[Meestor_X]

There seems to be conflicting information regarding whether or not a customer can hook up his own purchased or rented Telus STB/PVR and call to get it activated or whether a $60 service call is required.

I know Telus' policy is to send a technician and charge the $60, but some seem to have been able to self-install their STB/PVRs.

Is there any clarification on what I can expect to happen if I were to purchase another STB and want to install it myself? Will the CSR give me the activation code or put me through the ringer?

I assume there's no additional monthly charge for extra STBs as long as they're purchased and they're not XBOXs?

-Andy.

 

[Wiremonkey]

Customer owned STBs do NOT incur a monthly charge, unlike an X-box which does have a $5/ month fee when used as an STB (all X-boxes are customer owned).

Customer owned STBs are subject to the installation charges if a tech has to come out.

Sorry, I don't have any info on how TELUS treats customer purchased STBs. I believe someone else on this forum did say they were able to call in and get a new reg code for their STB and they were able to hook it up themselves without a visit. Of course this was just a matter of unplugging an existing TELUS rental STB and replacing it with the one they bought. There was no new wiring required. Then the old rental STB will have to be returned to TELUS or the customer will be billed for it.

Hopefully they will see this thread and let you know. If I can find the post I'll link it for you.


- another TELUS tech

 

[Gatorade]

Best thing to do is call Telus and ask yourself. If you buy one from FS/BB I can imagine that you can install it yourself, on the other hand a rental one might require a tech to drop it off.

Call them and let us know

 

[zapperman]

For the record, I have called and activated my STB myself twice, once on the initial install and once when I recently moved. I had the tech install the two boxes (PVR + 1 STB), then instead of paying to have the third one done, called in and did it myself (they include 2 boxes in the installation but you have to pay for the third).

The first time was a pain as the tech support person I had didn't know how to do it and was annoyed that I was even trying. So I hung up and called back. If your wiring is in place, it's really simple. call in, ask for tech support, tell them what you are doing and request a registration code. Power up your box, enter the code they give you when it boots up, and you're done. Simple. Took me ten minutes the second time since I knew what to ask for. The service is still new even to the tech people, so it's really just growing pains on their end. But it IS easy...

 

[stationg]

You have to make sure the wiring has been done first.

 

[dobuck]

I've had a box set up over the phone. The wiring was already there so it was possible as my XBOX had blown. I had to call a few times though; first the billing and customer support department wanted to send a tech out but said I could try Tech support as well. Tech support gave me a new reg code and I was up in about five minutes.

They also said because I bought the box (CIS 330) from Future shop that they could send a tech out for free, some deal they have with future shop I guess. It was boxing day then and I didn't want to wait till January 6, the next available day so Tech support was much appreciated.

 

[sebberry]

Exactly what is required for the install of the boxes?

Does the phone line connect directly to the HD PVR or is there a modem involved too?

And for each additional receiver is it just an ethernet cable that is needed between the two boxes?

And for apartment buildings where the enterphone system is tied into the phone line does anything have to be installed in the phone closet?

 

[myteammytown]

@sebberry

Generally it seems to only be box for box swaps that are done over the phone (ex-330 to PVR, xbox to 330)when the wiring is already in place. Each STB has to be connected back to the modem via ethernet or coax. Having customers start doing self wiring and self installs has way to much potential for problems (my opinion, not that of telus).


As for the enterphone, generally it is bypassed at the main phone room. 1 pair come to your suite with phone and enterphone connected, another pair feeds to the modem.


***telus employee, but my views are all my own***

 

[sebberry]

So Telus would have to run another phone line from the phone room up to my suite?

As for the connection, even if you're not on Telus internet they still provide a modem for the HDPVR to connect to the service?

 

[Wiremonkey]

Yes, the modem/router unit is required for Optik and is included in the instal. Customers can have Optik without TELUS internet.

I don't know why anyone would choose internet from another provider if they had Optik though. The internet that is available in conjuction with Optik is a great deal IMO.


- another TELUS tech

 

[sebberry]

Yes, the modem/router unit is required for Optik and is included in the instal. Customers can have Optik without TELUS internet.

I don't know why anyone would choose internet from another provider if they had Optik though. The internet that is available in conjuction with Optik is a great deal IMO.


- another TELUS tech

Thanks.

