Blackberry Torch Locks Phone After Every Call (AT&T)

I have a password set-up in security settings, so that when I holster the phone or a certain amount of time passes, it will enter lock mode.  This accomplishes two things: first, it protects the information on your phone* and second, it prevents me from "butt dialing" anyone while the phone is in my pocket or in the leather holster.

I, however, just stumbled upon a MAJOR quirk- every single time that I am on a phone call (incoming and outing), the phone immediately "Locks" itself, requiring a password to get back into it.  This is extremely disruptive and previously I hadn't noticed.  Though, today, I had a few short, but important calls that I planned to make or receive one after another.  This is a very strange quirk and after spending 30 minutes on Google I have not found a solution.  

There are many people that are asking in forums and such about a solution (hopefully somewhere in the settings it happens to be an option), but I did not find one single reply to the user complaints anywhere.  I am going to spend a bit more time on it, but after another few minutes, I will just open a trouble ticket with RIM (the makers of the Blackberry devices) and/or AT&T.

If you happen to know the solution, please feel free to comment on this page!  It will help me out tremendously.

____________________________________________________________

*The amount of protection that the Blackberry password feature does not necessarily do a great job of securing your data.  It is highly dependent on what you've installed on the phone, other phone security settings and many other factors.  If someone picks up your phone to get a peek at who you are sending txt msgs to, it will stop them - but if you're selling military equipment to Iran and the DoD wants your phone data, they'll get it - and probably within seconds.

BlackBerry Torch Reviews

I am personally an avid fan of my Blackberry and now have twice tried to move over to an iPhone.  I always returned to the Blackberry.  I was very excited with the advent of the TORCH and best yet, my contract was up for renewal and they were selling them for $0.01 with free shipping on their website (BTW - they didn't ever actually charge me the .01!).

I was about to write a review but noticed that there are so many reviews, that I would sift through them, find the best and let you review and link to them.

So here is #1 of several Torch reviews from across the web.

By: Adam Z Lein on PocketNow.com 

 

It's been a while since I've used a BlackBerry. My first experience was with the BlackBerry 8820 a few years ago. Today, we've got the new BlackBerry Torch 9800, which RIM calls its best BlackBerry ever. It's the first device with the new BlackBerry 6 operating system, and the software design is much better than it has been in the past -- but is that enough, and are the differences significant?

BOX CONTENTS



Here's the unboxing for the BlackBerry Torch.

HARDWARE



The BlackBerry Torch is running a 624MHz processor with 512MB of ROM, 512MB of ROM, with an additional 3.6GB ROM capacity, as well as a 4GB MicroSD pre-installed for added storage. The 3.2" capacitive color TFT display has a 360 x 480 pixel resolution. In terms of wireless radios, you've got everything you'd expect for an AT&T smartphone: WiFi (with N), AT&T's UMTS frequencies with HSDPA, Bluetooth 2.1, and GPS (assisted). For imaging, the camera (with LED flash) takes stills at 5MP and video at VGA resolution. The battery is 1300mAh, the device dimensions are 62 x 111 x 14.6 millimeters, and it weighs 161.1 grams. For even more specs, check out PDAdb.net.



The Torch feels good in the hand and the screen is decently viewable outdoors. Unfortunately for some, the low resolution may seem archaic. On the bottom, you've got the usual call send button, Blackberry menu button, an optical joystick navigation button (so you don't have to touch the screen), an escape/back button, and the call end button. While the buttons are thankfully not capacitive, they are flat and there is very little tactile differentiation between them. Fortunately, you can feel the optical joystick and then move left or right to determine the positions of the other buttons without having to look at the device. At the top is the speaker grill and an ambient light sensor.



The slide-out keyboard is really great to have and it seems very similar to previous BlackBerry keyboards. Die-hard BlackBerry users are sure to feel right at home with this keyboard, however I still feel the HTC Dash 3G's Qwerty thumb keyboard is a better design.



On the left side of the device we have the Micro USB port.



On the right side of the device we have the camera button, volume rocker buttons, and 3.5mm headset jack.



On the top we have a mute key and a lock key.



The back battery cover has a ribbed rubber coating along with the BlackBerry logo. The ribs feel great and definitely keep the device from slipping. Surrounding the "Torch" logo you've got a 5Mp camera and LED flash at the top. Underneath the battery cover is a 1300mAh battery, along with the SIM card slot, and a 4GB microSD card.

SOFTWARE




Here's our first look video demo of the new BlackBerry Torch during the launch event in New York.




The universal search is a great feature and should be very useful. Unfortunately there are a lot of issues with the BlackBerry 6 OS that may keep others away. There are little glitches and bugs here and there including a very reproducible method for causing the task manager to freeze. The Torch comes with a lot of bundled applications that aren't really bundled. They're just shortcuts to a web page where you can download the apps yourself.

There are still plenty of usability issues with the BlackBerry platform as well. On a positive note, the application icons now have labels that you can see all at the same time without having to scroll over each one individually. That should make finding the program you want much easier, and if it doesn't, the universal search will. Unfortunately there are still plenty of unlabeled icons in certain apps, and the tool-tip that is supposed to tell you what the button does only appears with a light press and hold. You'll have to press it again to activate the actual command. The BlackBerry menu still does not show all commands at one time so users may not know that there are more options available, and the menu items do not have keyboard mnemonics for quick activation, however typing the first letter does still jump between menu commands that begin with that letter.

