Post Your Dish Hopper Install Experience: Did You Survive?

[sperry85]

Why are there so many contractors and third partys? You would think they would want more footprint with internal technians. That way there arn't a bunch of people doing their own thing. Just my opinion.

Its all about cost. To have internal techs, they have to have an office near by. Internal techs don't get to take company vehicles home usually. Dish can pay a flat rate to these people to do the job regardless of what it costs the installer. Dish has qc teams that go out and check a percentage of the jobs. I think the owner of our company said dish charges $1000 or so for a failed qc.

Just because a tech is internal doesn't mean he does good work. A few times dish has had to send a team of internals to pick up the slack due to techs quiting or things like that, and those guys come and throw some sh*t in. I'm talking complete crap work... dishes mounted to cinderblocks, ect.

 

[Dishman1978]

Just because a tech is internal doesn't mean he does good work. A few times dish has had to send a team of internals to pick up the slack due to techs quiting or things like that, and those guys come and throw some sh*t in. I'm talking complete crap work... dishes mounted to cinderblocks, ect.

Same thing can be said about subs.

Its about the individuals pride in work not whether they are internal or sub.

 

[sperry85]

Same thing can be said about subs.

Its about the individuals pride in work not whether they are internal or sub.

Very true. Was just pointing out that just because they're in-house doesn't mean they do it right.

 

[burritoboy9984]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 2 Hoppers 4 Joeys
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? renewed my contract and got them for $200
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? Slightly over 2 hours, the majority was waiting for the receivers to update.
5) What was the overall install experience? excellent
6) What problems did you have during the install? one of the Hoppers was already activated, but they were able to get it switched over
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None so far
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Cleaned up the cabling, which isn't a big deal, and I told the tech to leave it like that so I could do it.
9) Anything else? So far very happy overall.

 

[NightRyder]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1 Hoppers 0 Joeys - THANKS ZACH!!!!
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? $100 installed
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Independent Tech
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? 2 1/2 hours, Bad node had to be replaced.
5) What was the overall install experience? Fine
6) What problems did you have during the install? 1st node installed was bad.
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None.
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Waiting on fix for some unplayable recordings from external drives.
9) Anything else? Pleased with the Hopper so far.

 

[syphix]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1 Hoppers, 2 Joeys + Sling Adaptor
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? $0 (new customer)
3) Who did the install/upgrade? 3rd party
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? 2.5 hours.
5) What was the overall install experience? Excellent
6) What problems did you have during the install? Took forever for the hopper to factory default and work right, but stable and wonderful since!
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? Zero
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? None
9) Anything else? Loving it!

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Hopper upgrade from 722 & 211k to 1H/2J in progress.....

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Hopper upgrade from 722 & 211k to 1H/2J in progress.....

On EA, Hopper can't see the EA birds during the check switch.....

 

[Poke]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1-Hopper 1-Joey
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? New Customer Promos but been with Dish before.
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech, Retailer, or Third Party Contractor? My Local Retailer which I know the owner.
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? Well took 2 days but just bad hardware but I would say it would have take about 2hrs or less..
5) What was the overall install experience? Very Good.
6) What problems did you have during the install? Just end up with 2 Bad Nodes which is a rare thing..
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None At All everything ran fine..
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? None At This Time.
9) Anything else? Had the IC installed runs fine as well..

 

[cosmo_kramer]

On EA, Hopper can't see the EA birds during the check switch.....

Looks like it was a smart card issue. He reset the card, it finished the check switch, now the Hopper rebooted and is now dead.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

Second hopper attempt installed smoothly.... :up

 

[cosmo_kramer]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1 Hopper 2 Joeys
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? renewed my contract and got them for $100
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? Slightly over 4 hours, almost an hour was for a trip to get another hopper. Only one hopper on the truck??
5) What was the overall install experience? excellent
6) What problems did you have during the install? the first hopper was bad. He just received it yesterday....
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None so far
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Clean up wiring. I updated by A/V receiver also so we're all HDMI now
9) Anything else? Not yet...gotta play!!