I have no reason to switch from my Shaw internet. It's reliable and I have several Shaw email addresses. TV on the other hand would be the same price as I currently pay Shaw but comes with all the goodies of the networked receiver boxes and a couple more HD channels that I like.

 

[Amiga]

Well, I added a third CIS430 PVR today without a tech. I am not going to act like it was easy. It took 68 minutes rotting on hold and several transfers.

Optik CSR -> Loyalty -> Optik Tech -> Loyalty

That is the beauty of buying your equipment outright and not being on a contract / term / promotion. I kept it cordial, but stated politely that I wanted to cancel if TELUS couldn't bend its policy. The first Loyalty rep said no problem, but a tech would need to roll if it didn't work. I agreed to that compromise. She (Loyalty) transfered me to a tech who didn't have the means to do it (add another box). If I'm not mistaken, and please correct me TELUS employees, but plain ol' CSRs are the only ones who have the means to generate the activation code. I take that back, the second Loyalty rep created two codes, first a CIS330 (incorrectly), and then one for the CIS430 PVR when I reminded him. Waited ten minutes, entered the code, and now I have a third PVR up and running. My usual disclaimer, the new CIS430 is acting as a set-top box only without the extended PVR recording features.

People need to be careful about buying Optik TV equipment from retailers because the device serial number does not match the one printed on the box it's packaged in. What I mean is that if you need to return an Optik box to BB or FS, they will check the serial number on the unit and try to match it with the packaging, and they won't match. I think TELUS got these from CISCO, made a tech flash TELUS firmware (branding) on the devices, and they threw the receivers in whatever box was laying around near them. I noticed this on my first two PVRs and when I bought the third recently, I opened it at FS (prior to leaving), and made the clerk notate on the receipt that the serial numbers did not match.

As far as using TELUS as your ISP, better customer service (100% Canadian based) is available elsewhere, like TekSavvy. Also, why compete with the set-top boxes for bandwidth, which results in lower net speeds.

 

[Squeegis]

So Telus would have to run another phone line from the phone room up to my suite?

As for the connection, even if you're not on Telus internet they still provide a modem for the HDPVR to connect to the service?

different "pairs" or "sets" in the same cable. No new wires are ran

 

[nmaf]

This is frustrating, what exactly do they need to do? My downstairs tv is working fine, and my upstairs tv has init'd and is sitting at the activation code entry, the guy on the phone is telling me the tech needs to come out to do everything properly.

 

[ScaryBob]

Make work project for field techs. Same thing happened to me. Tech came out, took pictures of my self install, made a call to flip the switch and left. I was credited for the "installation charge" a month later. All it was was a receiver upgrade.

 

[nmaf]

I actually called in to telus, and told them I had a friend who was a telus tech, and did everything but activate, and left... the guy said "oh in that case, give me a minute..." and came back with an activation code... he told me not to punch it in for 90 minutes so it had time to "work through the system"

I gave it 3 minutes. everything worked flawlessly.

seriously, i don't get it... what do they need a tech to come over for? if you plug it in, and get the activation screen, obviously there is a working connection there, no?

nathan

 

[Meestor_X]

I forgot to write back about this.
I called Telus, told them that I had purchased a 330 from FS, I had the wiring in place, had the box powered up and it was asking for the activation code. Took them a little bit, but they came back with the code, charged me $150 for the service call (I guess the price has gone up) but told me that it would be credited back, which it was.

 

[merve04]

Had no choice but to have a tech install the first box, when telus got my account straightned out, phone call and they gave me the codes without any hagaling of any sort.

 

[ctsaudio]

My friend gave me a SA330 and I called telus to ask for a software order and they gave me a registrationn number. Got the new boxed connected to router with ethernet cable, power it up, follow the prompt, enter the registration number. Took 10 minutes to set it up. No issue at all. There is no charge for the software order and no monthly rental charge. However you must not go over the total number of boxes. Fro example, if you are qualified for 2HD + 1SD, then you can only have 1 PVR + 2 HD boxes. Hope this helps.

 

[Dr.Dave]

Fro example, if you are qualified for 2HD + 1SD, then you can only have 1 PVR + 2 HD boxes.

Here's the FAQ from the Telus web site.

How many HD enabled TVs can I have?
Optik TV supports up to 6 TVs, all of which can be HD TVs or a combination of SD and HD TVs.

You are limited in the number of live channels you can watch, but the other boxes can play previously recorded programs.