Ron,

Good to know.  We have the DTV dish installed on our 5er, but won't activate service until October 1st when we go full-time.  We've had DTV for many years in our home, and am looking forward to having it on the road.  I appreciate having the phone number to the RV group.  Thanks!

Barb

igotjam wrote:

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I have DISH and it's the same hassle....no one understands rving. DISH has a seperate (actually a vendor/dealer not really DISH) phone number for rvers but no one understands that you move around. I need to call every time we move and explain rving again and again.

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After almost two years of hassle with our "Dish For My RV" account, a customer service person finally heard my frustration and set my account up so my calls go straight through to advanced tech support every time I call to change our service address. Call times have gone from up to 37 minutes to three or four - and our account hasn't been messed up once since the change (happened almost 50% of the time before the change). Now, if they'll just "hear" my myriad requests for the ability to make the changes myself by logging into my account...

Rob

Rob and I discussed this before. It seems that the two satellite providers are both tone deaf to "us". Hope the "RV Department" actually exists (not just a different call center in India) ... and that they really can quickly change the service address for RV customers. I'll let you know how/if this works.

To change our service location with Dish to get the area locals, I've found the onlne chat service to be quite reliable. I use a pre-written script that I cut & paste into the chat window giving them the new location and asking for a service address ONLY change, not my billing address. About 99% of the time they get it right the first try with just an occasional recontact to get the program guide updated if they forgot to set the correct flag. Once in a great while they also change my billing address, but that's easily corrected on my online account. I haven't called them in several years...

We did not have an issue with our Distant Network Service (DNS), but if I remember correctly it did take several months.

Similar to Dutch, I have also had better success updating our service address with DirecTV using their “Chat” function on the DirecTV website (compared to calling). It has turned a very frustrating 5-10 minute phone conversation into a few minute online chat.

My current version of the pre-written script is below (it will surely be updated overtime) – but this covers the basics and proactively answers some questions the DirecTV representatives had previously asked.

DirecTV CHAT script:

Hello, this is Lynn. I would like to change the SERVICE address on my account. My account number is ______. The new SERVICE address is: ________. That address is located in ____ County, __. Please note that our DirecTV is in a RV (recreational vehicle), so we periodically update our SERVICE address to allow us to view local channels where our RV is currently located.

We are not moving, I just need the SERVICE address field on my account updated. Please DO NOT CHANGE THE BILLING ADDRESS, the correct billing address is in __(only sharing the city, state … to help ensure they don’t accidentally enter that address)_____.

-- Edited by Lynn and Ed on Wednesday 21st of June 2017 10:55:36 PM

Acheron2010 wrote:

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Mebbe yu could get better reception in their parking lot? Look for the VP-Operations parking space. A few dozen RVs might improve "their" reception to your concerns.

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 That would probably get somebodies attention.  Too Funny.

Neil and Connie wrote:

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Lynn and Ed said

>>DirecTV CHAT script

Do you change your service address every time you move? We've been using the AM-21 instead to pick up the locals via the batwing and channel them through the DTV receiver…but a lot of the time there aren't any locals. If changing your 'service address' every week works then it might be worth trying that on our end.

 

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We do if it's more than just a one-night stay (and we do it then if it's a night one of our favorite programs is on one of the broadcast networks and we can't get an OTA signal). As I said in my previous post, though, it's a LOT easier and faster now that they have me routed directly to advanced tech support.

Rob

-- Edited by Second Chance on Thursday 22nd of June 2017 03:22:02 PM

>> LOT easier and faster now that they have me routed directly to advanced tech support.

 

Is there a magic word to get them to set that up…I guess I could just ask every time I call but the first line folks are unlikely to believe me and pass me along.

 

Since we travel all summer during baseball season, if we changed our service address we would lose Ranger baseball games. Plus, we have both east & west coast feeds for networks.

RonC wrote:

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I just got off a chat with AT&T/DirecTV and expressed my frustration with the "getting local channels" process.  I told them I lived in an RV and moved frequently and that SOMEONE at DirecTV should at least attempt to understand our situation.  Well what do you know ... the chat person said "get in touch with our RV Department at 800-288-8094".  Full disclosure ... I haven't called this number yet so I can't offer testimony that it will/will not work, but if ANYBODY answers the phone, it's got to be better than the 800-531-5000 goat rope.  Just sharing to help others ... hopefully.  My requests for DNS have fallen on deaf ears so far (filled out two forms and sent in on two separate occasions) ... so far, radio silence on that.

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 Ron:  Two points FWIW - 866 514 3528 is the number we used to set up our DNS account.  They knew all about RV's.  Also, there will be no communication with you when the DNS is activated.  The receiver just get's "hit" with the authorization and it starts working.  You might have to go to the DirecTV Website and reauthorize you receiver.  We didn't have to but sometimes . . .  And also just for info, and I realize you sent in the paperwork twice - but it an take a week or more after you mail the paperwork in for it to get processed.  Just providing info.

Final point just in case - make sure your receiver is set up in the Guide to receive those channels.  If you have set up a Favorites List and the DNS channels aren't in it then - well you can't tune them.  Try going to "Channels I Get" in the Guide menu setup and see if that might be the trouble. 

For those with DNS ... what channels are those feeds on? Using Bill's advice, I went to "channels I get" but not sure if any of them are a national feed. Doesn't look like it, but hey, I'm clearly not the expert on DirecTV.

Spoiler Alert ... I just called the magic RV department number the chat guy gave me (800-288-8094) ... it's not DirecTV at all, it's for the Winegard company ... they can't help with any of the DirecTV stuff. This is another bogus lead ... sorry guys.

RonC wrote:

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For those with DNS ... what channels are those feeds on? Using Bill's advice, I went to "channels I get" but not sure if any of them are a national feed. Doesn't look like it, but hey, I'm clearly not the expert on DirecTV.

