No. All of the (active) STBs need to be connected so that BTV can verify they are all at the same location. This has been discussed often on the forum and is done by BTV to discourage account splitting or having STBs at different locations. There is no need to be upset as this happens regularly, especially as people get more STBs. Unfortunately, he learned the hard way that being upset or not being able to comply with the terms of service gets him cut off.
Bell calling to validate receivers
So my dad was telling me that bell called him the other day wanting to update and validate his receivers (he has 5 of them total, 3 in the house, 2 in the barn). My dad was kind of in a bad mood with them about it because he has been with expressvu since 98 and couldn't believe they were giving him grief about it and this is the first time they have ever called (only recently got his 5th receiver a few months ago since he's slowly updating to HD receivers). They wanted him to go out to the barn and update with them the #'s and what not but my dad just wasn't feeling it, told them he didn't have a cell phone either and that it was a pain in the ass for him to go out there.
So now they have completely crippled his receivers so im assuming he's gonna have to call in to give them the location ID's of all of them before channels will start working again correct?
Will it be ok if he unplug's the 2 receivers from the barn and brings them into the house and just plugs them into one of the tv's in there? (he only has 3 tv's inside the house so 1 receiver inside will have to be unplugged so that the barn receivers can be plugged in during the process, is this gonna be ok?)
Any help would be appreciated so i can call him and let him know before he does any of this.
Thanks
So now they have completely crippled his receivers so im assuming he's gonna have to call in to give them the location ID's of all of them before channels will start working again correct?
Will it be ok if he unplug's the 2 receivers from the barn and brings them into the house and just plugs them into one of the tv's in there? (he only has 3 tv's inside the house so 1 receiver inside will have to be unplugged so that the barn receivers can be plugged in during the process, is this gonna be ok?)
Any help would be appreciated so i can call him and let him know before he does any of this.
Thanks
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He was just upset because he's been with them for so freaking long and couldn't believe they were doing this to him.
He said he can hook up 1 extra tv in the house so he can have 4 receivers going in the house but 1 will have to be unhooked after its verified so the last one can be plugged in..... i really dont see why that wont work? they are all at the same location its just 2 are out in his barn and its a pain for him to walk out there when he doesn't own a cell phone, that's why he was gonna bring them into the house and do it there with the few tv's he has in there. So a few get registered with the right id's and then 1 gets unhooked so the other can be plugged in, what is so wrong with that?
He said he can hook up 1 extra tv in the house so he can have 4 receivers going in the house but 1 will have to be unhooked after its verified so the last one can be plugged in..... i really dont see why that wont work? they are all at the same location its just 2 are out in his barn and its a pain for him to walk out there when he doesn't own a cell phone, that's why he was gonna bring them into the house and do it there with the few tv's he has in there. So a few get registered with the right id's and then 1 gets unhooked so the other can be plugged in, what is so wrong with that?
I'm actually not sure if the signal to the "last" receiver can be sent at a different time after the other receivers have been checked. Someone with more experience than I will need to comment, or perhaps it would be best if your father spoke to Bell about the procedure to see if Bell are happy with doing that. They are the ultimate decision makers.
It doesn't matter how long you've been with them or who you are. People are just picked at random, but people who have more STBs are more likely to get picked.
It doesn't matter how long you've been with them or who you are. People are just picked at random, but people who have more STBs are more likely to get picked.
Well on the website they can see which receivers he has and which ones are active, so im sure they can see the same. So im sure he can say "ok im gonna hook up the 3100 receiver now so we can validate that one" and they can be like "ok im gonna reset its # now when you have it hooked up", and so on and so forth.....
Im gonna swing by his house tonight after work to give him a hand with it and we shall see what they say.
Im gonna swing by his house tonight after work to give him a hand with it and we shall see what they say.
Having you there to assist may help because then you could hook up the 5th STB after the first one has been checked and your father could work his way through the other 3, then get back to the first location where you've connected the 5th STB. Again though, Bell would need to be OK with that.
Well hopefully. My father is getting up there in age and didn't wanna do alot of running around, that's why im gonna give him a hand with it. I really dont see them having an issue with it really. All 5 are active and always hooked up (only 1 with a phone cable though, to his nice tv for when he wants to watch ppv). So if you just explain 2 gotta be moved to make it easier for him then it should be ok, but we shall see.
