AT&T U-verse → Want a larger HDD DVR, ATT says I need to pay a one-time fee

Hi there. I have been a UVerse customer for more than 4 years and have the same DVR that I was originally provided when I signed up in 2008. I am sure that DVRs with larger hard drives are now available and I would like to upgrade. When I chatted with UVerse support this afternoon, I was told there would be a $105 one time charge to upgrade.

Does this sound right? I already pay a rental fee, so why should I pay an additional fee to get a larger DVR? Any advice on how to get an upgraded DVR without this charge?

Thanks a lot.

Well, yes if you want to get a new dvr and there is nothing wrong with your existing dvr than yes it will cost a fee to upgrade. now if something happens that dvr is not working or it has to be replaced/upgraded due to equipment failure now viola its not chargeable.

The reason is because the old one will have to go to a refurb company and even though nothing may be wrong with it will still get charged for this so that is why there is a charge to upgrade.

you have have other avenues, threaten to cxl, you've been a faithful cx since the beginning, ask to speak to the supv and get him to override the upgrade fee..etc

Is there anything wrong with your current dvr?

Thanks for the response. Fortunately, I haven't had any problems with my DVR...I guess in this case not so fortunate.
Any idea what could be wrong with my DVR that is not easy to verify but will guarantee a new one?

you could try saying that your hdmi port has gone bad, but the one downside is they may ship you the exact same model unless you get a truck roll with a tech and then you could ask him/her what model they are going to put in

Just take the DVR while it is running and drop it. This should damage the hard drive, requiring a replacement. Be careful not to scratch, scuff or crack the plastic.

Actually... most modern hard drives are designed to withstand a shock of up to 10G..... its actually very likely that the hard drive will survive the impact. You would have to throw it so hard the external casing would break before the hard drive is damaged.

Since there probably is a seal on the unit, opening up the unit would probably void the warranty.

If you really do want to damage the unit, one way of doing it is finding a 220volt circuit and hooking up the unit to it. It will most likely fry out the power block inside the unit, and warrant replacement. Of course you will have to keep up the lie that it was just plugged in to the wall socket.

Quite frankly though.... you will replace your 320 GB DVR with one that has 500 GB in it. If you really want storage, go with Dish or DirecTV, and buy a $100 external 2 TB drive and add it to the 500 GB you will get with either of those satellite providers, and quadruple the storage instead of.... adding a one-third more.

He could possibly still have the 160GB model. This is what I got in 2008? Anyway, just call and threaten to leave, etc. and see what they can do. As maartena said, you could switch providers and get way more space and HD streams if needed.