Unfortunately, the BlackBerry still requires a BlackBerry server in order to sync your contacts, calendar, and tasks with Exchange server. It feels weird to have a phone these days that does not directly support Exchange ActiveSync, so to me, it really feels kind of useless without BES (which I don't have on my Exchange Server).

CAMERA




For still photography, the Torch can take photos at 5MP. Here's a few photo samples at full resolution: outdoor bright light landscape, indoor close up with flash. The outdoor photo is pretty average for a camera phone, with plenty of noise and lack of detail. The indoor close-up photo with flash is actually quite well exposed. It takes about 4 seconds to launch the camera software and then there's about 0.5-1 second lag between pressing the hardware camera button and actually taking the photo.

PERFORMANCE

In terms of the user interface, the 624Mhz processor is generally sufficiently responsive. Menus activate and screens scroll pretty quickly. That is until you get into the web browser where the BlackBerry tends to slow down significantly, especially if you're trying to load a large web page.

BATTERY LIFE

The Torch's battery life is very good. With push email and social networking on full time, it lasts about 3 days.

PURCHASING AND AVAILABILITY

You can buy the Torch from AT&T for $199 with a two year contract. You can also get it from Amazon for $99.

PROS

+ Connects to BlackBerry Servers
+ No more sure-press touch screen
+ Familiar BlackBerry keyboard
+ BlackBerry 6 OS
+ Very usable and useful Universal Search
+ Social Network integration

CONS

- No direct Exchange ActiveSync support
- Lots of little operating system bugs
- Poor web browser
- Low resolution screen
- Slow processor compared to other high-end devices

CONCLUSION

If you're stuck with having to use a BlackBerry server for your work email, the Torch is going to be a decent work device that also supports your social networking Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace fix. If you don't use a BlackBerry Enterprise Server or don't know what one is, there are probably better options out there. For example, since this device is going to be on AT&T, it will be in the stores right next to better-looking, more-capable devices like the Samsung Captivate and iPhone 4. Then if you wait a few more months, you'll have some great new Windows Phone 7 devices to choose from on AT&T as well.

I give the BlackBerry Torch a 2/5.

I got dumped on Valentine's Day

You read it right in the headline.  I got dumped on Valentine’s Day.

I met her online via match.com.  Our first date was October 20, 2010.  There was a period of a couple weeks that we really enjoyed each other’s company.  She had not been feeling well for about 10 days, but didn't think much of it.  It was mild.  Over a sometime we hung out more and more, kept in touch most days, all day via txt messaging and learned about each other.  From the first time we met I thought she was beautiful and a little reserved.  As she grew more comfortable, she opened up and is really an amazing woman.

Then something very unexpected happened.  Late in the afternoon in early November, I got a text message from her.  To paraphrase, she said: I am really, really sorry but I cannot be with you anymore.  It has nothing to do with you, or our connection, but we can't be together .... I read the message dumbfounded.  I think I replied, "Huh?" 

After about 5 minutes she wrote back and said: I found out today that I am pregnant.

For some reason the whole thing made me kind of defiant and angry.  I wrote back to her and got some more details about her situation and then replied: What does being pregnant have to with you and I being together?

I was upset because she assumed that I wouldn't want to be with her and assumed that would crumble our relationship and ability to be together.

Let me include a little back-story for reference... she is about 10 years young than I.  She is in the Arizona National Guard and the Army Reserves.  She works full-time for the military as a budget analyst.  It turns out that not only is she in the military but is a Commissioned Officer in the military. 

With all the continuing turmoil in the Middle East she knew that it was just a matter of time that she was called up as a Reservist and was deployed to Iraq.  Prior to her deployment, she was engaged to be married.  From the little I know, her time in Iraq was very rocky and their relationship became very strenuous.  Although she hasn’t admitted so, I also think that she got romantically involved with someone while there. 

Her version of the story was that, while he was supposed to be providing her support and helping her morale, it was actually the other way around.  She constantly felt like she was coddling him and reassuring him that she would be coming home and blah, blah, blah.

It was too much for her, and understandably so.  She told me that while still in Iraq, she began the process of separating from him, of course getting unengaged and talking about moving out when she returned.

Just this past June, 2010, she returned from her deployment.  She started the process of finding her own place and trying to disconnect from her former fiancé.  At the same time, her sister was having some personal problems and so my ex, found a great 2 bedroom loft apartment.  I don’t know exactly when this happened but maybe August, September?

Now we fast forward to the more recent past.  The timeline is something like this.  We met in early October on one of the big online dating sites.  We traded txt messages, e-mails and talked on the phone.  We got together for the first time October 20^th. 

There was an immediate connection and we both embraced it.  Not only did we embrace it, we slept together a couple days later.  We went out, had a great time, enjoyed great food and did some drinking – all of the I’m newly in love stuff.

Then, the pregnancy stuff happened.  At first she acquiesced to my defiant attitude and thought we could try to make things work.  I even took her shopping for maternity pants and office appropriate attire when she did not need to be in uniform.

Then she slowly stopped responding to txt’s, and she she slowly stopped coming by until, frustrated I wrote her a message that said: You are embarking on THE most amazing journey’s of your life. If you want to share it with me, I am here for you, but if you decide to share it with someone else, I understand.  I’m around and here for you if you’re interested.

I got a “Thank  you” back from her and that was that… until December 23, 2010.  On 23 December I was admitted to the hospital.  I sent out a txt message to my family and some friends to let them know and included her.

