Hopper 3 problems - Hardware or Software?

[Rob052067]

A couple months ago, I had Dish upgrade my parent‘s account from 2 old Hopper w/Slings to a Hopper 3 & Hopper 3 Joey. They have had intermittent issues with either the Joey or the Hopper freezing with a black screen (not usually at the same time), requiring a reboot of the Hopper. It seems to be occurring more often. They are both 80-ish years old and very frustrated. Mom talked with customer service yesterday and they supposedly ran through the usual trouble shooting. A repair truck has not been requested yet.

Is this a common hardware issue indicative of needing to replace a defective Hopper? Or perhaps is it a software issue other people are also experiencing after a recent update?

 

[DISH Support]

Hey Rob052067,

If the receivers are freezing and having a black screen intermittently, this is more than likely an issue with the cabling or the dish alignment. If you want to reach out to our Technical support team on Twitter or Facebook we'll be happy to get some more information to see what options would help get this resolved.

 

[Rob052067]

Hey Rob052067,

If the receivers are freezing and having a black screen intermittently, this is more than likely an issue with the cabling or the dish alignment. If you want to reach out to our Technical support team on Twitter or Facebook we'll be happy to get some more information to see what options would help get this resolved.

Thanks. In addition to the freezing and going black while watching, there have also been shows that have not recorded. The show will appear in the DVR Recordings but nothing plays. That also sounds like a connection or alignment issue.

I'll have them schedule a service call.

 

[Rob052067]

Hey Rob052067,

If the receivers are freezing and having a black screen intermittently, this is more than likely an issue with the cabling or the dish alignment. If you want to reach out to our Technical support team on Twitter or Facebook we'll be happy to get some more information to see what options would help get this resolved.

Tech was out today and replaced the box and checked all connections. Apparently a bad hard drive or some other equipment issue.