We have DirecTV. The receiver does have a reset button.
On the SD and the HD it was behind a fold down panel in the front.
We have the HD/DVR now and I don't see it right now, but
I know it has one.
ED. to add that when we've lost the satellite signal due
to weather, it has come back on it's own.

This post was edited by lindakathy on Thu, Jan 17, 13 at 21:54

On the front of your box there is a .door that will pop open when you tap on it. It is located on the right front side. The front of my door has direct tv on it. There will be a red button inside on the right. Hope this helps

On our DVR, it is a little door on lower right, I use my fingernail on the edge to open it. Small red button inside, next to the card. Sometimes, I pull the card out and back in.

And your dish may be clean but the heavy cloud cover will block the satelite signal from coming through. Keep checking, it should be back shortly.

DirecTv goes out with clouds, had it for almost 20 years. Live in a limited area.

To me my DirectTV is worth having even if it does go out in a rain or snow storm. It comes back on its own. One time I did have to get some snow off the satellite dish. I would never go back to cable TV.

Love UVerse TV

Direct TV goes out in heavy rain storms,and when snow accumulates on the dish. We had our dish put on the garage roof which is not as high as the house roof. It can be reached with a telescoping type pole or with getting on the ladder a couple of rungs and brush the snow off. If you're in a heavily wooded area, the top roof might have been your only option. We always tell friends who are thinking about getting a satellite, to make sure they put it in a reachable area so you can clean it off. Of course, we don't get much snow.....she says as she looks out the window and it's snowing. LOL I hope you have a DVR. This is when you watch all those programs you've previously recorded.

Reading the replies has been helpful.

With the help of a flashlight I found the little door. Couldn't open it, but as I ran my hand over it, it popped open, and there was the little red button. Pushed the button and a message came up on the screen. Said it was checking the signal, which would take a few seconds.

Another message and then it said "Almost done." Then it started over and went through the same routine. Then it told me I had moved that little thingie up at the top, on the remote, and I should put it back to where it has the Direct logo. I had to get a magnifier glass to see that. By then I felt like I was dealing with Big Brother! I had moved it and pushed any and every thing that could be pushed trying to get it to work when it first went off.

Anyhow, another message or so and it started all over from the beginning. So when I got to the place to open the door and push the red button, the button wasn't red any more. BB still went through the whole thing again. By now I had spent about an hour with him and decided to give it up and get back to it in the morning. Maybe by then the little red button will have had a miraculous recovery, or I may have black helicopters hovering around and uniformed men ringing my doorbell.

Thanks for your help. I shall return.

Sue

So here it is 1:25 AM. I decided to check the TV before I went to bed and Hurrah! It works.

No black 'copters or anything. All is well. Big Brother is my new BFF.

Good night.

Sue, the night owl.

Sue - when all else fails - unplug it for about 30 seconds and then plug it back it. It will take a while to require the satellite.

I have DISH, and it has been great. We have had it for over 16 years. We do lose it during heavy snow and heavy rain or fog. That's just how it goes. Same for my internet.....

The real bummer is if it is severe weather and we need to watch the weather/radars. No TV & no Internet. :(

Sue, if you ever have problems again, if you call Direct T.V. (they have people manning phones 24 hours) they are very good at talking you through each step. and as iowagirl said, when all else fails, unplug the satellite connection and plug it in again. It takes a few minutes for the satellite to boot up but usually works.

If it is off because there is snow on the dish, you can sweep it off with a broom, and your signal will come back. I had an extra handle taped to an old broom, so I could reach it, when we had direct tv. With cable, I no longer have to do that.

No snow now, TV working fine today. Yesterday when I turned it on and saw the message that said it would take a few seconds I thought it really would be just a few seconds. If (when) it happens again, I'll just wait a while or unplug it. That works on my PC when it acts up, and I told a friend a few days after I got Direct that it is just like a big computer.

