DirecTV: Replacing the Unit

[MIGrandma]

Has anyone had their DirecTV unit replaced? How difficult was it in getting it done?

I think we're going to have to call about ours. It's an older model, not quite sure how long we've had it, maybe 3-4 years I would guess. But lately it has been causing problems. The picture on the TV will freeze up, or go away completely (sometimes sound too) and if you try to change the channel it just gets snowy and static. DH has to reset the DirecTV unit to "fix it." And that is happening more and more often. And when it happens the record light comes on, even though it's not supposed to be recording anything at that time.

I'm not sure if they will charge us for a new unit or not. The last time we got a new unit was when they were running an upgrade promotion. The old one was still working fine.

 

[JLTraveling]

It's a super easy installation. The only problem is if you have a DVR, you will lose whatever's there. So make sure you watch or record to hard media (DVD, etc) anything that you want.

I think whether or not they'll charge you depends on whether you have insurance on the unit. If so, it should be free (you might have to pay $50 for the service call, depending on exactly what type of insurance you have). Otherwise, you will probably have to pay for new equipment. Good luck!

 

[golfgal]

Dish has promotions running for free upgrades so there is a good chance that DirectTV does as well. If you are swapping one unit out for another they can ship that out to you and you can install it yourself.

 

[Manhattan Princess]

We had an older unit, and when we called Directv they said we were "due" for a free upgrade. They sent new boxes and remotes completely free of charge.

 

[simba20]

We moved in back in July and signed up with DirecTV. We got an HD DVR unit.

In Spetember, our hard drive went bad. I have no idea what happened, but I went to change channels and it wouldn;t do anything. The picture kept pixelating, freezing, and going out. We did a reset, which imvolved letting the unit reset itself (the hard drive) and that took two days (oh man seeing that little progress bar slowly moving...ugh).

We had been on the phone with DTV off and on tryign to get help, tryign to reset things, do whatever. Finally after five days and another call, they sent us another unit (however we had to send the one one back withing 5 days, otherwise we would have been charged -- they send the postage paid label, etc.)

Since then, no issues. However, when on the phone, I was at the highest level of technical support and the person on the line had me goign in and chaging up all of these settings, which I could do, but felt was over my head. I wish that they would have sent a technician out in the first place. The technicial would have known the unit was FUBAR immeidately and replaced it. We went almost two weeks without TV. It was okay for me, but for my husband......I was tired of the whining....no ESPN and 18 million other sports channels....OMG! The world is gonna end.

 

[Normangirls]

We had this problem, and they would not upgrade or repair the unit (and it was only two years old). They actually wanted me to pay to repair it! I wasn't about to do that.

So we dropped them and picked up DISH network (and got their new customer incentives: free equipment, free installation, free HBO for a year, that kind of thing).

I figure after a few years I'll switch back and let DirecTV treat me like a new customer, too. They seem to want to treat new customers better than old ones.

 

[dawson5]

Along the lines of what the PP said, friends of ours were offered a DVR when they first signed up. A few years later, DVR dies and they call to see what they can do. They were offered a new one, free of charge, they had been with them for years I guess. Anyways, person who told them free didn't mark it as so, they received a bill for it. She was ticked, canceled service and took it to the Attorney General. They won.

Whatever you do, if they offer you something like this, get it in writing.

 

[foolishmortal]

dtv customer for over 10 years so of course ive had aloder models go out....it is super easy, and if you ask nicely or ask to speak to retention dept you will most likely get a free hd dvr etc...

THE CATCH THEY WONT TELL YOU


It will restart your 2 year agreement! this pissed me off to no end the first time. becuse after they sent out boxes I had problems with both boxes and cust serv trying to resolve issue, I was on the phone to cancel and they dropped that bomb on me. so then i jsut left it, 3 years later I needed new box same thing they are happy to send out new box, this time i directly asked, well yo udiodnt say but does this restart my contract agreement and he said yes it does.


