Hopper3 has died, advice?

[kittycatblues]

So my 4+ year old Hopper3 has died. It won't turn on at all, there is just a humming/fan noise. No lights, no buttons work. We've had to do the "unplug, wait 5 minutes" to get it to works few times recently, but it seems to have finally kicked the bucket. Any advice to get it working or get our recordings off it or backup the remote one more time? Best way to contact Dish to get a new Hopper3? In also paying an arm and a leg for service right now so I wouldn't mind tips on lowering the cost during this also.

 

[boba]

So my 4+ year old Hopper3 has died. It won't turn on at all, there is just a humming/fan noise. No lights, no buttons work. We've had to do the "unplug, wait 5 minutes" to get it to works few times recently, but it seems to have finally kicked the bucket. Any advice to get it working or get our recordings off it or backup the remote one more time? Best way to contact Dish to get a new Hopper3? In also paying an arm and a leg for service right now so I wouldn't mind tips on lowering the cost during this also.

1-800-333-DISH (3474). Talk to tech. support. If you are leasing the receiver DISH actually owns the receiver and should take care of you. If you are worried about the service call fees ask about the protection plan.

 

[DishSubLA]

Dish will also stand behind all OWNED Dish equipment. It matters not if the equipment was provided by Dish or you purchased it and OWN the equipment. Dish will fully replace or, if necessary, re-install owned equipment, just as long as any owned equipment--such as switches, etc.--has the Dish logo on it (Holland is among the Dish approved 3rd party branded parts that Dish also stands behind and will also replace at no cost, if necessary).

Also, Dish has always considered any of my OWNED equipment sent in for FREE--if you have Dish Protection Plan, otherwise, you will be charged for the shipping cost only--replacement as still OWNED. However, if you are exchanging your owned equipment for a replacement, it is a good idea to immediatley check that the new equipment is still marked as OWNED on your account webpage.

 

[kittycatblues]

Thanks, the receiver was leased so I had to agree to the protection plan for 6 months to get a new one "free". It was the cheapest option. I have a tech visit scheduled for Friday, I hope it works out as I told them multiple times I'm not letting the tech in my house, they can stay outside and assist by phone if needed. After 15 years with Dish I'm confident we can plug in and set up.a receiver without them in the house. Just wish I had backed up my timers more recently and apparently there is no way to get my recordings off the hard drive.

 

[DishSubLA]

The remotes do automatically backup your timers. I think it may be as often as maybe 2 times a week, by my observation. Whenever I do a manual backup, I used to see the last backup was just a few days before. So, you may be in a better position than you think. I can only imagine that you may be missing a FEW timers.

BTW, if you need help changing out the box, maybe the tech can help you via his cell/smart phone just outside your house. I completely understand your not wanting him in your home at this time. I have an elderly parent I care for and I just CAN'T have a tech come in a do their checking for persistent problems I'm having. It is not an impossible situation, just annoying, but considering my problems, I know they will want to inspect the install (and it was done by a somewhat bitter contractor) before replacing one of the H3's, so I'll wait until it becomes impossible. .

 

[MikeD-C05]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[kittycatblues]

The remotes do automatically backup your timers. I think it may be as often as maybe 2 times a week, by my observation. Whenever I do a manual backup, I used to see the last backup was just a few days before. So, you may be in a better position than you think. I can only imagine that you may be missing a FEW timers.

BTW, if you need help changing out the box, maybe the tech can help you via his cell/smart phone just outside your house. I completely understand your not wanting him in your home at this time. I have an elderly parent I care for and I just CAN'T have a tech come in a do their checking for persistent problems I'm having. It is not an impossible situation, just annoying, but considering my problems, I know they will want to inspect the install (and it was done by a somewhat bitter contractor) before replacing one of the H3's, so I'll wait until it becomes impossible. .

We've been using the old school remote with the Joey almost 100%, but a newer remote is out by the Hopper. The remote you can talk to is still in the box! Is there a way to check what the date of the backup is so we can try multiple remotes before I have to give one back to the tech?

 

[Bobby]

Don't give it back, the 40 remote (the old one) has the latest backup on it. If your 54 remote (the new one) is still in the box it doesn't have anything on it. If you must give a remote back, give up the 54 in the box.... Probably when the equipment trade happens the installer will not take anything at all besides the dead Hopper.

 

[kittycatblues]

Don't give it back, the 40 remote (the old one) has the latest backup on it. If your 54 remote (the new one) is still in the box it doesn't have anything on it. If you must give a remote back, give up the 54 in the box.... Probably when the equipment trade happens the installer will not take anything at all besides the dead Hopper.

Got the install today, kept my two old school 40 remotes and gave back a 52 (I think) we never used. I still have the new in box talking remote (54) and whatever came with the new Hopper3 (I think a 52 also). The auto backup of the remote seems to have worked, it appears all of our timers are there without having to do anything. So all I lost was my recordings on the old Hopper3, I still have those on my external hard drive.

The tech was great, he stayed outside at my request and walked me through the set-up over the phone. He also got up on the roof and looked at the dish and connections since that hadn't been done in 4 years. He said everything looked good.

I called Dish right before the tech arrived and they claimed that I would need to sign a new two-year contract, so I talked to retention and they said I could have $10 off a month. But they couldn't activate before the tech left, and it turns out the tech wasn't required to make me sign a two-year agreement. So I have a pending $10 off a month what 2-year price lock if I agree to a two-year contract but I need to call DISH back to do that. I'm not sure if I will do that or not.

I also have to cancel the $10 a month "silver" service agreement which helped me avoid a $95 tech visit fee. There is a 180 day minimum otherwise a $30 early cancellation fee. I'm thinking the cheapest is to cancel sooner rather than later but I'll give it a couple weeks to make sure everything is working.

All in all a good experience.