I was then in and out of the hospital through the end of January.  I spent Christmas, New Year’s and my birthday (26 January) in the hospital.  While my father held a watchful vigil.

Then with no warning, expectation or thought, she walked in the room.  A couple family members came and went.  I got to see my kids a few times…. but she was a constant.  The first time she came was the day I got admitted and she showed up at one o’clock in the morning.

We talked a lot.  She kept my spirits high, when they were at an all time low.  Especially in the evenings, she would crawl in to bed with me to watch movies on my computer.  It was against the rules for her to be in bed with me so we figured out the quick routine for her to move to the chair.  It was kind of comical.

Through it all, she was there.  She was there like a rock.

Here’s the deal- I don’t think that she was initially honest about how long she had been pregnant because she did not want me to know that she was with multiple people (including her ex-fiancé).  The doctor changed her due date which she told me and so she really couldn’t continue to fudge that or keep in a secret.

She is due at the beginning of July.  If I got her pregnant, her due date would have to be late July, but it is still a little too close for comfort, if you know what I mean.  (Isn’t the internet wonderful, so many choices of due date calendars?)  I am not positive that it is not mine.  I don’t know if it is her ex-fiancé or from a one night stand.  The man she calls “the father” told her to get an abortion, she said go to hell and they haven’t spoke since.

Since mid-January we were back together.  She started staying the night.  I introduced her to my children and things were going great.  She told me that she loved me and asked if I believed her. We were together everyday and spent an entire day, literally in bed, watching old movies.

We were spending almost every single day together.  We even had a superbowl party together! 

This past weekend was a “drill” weekend for her Reserve duties.  She said that she was going to come crash in the evenings with me.  BUT, the pressure was on me, her birthday was coming up and I had to do something.  Did I mention that her birthday is also Valentine’s Day?

So I ordered a dozen deluxe red rose arrangements for delivery to her condo.  I made reservations at one of the best restaurants in town – and was even going to put on a suit for the occasion.

Then on Saturday night she said she was exhausted from drill and crashed in her bed and wouldn’t be over.  She didn’t say much.  Then Sunday, she again had to run drill and worked and exhausted herself (remember she’s also pregnant).  Sunday night at 8:59, she said I love you and then nothing.

First thing in the morning, I sent her a txt saying Happy Birthday and Happy Valentine’s Day. And nothing.

I told her our plans for the evening, and offered to take her to the maternity store to get a new dress. Nothing.

At 4:09PM, she sent me a message, said that she was going to Nebraska to see her parents and taking a couple weeks of leave and there was no longer “us”.

“All I can say is sorry.”

I sent her a couple follow-up txts and she won’t even respond.

I cancelled our reservation.

I have no idea if the flowers ever made it to her because she did not say a word.

All through txt messages.

I was planning on talking to her about getting married.  She was planning to have nothing to do with me.

I don't know if I am expecting a child.

I got dumped on Valentine’s Day, hardcore dumped.  I haven’t used that to describe any break-up since I was a teenager.  But it couldn’t be more apropos.

And so it goes….

In every heart there is a room

A sanctuary safe and strong

To heal the wounds from lovers past

Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones

You answered me with no pretense

And still I feel I said too much

My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose

It seems I only felt the thorns

And so it goes, and so it goes

And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave

Then that would be my worst mistake

So I will share this room with you

And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed

It's just as well for all I've seen

And so it goes, and so it goes

And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you

That's if the choice were mine to make

But you can make decisions too

And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes

And you're the only one who knows

Can you delete your entire inbox on Gmail?

I now have a clean install and would like to get thing set-up to use IMAP.  I also use a Blackberry that I want to set-up to share data with Google Enterprise applications that I am using (e-mail, calendaring, docs, sites and mobile).  I figure to make this a realistic process, I don't want to deal with more than 17,000 e-mails.  I also don't want to lose them, and this is where Google's "Archive" rather than "Delete" is like magic.

For a little bit of background, I currently have 17,822 e-mail messages in my INBOX alone on my Google Enterprise mailbox (same interface and usage as Gmail - Enterprise just lets you use your own domain name for a large portion of available Google apps).

I am using 2408 MB (31%) of your 7548 MB of my total mailbox allowance.  Luckily I am the administrator so I can adjust my quota.  My users do NOT have anywhere near an allowance of 7458 MB.

Anyhow, for quite some time I was using MS Outlook in POP3 mode compared to IMAP, so all my rules, filtering, etc were set-up in outlook and not in Gmail.  I had selected to keep the messages even after they were "POP'ed" so they accumulated.


Anyhow, I am fiddling with it now and searching of different ways to do it.  Right now, the process of archiving manually would be to pull up 100 messages at a time, select "all" and press Archive.  There is no way that I have the time to do that almost 200 times.

Rather quickly I found these solutions on the Google support website - most of which are outdated, but I working right now to see if any one of them actually works and/or make variations that do work.  For your review, and hopefully helpful, I've quoted a part of the conversation below.

Once I figure it out and successfully archive all 17,822 messages, I will report back on my success and the process that I use.

From the Google Gmail Help Discussion:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=6c6f504fd0a220f6&hl=en

Help forum > Gmail > Managing Settings and Mail > Is there a way to bulk archive all the messages that are in my inbox?
Is there a way to bulk archive all the messages that are in my inbox?

TweesLevel 1
7/9/09
This question was asked before, but no one answered it fully. I have over 8,000 messages currently in my inbox and I really wish I had gone through and archived them all when I first started because I would like my inbox to be clean. It would take years to go page by page and archive each email. How can I do this in quickly and in bulk?
Thank you!