 

[satjay]

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1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1 Hopper 2 Joeys
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? renewed my contract and got them for $100
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? Slightly over 4 hours, almost an hour was for a trip to get another hopper. Only one hopper on the truck??
5) What was the overall install experience? excellent
6) What problems did you have during the install? the first hopper was bad. He just received it yesterday....
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None so far
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Clean up wiring. I updated by A/V receiver also so we're all HDMI now
9) Anything else? Not yet...gotta play!!

Good to read all went well, enjoy the Hopper system I like ours I think it has some great features!

 

[burtburt69]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 2H/2J
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? Had them talked into a 1H/3J hookup for free. 3 days before the install, I called back to change it to 2H/2J for $100
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech, Retailer, or Third Party Contractor 3rd party
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? 3 hours
5) What was the overall install experience? Fine once the tech finally arrived. I was given a noon-5pm window. He showed up at 715pm!
6) What problems did you have during the install? None
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None that I'm aware of so far.
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Nothing yet.
9) Anything else? Other than arriving late in the evening, I have no complaints. I got a few PPV movies out of it at least.

 

[dridas]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1H/2J
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? Yes, for a current/log time subscriber that just upgraded in Dec 2011, I got the 1H/2J for $100. Great Deal!
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech, Retailer, or Third Party Contractor DISH NETWORK TECH
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? Took a week and a half to get him here, but that was my fault cause I was on vacation last week, and I picked the date/time for the install. As for the actual time to install the system- the initial boot up/setup of the Hopper took nearly 45 minutes to update software and download guide information. That had to be done prior to connecting the joey's to power. All said and done- from the time the tech showed up and left, it was about 2 hours.
5) What was the overall install experience? Good as any other experience. The tech was very professional, and went over the remote/hopper/joey functions.
6) What problems did you have during the install? None, he wanted to change out some barrel splices that were on the wall plate, but I told him no to because they were blue/digital splices. Otherwise, everything was seamless.
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? My only problem is that I wish he had asked me if I wanted to purchase a Sling Adapter. I would have done it in a heartbeat. I asked about the sling adapter, and he never offered. He may not have had one on the truck, so I guess I'll just wait and order it online.
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Really- no problems to fix that I would have EXPECTED the Dish guy to do. I will be relocating the Joey's in to the closet, and running the HDMI in the wall so I don't have to see the wires. None of that I expected him to do. Truth be told, I prefer them to be in my house a little as possible.
9) Anything else? Nope, completely happy with the install. I was expecting to buy a second hopper, but after figuring out how the Hopper/Joey's work, and being able to switch between tuners manually, I don't see a need for it. I originally thought that each tuner was dedicated to a TV/Hopper or Joey, but they are actually quite flexible. I'm thrilled that Dish allowed me to upgrade with minimal cost. The Hopper adds a user experience like no other DVR on the market. Flexible, easy navigation has always set Dish's DVR experience apart from cable and DirecTV providers.

 

[rockandchelle]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 1H/1J
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? Spoke to loyalty and was able to get the 1H/1J for Free with Free Install, and $15 off my bill for 12 months.
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? First Install (1H/1J) 2.5 hours, Second Install (Replace Hopper) 1.5 hours
5) What was the overall install experience? The actual install was very smooth. The Tech was very knowledgeable about Hoppers and Joeys and had it up and going very quickly. I also was switched from WA to EA. They used my same 1000.2 dish, but just put on a new LNB with two eyes (only seeing 61.5 and 72).
6) What problems did you have during the install? None
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? Initially none. Mine was installed on July 4 in the morning. I played with it all day July 4 and then the evening of July 5. I then went out of town for the weekend, and when I returned Sunday July 8, it was frozen and would not reboot. They ended up coming back out on Monday July 9 and found a problem with the hopper. After a replacement was installed, I had no more problems.
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Nothing yet.
9) Anything else? Both installers were very professional and nice. The install was very quick and the response time for getting the hopper repaired was also quick. In fact, I got home late on Sunday, July 8 and found the hopper out. I left it unplugged overnight and tried again in the morning on July 9 and still had issues. I spoke with a CSR through chat at around 7:30AM EST, after not being able to help I was escalated to an advanced CSR who deemed it was a power issue in the hopper, this was around 7:50AM EST. She said someone would be out that day to replace it. I got a call from the tech at 9:30AM EST (what service) and he was at my house shortly after that to replace it.

