I've had no problem with my Directv and it's on right now, been with them since 2008 and have never had to have a tech come out. If you had gotten through, they will tell to reset the unit. On the right front of your unit is a small door, push the upper right corner and it will pop open. Push the red button behind the door. Make sure you're unit is not about to record something because you'll lose reception for about 5 minutes. If it's a small BR unit causing problems, the red button is on the right outside of the unit. The unit will run a satellite test and check the system, if the problems persists you'll need to get a tech.
This is a regular box, the DVR like I have is a little different, but the door is on the right and you'll see in the photo small word "push".