Updates:
Brighten - This didn't work. For some reason it only archived 42 messages, not all of
the 8342 I had selected.
7/10/09
Ah ok, I tried to save a few emails by un-selecting them, but when I stopped doing that your suggestion worked. Thanks! Johnstone your suggestion was very helpful as well.
7/10/09
Best answers
BrightenLevel 1
7/10/09
Best answer - Twees (Asker) Go to this answer
Select "All"
You will see all the mail is checked off. I have mine set to see 100 at a time but that isn't relavent. Click the "select all conversations" link above the "snippits"
It should send you a warning pop up to make sure you wanted to select all the conversations.
Click "ok" if you're sure that's what you want to do.
Select what you want to do with them... Archive or Delete or whatever.
Click on your choice.
Tada...
You can now start to collect new email on a squeaky clean slate.
13 of 15 people found this answer helpful.
Replies 1 - 5 of 5
Brighten
Level 1
7/10/09
Best answer - Twees (Asker)
Select "All"
You will see all the mail is checked off. I have mine set to see 100 at a time but that isn't relavent. Click the "select all conversations" link above the "snippits"
It should send you a warning pop up to make sure you wanted to select all the conversations.
Click "ok" if you're sure that's what you want to do.
Select what you want to do with them... Archive or Delete or whatever.
Click on your choice.
Tada...
You can now start to collect new email on a squeaky clean slate.
13 of 15 people found this answer helpful. Did you?

Brighten
Level 1
7/10/09
P.S. In case you don't want to get rid of ALL 8,000 messages. You can do a search for each individual party and archive or delete them in groups.
1 of 2 people found this answer helpful. Did you?

csjohnstone
Level 1
7/10/09
Setup a filter in your Settings section. In the "From box" type "(before:2007/12/31)" to filter all mail prior to 2008. Click Next Step. Then in the next step select "Skip Inbox" and give it some label.
It will look like this in the filter section
Matches: from:(before:2007/12/31)
Do this: Skip Inbox, Apply label "Older than 2007"
6 of 6 people found this answer helpful. Did you?

gkasp
Level 1
7/25/09
The steps Twees gives above work, but if you want to move already-received message into the Archive, you should also check the box labeled: "Also apply filter to 1000 conversations below."
2 of 2 people found this answer helpful. Did you?

gkasp
Level 1
7/25/09
Oops, I meant the steps csjohnstone shows. ANd I don't think you need the label. So the be complete:
Settings -> Filters -> Create new filter.
In the "From box" type something like "before:2009/06/31" (minus the quotation marks).
Click Next Step.
Check the box next to "Skip the Inbox (Archive it)".
Check the box labeled: "Also apply filter to 1000 conversations below."
Click Create filter.
You can keep the filter and occasionally update the date, the run it again.

8 of 8 people found this answer helpful. Did you?

Ok, now it's my turn to get to work and see if any of these solutions work.

Happiness is the journey not the destination.

Today I talked to a friend that was frustrated about a new job she just started.  It is highly commission based and there is lots of "cold" sales.  A position similar to a pharmaceutical rep that needs to visit doctors offices and drop off samples, and kiss ass, and bring lunch for everyone.

It was the first time in a long time that I thought of "The Secret".  I was telling her that getting the sale is just as much about her attitude as the product.  No matter how hard she tried to put on a happy face, it just doesn't work.  To be truly engaged passionate and confident about what your doing changes the world around you.  I then related it to The Secret which is a book and now, I think, a movie.  I suggested it to her.  I told her it was a motivational seminar for the masses - no cult required to join.

Then I said something that I've recently forgotten too:

Happiness is the journey not the destination.

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - Real Life.But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first,

some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.
At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness.

Happiness is the way.

So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.Happiness is the journey, not the destination.

Update and Solution: The D-Link DIR-825 Problem with Invalid MAC Addresses

I have the answer to my own mystery post regarding problems with my router.  I dug through every nook and cranny on the D-Link tech support website.  I looked for drivers, applications, firmware updates - you name it, I  researched it.  So, like your average guy, I don't like to stop to ask for directions, but in this case I needed to do so.  I filled out a form on the D-Link website to create a tech support request. (BTW- this entailed registering the device with D-Link which I previously had not done.)


You can find the details of my original problem here:

The D-Link DIR-825 Problem with Invalid MAC Addresses

I submitted the technical support ticket after writing my blog about this particular problem on January 15, 2011. D-Link responded to my question on January 19, 2011.  It took them 4 and a half days (108 hours, 6480 minutes, 388,800 seconds... ok, I'll stop there, couldn't help myself).  I will leave it up to your judgement and your experiences about the length of time that it should take to answer a routine tech support ticket at a company the size of D-Link.  D-Link's sales are over $1 Billion US dollars. (Wikipedia adds: The company has 127 sales offices in 64 countries and 10 global distribution centers serving 100 countries worldwide.)  Home base is Taiwan.


Another source says:
Actually DLink does not have many technical employees. Designs are purchased from Wisecom and other Taiwan OEMs, and firmware comes from India and other contractors.


I don't have any difficulty believing that.  Interestingly, I also just found out that D-Link COMPLETELY outsources it's technical support operations.  D-Link does not operate or have any actual tech support employees, nor do they operate their own call centers, web chat assistance and trouble ticket processing.


