Receiver Won't Turn On Sometimes

Hello forum,

I am presently having a problem with this receiver (PVR 921) and I don't know if it is a malfunction or if I am doing something wrong. Sometimes the receiver will not turn on, either with the remote or the power switch on the receiver itself. (The power light will not light up). I have to unplug it for 15 seconds to get it to boot up and when it does boot up, it boots in standby mode, meaning I will not get a picture until I hit the power switch (after it has finished booting). The reason I know this is because during the boot process, I get a message on the screen saying the receiver is in standby mode. In otherwords, when the receiver does boot up, it is still turned off until I hit the power switch. Only then do I get a picture. I have the sleep feature disabled so it shouldn't be sleeping.

Is this a malfunction or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks much in advance,
Roy

PS - I purchased the Dish 921 about 8 months ago and am fairly satisfied with its performance. But no matter what upgrade the receiver receives, the software always has bugs in it. Linux just can't seem to get the bugs out of their software. But that is another story.

We have cured this problem by using a UPS to power the receiver and leaving the receiver on all of the time. There is not much difference in on and standby as far as the power drain. Seems like many satellite receivers are very sensitive to power dips and surges which the UPS will eliminate.

See: http://www.altex.com/images/ES800C.jpg (http://www.altex.com/product_info.php?products_id=4584)

We have cured this problem by using a UPS to power the receiver and leaving the receiver on all of the time. There is not much difference in on and standby as far as the power drain. Seems like many satellite receivers are very sensitive to power dips and surges which the UPS will eliminate.

See: http://www.altex.com/images/ES800C.jpg (http://www.altex.com/product_info.php?products_id=4584)


I agree, since adding an UPS for my display and then adding my 811 to it, it seems to behave better. I still get the random programming downloads even though it's turned off (still has AC power) overnight and when watching DVDs, etc., but not as often, and response to commands in general seems better.

Thanks for the reply's, but I have my PVR 921 plugged into a UPS.

Do you have any idea what could be causing my receiver to not turn on at times? And after the necessary reboot, why do I get the message "Receiver is in Standby Mode - Please Wait - Booting"? I have the "Inactivity Power Off Mode" set to Disabled.

Roy

Not a clue now. Bad receiver maybe? Bad UPS, dropping out? Plug a VCR into the UPS and see if you get the dreaded blinking 12:00.

MY 522 does much the same thing, always has. You have to press the power button twice (remote or front panel) to get it to come out of standby.

I wish there were more choices in Dish equipment like DirecTV.

Don't have the "won't turn on problem" with my 921, but am required to perfeorm periodic soft reboot to reset ability to use the "format" option which, for some reason, sticks in widescreen mode when switching to SD channels every so often. In any case, it also reboots in standby (unless I press the power button a second time sometime between the time the initial logo disappears and the reboot finishes). Assumed this was the what it was supposed to do. Am in the process of doing a reboot at this very moment. Was surprised to note a new message today saying "new" software was being downloaded and decided to check this site to see if there might be some news posted here.

Hello again forum,

I thought I would resurrect this thread to give you the latest news about my PVR 921.

My 921 got progressively worse until Dish Network decided to send me a new replacement receiver for free. My 921 would not accept the latest upgrade (version 219) and became unusable due to its unstable state. Pressing the pause button would sometimes crash the receiver, as well as using other common functions, and it also got to where it would usually boot up to a black screen and crash.

Dish Network sent a field technician out to check the wiring outside the house and to see if I had the receiver hooked up right. After several phone calls, Dish finally decided to replace the 921 and the new one works great so far with its latest software upgrade, version 219.

Apparently Dish has replaced too many receivers that did not actually need replacing, where the problem could actually have been fixed with adjustments. That must be why they first sent a technician out to my house to make sure the problem didn't lie elsewhere. And since the problem didn't lie elsewhere, they said they would waive the house call fee.

An interesting note - I was told that if the 921 (and apparently other models as well) fails to receive the latest upgrade, the receiver may stop working properly, even though it used to work properly with the same software version. This is because Dish can change the properties of the orbiting satellite's signal after the upgrade, causing the signal to not match the receiver's older software version. Wow.

All in all, I am satisfied with the way Dish Network conducts their business and I am also satisfied with my replacement 921.

Roy S. Smith