Note: I searched on 'service address' and did not get any recent threads that matched my particular problem.

For background purposes we started living fulltime in our RV in 2009 and traveling the country. We requested a waiver for Distant Network Services (DNS that includes ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CW, PBS) and received it so we now get channels 389-399 for both east coast and west coast feeds. Every once in a while if we were going to be in a place longer than a month we changed our 'service address' to our new location and got the local channels, especially for local weather.

We are now going to be in the Kansas City area for a few months so I called recently. After 2 unsuccessful attempts the third phone call got me to a higher level customer service rep and I was told that as of January 1st if we change our 'service address' we are going to have to resubmit for our DNS waiver.

Can someone with more knowledge of DirecTV advise us, we don't want to lose DNS but we would like to have things the way they were on December 31st.

When we had DNS from Dish, we had to re-certify every year, meaning all new paperwork each year.

If DirecTV wasn't doing that, they were violating the SHERVA laws about DNS.

We've had DirecTV DNS for >7 years and have never been asked to recertify our eligibility.  We get local channels at our "home base" in south TX.  Some people claim that if you have DNS you're not supposed to get local channels, but we've always had ours and we have changed the service address a couple of times over the 7 years.  However, in recent years we've left the address set for our home base even when we were traveling because I was always nervous that someone would try to shut down our locals.  However, I can't advise you with respect any changes to the DirecTV TOS.

Ever since I got both coast of DNS many years ago. I have never had local and they have given me a $3 off a month.
I have no S&B only the MH.

For local stations my OTA Batwing has always picked up something no matter where I was parked.
The receivers on the TV's pick up more then the add on AM receiver to the Genie as it seems to have a much weaker OTA receiver.

At my winter spot the Batwing picks up over 30 stations.
Since DirecTV keeps adding on more fees every year and monthly bill has now gone up to $154.53
Next winter I'm going to put DTV on vacation for 2-3 months(after NASCAR final) and watch some of the 30 locals plus the many, many hours of recorded movies I have on the Genie that I never have time to watch.

For the OP here are the many local OTA for Kansas City

Edited March 22, 2018 by Biker56

Ours service  address is our S&B although we are not there most of the year. We get the local channels via the bat wing were ever we are. We are not interested in the local weather or local news from our Service address (the S&B) since we are not there.

  On 3/22/2018 at 7:21 AM, docj said:

We've had DirecTV DNS for >7 years and have never been asked to recertify our eligibility.  We get local channels at our "home base" in south TX.  Some people claim that if you have DNS you're not supposed to get local channels, but we've always had ours and we have changed the service address a couple of times over the 7 years.  However, in recent years we've left the address set for our home base even when we were traveling because I was always nervous that someone would try to shut down our locals.  However, I can't advise you with respect any changes to the DirecTV TOS.

We've had the same experience. DirecTV w/ DNS  (East Coast only) for 8 years with no recertification. We get locals at our home base near San Antonio and have changed service address a couple of times. But in past years we've not asked for service address changes as we simply don't watch the locals. 

Biker56,

Have you done the vacation thing and been able to get your recordings to play before? We recently attempted to watch recorded content on our Genie when we ended up in a campsite that was so thick with trees that we could not lock onto a satellite and couldn't.  After a call to DIRECTV/ATT we were told that we could not watch any recordings unless the dish was on a satellite so that it could "authorize" the viewing.

Maybe your dish will still communicate with the sats enough in the vacation mode to allow viewing recorded content but you might want to give them a call so that there are no surprises next winter.

  On 3/23/2018 at 10:43 AM, jperry29 said:

Have you done the vacation thing and been able to get your recordings to play before? We recently attempted to watch recorded content on our Genie when we ended up in a campsite that was so thick with trees that we could not lock onto a satellite and couldn't.  After a call to DIRECTV/ATT we were told that we could not watch any recordings unless the dish was on a satellite so that it could "authorize" the viewing.

Maybe your dish will still communicate with the sats enough in the vacation mode to allow viewing recorded content but you might want to give them a call so that there are no surprises next winter.

I haven't ever put it on vacation since I got DirecTV in the 90's.
But I have watched some recording when the Trav'ler was not working with a bad LNB before I replaced it.
And another time when under trees and couldn't get the dish to lock on.
It did take a while to get it through the reboot and the warning that there was no signal or no communication with the dish.
But somehow I finally got to see the recordings. I don't remember now if I went through the menu different settings to see the recordings or what I did.

I have done a little research on doing it and found if you are going to cancel the service off for good or take the card out of the receiver.
You may have a few days to see the recordings if you unhook the dish cable before you call them to have it shut off.

On vacation may be like when installing a new receiver before it is authorized they are a couple channel's you can see.
When I put it on vacation the dish will be up and locked on the satellites and I won't be moving it to a different location.
If I can't see the recordings they will still be there after it is taken off vacation and I have saved up to $450.

It will be next Nov. before I find out. And I probably will do more research on it.

