Help with lost local channels

[firemedic]

Hello
I am brand new to this forum because dish network has me ready to tear my hair out.
I signed up with them 9 months ago and was receiving the home protection plan for free. When the trial was up I decided to cancel the protection plan. Well, on that very same day, I lost all my local channels. I called technical support and they went through a few menus and told me that someone would have to be sent to the house for $95! ...or I could restart the protection plan and it would be covered. Basically, I refuse to believe that it is a coincidence that something went wrong the same day I canceled the protection plan and now I can't watch my local news unless I pay them $95 to send someone to the house or start paying for the protection plan.

I have tried re-adjusting the dish, and increased the signal strength some. All the self-diagnostic tools give positive results... check switch says that it is receiving a good signal from 110 and 119. I'm getting about 69-71 strength from both satellites. Already checked all the cable connections and there is nothing in the way of the dish. The mast is plumb and level. I have two receivers in the house and neither of them receives the local channels. Actually, the channels don't even show up in the guide anymore. I have also tried unplugging the receivers to reset them.

Has anyone come across this problem? I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions. I have a dish 500 with the dual LNB.

Thanks!!!!!

 

[Mr Tony]

welcome

what locals are you suppose to receive?

 

[TheKrell]

Sounds like a re-authorization signal needs to be sent to your receivers. All the "normal" packages these days include locals. Which programming package do you have? You can log into DISH Satellite TV - $24.99 & HD Free For Life - Let's Watch TV and view My Programming to see what you should be getting.

 

[firemedic]

I'm supposed to be getting the locals from Ft Smith, AR. I know figured I needed that re-authorization signal because everything worked until I changed that service plan. They just won't send it and insist the problem is on my end.

 

[SaltiDawg]

I'm supposed to be getting the locals from Ft Smith, AR. I know figured I needed that re-authorization signal because everything worked until I changed that service plan. They just won't send it and insist the problem is on my end.

It seems that there are two issues that you insist rolling into one issue.

Issue #1 is the canceling or stopping the protection plan. I have never heard even a hint that E* would sabotage a customer for stopping the protection plan. Or not until your post. lol I'd suggest that to suggest such a thing suggests paranoia or at least an unfounded concern.

The second issue is your loss of satellite locals. I trust they are not appearing on your All Subscribed guide? If not, can you find them listed in the upper or four-digit channels on that guide?

If not, you need to explain that to the CSR at E* and see what his/her response is. The CSR cannot very well say that there is no problem if between the two of you you cannot find the Sat locals listed on the guide. There are some likely steps to be accomplished, such as the previously noted re-authorization. That said, you may need a Tech visit to your home and that ain't free, paranoia not withstanding.

 

[Mr Tony]

Ft Smith locals are on 110 Tp23 for the SD locals...the footprint of that spotbeam is the whole state of Arkansas so it shouldnt be that

what happens when you type in one of the "actual" channels on Dish?
7495-7504 are the "actual" numbers on Dish...they just remap them to the channels you're use to seeing (2,4,10,22,34, etc)

 

[pabeader]

what is the signal from 129? some of your locals are on that sat and maybe it needs to see that too?

as long as you got good signals on all three sats, i can't think of any reason you would need a tech visit to get the sat versions of the locals. I would keep trying the support line until you got one with a brain.


what Iceberg said!

 

[Mr Tony]

pa
He mentions a D500 and all the SD locals are on 110.
129 is only the Big4 in HD so its not needed unless the OP has HD

There are folks out there with just SD ya know

 

[pabeader]

pa
He mentions a D500 and all the SD locals are on 110.
129 is only the Big4 in HD so its not needed unless the OP has HD

There are folks out there with just SD ya know

guess it would help if I read the whole darn post!!

 

[Mr Tony]

no worries. I actually had my whole post made out with 129 in the bunch until I saw "D500"

 

[pabeader]

as long as you got good signals on both sats, i can't think of any reason you would need a tech visit to get the sat versions of the locals. I would keep trying the support line until you got one with a brain.


plus what Iceberg said!

 

[TheKrell]

There used to be an automated phone answering service where you just entered your phone number and it sent the reauthorization hit right away. Is that still available?

 

[firemedic]

Thank you guys for your input.
As for your question, Iceburg, the actual channels didn't work either. Neither set of channel numbers show up on my guide on "all channels" or "all subscribed". If I tuned directly to the channel I would get a message that reads something like... we are aware of the problem, no need to call us, watch non-local channels. It has been like that for a month. The company just insists that my channels have not been shut off, and there is nothing wrong on their end. The only solution they offer me is to send a tech to the house for a steep fee.

Anyway, I called a manager over there today and had a long argument regarding my belief that there is nothing wrong with my equipment and my belief that my channels were intentionally shut off. I hung up after it got heated on the phone, and miraculously the next time I turned on the TV, my locals were back.

So much for Paranoia!!!

 

[Jim5506]

It really sounds like your locals were indeed not activated in the Dish system.

 

[SaltiDawg]

Thank you guys for your input. ...
So much for Paranoia!!!

Glad you followed my suggestion to check the four digit locals.

You must feel relieved to be the only person to ever post on these forums about an attempt to sabotage your receiver so as to extort monies from you.

 

[firemedic]

salty dog... do you get on hear just to harass people, or is it that you are such a idiot you can't help it?

 

[Tony S]

No, he is not trying to harass you. It is just that he has been around here a long time and knows that what happened to you was not sabotage by Dish. What happened was that your receiver did not have authorization for those channels. The 1st CSRs that you spoke with did not understand or know how to re-authoize your locals. Sometimes you have to play CSR roulette until you get one that knows what to do.

Most likely, after you spoke with the higher-up, he sent a re-hit to your receiver and that fixed the problem. I have been on this board for a long time and I can tell you things like this have happened many times before. What happened to you was not sabotage.

 

[pabeader]

hence, my 'get one with a brain' comment. i really wasn't being a smarty-pants, it is the sad truth.

plus it may have been sabotage, we will never know.

 

[SaltiDawg]

salty dog... do you get on hear just to harass people, or is it that you are such a idiot you can't help it?

You can't even spell. lol.

Read the post following yours above. Now who's the idiot?