HR24 Replacement

You need to call for replacement. Don’t let them talk you into an upgrade and don’t accept them saying the protection plan is required. Be aware HR24’s haven’t been produced in years, so the number of replacements my be in short supply. A genie and genie client may be all they can offer but they shouldn’t charge an upgrade fee or require a 2 year contract if that’s the case.

I have called and even though I do have the protection plan, they are telling me they still cannot ship out (2) HR24s and would need me to upgrade.  20+ year customer and I can't get 2 receivers replaced for like even though I've been paying $8 extra monthly for a protection plan that is useless in the end.  Very frustrating and currently looking at other provider options.

Hello @gritz78, Thank you for contacting us, we are here to assist you in your request about the HR24 receivers.

If the equipment is damaged from power surge caused by lightning strikes or other electrical surges, and it's covered by DIRECTV Protection Plan, it's possible to get a replacement for it, without an upgrade. We are here to look in more details your case and assist you in this process. Let's meet in a Direct Message to take a closer look on this. Please check your DIRECTV Message Inbox (It's the chat icon next to the bell icon in the upper right corner of the Forums)

-Alejandro, DIRECTV Community Specialist

Sorry alejandro, it won't happen. Directv is not sending out HR24s, period.  The replacement would be a genie plus a client. 

@gritz78 the only way you’d be able to get an HR24 would be through Solid Signal or a similar DIRECTV dealer. DIRECTV itself barely has any HR24s in stock that they are willing to ship to customers. The new business model is the HS17 receiver along with Genie clients or an HR44/HR54 with Genie clients. 

Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re on a non-SWM system since you have only standalone HD DVR boxes. If that is the case, be sure (if you ever were to ‘upgrade’) to have a technician come out and upgrade your actual system as well.

@gritz78 

The problem is that the HR24s are the last regular HDDVR DirecTV made. And they haven't been made in years. They were transitioning to a all-in-one client based system.

The protection plan does not change your options. It just means you don't have to pay $99 for a repair service call, $19.95 for delivery of a (warranty) replacement box, or $15 for a remote. As you pay $8.99 a month always regardless if you use it or not, I find you lose money with it.

When you call make sure you say you need a warranty replacement for malfunctioning boxes. Otherwise they will most likely treat as an "upgrade". No guarantee they have any HR24s left. If they don't, then going through an authorized 3rd party (such as Solid Signal) and paying the one-time lease cost ($199 HDDVR) would be the only way to get discontinued equipment.

A Genie, 2nd or 3rd generation (HR44 or HR54), could be an ok upgrade. But only if you are replacing a single box, not the other with a Mini Genie Client, as an HR24 works with the Genie. And certainly stay away from the Genie-2 (HS17) server tower.  Only affects your bill if you don't already have Whole Home DVR, which is $3 (as you are on the grandfathered billing model).

But what is the problem with your HR24s to begin with? Perhaps a solution could be found to not replace them in the first place.