Upgrade to wireless receiver

Any upgrade triggers a new contract commitment.

What DVR/Receiver model do you have now? 

Why do you want to "upgrade"?

Litzdog911 I moved my tv to another wall and it would be easier to have a wireless receiver than run wires through my attic to the other side of the room.

Upgrades of equipment come with a 24-month service agreement. Has not changed in the last 20 years.

There is no wireless receiver, only a wireless Mini Genie Client (C41W or C61W). This requires a wireless video bridge (WVB) installed on the coax to service as the wireless antenna from your Genie to the Mini.

If it has been over 2 years (of active service) since your last upgrade, with account in good standing then you should have a free upgrade. However, the WVB is an owned accessory for $99 regardless.

If you don't have a free upgrade, then the one-time lease cost of a Mini is $99. However, if you don't have the main Genie already, with no free upgrade that one-time lease cost would be $299 as well.

Regardless of if free upgrade or one-time least cost, the 24-month agreement is valid as normal. A no contract option (purchase to own) went away when they launched the first Genie many years ago. Back then you would be $499 just for a regular HDDVR and only have a 1-year warranty. With lease model, box is free or cheaper with ongoing warranty. If you decide to cancel later, the early cancellation fee (ECF) is normally less than what you would have paid for the full retail cost (provided you don't cancel just a couple months later of course).

If you feel you are special and are entitled to free or low-cost equipment with no agreement (so no incentive for the company) and want to give up the NFL Sunday Ticket, go ahead and cancel.

Jupiter,

Just because a policy has been in effect for 20 years does not make it right for a customer in good standings for at least 5 years that only wants to upgrade one Genie. 

I never said and I don't feel like I am special but I do feel I am entitled to make a change without having to commit to an agreement for 24 months.  And yes I will give up my NFL Sunday Ticket as Directv will not have it much longer anyway.

Lastly, when I do cancel, you or anyone else is more than welcome to come get this dish out of my yard. 

You have owned the dish since it was installed so nobody from DTV will remove it.

Thanks for reaching out to us @cdjayzee. We understand you moved your TV location and you might require an equipment upgrade.

Thanks for your timely,and accurate response. You response sets the right expectation @Juniper and @litzdog911 .

You learn more about DIRECTV equipment lease agreement.

Let us know if you need more information about our service agreement.

Olajide, DIRECTV Community Specialist.

@cdjayzee 

You may not feel it is right, but it is their right to require you staying if they are going to give you something. If they had kept the purchase to own option, then you would be looking at $300 or more without an agreement. The lease billing model with agreement is better as even if you cancel down the road, it is cheaper than what purchasing it outright was. This is the option for all customers, so you are no different.

You can make changes to your service without affecting the agreement. It is specifically the upgrade of equipment, just like when you first started service, comes with the 24-month agreement because of the value of equipment they are providing you.

Upon installation you own the dish, like most everything. Only the receiver/client boxes are still DirecTV's and must be returned upon cancel. That means nobody will come remove it.

DirecTV has a multi-year agreement for the exclusive rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket that has been ongoing. What makes you think they will not have it much longer?

You also have the option for a box relocate. They run the coax where you need it. This is without renewing the agreement, and as I recall was $49.95 (before any custom work like wall fishing or such of course).

Jupiter,

You keep saying that I am no different and that DirecTV has the right to impose these charges -- I know I am not different and I have the right to express my opinion about what I feel is unfair practice.  You are providing me with all this jargon about how DirecTV operates as if you were a DirecTV employee or stockholder....but I don't care.  They advised me of my options, I disagreed with them and I put it out here in the forum in case someone else was thinking about upgrading a box and were curious how it went for others like me.

Google "NFL Sunday Ticket After 2022" and you will read that there are discussions/negotiations going on for where this will sit in the near future.

Thank you for the information about a box relocate, unfortunately there would be some wire fishing involved which prompted me to look into the wireless option.

Well, you have the options that have existed for about 20+ years. You feel it is not right, but it does work out better than the old purchase-to-own options without an agreement as is cheaper. Free (or low cost) with 24-month agreement and ongoing warranty or $300+ (depending on if just Mini or needing full Genie as well) with no agreement and only a 1-year warranty. That is why I see the current option better than it used to be a long time ago.

I am not an employee or stockholder. Just been a customer for so long that I understand the reality of the options. Since your post comes off as shock to the option, I can only assume this is your very first equipment upgrades so just now learned how it works.

Yes, DirecTV and the NFL do renegotiate the next term. I see streaming options are being looked at. This does not mean that DirecTV will no longer have it as you have said. Just that it has a chance to no longer be completely exclusive. DirecTV would expect to stay at least the sole traditional TV provider, but depends on what happens with streaming.

I am pulling the plug today on my DirecTV.  The issues I stated to start this post was the game breaker for me.  To all of you such as Juniper that are happy with DirecTV, you are entitled to your opinions and I will have mine.  I will say that at one time I was happy with my DirecTV service but that is no longer the case.  So long all.

P.S. Streaming is the way to go!!!

P.S. Streaming is the way to go!!!

I think that depends on your tolerance for spinning circles instead of moving pictures.

JefferMC, you obviously have either an inferior internet package or your hardware is obsolete or you are streaming illegally because spinning circles have not been my experience with "legally-paid for" streaming services. 

Thanks for your assumptions, but we're talking about a network connection with plenty of bandwidth, a cable to the device, a device quite capable, and a paid subscription to Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Video, and legitimate access to ESPN.  ESPN and Disney+ are the worst.  I rarely have issues with even 4K content with Netflix.