Fortunately or unfortunately, they seem to be very successful using this business model as they continue to grow, despite the world economic slump and continue to hold a major market share on networking and Wi-Fi products.


Again, I am just providing to you the information that I uncovered whilst curious about why their tech support is so bad.  There are others brands to choose from that make equivalent hardware, at equivalent prices that are US companies.  Those brands include Cisco/Linksys and Netgear.  To be competitive I am sure that they all do manufacturing all over the world and a lot in China.  It's not like cars - I remember back 20 years ago and my father would only buy American.  Then the world surpassed us in our ability to produce quality products and good prices.  Cisco and Netgear make great products- at least on level with D-Link. Geez, I sound like a politician, but I assure you I am not. But next time you're looking around at electronics and home or business networking gear, keep in mind which companies are based where.


Nonetheless and moving on....

So here is my support request as sent to D-Link:

============Begin of Original Message===========
Through DHCP, I am attempting to reserve IP addresses to be assigned to particular devices.  To do so, the router requests the MAC address for the reserved device.

I have concluded that whether I manually type the device, or connect it and use the "pre-populate" option, I am given the error of "Invalid MAC Address".

Through my research I have determined that this is not an issue with my unit in particular, but a wider spread issue the certain D-Link devices will not accept ANY MAC addresses that do not start with "00".

As you can see below, numerous of my devices have MAC addresses that do not begin with a "00" prefix, obviously causing me a significant stumbling block when trying to reserve these addresses.

For various reasons, a work around by which I would use a STATIC IP address rather than a DHCP IP address is not satisfactory, as these devices connect to several networks with their own particular reserved DHCP address.

Please let me know D-Link's current status on a "fix" for this obvious error in the D-Link DIR-825 wireless router.
Thank you.


IP Address          Name (if any)                   MAC
192.168.X.10                                           00:21:5A:XX:XX:XX
192.168.X.13                                           44:58:29:XX:XX:XX
192.168.X.12   LAPTOP                         00:1F:3B:XX:XX:XX
192.168.X.11                                          DC:2B:61:XX:XX:XX
192.168.X.16                                           00:19:DF:XX:XX:XX
192.168.X.15                                          78:A2:A0:XX:XX:XX
192.168.X.14   NAS DEVICE                00:0D:A2:XX:XX:XX
============End of Original Message============

And the D-Link response:
============Begin of Response Message===========

from Email Support <help@dlink.com>
date Wed, Jan 19, 2011
subject D-Link Email Case ID: C0460XXXX
mailed-by bounce.salesforce.com


Your Case ID is C0460XXXX
[Critical: Please do not change the subject line of your email when you reply. Leaving the subject line as it is will allow us to review your complete history and help us to better serve you.]

Date of Reply: 1/19/2011
Products: DIR-825

Please update the firmware on your DIR-825. The latest firmware is available here:
http://www.dlink.ca/products/?tab=3&pid=DIR-825&rev=DIR-825_revB

Should you require further assistance with your D-Link products, please reply to this message, or call toll free at 877-453-5465.

Thank you for networking with D-Link.

Sincerely,
Anthony D
D-Link Technical Support

============End of Response Message============


I searched high and low for this firmware update on their website.Turns out that they date the firmware release as 1/13/2011. Maybe they've had it since January 13, 2011 from the small subcontractor actually writing their software and just got around to posting it - OR - maybe I just missed it somehow.  There are similar complaints abound on the web and no where did anyone have the answer.


And a special thanks to D-Link for letting us know that they are using the CRM tool salesforce.com to handle tickets.


With the new firmware in place, the router is working well.

DirecTV Contractor: No, We Won't Fix Our Botched Installation By Carey Alexander

DirecTV's installation contractor, Ironwood Communications, insists on mounting Archie's three receivers directly to his wood shake roof, even though the subcontractor they retained claims that an under-eave attachment is necessary to avoid damage.

Archie writes:

My wife and I are extremely frustrated. We've been DirecTV customers since we got married and moved into our new house 2.5 years ago. A month ago, we decided to renew our expired contract with DirecTV for another 2 years and got HD. The installers from Ironwood Communications came out (employee number #0123) and installed our new HD satellite dish and brought us 2 receivers when we had asked for 3. So they had to come back out a week later (#1682) and bring us the 3rd receiver (we were compensated with one month free HD). We have had issues with our HD channels (some of them were not working) since the first installation, and we finally called about it and had techs come to our house again a 3rd time (we again were compensated with one month free HD). We scheduled for 12/16/2007 from 1-5pm. The tech (#1502) arrived at 4:30pm. He told us that DirecTV had moved the HD channels to a new band and they were told for months that installers had to tune the dish to interact with the additional band and it should have been done when the first installer came out, or at least the second installer. He made the HD channels work, which was great.

But he told us our satellite dish was mounted incorrectly - he said it was poor work and was himself annoyed at the job the installers did. He noted that the dish was mounted on the fascia board of our roof, only attached to 2 of the 5 points the dish plate was supposed to be attached, and was already cracking our fascia board because of the weight of the HD dish. The tech told us per reccomendation, the dish should be mounted at 5 points (though there are 6). This tech told us he would change it for us, however since he was sent out to only fix the HD channels, he couldn't change the scope of his job. We were fine with that and appreciated the fact he told us the satellite was mounted incorrectly. He told us to call DirecTV and tell them we would need the satellite dish relocated and to tell them a tech advised us to do this.

