It is really irritating when you lose important recordings from your Dish Network DVR. However, there is a serious issue with Dish receivers in that if the hard drive gets full, it automatically deletes content that is still wanted. Or you may accidentally delete favorite series and films on your own as well 2. Fortunately, if you have used your Dish Network receiver’s DVR feature and have accidentally deleted some of the recordings, there is often a way to get back the most recently recordings. Here’s how to try getting them back:
Check The Recycle Bin
Many Dish Network DVR receivers have a Recycle Bin or Deleted folder where your recorded shows and movies are placed after deletion. It can also be used as a backup in case of accidentally deleting valuable content. To access it:
- Go to the DVR options on your Dish remote control and press the DVR button.
- Choose Recycle Bin or Deleted Recordings from the available options on the screen. Its location is usually in the ‘DVR Recordings’ tab or section.
- Go through the list of the recently deleted shows. If present, they may last for up to 36 hours after the stickers or labels have been peeled off.
- Point at any of the recordings you wish to recover and click on Select. From the menu prompt, select ‘Restore’.
Your Dish Network box will transfer the content back to your DVR recordings list. You may then watch it again just like any other program. The Recycle Bin, however, only stores files that have been deleted for a short time in the process of recycling them. Thus, it is advisable to check it soon after extracting anything to enhance your chances of retrieving it.
Recover From External Drives
Some of the Dish DVR have a feature of enabling an addition of an external usb hard drive and this supports backup of the recordings. If you reconnect the drive after deletion, you can retrieve lost movies and shows from there instead of the receiver’s local storage. To do this:
- How to safely eject and disconnect Dish Network external hard drive after losing recordings. Don’t accidentally delete backups!
- Make sure you reconnect the USB storage device and switch on your Dish receiver.
- Wash your hands and press the DVR button and go to the External Hard Drive menu.
- Select either ‘Restore Recordings’ or a similar choice.
- Right-click the shows you wish to transfer back to your DVR from the external drive.
Then, your Dish box will transfer the recordings to the internal storage of the gey device again. Schedule time for large files. You are then able to preview restored content in the usual manner. This method has to be enabled in the Dish receiver settings first to work by enabling the external backup feature.
Call Dish Technical Support
Sometimes, if you are unable to locate the deleted recordings on Dish DVR or on the connected storage drives, then you should try to call Dish. Take technical support into confidence and share the details of the situation. If possible in your local area they can sometimes connect remotely to your receiver for the purpose of trying to restore it. Please ensure that you provide your account details and information about the intended receiver.
A Dish agent can easily move from one menu that the ordinary client has no clue about their existence to another. They may find fragments of deleted files on the Dish box hard drive partition and restore them. However, this is only possible if the old data has not been completely overwritten by new data in the recording. It is advisable to get in touch with Dish as soon as possible in the event of accidental deletion.
Reset Your Dish Receiver
Performing a reset on your Dish Network receiver will erase all data stored in the device. This offers an opportunity to restore backups and clear the slate as it were. Contact Dish support for the first time to make sure that it is safe for your model. Then follow these general steps:
- To get the Dish remote’s settings menu, press the Menu button once, then 6, then.
- Type in the passcode ‘00492’ and select ‘Yes’ when highlighted on the warning message.
- After that your DVR will reset and start again. Go through the setup wizard and configure your satellite dish connections as if you are reconnecting them again.
- Plug in your external hard drive if you have one for the purpose of backups.
- Click on ‘Restore Recordings’ option to move missing files from the cleared internal memory back.
Erasing all current settings and recordings by your Dish box is done by resetting it. So this should only be used when performing the above steps and you have lost everything that you still need. It can take hours.
Avoid Losing Recordings
To minimize chances of having to perform Dish DVR recovery, avail the ‘Protected’ flag on critical recordings. This prevents the system from deleting it automatically. You will also receive prompts before removing protected content yourself to be permanently deleted as well.
Traditional users also need to know that increasing the storage capacity of your Dish receiver makes it possible to protect more recordings for a longer period. If the internal hard disk frequently hits its capacity, one may consider acquiring an additional external USB hard drive specifically for DVR usage. Just remember external devices can fail themselves. For your most valued home movies and shows, it is also important to save a copy on a computer or cloud storage space as well.
It hurts to lose beloved entertainment content. However, in many cases, it is possible to restore Dish Network DVR recordings or movies that were erased accidentally by using the methods described above. Wait for it and do not overwrite the files that have been deleted in the process in the meantime. This will provide you with the best chance of recovering cherished shows that you once thought were beyond your reach.
Ready to upgrade your TV experience? Call us now at (877) 471-4808 to find the perfect Dish Network plan for you! Don’t miss out on great entertainment—our team is here to help you choose the best package and get you started today.