Thanks for the help.
If anyone else has any other info then please chyme in and let me know if it will be ok to unhook 1 receiver when its verified to be able to hook up the other.
Thanks for the help.
If anyone else has any other info then please chyme in and let me know if it will be ok to unhook 1 receiver when its verified to be able to hook up the other.
Another option, if you've got a cell phone would be to leave the 5 where they are and walk out to the barn... I assume there is no phone connected at the barn or it's too far to use a regular cordless phone?
Are the BTV STBs for the cows and horses?
Why are there two STBs in a barn if there are no "conveniences" (like a phone) at the barn?
Are the BTV STBs for the cows and horses?
Why are there two STBs in a barn if there are no "conveniences" (like a phone) at the barn?yeah i could do that, but i know he already has the 2 in the barn unhooked and in the house waiting for me, lol
I added some more to my previous post - any comments?
He has the old strip room out there with 2 tv's, him and his buddies go out there every now and then to drink beer's and watch a couple tv's for sports. No phone hooked up out there.
??? Now you've piqued my curiosity?the old strip room
??? Now you've piqued my curiosity?
lol sorry, tobacco farm. Room where you would seperate all the tobacoo, put them into bails, etc..etc.. called it the strip room, lol
I have been with Bell for going on 7 years now and over that time we've had about 4 tech visits. At each visit the techs asked to see both our receivers. Not once have we been called to verify our receiver locations.
So, while this may be in their TOS, if they called and asked us to verify the location on the receivers I would i) supply them with the info and ii) promptly cancel our service.
If it was something they had been doing on an ongoing basis, then I would be more understanding but beginning calls for this after having established good relationship would be enough reason for me to bail on them.
So, while this may be in their TOS, if they called and asked us to verify the location on the receivers I would i) supply them with the info and ii) promptly cancel our service.
If it was something they had been doing on an ongoing basis, then I would be more understanding but beginning calls for this after having established good relationship would be enough reason for me to bail on them.
My father said the same thing to them. He's been with them since '98, giving them a ton of money, never missed a payment ever and ordered countless ppv movies. He told them he was gonna cancel his service if they did anything about it, and well, they crippled all of his receivers so now he's just gonna do the location id's or whatever to shut them up cause he likes there service, he just didn't wanna be bothered with all that cause it was gonna be a pain for him.
Bell is essentially assuming that your father is guilty and putting the onus on him to prove he is innocent. Someone should tell Bell that this is Canada in 2012 and not the Soviet Union in the 1970's.My father said the same thing to them. He's been with them since '98, giving them a ton of money.
If there weren't a lot of people account splitting there would be no need for Bell calling to check. The customer can avoid calls by connecting the STBs to phone lines. (yes, I realize that phone lines are not always easy, but if it's not, then put up with the validation calls)
These calls/checks reduce the cost to all legitimate customers by avoiding the lost revenue that comes from account splitting, which is not a minor problem.
These calls/checks reduce the cost to all legitimate customers by avoiding the lost revenue that comes from account splitting, which is not a minor problem.
Do people not sign an agreement that they will not "account split" or whatever the terminology is? If Bell has evidence that an individual is violating the terms of the agreement they can take them to court and prove their case. You can't simply assume that someone is guilty because "a lot of people are account splitting".
It never ceases to amaze me how much personal invasion of privacy that people are willing to put up with these days. I would love for Bell to harass some prominent QC lawyer and deactivate his receivers. Perhaps a letter to the CRTC is in order for johnyv's father.
It never ceases to amaze me how much personal invasion of privacy that people are willing to put up with these days. I would love for Bell to harass some prominent QC lawyer and deactivate his receivers. Perhaps a letter to the CRTC is in order for johnyv's father.
Im sure he will get it all figured out. He's been with them for 14 years, thats damn good loyalty so im sure they wont bitch if he has to take 2 seconds to swap 1 receiver to hook up the other.
The location ID is a alphanumeric logrhytmn that is based on receiver I'd and smart card info and clock time. It chafes every 10 minutes on its own and Bell cannot change it remotely.
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