Speed is a funny thing. Something may seem fast to you but slow to someone else. Still, there are cases when something is slow and everyone agrees. DIRECTV receivers range from super-fast to dog slow, and while sometimes the hardware is to blame, sometimes it’s your setup. These devices tend to slow down when there are a lot of errors, and while your receiver will tell you when the signal strength is poor, it won’t tell you when your internet is slow. If the internet connection to your DIRECTV receiver is slow or full of errors it can slow down your receiver and you won’t know why.
If you think your receiver has gotten slow lately, you can easily check to see if the internet connection is to blame. If the receiver is connected via ethernet cable (like the one above) simply disconnect it. If it isn’t, you’ll have to find the point of connection.
Points of connection to look for
If you have an older it’s a Cinema Connection Kit, which looks like this:
It may also be a white or black box slightly smaller than a deck of cards, something like this:
You may have these connected to the back of your receiver or to your router.
Just disconnect or unplug these things. That’s all it will take to disconnect you from the internet.
Wi-Fi connections
Today’s Genie devices can connect to the internet wirelessly. After all, it is 2022. If you are connected over Wi-Fi straight from the DVR, the process is a little more complex, but not too bad. Here’s what you need to do.
- Press MENU on the remote.
- Arrow to Settings.
- Arrow to Internet Setup and press SELECT.
- Arrow to Repeat Internet Setup.
- Choose a Wired Connection when asked what you have. Because you don’t have a Wired Connection, you’ll be disconnected from the internet.
Note that you’ll have to go through these steps again to re-establish the Wi-Fi connection. Some people prefer to temporarily pull the plug on the router, but keep in mind this will take down internet for everyone in your house.
What you do next
After disconnecting the receiver from the internet, reboot the receiver and leave it for 30 minutes to allow it to do all its housekeeping. If you come back and it’s much faster, the problem is your internet connection. At this point it’s ok to reconnect to the internet, and if you reboot the receiver should find the internet once more.
What to do about it
The problem could be a bad or loose cable. That’s always a possibility. Make sure they are nice and tight. Then, look at the cinema connection kit or DECAs that you have connected. Are all the lights green? Amber lights mean connection quality problems. Even if the lights are all green, you might want to go further.
We’ve created the most comprehensive guide to DIRECTV Networking on the web and it’s all here! You will need some time and patience but you can find out what’s really going on with your network and get some advice to cleaning up that internet connection. If you need more help, call us at 888-233-7563! We’re here during East Coast business hours. If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
