DIRECTV: 3 Things You May Not Know About It

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.

DIRECTV’s satellite service has been in business for more than 30 years, but there are benefits and features that are still unknown to even some longtime subscribers. Here are three things about DIRECTV that you might know but could enhance your satellite experience:

1. There is now a solution to DIRECTV’s ‘rain fade’ outages. 

DIRECTV has suffered outages during rainstorms since it first launched in June 1994. You will be watching your favorite show when suddenly the signal disappears. Sometimes, it doesn’t even have to rain particularly hard to lose the picture.

The satcaster in 2022 introduced a new feature, called SignalSaver, which enables you to switch to its streaming service when the satellite picture goes out. If your receiver is connected to the Internet, a Keep Watching prompt will appear on the screen when the outage occurs. You click on that and then a ‘Loading Streaming Content’ will display. The missing channel will begin streaming within seconds. Your receiver will then attempt to load the program using the satellite signal. But if the signal is not available, the ‘Keep Watching With Broadband’ option will display until the satellite signal returns.

Although DIRECTV’s streaming version does not have every channel that’s on satellite, it does have the most popular networks. You can see a list here.

This is not a perfect solution, particularly since some channels are missing, but it’s a life saver as well as a signal saver if the outage is a long one.

2. However, you do not need the Internet to watch DIRECTV’s satellite programming.

DIRECTV has two services, one by satellite and one by streaming. The latter, which comes in two flavors, DIRECTV Stream (you use your own streaming device) and DIRECTV via Streaming (you use a DIRECTV-supplied set-top), does require an Internet connection.

However, DIRECTV’s satellite service, which also includes a company set-top, does not require the Internet. The signals are beamed to your home via the satellites in the sky. You do not need the Net to watch them. This can be a great benefit if you live in an area where Internet access is limited, such as some rural markets.

If you do get DIRECTV’s satellite service, and do not connect the set-top to the Net, note that you will not be able to watch the satcaster’s On Demand lineup of movies and TV shows or access such as apps as YouTube and Netflix.

3. You can suspend your DIRECTV satellite service.

The satcaster says you can temporarily suspend your account without charge by calling 1-800-531-5000.  You can say, ‘suspend service,’ at the prompt and the automated system will handle your request. But there are rules:

* You must suspend the account for at least 30 days and no longer than 9 months. So in your case, Mitch, you could not suspend for just two weeks. It would have a minimum of one month.
* If you agreed to keep a certain level of programming to get a special offer or lower equipment price, you won’t be able to suspend your service;
* You must have no balance due on your account;
* If you only have 1 account, you can suspend it 2 times in a 12-month period. Have 2 or more accounts? You can suspend each one a maximum of 4 times in a 12-month period.
* You can’t extend recurring or promotional credits. For example: if you signed up for a 12-month offer that gives you a $10 credit each month. You have 6 months of the offer left, but then you suspend your account for 2 months. You won’t get the credits for those 2 months. You’ll get the remaining 4 months of credits after you reinstate your account;
* Even if you don’t have to pay for your programming sub, you will still be charged the $0.14 Federal Cost Recovery Fee. And if you have an active sports subscription installment payment, you’ll still owe what’s due.

If you are eligible to suspend service, this is a great benefit when you go on vacation, or if there is a carriage dispute with DIRECTV. For example, let’s say the satcaster is fighting with your favorite channel and it looks like it might not be resolved for a month or more. You could suspend your account and not pay your bill during the time of the suspension. This would free up some money to subscribe to a different service that has that channel while it’s not available on DIRECTV.

In the coming weeks, we will examine some more benefits and features of DIRECTV. And if you have a question about the nation’s largest satellite TV service, or anything else, send it to the TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.