!!!!!! DirecTV !!!!!!

BZHorseMomE

Hunter/Eq. Trainer :-)
!!!!!!! Getting so tired of DirecTV !!!!!!!!:cds: Everytime the electric goes out the SWM box keeps getting fried and then it takes them 4 or more days to get out to replace it. Starting to think DirecTV should just leave us a back up so we can replace it ourselves. Then call them to replace the back up when we use it. We've even hooked the SWM box into a surge protector & sometimes it saves the SWM box, but most of the time not. So tired of seeing error code 771A!!!! At least with Comcast they would be out the next day if not that not fixing the problem if it was an area wide outage.

Anyone have this problem with DISH Network?
 

ylexot

Super Genius
I don't even know what a SWM box is. I've had DirecTV for ~10 years and never had a problem. Of course, it seems that our receiver might be failing. It's dropping audio very briefly (<1 sec) every so often.
 

BZHorseMomE

Hunter/Eq. Trainer :-)
I've had directv for about 8 months, haven't had a single problem with them :shrug:

Have you ever had to call them for a service call when you get the message "Problem communicating with dish message code 771A" when your service goes out?
 

Wildcat97

New Member
Been with DishNetwork for almost 10 years. Never had anything like that. Just a few DVR hard drives have failed...
 

BZHorseMomE

Hunter/Eq. Trainer :-)
I don't even know what a SWM box is. I've had DirecTV for ~10 years and never had a problem. Of course, it seems that our receiver might be failing. It's dropping audio very briefly (<1 sec) every so often.

Trust me I don't want to know what a SWM box is either, but everytime our service goes out it is because of a fried SWM box. Plus the tech. put the SWM box way up in our attic where we need to use a ladder & crawl another 15' to get to. When they finally come out on Wednesday to fix the SWM again we are having them move it downstairs to the main TV so we can get to it when we have another power outage or it goes out for no reason.

Also when we got the heavy snow back in 09'/10' DirecTV said to get my service back to go outside with my garden hose to shoot water on the dish to remove the snow. Let me tell you that was fun.:whistle:
 
Last edited:

suthrncom4t

New Member
We've lived here (Pr. Fred.) for a year & a half from Fairfax county. In Fairfax, my house was surrounded by huge 200 yr old oak trees. Never had a problem with DirectTV...that is til we moved here. It's the worst. Splotchy signal in perfect weather, programs not recorded, etc. This fall when the 2 yr contract expires, we're going to Comcast. We have the "whole package deal" w/Verizon...they're gettin too much of our money for crap service.
 

Pete

Repete
My only complaint is that they charge me too much money.

Oh and the last time they called in their series of new and exciting offers and I upgraded to "every channel available" I was of the understanding that it was for "every channel available" so now when I select the randome show and it says "channel not available in your subscription" I wonder if i was lied to.
 

TWL

Kernel panic: Aiee.......
!!!!!!! Getting so tired of DirecTV !!!!!!!!:cds: Everytime the electric goes out the SWM box keeps getting fried and then it takes them 4 or more days to get out to replace it. Starting to think DirecTV should just leave us a back up so we can replace it ourselves. Then call them to replace the back up when we use it. We've even hooked the SWM box into a surge protector & sometimes it saves the SWM box, but most of the time not. So tired of seeing error code 771A!!!! At least with Comcast they would be out the next day if not that not fixing the problem if it was an area wide outage.

Anyone have this problem with DISH Network?
Are you sure it's being fried? Does the green light come on on the power inserter?
SWM is normally very good tech but if the receiver/DVR is booted without seeing a SWM signal, it defaults to the legacy setting causing the problem you describe.
It's possible that your receivers/DVR are coming back online before the SWM is ready. To make sure, first remove power(pull the power plug) from all your DirevTV equipment. Power on the SWM. Then power on the receivers/DVRs--one at a time.
If it is fried, it's more likely the wrong power inserter is being used or you have bad electrical wiring in your residence.
 

getbent

Thats how them b*tch's R
We just upgraded to the HD dish. We constantly get the searching for service signal 1 or 2. They've been out twice to fix it and now I'm going to call them for the third time. We upgraded apprx a month ago. We've had Dtv since they first came out. I wouldn't switch to anyone else though. Comparing the problems we've had with how long they've been around it's not enough for me to switch.
 