 

[wase4711]

Here's a few questions i came up with for people who have finished installation:

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 2 Hoppers, 4 joeys
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? Yes; 99 bucks total for everything!!
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech, Retailer, or Third Party Contractor 3rd party guy, same one who installed orig system
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? about 3 hours total, including the slow software download
5) What was the overall install experience? Perfect, just like the original install
6) What problems did you have during the install? Just a brief hangup, getting the hoppers to recognize all the Joeys
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish?NONE, Until the software update caused some issues, along with the outage Saturday, and the solar flares this weekend
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Was having some freeze/macroblocking over the weekend, but I think its outage/solar flare related..we'll see later tonight
9) Anything else? Whole house DLNA doesn't always work the way it should, plus, it needs a gigabyte port on the hopper, so you can stream 1080P videos without the occasional breakups..​

All in all, we really like the new stuff...

 

[bob_stan]

Called my local retailer at 11:00 AM to see if I could switch my single VIP 922 for a Hopper. Hopper was installed at 4PM the same day for $100. Seems to work fine although logos and stuff are still downloading.

 

[calbbs]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed? 2 Hoppers 1 Joey

2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? First Hopper/Joey and installation $0, 2nd Hopper $199

3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech, Retailer, or Third Party Contractor Dish Network Tech

4) How long did the install take? hours? days? Just under 2 1/2 hours

5) What was the overall install experience? Quick and easy.

6) What problems did you have during the install? No problems

7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? None.

8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? No problems.

9) Anything else? Install went very smooth. It would have probably been under two hours if I didn't talk with the installer so much. He also replaced some old cabling(about 20ft.) I mentioned to him about the two Hoppers seeing each other and he said that couldn't be done. So I told him about the software update that had just come out allowing that feature. He wanted to know how I knew about it and some other things I had passed on to him. So I told him about Satelliteguys.us. He wasn't aware of this website and wanted the URL so he could check it out.

Thanks to everyone here whose experiences and posts I read which helped prepare me for the switch to the Hopper. Great site and resource. ​

 

[Scott183]

1) How many Hopper/Joeys were installed?1H/1J (I will be installing another J next month)
2) Were you able to get the best promotional price for the Hopper system? Got better $0, 10 year customer, replaced for free because we had countless problem with 722's
3) Who did the install/upgrade? Dish Network Tech, Retailer, or Third Party Contractor DISH NETWORK TECH
4) How long did the install take? hours? days? 7 hours over 2 days
5) What was the overall install experience? Worst tech ever! Called 10 minutes before he arrived. Foul language, could tell he didn't love his job. Second day, he called late again, and then when I told him someone would be there, he was watching the airplanes down the street from my home. Very unprofessional.
6) What problems did you have during the install? First Hopper, would not connect to network with WiFi adapter, tech got me on the phone with tech support, started procedure of getting new receiver shipped, then tech came back with another Hopper of his own the next day
7) After the install: What immediate problems did the tech leave you with that need to be fixed right away by Dish? Initially no broadband connection and caller ID. Second Hopper took care of Broadband, still no Caller ID
8) After the install: What problems will you'll fix on your own or waiting for Dish to push a software fix? Been working on getting the Caller ID fixed, everything else working as expected.
9) Anything else? I've been working with multiple phone support techs on repairing the lack of Caller ID. I was finally assigned to a "Tech Specialist" who has been trying real hard to repair this problem. First service call, happened to be initial install tech, clueless, rude, didn't care. Complaining about being sent there. He was scheduled for noon-5pm slot, called me at 10:00 am to let me know he'd be at my home in fifteen minutes. Ran the same tests I had already run with phone support, and then through his hands up, blaming Dish for there software issue (which I believe is the real problem). Had second tech show up today, great contact, called 1 hour before appointment, showed up and says "So you're having a video problem?". After I informed him why he was there, he told me he had only been working for Dish since June, and very little Hopper experience. He had, no idea what to do, so I cut him loose, because I felt bad for him. The funny thing is that, both techs that were sent to my home were supposed to be "Hopper Specialists". I don't think that title exists! Other than that, I love my Hopper​