Cisco IPN4320-SG-A DVR

[prothall]

Does anyone know if it is possible to purchase a Cisco IPN4320-SG-A DVR and IPN330HD-SG-A units to avoid monthly rental fees?

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

No, those receivers are not for sale.  Also, the U-verse DVR's are included in the UFamily and U200 and above packages at no additional cost.

[bauwls]

Even if you purchase a STB or DVR from ebay or another auction site, U-verse will require you pay to pay leasing fees (exceptions do apply as texasguy mentioned as well as 1dvr + 1 stb free with U300 or above).

[gregzoll_1]

bauwls, no you cannot outright purchase the equipment through ebay, etc.. It is usually stolen or non-returned equipment.

[bauwls]

Yes, you can as long as it's not provisioned to a current U-verse account. AT&T doesn't waste their resources storing all the MAC addresses/Serial Numbers of all manufactured equipment nor do they pre-assign SN/MAC addresses. As long as they have no record of the equipment currently being provisioned to an active account and the order shows that they want to add said 'model' of equipment, the equipment will provision regardless of it was off ebay or from ATT.

Whether it is wise or not, I would argue not since you have no way to verify if it's working or if it's provisioned to an active account.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

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bauwls wrote:

Yes, you can as long as it's not provisioned to a current U-verse account. AT&T doesn't waste their resources storing all the MAC addresses/Serial Numbers of all manufactured equipment nor do they pre-assign SN/MAC addresses. As long as they have no record of the equipment currently being provisioned to an active account and the order shows that they want to add said 'model' of equipment, the equipment will provision regardless of it was off ebay or from ATT.

Whether it is wise or not, I would argue not since you have no way to verify if it's working or if it's provisioned to an active account.

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If someone buys equipment off of eBay, I doubt that there will be an order in the U-verse system showing that they want to add a piece of equipment.

[bauwls]

It can be provisioned with a Tech at premise install type or a BYOE. If it's a STB or DVR, when you get the message 'Client unprovisioned error', call into Tech support Tier 2 and they'll place a 'Tech at premise' order to add a stb/dvr. Once the order updates all their backend systems, plug it in and you'll get a Service Connection error screen. Press Try again now and it will reboot and work.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

I doubt that anyone who buys a U-verse receiver off of eBay in an attempt to avoid the monthly equipment fee is going to call for a U-verse technician to come to their home to provision the equipment that they just purchased.  Are you saying that you know of actual cases where this has happened, or are you just speaking theoretically?

[bauwls]

It wouldn't require a U-verse technician.. though they can through their GCAS system (handheld they carry around with them). It simply would require calling into Tier 2 and having them place an order that's order install type is 'technician at premise' which tricks the system into thinking the tech is actually at the premise. Every time someone has an issue with client unprovisioned error on the TV, the same process is done whether AT&T sent the equipment or they got it from a buddy.

It's important to note that it's not a smart idea to do this with DVR's and STB's... as to provision it automatically tacks on a leasing fee as there is no 'purchased' option for that equipment in their ordering system. However, for NVG510's, 2701's, 2210's, and some select 3600's, i'd suggest that it's a better option buying a used, working, unprovisioned modem for 10$ instead of paying 100$ for a brand new one from AT&T. The only problem is, there is no guarantee it's unprovisioned and working until you plug it in.

I was trained as a Tier 2 agent and worked there for a while.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

I see, so there is a way to provision the equipment, but this process doesn't help the customer in any way.

They would still have to pay the $7/month once the equipment is added, and then they had to buy it in the first place, which is wasted money. Plus, then it has to be returned to AT&T if you cancel service, otherwise they'll charge you (again) for it.

[bauwls]

Exactly. There is no point to purchasing equipment to save yourself a leasing fee. The only point to purchasing equipment would be if you're an ADSL2+ customer where leasing isnt an option or are required to purchase a 2WIRE 3600.