So we called and asked for installers to come out to relocate the dish. This would be the fourth time in one month that DirecTV had to come out, and all for issues that the tech's did not cover correctly the first time. We scheduled for 12/21/2007 from 1-5pm. By this time were were a bit tired of all the installers coming at the tail end of their window, so we requested that we be scheduled earlier in the window. The tech (Leo, #352, from Mountain Satellite, subcontractor of Ironwood arrived at 4:10pm). The installer came, and looked at our dish. He noted that it was done incorrectly as the 3rd tech told us, but he told us that he would not be able to relocate the dish that day. Leo said he could not mount it on the roof, since we have a wood shake roof - the best way to mount the satellite was to use an under-eave mount, which needs to be specially ordered from DirecTV. We were not happy about this...we just wanted the satellite dish mounted correctly as they should have done in the first place. Leo told us that he might be able to come back the next day to install it if they get the under-eave mount. He would have his supervisor call at 10am to let us know if they have it and when they could come. He left his name, his supervisor's name (Marco, #353) and Marco's phone number.

We are at this point very frustrated. My wife calls DirecTV and we want compensation for the ridiculous amount of time and visits it's taking to do what should have been done correctly the first time the installers came. She talked to the representative, the supervisor, and finally the manager (Ryan, #3787) of the call center. This manager tells her that there is no one above him, he's the last person she can talk to, and all he offers is either for us to file a damage claim on our roof, or $100 off an HDDVR. The HDDVR offer was the exact same offer we were given when we were first renewing the contract, and quite frankly, is not an offer that tells us DirecTV values us as customers - we'd have to pay $199 to get the compensation offered us? He was very rude to my wife, and it was then we decided to find someone else to talk to, which is how we found your email. And after looking at The Consumerist at consumerist.com, we come to find out that people have been getting the HDDVR at no cost or for much cheaper only for being DirecTV customers!

10am on 12/22/2007, there was no call. We call Marco's number at 10:30am and get voicemail. I left a voicemail. I called DirecTV and tried to get through to the local subcontractor to find out what's going on. It takes about half an hour of back and forth with the representative on the phone to find out that tech's are scheduled to come out between 12-2pm. We don't know how that got scheduled since we never agreed on a time and the rep was asking us if we had something scheduled, so it must have happened in the time I was talking to the rep on the phone. While it's nice to have a 2 hour window instead of a 4 hour window, we've essentially been waiting since 10am, so it's just another 4 hour window to us. Though it takes me a while, I finally convince the rep to let me talk to the local contracting office and get from her that they'd try to come at the beginning of the 2 hour window. The tech's come at 2:05pm.

It's Leo and his supervisor Marco. Marco tells us Leo never told him he was supposed to call us. They didn't bring the under-eave mount as they don't have one, and only came to look look at the issue and figure out what they could do. They both say again, the under-eave mount is the best option as they're not supposed to mount on our type of roof. While talking to my wife about what's happening, Marco calls the supervisor from Ironwood who tells him to go ahead and mount it on the roof, it'll just need longer screws and they will not give us the j-mount at no cost. I was not comfortable with them putting it on our roof since Leo and Marco both told me it wasn't a good idea. My wife called DirecTV to find out if there was a general rule about not mounting on wood shake roofs while I continued to talk to the techs. DirecTV customer service was no help as they had no idea the ways that dishes should be mounted. Leo and Marco told me even if they did mount it on the roof, it would definitely crack some of the tiles, and if we were ever to remove the dish, we would have to replace the tiles. I could not understand why they would want to knowingly damage our roof. The techs finally called their supervisor from Mountain (Frank) who told them to not mount it on the roof as it was not safe. I talked to Frank who told me that mounting on the roof was not secure, it could leak even though they'd try their best, and if the dish wobbled even a little, it would affect our signal. He said he would order the under-eave mount and let us know by 12/26/2007 of it's status and would do his best to get us the mount at no cost (but no promises).

My wife was still on the phone with DirecTV, finally talking to another supervisor (Tony, #100101757), because this time, we at least thought we should get the j-mount at no cost and not wanting to even get into the issue we had the previous night. This supervisor was much more understanding. He was briefed on the situation before he talked to my wife on the phone, and still asked her to describe in her own words what happened. Tony then offered $10 off our bill for 12 months as compensation for the mount. We accepted that offer.

We are filing a damage claim with DirecTV for the damage it's already done to our roof. It took over a dozen reps, supervisors, techs, and managers before we talked to 2 people who were willing to listen to us calmly and understand our situation. Frank and Tony were more helpful than anyone else had been.

On 12/24/2007, William (from the local Ironwood office in Morgan Hill) came for an unscheduled and unnannounced appointment. He tried to convince me to mount it on the roof and that he would use silicone to prevent leaks. He also said that even if there were leaks, since he'd mount the dish over the part of the roof that isn't above our living space, that it would be okay! He wanted to show me a dish in our neighborhood that had the dish mounted on our type of roof and proceeded to walk me around our neighborhood looking for one. He found a dish that appeared to be mounted on the roof but short of walking on to the customer's property he could not tell. I told him we were going to wait for the other mount. He told me that the mounts are very popular and he doesn't know if he'll get one anytime soon and we might have to wait a while to get one. After 15 minutes of trying to push me into changing my mind, he left. This was the 6th time DirecTV has come to our house in five weeks.

