How to Repair a Satellite TV

Thunderstorms, torrential rains, snowstorms and hurricanes can wreak havoc with dish alignment. Kids might trip over a poorly installed dish, or the dish might be hit by a football. Sometimes, there is a manufacturing defect in the equipment, or the system may be in need of general service and maintenance. Under such circumstances, you will receive either a poor signal or no signal at all. Unlike cable TV, where an outage affects several subscribers, satellite TV problems typically disturb one customer at a time. Listed here are the steps you can take to get your satellite TV functioning properly again.

Instructions

1. Try to determine the problem. Check to see if the receiver is getting a signal. If not, examine the dish alignment. If the dish has been misaligned, read the user manual and attempt to re-align the dish.

2. A receiver showing poor signal strength also indicates improper alignment of the dish.

3. See if a broken tree limb is lying in front of the dish and causing a problem. In this case, call a tree removal service so the tree can be removed.

4. Snowstorms may cause snow to accumulate on the dish, disturbing signal reception. Remove the snow and ice to receive a clear signal.

5. Check to see if all the cable connections are intact and functioning. Sometimes the problem is merely a disconnected cable.

6. Try resetting the receiver by unplugging it for at least 30 seconds and plugging it back in. Another way of resetting the receiver is to take out the programming card from the receiver and put it back in.

7. If it is difficult to identify the root cause, call your satellite TV provider and talk to their customer service representatives, who can guide you through basic troubleshooting.

8. If talking to the customer service personnel does not rectify the issue, request that they send someone over for a free inspection.

9. Several satellite TV repair companies operate in most locations. Use a telephone directory to call one of the several professional companies to get a free quote on the repair work involved.

Tips & Warnings

• Most problems that cause satellite TV disruption are covered in the subscription. Read the terms applicable to your package and see if you are eligible for free satellite TV repairs.

• Call a few local satellite TV repair companies before requesting any one of them to come to your home. If possible, call a reputed company where the services have already been used by someone you know.