Regretting Hopper, Maybe Going Back to 722k/211

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jayiw

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jan 14, 2007
327
84
Hello,

I just need to vent a little here :)

We've had the Hopper/Joey combo for a few days and we are having many problems. The wife is really getting on my case as well. Although the GUI is very nice, I am beginning to fear that the units are not really ready yet and we're basically beta testing buggy software and/or hardware. Not to get into nit-picking many little things here and there, I'll just mention some major issues. Firstly, random reboots on the Hopper as we're watching TV or as it's recording something. And last night as we were watching a recording, we're were skipping through the commercials and suddenly it froze for a couple of seconds, went to a blank screen, then went to a blank screen with the small picture at the top left and the pointer arrow moving randomly on the screen really slow. We had to reboot at that point. Also we are having a problem with Fox-29 where the channel is not clear and the bottom half of the screen is not in sync (slightly behind like a 1/100th of a second behind or something) on both TVs, both Joey and Hopper. The tech said it's a FOX-29 issue and told me about it even before he hooked everything up and that FOX-29 is supposed to have it fixed soon. So far though, no fix, and what gets me is that there's no issue on my bedroom OTA HD-TV and there was never an issue with that on the 722k or 211. On my Joey, sometimes when I turn it on the screen is blank, nothing, nada. I have to turn it off/on again and it seems ok. As I mentioned, there are many more things here and there as well. I did mention some other things in other posts too.

I am going to call Dish today and see if they can resolve these problems. Maybe I just got some bad units and they need to swap them out? If they cannot resolve it I will have them replaced with good old reliable 722k and 211k and wait a year or something until they get these problems resolved.

Thanks for listening!
Jay
 
Sounds like you may have a bad unit. I have never had mine reboot on me while watching TV. Nor have I had (or heard) of anyone having most of the issues you have been having.

Out of all the receivers put out by DISH in the 13 years I have been doing business with them, the Hopper has been the most stable box upon its release then any other DISH receiver. :)
 
+1

If you think the Hopper is buggy, you should have had three 811s to deal with. Then you'd learn to appreciate how good the Hopper really is at launch.
 
Same as the others, I havent had any of these problems.

While, you are probably right, there are going to be bugs in an early release unit like this, it comes with the territory. Yes, any manufacturer should assure that their products are ready for prime-time before they are released to the public, working for a computer software company myself, I understand that it is often not possible to test for every possible situation and often times, products need to be released to the public while there still might be bugs in the code.

Most hardware and software companies do this, so it should be expected to encounter some types of issues with early adopters. Thats the price you pay to have cutting edge technology.

But back to your original post, I agree with the others, your problems are probably due to a defective unit, and I betcha if they can replace your box, your problems will go away.
 
No problems for me either... I love this box.

BTW, Dish has no control over a local affiliate problem...

Sounds like you have a bad unit or component in the setup.
 
My 722k has randomly rebooted a few times as well.

Hopefully DISH will get you taken care of!!
 
I called Dish and spoke to a tech who told me he'd put in reports about the problems and call me back on Monday. If I am still having these issues by then I'll have them replace the units. As he was on he had me check the software version on my Joey (I was not able to check the Hopper at the time though) and there was a new software version put on this morning. I know it did not fix the Fox-29 issue, nor did it fix a few other issues. I am hoping it fixed the reboot issues though. He did mention some of the issues are known problems though.
 
So when my dad was having issues with his Sling Adapter, he called into Dish to troubleshoot it. The tech on the phone was able to remotely connect to the hopper and see what he had connected to the USB ports. Kinda a slick customer service tool if you ask me. Kinda like how these carriers are starting to roll down remote access software to their Android phones (not CarrierIQ don't freak out) and with the customers permission they can remote connect to the customers phone and try to fix things. I love technology!

Oh and if they do replace your unit. Be sure to download your timers to your remote before they swap it out so you don't have to reprogram them. The tech who swapped out my dad's hopper didn't do this and my dad had to reset them all.
 
Waiting on dish for answers

jayiw said:
Hello,

I just need to vent a little here :)

We've had the Hopper/Joey combo for a few days and we are having many problems. The wife is really getting on my case as well. Although the GUI is very nice, I am beginning to fear that the units are not really ready yet and we're basically beta testing buggy software and/or hardware. Not to get into nit-picking many little things here and there, I'll just mention some major issues. Firstly, random reboots on the Hopper as we're watching TV or as it's recording something. And last night as we were watching a recording, we're were skipping through the commercials and suddenly it froze for a couple of seconds, went to a blank screen, then went to a blank screen with the small picture at the top left and the pointer arrow moving randomly on the screen really slow. We had to reboot at that point. Also we are having a problem with Fox-29 where the channel is not clear and the bottom half of the screen is not in sync (slightly behind like a 1/100th of a second behind or something) on both TVs, both Joey and Hopper. The tech said it's a FOX-29 issue and told me about it even before he hooked everything up and that FOX-29 is supposed to have it fixed soon. So far though, no fix, and what gets me is that there's no issue on my bedroom OTA HD-TV and there was never an issue with that on the 722k or 211. On my Joey, sometimes when I turn it on the screen is blank, nothing, nada. I have to turn it off/on again and it seems ok. As I mentioned, there are many more things here and there as well. I did mention some other things in other posts too.