We got a recorded call on 12/26/2007 that we had a relocation scheduled for 12/28/2007 from 8am-12pm. We expected that meant the mount had come in and we would get the dish relocated. The tech (from Ironwood, #1651) came around 9am. He did not know about the extra mount and did not know our situation at all. He looked at our chimney as an option but decided it wouldn't work (something about there were no gutters for him to put the wiring). He told my wife that even if we got the other mount, it would be attached to our fascia board from the back, making it seem pointless. He also said it was okay to mount it on the roof - he would use tar to keep it from leaking, but also said he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't crack the tiles. My wife sent him away as it was a wasted trip and another waste of our time. This was the 7th time.

At this point, we don't know what to do. We are at a complete loss. I left a message for Frank from Mountain to find out what's going on. We have had 7 visits from techs trying to get our HD system set up correctly when it should have taken only once, maybe twice, and it still isn't done. Your rudest rep was the highest ranking rep we spoke with - we definitely feel that Ryan is a poor customer support agent.

If we had gone with Comcast, we would have never had a satellite dish to deal with. We are very disappointed with the customer service we received and feel we still haven't been compensated for the incompetence of your installers. We looked online and saw that many DirecTV customers have had many issues with Ironwood and I can't understand why you would continue to contract with a company that obviously can't do their job.

I have attached photos of the installers shody work and damage to our fascia board. These are the same photos we will send in for the damage claim. We have called a roofing company who will come out and asses the damage for the damage claim. We also asked them if it was a good idea to mount satellite dishes to our wood shake roof. He described how it could be done, but the best way to protect our roof would involve removing some of the shakes, installing the dish on the base of the roof with some extra materials, and then putting the shakes back on the roof, which he obviously felt was better handled by a roofer. The techs who came out to our house only ever wanted to mount the dish directly on the shakes.

We just want the dish installed correctly and safely at no additional cost to us (for extra parts or labor or anything) and compensated for the headache this is causing us.

”

Let Chase Carey, DirecTV's mustachioed CEO, know that his company is employing incompetent contractors. Send him an email at: chase.carey@directv.com, or call DirecTV HQ at: (310) 964-5000.

My wife and I are extremely frustrated. We've been DirecTV customers since we got married and moved into our new house 2.5 years ago. A month ago, we decided to renew our expired contract with DirecTV for another 2 years and got HD. The installers from Ironwood Communications came out (employee number #0123) and installed our new HD satellite dish and brought us 2 receivers when we had asked for 3. So they had to come back out a week later (#1682) and bring us the 3rd receiver (we were compensated with one month free HD). We have had issues with our HD channels (some of them were not working) since the first installation, and we finally called about it and had techs come to our house again a 3rd time (we again were compensated with one month free HD). We scheduled for 12/16/2007 from 1-5pm. The tech (#1502) arrived at 4:30pm. He told us that DirecTV had moved the HD channels to a new band and they were told for months that installers had to tune the dish to interact with the additional band and it should have been done when the first installer came out, or at least the second installer. He made the HD channels work, which was great.

But he told us our satellite dish was mounted incorrectly - he said it was poor work and was himself annoyed at the job the installers did. He noted that the dish was mounted on the fascia board of our roof, only attached to 2 of the 5 points the dish plate was supposed to be attached, and was already cracking our fascia board because of the weight of the HD dish. The tech told us per reccomendation, the dish should be mounted at 5 points (though there are 6). This tech told us he would change it for us, however since he was sent out to only fix the HD channels, he couldn't change the scope of his job. We were fine with that and appreciated the fact he told us the satellite was mounted incorrectly. He told us to call DirecTV and tell them we would need the satellite dish relocated and to tell them a tech advised us to do this.

So we called and asked for installers to come out to relocate the dish. This would be the fourth time in one month that DirecTV had to come out, and all for issues that the tech's did not cover correctly the first time. We scheduled for 12/21/2007 from 1-5pm. By this time were were a bit tired of all the installers coming at the tail end of their window, so we requested that we be scheduled earlier in the window. The tech (Leo, #352, from Mountain Satellite, subcontractor of Ironwood arrived at 4:10pm). The installer came, and looked at our dish. He noted that it was done incorrectly as the 3rd tech told us, but he told us that he would not be able to relocate the dish that day. Leo said he could not mount it on the roof, since we have a wood shake roof - the best way to mount the satellite was to use an under-eave mount, which needs to be specially ordered from DirecTV. We were not happy about this...we just wanted the satellite dish mounted correctly as they should have done in the first place. Leo told us that he might be able to come back the next day to install it if they get the under-eave mount. He would have his supervisor call at 10am to let us know if they have it and when they could come. He left his name, his supervisor's name (Marco, #353) and Marco's phone number.

We are at this point very frustrated. My wife calls DirecTV and we want compensation for the ridiculous amount of time and visits it's taking to do what should have been done correctly the first time the installers came. She talked to the representative, the supervisor, and finally the manager (Ryan, #3787) of the call center. This manager tells her that there is no one above him, he's the last person she can talk to, and all he offers is either for us to file a damage claim on our roof, or $100 off an HDDVR. The HDDVR offer was the exact same offer we were given when we were first renewing the contract, and quite frankly, is not an offer that tells us DirecTV values us as customers - we'd have to pay $199 to get the compensation offered us? He was very rude to my wife, and it was then we decided to find someone else to talk to, which is how we found your email. And after looking at The Consumerist at consumerist.com, we come to find out that people have been getting the HDDVR at no cost or for much cheaper only for being DirecTV customers!

