Every fault below comes from real call-outs across Durban and surrounding areas. Some have a quick check you can try yourself before booking anyone — where that's true, we say so. When a visit is needed, the diagnosis is done with a signal meter, quoted before work starts, and covered by our 6-month workmanship warranty. New to this part? Start with the power supply component guide.
1. Decoder completely dead
What you'll see: No standby light, no response, nothing on screen.
Why it happens: Failed adapter or internal PSU — commonly after a surge, outage recovery spike or lightning event.
How we fix it: Supply substitution identifies it immediately; adapters are replaced on the spot from van stock, internal PSU faults are quoted against replacement honestly.
2. Random restarts and boot loops
What you'll see: The decoder reboots at random, fails recordings, or loops on the logo — worse in hot weather or busy evenings.
Why it happens: A marginal supply sagging under load: aged capacitors, heat stress, or chronic surge damage.
How we fix it: Load-tested diagnosis (idle readings lie), then PSU repair or replacement. We also fix the cause — ventilation and surge protection — or the replacement inherits the same fate.
3. Surge / lightning damage
What you'll see: Dead or erratic decoder immediately after a storm or a load-shedding switch-back.
Why it happens: Voltage spikes through the mains — with lightning, often paired with LNB damage through the dish cable.
How we fix it: Full-chain assessment (PSU, mainboard, tuner, LNB), documented for household-insurance claims where applicable, then repair or replacement of what actually failed — not everything the spike might have touched.
4. Wrong or failing replacement adapter
What you'll see: New symptoms after an adapter was replaced: humming, heat, restarts, or a decoder that slowly got flaky.
Why it happens: A lookalike adapter with the wrong voltage, insufficient current rating, or poor regulation.
How we fix it: Replacement with the correct-spec official adapter. If the wrong one has been in service a while, we check the decoder for accumulated damage while we're there.
Symptom doesn't match any of these?
Faults overlap — a "power supply problem" is sometimes another link in the chain wearing a disguise. Describe what your system is doing on +27 69 423 8290 (or WhatsApp a photo of the error screen) and we'll tell you which component it actually sounds like, free, before anything is booked.