I am going to call Dish today and see if they can resolve these problems. Maybe I just got some bad units and they need to swap them out? If they cannot resolve it I will have them replaced with good old reliable 722k and 211k and wait a year or something until they get these problems resolved.

Thanks for listening!
Jay
Click to expand...
. Same problems ,but we had two 722's and that eans 4 tuners. Now with a hopper and a Joey we only have 3... Dealbreaker
 
Installer Here,
So far about 15 installs in the ground with the company I work for. Some techs have spent 2 hours with no issues and some have spent 2 days will multiple Hoppers and Joeys replaced. We are pre downloading the Hoppers now because they are taking 30-90 mins to download software. Some are getting stuck on the Software download and are not recoverable. I'm 100% positive customer are going to have issues with these systems. It wasn't ready yet. Just like when they released the 922. It was rushed and in my opinion its a headache to install not knowing if you are going to be there half a day or all day due to hardware/softeware malfunctions. I would say we have replaced at least 10 Hoppers and 12 Joeys due to them having issues either before activation and after.

I hope these issues get worked out for both the technicians and customers. Its easy to explain to a tech but very very dificult for a customer to understand. But I feel that it will be a good system once the bugs are worked out and I hope it takes Dish to a new level of customer satisfaction. I am wating at least another 3 months before I upgrade after what I have seen in the field. But I am looking forward to getting the system.

Fyi-I installed a customer the other day with Hopper/3 Joeys and as usual they were expecting 4 live events at once and recording 6 shows any time they wanted. Thanks Dish!
 
Last edited:
techguy23 said:
Installer Here,
So far about 15 installs in the ground with the company I work for. Some techs have spent 2 hours with no issues and some have spent 2 days will multiple Hoppers and Joeys replaced. We are pre downloading the Hoppers now because they are taking 30-90 mins to download software. Some are getting stuck on the Software download and are not recoverable. I'm 100% positive customer are going to have issues with these systems. It wasn't ready yet. Just like when they released the 922. It was rushed and in my opinion its a headache to install not knowing if you are going to be there half a day or all day due to hardware/softeware malfunctions. I would say we have replaced at least 10 Hoppers and 12 Joeys due to them having issues either before activation and after.

I hope these issues get worked out for both the technicians and customers. Its easy to explain to a tech but very very dificult for a customer to understand. But I feel that it will be a good system once the bugs are worked out and I hope it takes Dish to a new level of customer satisfaction. I am wating at least another 3 months before I upgrade after what I have seen in the field. But I am looking forward to getting the system.

Fyi-I installed a customer the other day with Hopper/3 Joeys and as usual they were expecting 4 live events at once and recording 6 shows any time they wanted. Thanks Dish!
Click to expand...

Like I said, their commercial is misleading....
 
techguy23 said:
Installer Here,
So far about 15 installs in the ground with the company I work for. Some techs have spent 2 hours with no issues and some have spent 2 days will multiple Hoppers and Joeys replaced. We are pre downloading the Hoppers now because they are taking 30-90 mins to download software. Some are getting stuck on the Software download and are not recoverable. I'm 100% positive customer are going to have issues with these systems. It wasn't ready yet. Just like when they released the 922. It was rushed and in my opinion its a headache to install not knowing if you are going to be there half a day or all day due to hardware/softeware malfunctions. I would say we have replaced at least 10 Hoppers and 12 Joeys due to them having issues either before activation and after.

I hope these issues get worked out for both the technicians and customers. Its easy to explain to a tech but very very dificult for a customer to understand. But I feel that it will be a good system once the bugs are worked out and I hope it takes Dish to a new level of customer satisfaction. I am wating at least another 3 months before I upgrade after what I have seen in the field. But I am looking forward to getting the system.

Fyi-I installed a customer the other day with Hopper/3 Joeys and as usual they were expecting 4 live events at once and recording 6 shows any time they wanted. Thanks Dish!
Click to expand...

That's why I told everyone that they should wait till some of the bugs and problems with the new system are worked out before upgrading. I've yet to see a new receiver ,with the exception of the 722k ,that worked well out of the box. I've had DISH for over 15 years and counting and it still operates the same way. After the hellacious 922 , I decided it would be the last time I was a beta tester. My wife would kill me if I changed again for another beta tester box. That being said I DO want to upgrade once it has ota and 2 hopper integration and some of the bugs are worked out. Looking forward to 2 hoppers and 2 joeys.
 
Yeah I have two new issues now. One is super annoying. When I change channels on my Joey I keep getting the "You need to be on Live TV to do this" pop-up and I am already on live TV. It's around every few channels up or down. The other new problem is GIANT ICONS floating around instead of the Mode Reminder, and only when the banners are there otherwise mode reminder does not work on the Hopper at all. Funny thing is, mode reminder worked on the Hopper and not the Joey before. I'll make a new post with pics regarding the Giant Icons with pics.

Jay
 
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