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 For DirectTV 390-399

Neil ... I now have learned that you can have BOTH DNS and local channels. I currently have both, but only just learned that I have DNS. So they aren't mutually exclusive and I'm not being charged extra ... I don't think ... I'll check next month's bill to see if a new charge for DNS shows up. I'm an East Coast person (TX) which is fine with me. Shows and news come early, so the Genie records them all for us to watch at a time of our choosing. Life got better today ... a little.

It is part of a sport packaged based upon your address. Since we have a Livingston, Tx address we get Fox Sports SW with lots of Texas sports. If we changed, then we would get whatever the baseball team was in connection to that city. Just because we spend the winter in AZ doesn't mean that is our 'address'.

OK, in addition to Barb's comments down into the weeds we go:

East Coast Feeds:

PBS 389 Standard definition only

CBS 390

NBC 392

CW 394 - this is standard def only

ABC 396

Fox 398

All those channel numbers are the same number for both the HD and the SD feeds (except PBS and CW which are SD only.)  If you have your guide preferences set for HD and SD to both show feeds then you will see two 390's for CBS.  The HD one is marked "HD."  Duh.  As in CBSeHD - standing for: CBS east coast HD.

Why would I want the SD versions.  Sometimes, during a really, and it has to be really bad, rain storm in between the satellite and you, or a tree for that matter, once might be able to get the SD feed and not the HD due to the frequencies used by the SD and HD satellites. (They are vastly different.)  Normally I set my preferences in the Preferences Section -- Menu--> Settings --> Display --> Presences to "Hide" the SD channels so no confusion occurs when I look for a program to record and don't want to accidentally record an SD version.  But if you have hid any channels you won't see them.  Make sure in your Guide that you have all the channels available that you have purchased.  Easy was is to select "Channels I Get" if you are not sure how to do all this and that's fine as well.

Don't know if this helps but it might.

Bill 

 

Yeah ... I finally figured out that we have DNS. No telling how long we've had them, probably for several months. I just didn't know the channel numbers and never thought to ask. I assumed that DirecTV would communicate with us to let us know they had "turned on" DNS for us and where the channels were located. Nope ... radio silence ... so I reapplied several times, thinking I was just getting the usual DirecTV okie doke. Really a strange way to do business ... IMHO.

Bobc wrote:

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I just used the phone number that Bill Nappier gave (1-866-514-3528) and boy was it a lot easier to change our service address, it took all of about 3 minutes. Thanks Bill, just one more helpful hint from you.
Our past experiences had been so poor we had stopped doing it and just switched back in forth to campground cable for local info which was a pain.
Now we can go back to the proper way with DTV only

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 Your welcome naturally.  Wish we could meet up this fall in SD.  :)   Looks like you guys are still having fun.

For those reading along:  866-514-3528 is - hope it will continue to be - the mobile service number and these CSR are (were) trained for, among other things, RV's and people who move around - including Marine service.  It also handles DNS accounts AFTER the required FCC (read Federal Government) paper work is sent in.  Don't blame DirecTV for this requirement.

RVers are like a gnat on a camel as to the number of people vs. the vast multitude of people who use DirceTV.  So naturally the 1-800-DirecTV number doesn't get hardly any, by comparison, RV calls.  Hence, they don't have a clue; at least many first level CSR's don't.

Bill

Corrected typo - sorry.

-- Edited by Bill and Linda on Friday 30th of June 2017 12:18:53 PM

28 should be the right number, double check Bill's earlier post.
It was the best experiences yet that I had with DTV

Well we moved today ...the chat thing doesn't work because the "improved" AT&T website won't allow cut and paste so the "script" approach was a no go. On the plus side, the phone number worked much better. Still not ideal, but not a total goat rope.

Thanks ... I'll try that.

 

UPDATE:  I'm on a MacBook Pro Laptop using the Apple products (Pages, Numbers, etc.)  Control C and Control V doesn't work on a Mac ... I used Command C and Command V (the Mac version of "copy to clipboard" and "paste from clipboard" and it did work ... so once I modified things to work on a Mac, all was good.  Thanks for the tip.

We're on the move now, so in a couple of days I'll have another chance to try the chat function with the cut and past "script" approach to changing Service Address.

-- Edited by RonC on Monday 17th of July 2017 08:44:29 AM

-- Edited by RonC on Monday 17th of July 2017 08:49:27 AM

-- Edited by RonC on Monday 17th of July 2017 08:52:00 AM

Did ours yesterday using the above super secret phone numbered and was once again up and running within 3 minutes.
Note :stay on the phone with the tech until everything is working right.

I spent several hours on the phone with directv this past winter when we were in SW Fla. trying to get the networks on our dtv dish. I had contacted the chat before we left and after a lengthy discussion including what type dish I had, I was told we'd be good to go, just call when we reached our destination, which I did. Between transfers to others, being put back in the "your call is important" waiting line, I finally asked to speak with customer retention, and even she could not get a straight answer. finally someone said contact DNS, and back into the waiting line I went. it took 3 more tries and another connection to customer retention to finally get to someone who understood, and he told me that it would take several months to process the request and it would cost $10 per network extra per month. I just couldn't believe it and hung up vowing to cancel service as soon as the contract was up.

Are you folks saying you can get networks away from home for no extra cost?

DNS will for a fee $ 5:00 per month a east coast (NY) or west coast feed(???)
We call in and give the change of service address ( not billing address) to the tech while on the phone (important) they make the change and I confirm right then that I have to local channels for the area I am in.
These local channels can be found in the lower numbers on your guide normally 2-100
Last 3 times we used the super secret phone number we were up and running within 5 minutes even with wait time.
We do call mid morning or mid afternoon