External hard drive work without satellite connection?

[smooth28la]

I've tried taking my dish receiver to a vacation home where there's no satellite connection. While I can watch the DVR content but when I tried to watch what's on the external hard drive, it says it must be activated?

When I got home.. the external hard drive is working fine with the satellite connection.

Why is that?

 

[3HaloODST]

I suppose it is just a leftover from back when EHDs required a fee to activate. They either didn't change it due to technical reasons or they just don't want you using the EHD without a sat connection.

Either way, that is how it works. No sat connection, no EHD. It is true that the content on the DVR's internal drive will work, but the receiver will be deactivated after a certain amount of time without a satellite connection (most people say within 2 weeks, I don't know for sure how long.)

 

[navychop]

That internal DVR will only work for a short time, depending upon model. No sat connection, no authorization, start timer to shutdown.

 

[smooth28la]

I had a 508 receiver which I can still access all the DVR content even though it's been disabled for years

 

[Pepper]

If that 508 is old enough it had a blue card when disconnected, that would be why it still works. Yellow and purple cards have the built-in timer which must be periodically refreshed from satellite.

 

[garys]

The 508 is now the exception to the dvr working without connection to a satellite. Problems with these was if not connected too long, getting the receiver back on the sat. Since you are not reconnecting it, it won't matter. Also, the 508 never had an EHD.