Any experience with refurb 721s?

[FrankD1]

I know there was a thread a couple weeks ago about the general opinion on refurb E* PVRs (I even threw in my two cents). Anyway, one of the tuners on my 721 is flaking out (confirmed by swapping the sat input cables, the problem stayed with tuner 2), so I called E* tech support and got an RA for a replacement unit (refurb). Does anyone have personal experience with a 721 refurb, good or bad? I went ahead and signed up for their 1.99/mo extended warranty, so I'm covered from a practical standpoint, but the hassle of swapping equipment, and losing saved shows is as important to me as the money issue. Thanks in advance!

[BobtopFL]

Yes, my first unit went bad in that the unit could not find the hard disk. I called, received a RMA and sent the unit back. They charged my $14 to send a new one but I called and told them I wanted a credit for the time I did not have a unit and therefore was not able to watch anything. I think I received a $14 credit. Now where did I hear the figure from? Anyway if you get a unit in a brown box with no paperwork in it you have received a brand new unit that has been boxed for replacement. So far my new unit is working but I find that the unit runs slow. Maybe it is just me.

[Bill D]

I also lost a tuner and the new/refurb one has been fine. They also gave me a programming credit, which not sure how but ended up a push with the shipping.

[Jacob S]

I heard that if you get a brown box with no papers that it is a refurbished unit. I know the receivers used to state whether they were refurbished or not but not sure if they do that now or not.

[Adrian_R]

Isn't there laws that say that a vendor has to tell you when you are receiving a refurbished unit?

[boba]

Check the serial number on the unit if it starts with an "R" it is new if it is a "W" it is refurb. They have also used another letter to indicate a refurb but it slips my mind at the moment.

[Jason]

I was told by E* that ALL replacements units they send to you under the warranty are refurbished units. They will not send you a brand new receiver regardless if the unit is DOA or it goes bad 11 months down the road.

[FrankD1]

Yeah, the rep that processed my RA told me the same thing. And she said the refurbs only have a 90 day warranty. Not much of an issue for me, because I got one of the early 721s (last July), so the warranty expiration stays almost the same for me, but I'd be ticked if I had a brand new DOA unit with a 12 month warranty, and got a replacement refurb that drops down to 90 days.


Originally posted by Jason
I was told by E* that ALL replacements units they send to you under the warranty are refurbished units. They will not send you a brand new receiver regardless if the unit is DOA or it goes bad 11 months down the road.

[John Corn]

I've had a refurb now for a couple of months, seems to work fine, actually it's seems better than my original one. :)

[TerryC]

I got a 721 when they first started to ship in July. After a few months both tuners gave me "lost lock" on both tuners. The replacement unit came in a plain brown box with no paperwork save for a sheet telling me how to send the old unit back and a Dish Network channel listing. It was better than the first. Only ONE tuner crapped out on me. This was only after I'd had it for one week. The replacement for that one came in the same brown box with the same two inserts. The serial number starts with an R. It has worked fine for me since the I got it in October.

So, I guess the moral of the story is that replacement units are somewhat of a crap shoot. And I'd go with the extended warranty when the original warranty expires.

[Kagato]

Replacing a new unit with a refurished unit and changing the warrenty terms would seem to be a pretty clear violation of Maguson-Moss. My guess giving dish a about a 10K fine.

However, in my experience Dish replaced units based on the original period. I went through about three 2700 units in a year. Although my 5000 and 6000 have been rock solid. 721 DOA'd first day though.

[DarrellP]

I replaced 1 6000 and received a brand new one in it's place and out of 3 501's, 2 have been brand new (including my current one). And... I never paid any shipping, all you have to do is put up a fuss about it and they won't charge you.

[FrankD1]

I got the refurb 721 today, and it does indeed seem to be a refurb. The serial # sticker on back (which covers up another serial number) begins with a "W" like Boba mentions, and there are two cutouts on the back, labeled "ethernet" and "home network" that are covered with tape (there are no actual RJ45 jacks behind the tape). But everything seems to be working OK so far, and the drive is quieter than the unit it's replacing (which is a big plus in my book). The general consensus here seems to be there's no unusual concern with a refurb 721, so I'll cross my fingers. Thanks for all the input everyone!

[Adrian_R]

Originally posted by Kagato
Replacing a new unit with a refurished unit and changing the warrenty terms would seem to be a pretty clear violation of Maguson-Moss. My guess giving dish a about a 10K fine.

Thank you! I heard that if, for example, you bought something that had a 30 day warranty, and it breaks on the 29th day, when the company sends you a NEW replacement, that the new replacement has its own 30 day warranty, so that you are not just covered for another single day. Maybe its just a California law, but I remember reading about it.