So if you are on iffy terms with them ask that first. may be beneficial to go somewhere else, and come back later as a pervious poster said. In all my dealings though i have found directv although not upfront about it they will treat old customers the same you just have to jum through a couple hoops to either a manager or as far as retention group

 

[bicker]

They seem to want to treat new customers better than old ones.

They all do, stemming from the fact that more customers switch providers if given a new customer promotional incentive, as compared to customers sticking with a service provider that provides the same incentives to new and old customers alike.

 

[Normangirls]

They all do, stemming from the fact that more customers switch providers if given a new customer promotional incentive, as compared to customers sticking with a service provider that provides the same incentives to new and old customers alike.

That's what really cheeses me off -- a new customer can get new equipment and incentives, but as a current customer I can't. It's a system of their own creation, so I play it by their own rules.

 

[bicker]

Actually, it is a system of our own creation. If we would switch providers to get these benefits more readily, then the difference between what's offered to new and old customers would probably go away. The fact that so many people just stick with their provider, to avoid the hassles of switching, or to avoid the long-term commitment, rather than switching to get the promotional rate, is what feeds the current system.

Verizon FiOS has been available here in my condo since August 2009, and both DirecTV and Dish have been available here, and accessible by about half of our homeowners, since we moved in. I am the only person to ever have switched away from the legacy cable company.

 

[MIGrandma]

We had an older unit, and when we called Directv they said we were "due" for a free upgrade. They sent new boxes and remotes completely free of charge.

Hopefully they will tell us that same thing.

We had this problem, and they would not upgrade or repair the unit (and it was only two years old). They actually wanted me to pay to repair it! I wasn't about to do that.

So we dropped them and picked up DISH network (and got their new customer incentives: free equipment, free installation, free HBO for a year, that kind of thing).

I figure after a few years I'll switch back and let DirecTV treat me like a new customer, too. They seem to want to treat new customers better than old ones.

I hope they won't expect us to pay for the repair or upgrade. We've been customers of DirecTV for over 15 years.

Recently we took advantage of a promotion they offered, but when we got the bill it didn't make sense so DH called them and had it explained. The guy said "I see you've been loyal customers for over 15 years, how about I take $5 off your bill for the next 6 months?" We thought that was a really nice thing, especially since we didn't even ask about it.

The last time we upgraded was to get the DVR, and like I said we've had it quite awhile so hopefully it won't be a problem.

 

[tvguy]

Not sure how Direct TV is set up, but Dish did everything remotely via the satellite link. I called their 800 number, which displayed my phone number to the tech on their end, which automatically called up my account for him and he remotely logged into my DVR.
About 5 minutes of poking around remotely and he said it was something that couldn't be fixed. He overnighted me a new DVR, with all the paperwork to return my old one. I did have a time frame I had to return the old one by, but other than being without my DVR for 24 hours, having to swap out the cables from the old to the new DVr, losing my recordings and having to drop the box off at the UPS store, it was almost painless.

 

[bicker]

Not sure how Direct TV is set up, but Dish did everything remotely via the satellite link.

Uh, I believe your DVR must have been connected to the Internet, via connection to a cable modem somehow. AFIAK, Dish boxes don't have the ability to transmit up to the satellite.

 

[golfgal]

They all do, stemming from the fact that more customers switch providers if given a new customer promotional incentive, as compared to customers sticking with a service provider that provides the same incentives to new and old customers alike.

It would be a lot less expensive for them to do whatever to retain current customers. We did get an offer in the mail from Dish for free upgrade to a HD DVR with free HD for life-we WERE paying for it but then you see all these ads splashed all over for new customers that get it for free so I was glad to see the offer come in the mail. We took them up on the offer vs switching to Direct or whatever. We could have gotten free HBO, etc. as well but we did not want that as we have Netflix.

 

[bicker]

It would be a lot less expensive for them to do whatever to retain current customers.