10am on 12/22/2007, there was no call. We call Marco's number at 10:30am and get voicemail. I left a voicemail. I called DirecTV and tried to get through to the local subcontractor to find out what's going on. It takes about half an hour of back and forth with the representative on the phone to find out that tech's are scheduled to come out between 12-2pm. We don't know how that got scheduled since we never agreed on a time and the rep was asking us if we had something scheduled, so it must have happened in the time I was talking to the rep on the phone. While it's nice to have a 2 hour window instead of a 4 hour window, we've essentially been waiting since 10am, so it's just another 4 hour window to us. Though it takes me a while, I finally convince the rep to let me talk to the local contracting office and get from her that they'd try to come at the beginning of the 2 hour window. The tech's come at 2:05pm.

It's Leo and his supervisor Marco. Marco tells us Leo never told him he was supposed to call us. They didn't bring the under-eave mount as they don't have one, and only came to look look at the issue and figure out what they could do. They both say again, the under-eave mount is the best option as they're not supposed to mount on our type of roof. While talking to my wife about what's happening, Marco calls the supervisor from Ironwood who tells him to go ahead and mount it on the roof, it'll just need longer screws and they will not give us the j-mount at no cost. I was not comfortable with them putting it on our roof since Leo and Marco both told me it wasn't a good idea. My wife called DirecTV to find out if there was a general rule about not mounting on wood shake roofs while I continued to talk to the techs. DirecTV customer service was no help as they had no idea the ways that dishes should be mounted. Leo and Marco told me even if they did mount it on the roof, it would definitely crack some of the tiles, and if we were ever to remove the dish, we would have to replace the tiles. I could not understand why they would want to knowingly damage our roof. The techs finally called their supervisor from Mountain (Frank) who told them to not mount it on the roof as it was not safe. I talked to Frank who told me that mounting on the roof was not secure, it could leak even though they'd try their best, and if the dish wobbled even a little, it would affect our signal. He said he would order the under-eave mount and let us know by 12/26/2007 of it's status and would do his best to get us the mount at no cost (but no promises).

My wife was still on the phone with DirecTV, finally talking to another supervisor (Tony, #100101757), because this time, we at least thought we should get the j-mount at no cost and not wanting to even get into the issue we had the previous night. This supervisor was much more understanding. He was briefed on the situation before he talked to my wife on the phone, and still asked her to describe in her own words what happened. Tony then offered $10 off our bill for 12 months as compensation for the mount. We accepted that offer.

We are filing a damage claim with DirecTV for the damage it's already done to our roof. It took over a dozen reps, supervisors, techs, and managers before we talked to 2 people who were willing to listen to us calmly and understand our situation. Frank and Tony were more helpful than anyone else had been.

On 12/24/2007, William (from the local Ironwood office in Morgan Hill) came for an unscheduled and unnannounced appointment. He tried to convince me to mount it on the roof and that he would use silicone to prevent leaks. He also said that even if there were leaks, since he'd mount the dish over the part of the roof that isn't above our living space, that it would be okay! He wanted to show me a dish in our neighborhood that had the dish mounted on our type of roof and proceeded to walk me around our neighborhood looking for one. He found a dish that appeared to be mounted on the roof but short of walking on to the customer's property he could not tell. I told him we were going to wait for the other mount. He told me that the mounts are very popular and he doesn't know if he'll get one anytime soon and we might have to wait a while to get one. After 15 minutes of trying to push me into changing my mind, he left. This was the 6th time DirecTV has come to our house in five weeks.

We got a recorded call on 12/26/2007 that we had a relocation scheduled for 12/28/2007 from 8am-12pm. We expected that meant the mount had come in and we would get the dish relocated. The tech (from Ironwood, #1651) came around 9am. He did not know about the extra mount and did not know our situation at all. He looked at our chimney as an option but decided it wouldn't work (something about there were no gutters for him to put the wiring). He told my wife that even if we got the other mount, it would be attached to our fascia board from the back, making it seem pointless. He also said it was okay to mount it on the roof - he would use tar to keep it from leaking, but also said he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't crack the tiles. My wife sent him away as it was a wasted trip and another waste of our time. This was the 7th time.

At this point, we don't know what to do. We are at a complete loss. I left a message for Frank from Mountain to find out what's going on. We have had 7 visits from techs trying to get our HD system set up correctly when it should have taken only once, maybe twice, and it still isn't done. Your rudest rep was the highest ranking rep we spoke with - we definitely feel that Ryan is a poor customer support agent.

If we had gone with Comcast, we would have never had a satellite dish to deal with. We are very disappointed with the customer service we received and feel we still haven't been compensated for the incompetence of your installers. We looked online and saw that many DirecTV customers have had many issues with Ironwood and I can't understand why you would continue to contract with a company that obviously can't do their job.

I have attached photos of the installers shody work and damage to our fascia board. These are the same photos we will send in for the damage claim. We have called a roofing company who will come out and asses the damage for the damage claim. We also asked them if it was a good idea to mount satellite dishes to our wood shake roof. He described how it could be done, but the best way to protect our roof would involve removing some of the shakes, installing the dish on the base of the roof with some extra materials, and then putting the shakes back on the roof, which he obviously felt was better handled by a roofer. The techs who came out to our house only ever wanted to mount the dish directly on the shakes.

We just want the dish installed correctly and safely at no additional cost to us (for extra parts or labor or anything) and compensated for the headache this is causing us.

”

Let Chase Carey, DirecTV's mustachioed CEO, know that his company is employing incompetent contractors. Send him an email at: chase.carey@directv.com, or call DirecTV HQ at: (310) 964-5000.