Here’s the good news: If you have a DISH Wally, you can connect a hard drive to it and turn it into a DVR. The process is automatic – all you do is connect it via USB and plug it into a power source and it “just works.” Yes, there’s an extra fee for DVR service on your account but when you call us at 888-233-7563 we’ll help you with that quickly.
Here’s the bad news: DISH doesn’t sell the hard drives. They’ll tell you the requirements: It has to support USB 2.0, connect via USB-A, and be powered from a wall outlet. (Here’s more information on that.) They also say the capacity has to be under 1 terabyte, but there a plenty of sources to tell you that it’s ok if it’s up to 4TB.
So what can you do?
I’m happy to say that Solid Signal makes it easy. Our tech team has done extensive testing on hard drives, and we’ve found a high-quality item which meets every DISH requirement. (It’s 2TB, but as I said that doesn’t seem to make a difference.) This Solid Signal Certified Hard Drive for Wally is the perfect one for the job. It’s been fully tested and will work with your Wally. Connect it up to power and to the Wally itself, and that’s all it takes. In some cases you have to reboot the Wally but that’s obviously pretty easy.
You will need to call Solid Signal at 888-233-7563 to add DVR service to the Wally, though. We’ll take care of everything and we make it easy. Once you have the DVR service all set up, you can take your receiver with you and even play recordings (for a couple of days generally) with no satellite service!
Will other hard drives work?
Generally speaking you can use any drive that meets those requirements above. Just be aware that the drive MUST plug into a power outlet. It can’t be designed to get power from the Wally itself. Also, you shouldn’t count on those adapters that promise to add power to self-powered drives, or to powered USB hubs. These could work but they might not. It’s not worth spending the extra money in my opinion. I think it’s easier just to get the one from Solid Signal.
On the other hand, if you’re a hardcore DIYer, there’s nothing stopping you from getting a bare drive and a working enclosure, or finding any other drive that does the trick. That’s up to you, and I salute the DIY spirit.
If you have any questions or are ready to activate your DVR service, call us at 888-233-7563 or fill out the form below.