  On 3/23/2018 at 10:43 AM, jperry29 said:

Biker56,

Have you done the vacation thing and been able to get your recordings to play before? We recently attempted to watch recorded content on our Genie when we ended up in a campsite that was so thick with trees that we could not lock onto a satellite and couldn't.  After a call to DIRECTV/ATT we were told that we could not watch any recordings unless the dish was on a satellite so that it could "authorize" the viewing.

Maybe your dish will still communicate with the sats enough in the vacation mode to allow viewing recorded content but you might want to give them a call so that there are no surprises next winter.

This just isn't true. Let the receiver run through the set up until it starts "searching for satellite". At that time you can press the menu button and go to your DVR recordings. As long as you don't turn the receiver off, you can continue to access the menu. Chuck

Hi Folks,

Everybody that is a DIRECTV customer should get ready for a new reality.  It has been four days of pure hell on the phone.  Just as a qualifier - I do not have DNS, never have.  I have always just done a service address change when I got where I was going.  But below is a post I placed on an ATT forum and I have also filed a complaint with the FCC.

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Full time RVers are being cheated and our safety compromised by the merge of DIRECTV with ATT!!

For six years I have been a DIRECTV customer and registered with them as an RV account.  Full time RV, no home (fixed residence), we have been mobile from day one of our account being established.  And for 5 blissful years doing a service address change was a breeze, just call the RV department and 5 minutes later you were in business.  All local channels for the zip code you were in were available.  Most importantly we got local weather, crucial to someone in a home on wheels in areas prone to violent storms, which is practically everywhere.

This week when we called in to do a service address change, the person answering the phone said they must first migrate our DIRECTV account to the new ATT system.  Once that was accomplished we quickly learned that we had stepped into a nightmare.

In being on the phone for 8.5 hours over a 4 day period we talked to 42 people.  Each one said; "sure I can make that change for you" and within minutes we would be told; "sorry, I'm having difficulties and will be transferring you to someone that can help.  It was a hellish merry-go-round of being passed to the sales department, billing department, move department, technical department and the RC1 department.  Of the 41(yes, forty one) people we talked to (including those claiming to be supervisors) not one of them ever said that the new system was blocking service address changes for RVers as a matter of policy.  It was only the 42nd person we talked to that seemed to have a clue as to what was going on.  We were told that the engineers that built the new system for migrating DIRECTV into ATT (if you haven't been migrated yet, just wait it's coming) purposefully created programming that would not allow RVers to change service addresses.

We were told that our concerns had been "escalated" and that we were not the only ones that wanted a piece of management for this asinine treatment of RVers.  I have my doubts that anything was "escalated", which is why I am posting here.

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I don't know if this will spur any action by others to lodge their complaints with ATT.  I hope so.  There are thousands of us out here with expensive Winegard equipment that is loosing a significant amount of functionality because of ATT's unthinking actions.

We don;t look at the locals so have no need to change service address. Our RV antennae works fine if we want to look a locals and we have a TIVO to record the locals if needed.

  On 3/22/2018 at 7:21 AM, docj said:

We've had DirecTV DNS for >7 years and have never been asked to recertify our eligibility.  We get local channels at our "home base" in south TX.  Some people claim that if you have DNS you're not supposed to get local channels, but we've always had ours and we have changed the service address a couple of times over the 7 years.  However, in recent years we've left the address set for our home base even when we were traveling because I was always nervous that someone would try to shut down our locals.  However, I can't advise you with respect any changes to the DirecTV TOS.

X2.  I have had DNS and my home base locals since 2010.  I NEVER change my service address and get local news and weather via the internet.  I don't want to tease the DirecTV Gorilla.

The OTA and cell phone suggestions are a solution for those that never venture into remote areas. However, we spend months at a time in areas that have zero OTA signals for TV and a ten mile drive to the nearest cell phone (3G) signal, or a hike to a high point that might give you enough signal strength to get a five word text out. Looking at a weather report or radar image is out of the question.

As for the comments about DirecTV, our problem was never with them. We called the RV 800 number and five minutes later we had a service address change. Our problem is with ATT. It is their purchase of DirecTV and subsequent folding them into the ATT system, and policies, that is the problem.  If you thought DirecTV was hard to deal with you've got some new pain coming.

We have had DirecTV for almost 10 years on our boat and now for 3 years in the RV. We have changed service addresses on a number of occasions but never on a weekly on monthly basis. We usually switch to a New York address when traveling in the east and a Los Angeles address when out west. This gives us the network feeds, which as all we need. In all of my dealing both on the phone and on the website, I have encountered few problems both as DirecTV and now with AT&T. On occasions, their chat service is down on the website but most times, that is all I need to get something done. In those 13 years, we have never encountered the long times and frustrations the OP has encountered. So your new reality and mine don't seem to match up. Chuck

  On 3/31/2018 at 9:12 PM, edatlanta said:

X2.  I have had DNS and my home base locals since 2010.  I NEVER change my service address and get local news and weather via the internet.  I don't want to tease the DirecTV Gorilla.

Agreed.  We were grandfathered in with both east coast and west coast feeds and there is no way I want to upset that system.   For local channels, we just use OTA channels.