwerty (Feb 19, 2006)

TheTooleMan said:


> Check out http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20060626,00.html
> 
> We've probably talked to her!


I think I know her! Her name's Dot.


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## simplyuniq (Jun 23, 2006)

I am on my 3rd receiver. Same issue and same problem. I'm calling them right now to get a tech out here and waste their time. Another refurb unit will come and same issue. O well, they can waste the tech's time and fedex money. I did get a 6 month credit on my account for DVR.


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## TheTooleMan (Apr 9, 2006)

simplyuniq said:


> I am on my 3rd receiver. Same issue and same problem. I'm calling them right now to get a tech out here and waste their time. Another refurb unit will come and same issue. O well, they can waste the tech's time and fedex money. I did get a 6 month credit on my account for DVR.


Good for you! If you're not getting a credit then you're nuts to keep putting up with their BS.

Keep up the good fight! :box:


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## Bobman (Jan 3, 2006)

I got the $5 off for 6 month credit too. All you do is call and complain and threaton to turn off the R-15. Tell them its not worth the $5 a month. Thats all I did.


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