HOW TO DO IT: Easily jump to the last 4 channels you’ve watched on DIRECTV

There’s a neat little feature in DIRECTV receivers and DVRs that lets you jump back to any of the last four channels you’ve watched. It makes it easy if you want to occasionally check on a game or see if your favorite show is on. It’s been there for over a decade, but some folks are just getting excited about it now.

It couldn’t be easier.

While you’re watching live TV, press the INFO button on the remote. Arrow over to “Last 4.” You’ll see a list of the last four channels you’ve tuned to, as well as what’s on those channels. Arrow down to choose one and press SELECT. There’s really nothing more to it.

It’s been there all along.

Here’s a screen capture that was created in 2011:

While the “Last 4” menu isn’t highlighted you can see that it’s definitely there. So you could have been using this feature for almost a decade!

Here are some of the ways you’d use this.

You can take a few minutes and tune to the major networks in your area. Then you can use this as a “mini-guide” to know what’s on right now.

Another thought: if you’re watching different sporting events, as we tend to do this time of year, this makes it easy to go between games without worrying about remembering channel numbers or searching in the guide.

You could use it any time you forgot what channel you were just watching. Hey kids, this happens to us oldsters more than you think it would.

And really, it’s there anytime you just want to browse through it. It’s not slowing you down and it doesn’t take up time or space if you don’t use it. Maybe that’s why you didn’t realize it was there all along, but now that you know, it’s you’re option.

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About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.