No, it wouldn't. Other suppliers will work even harder to attract away the most lucrative customers, leaving the incumbent with the least lucrative, or unprofitable, customers. The old ways don't work anymore. What you're seeing in the marketplace, today, is the new best practice, based on a comprehensive understanding of the typical consumer behaviors today. We consumers have collectively, through our conduct, crafted an environment where, to get the best deal, we have to be willing to jump from supplier to supplier every couple of years. The fact that fewer people are willing to do the work necessary to manage the logistics of switching all the time is why existing customers are no longer getting the kind of deals that new customers are offered.

 

[golfgal]

No, it wouldn't. Other suppliers will work even harder to attract away the most lucrative customers, leaving the incumbent with the least lucrative, or unprofitable, customers. The old ways don't work anymore. What you're seeing in the marketplace, today, is the new best practice, based on a comprehensive understanding of the typical consumer behaviors today. We consumers have collectively, through our conduct, crafted an environment where, to get the best deal, we have to be willing to jump from supplier to supplier every couple of years. The fact that fewer people are willing to do the work necessary to manage the logistics of switching all the time is why existing customers are no longer getting the kind of deals that new customers are offered.

So it is less expensive for a company to go out, do a complete install of equipment every two years then it would be to keep current customers on teaser rates? Even with teaser rates and a 2 year contract, in our are Direct TV is significantly more expensive than Dish if you do the math. If we had a good cable option I would have gone back to cable after our first 2 year period when Dish hiked our rates (actually if we had a good cable option I would have never left cable). It's hard to imagine that the expenditures for equipment and labor doesn't eat up any profits they would make.

 

[bicker]

So it is less expensive for a company to go out, do a complete install of equipment every two years then it would be to keep current customers on teaser rates?

Yes, because they actually end up incurring that extra cost infrequently. Consumers simply don't behave, in general, as your scenario implies. Rather, your scenario is the exception rather than the rule. (And yes, this is relatively different from when I first started in telecom, a quarter century ago.)

Even with teaser rates and a 2 year contract, in our are Direct TV is significantly more expensive than Dish if you do the math.

DirecTV is often thought of as the "Cadillac" of satellite television, while Dish Network is considered the "Hyundai". (Of course, it should be noted that many of the superior aspects of DirecTV are things that would be lost on a lot of customers, and/or aren't worth much to a lot of customers. Personally, if I was buying a car, I'd be buying a Hyundai rather than a Cadillac. By the same token, when I was considering switching to satellite, DirecTV was both more expensive and worth it to me. YMMV.)

If we had a good cable option I would have gone back to cable after our first 2 year period when Dish hiked our rates (actually if we had a good cable option I would have never left cable). It's hard to imagine that the expenditures for equipment and labor doesn't eat up any profits they would make.

They don't. Rest assured, their investors (full disclosure: myself included) would eat the company directors alive if they were making the wrong decision in this regard.

 

[bicker]

No, it wouldn't. Other suppliers will work even harder to attract away the most lucrative customers, leaving the incumbent with the least lucrative, or unprofitable, customers.

Some news today, somewhat related to the issue of consumer-facing companies valuing their most lucrative customers and seemingly being willing to push their least lucrative customers over to their competitors:

For these subscribers, the monthly price for existing U-family and U100 packages will increase from $49 to $54, or 10.2%; U200 will increase from $64 to $69 (7.8%); U300 will increase from $82 to $84 (2.4%); and U400 will increase from $104 to $109 (4.8%).

http://www.multichannel.com/article/461587-AT_T_Sets_2011_Rate_Hikes_For_U_verse_TV.php

Note how regressive the price increases are, with the lower rates being increased by the highest percentages. The fact that the price increase was not an across-the-board increase reflects a realization that premium customers are worth trying to keep while basic customers are less so.

 

[kacaju]

is your unit a HD?? If it is, try replacing the HDMi cable and see if that fixes your problem.
We recently had issues with our box not working. We were on the phone for hours with them trying to fix it, they sent us a new box (free since we have the prodection plan) and it still had issues. They then sent someone out and he gave us another box. It worked for 2 days and crapped out again. Dh got on the phone with them and finally got someone who told us to replace the HDMi cable and it works great now