ChattyCat

ChattyCat
Direct Tv

!!!!!!! Getting so tired of DirecTV !!!!!!!!:cds: Everytime the electric goes out the SWM box keeps getting fried and then it takes them 4 or more days to get out to replace it. Starting to think DirecTV should just leave us a back up so we can replace it ourselves. Then call them to replace the back up when we use it. We've even hooked the SWM box into a surge protector & sometimes it saves the SWM box, but most of the time not. So tired of seeing error code 771A!!!! At least with Comcast they would be out the next day if not that not fixing the problem if it was an area wide outage.

Anyone have this problem with DISH Network?

Had them for a couple of years now, and no problems so far! When we did have a problem with the signal they were right on it and took care of it.
 

BZHorseMomE

Hunter/Eq. Trainer :-)
Are you sure it's being fried? Does the green light come on on the power inserter?
SWM is normally very good tech but if the receiver/DVR is booted without seeing a SWM signal, it defaults to the legacy setting causing the problem you describe.
It's possible that your receivers/DVR are coming back online before the SWM is ready. To make sure, first remove power(pull the power plug) from all your DirevTV equipment. Power on the SWM. Then power on the receivers/DVRs--one at a time.
If it is fried, it's more likely the wrong power inserter is being used or you have bad electrical wiring in your residence.

We've had the SWM replaced many times and have tried to power everything back up the way you explained. Just unplugged all the boxes, then the SWM for 10 min, then plugged SWM back in until the green light came back on, then plugged the main HD/DVR box back in. Getting the message "Problem communication with dish. Press SELECT on More Info. (771A).

Our home is only a few years old so I'm hoping it isn't bad electrical wiring, but for some reason when we first had DirecTV installed they put the SWM up in the attic instead of downstairs with the main HD/DVR box. I'm wondering if our original installation was just bad?? Maybe have DirecTV rerun the cable all over the house again?
 

BZHorseMomE

Hunter/Eq. Trainer :-)
Had them for a couple of years now, and no problems so far! When we did have a problem with the signal they were right on it and took care of it.

Well going out on Sunday and they can't come out till Wednesday seems like a long time to wait. Comcast never took that long.
 
Do yourself a favor and get an UPS (uninterpretable power supply) and plug your sat receiver into it. 300-500VA should be fine. It will prevent power surges and transient voltage spikes.
 

FED_UP

Well-Known Member
!!!!!!! Getting so tired of DirecTV !!!!!!!!:cds: Everytime the electric goes out the SWM box keeps getting fried and then it takes them 4 or more days to get out to replace it. Starting to think DirecTV should just leave us a back up so we can replace it ourselves. Then call them to replace the back up when we use it. We've even hooked the SWM box into a surge protector & sometimes it saves the SWM box, but most of the time not. So tired of seeing error code 771A!!!! At least with Comcast they would be out the next day if not that not fixing the problem if it was an area wide outage.

Anyone have this problem with DISH Network?

Had direct TV long time, minor issues rare when the weather is bad.
 

TWL

Kernel panic: Aiee.......
Just noticed the 771A. The first time i read it i just read 771.

There is a slight difference between the two. In addition to no signal, it also means no power or insufficient power (too much or too little) to the SWM.

What I posted above is still relevant with the addition that there may very well be a bad connection somewhere between the power inserter and the SWM and/or one or more of the components between are not grounded or not grounded properly. Somewhere along the line, electricity is being drawn or introduced by a improper ground.

Keeping the power inserter in the attic should not be a problem other than easy access. I'd insist the tech replace the COAX between the SWM and power inserter and make sure everything is grounded to standard.
 
Top