I'm liking many of the features that Direct has, but some I don't like. The Guide and Menu sites are so dark and the text is so blurry I can't make some of it out. I'm still trying to figure out how to skip the commercials on recorded programs. DISH was very easy with both of those.

Georgysmom, speaking of watching recorded programs, how can I watch a recorded program if the screen is busy with messages?

As I mentioned, the dish is on the roof, and there is no way I could sweep the snow off. The installer used an extension ladder to get up there.

Anyway, I'll get all these bumps worked out. I appreciate all your helps.

Sue

My dishes are on the roof also - I hate it when we have a wet sticky now!!!

My DISH guide is very easy to read - crystal clear and on a medium blue background. I can adjust the size of it - maybe you can do that with Direct also?

The only time I had a blurry guide was when something wasn't hooked up right and the signal wasn't strong enough to a TV in another part of the house. My TV guy put some kind of booster in the lines.

Sue, If you have recorded a program, even when you lose the signal because of heavy rains or snow, you can watch all those programs that have been recorded. Sometimes when the signal is gone, DH will come down from his inner sanctum because he can't watch T.V. and is wondering why I have a picture. He doesn't have DVR on his T.V. Also, if your guide isn't clear, I would call Direct T.V. and explain to them what you're experiencing. The guide shouldn't be dark and fuzzy. It's the thing I miss most when we go on vacation. When I'm turning channels, I like to see what the program is, when it started and when it ends.

Sue, to fast forward through commercials of recorded programs, use the buttons just above the record button. The one that has 2 arrows pointing toward the right is the fast forward. I hit it twice and then lightly rest my finger on the black button in the center so I can hit it at the end of the commercials. To the left of the record button is a pause button.

And right above the button with two arrows is a button with an arrow and small bar. That is the "jump 30 seconds" button. I push it four times, it jumps ahead two minutes.

I've had DirecTV for 10 years and love them. Maybe once or twice a year we lose channels due to weather, although we don't get much snow here. If we have problems, I've reset the box. Although I've had that progress bar get to 99%, stall and start over, which is frustrating. I'd ask a tech about the blurry guide/menu, don't think I've ever heard of that?

And yes, you can watch DVR shows if the channels are acting up. I also just fast forward through the commercials. Gotten to the point where we are annoyed to watch "live tv" and have to sit through the ads! lol

Good to know that I can watch a recorded program even though there is no signal.

So the >> is the fast forward, and 2 taps and rest on the black button. The The >I is the 30 second jump that I read about somewhere. Four pushes equals 2 minutes.

Got it. I'll be trying that out.

About the Guide and Menu sites, I notice now they look clearer than before. Not perfect, but better. Maybe the reset helped?

Earlier today I downloaded the manual. I hope it won't be so technical that I can't make sense f it.

I guess I sounded a little upset with DirectTV when I started my post, but I really was disappointed, seeing that such a little bit of snow had knocked it out.

Thanks again for all of your help. I really appr4ciate it.

Sue

they are famous in central FL for a bit of afternoon storms, the norm from May-Oct, and the service is out! in 2004 after hurricane Charley they lost several hundred sat dishes in the orlando area alone and their customers' went months before enough sat dished could get down here. NOT for me! we lost power for 24 days, gas service for a week, almost lost water (lift station pressure) BUT never ever lost Brighthouse cable or internet LOL not that we wasted generator power running them but we checked occasionally ~ liz

I'm just glad there is the option of satellite - living out in the boonies with no cable or DSL options. Sat internet is SO expensive - and data caps too boot, but it is super fast! :)

I don't understand why they cap us on internet usage, but encourage as much TV use as possible - LOL Two different animals I know - but still!

Interesting to read all the trials and tribulations about the different systems. Makes me wonder how our, well my, parents, ever managed with just a wind-up phonograph for entertainment.

Linda and Joan, I tried both methods and they each work like a charm. As Staples says ... that was easy.

In glancing through the manual, I find that DirecTV can do many things I would never have thought of. And probably will never attempt to do!

Thanks again.

Sue