AT&T TV recently upgraded the number of streams to twenty, and increased the cloud DVR allowance from 500 hours to unlimited for those that pay for the recording add-on. However, there has been some confusion over the changes, and especially when it comes to those still considered to be AT&T TV Now and DirecTV Now subscribers.
AT&T’s TV subscribers have gone through multiple changes to their service in recent years. From the name of the service changing multiple times, to various price increases (and a price drop), to the channels they’ve gained or lost. The most recent change was largely positive as it increased two pain points consumers often face – the number of devices they can watch on at the same time and the number of recording hours they have.
News of the changes came though a couple of days ago, but it was only today when the change automatically took effect. Now, AT&T TV subscribers can record as much as they want and also steam on a bunch of devices at the same time, so long as they are at home.
However, many AT&T TV Now and DirecTV Now subscribers have found that they are not included in the recent upgrade plans. Users have taken to various forums to explain the situation and while some have found success in reaching out to an AT&T TV representative, others have been told their account doesn’t qualify. However, there may be a somewhat simple solution to those still facing an issue.
Upgrades might be linked to add-ons
Due to the way AT&T TV has operated over the last few years, including grandfathered features, many of its subscribers are likely to be on very different plans to each other. This is not only in terms of the recording hours they get or the number of streams available, but also the price they pay each month and even what their plan is branded as. However, in one Reddit thread a pattern has started to emerge which seems to indicate the current DVR and streams upgrades are likely to be directly related to the add-ons.
It is starting to seem as though an account’s eligibility for the DVR or streams upgrade is dependent on the number of recording hours or streams they had before. When it comes to the DVR specifically, reaching out to AT&T TV seems to work. However, the process is a little more complicated with the additional streams.
Essentially, any subscriber that was only on two simultaneous streams before are unable to automatically get the twenty-stream upgrade. Those that were on three streams (whether paying for the old $5 add-on or included for free with a subscription) are automatically upgraded. Due to this, it seems simply adding the $5 additional stream option to a current two-stream plan is enough to automatically force the system to upgrade the account to the twenty streams.
At the moment, it remains unclear whether the $5 add-on then needs to remain enabled (and whether it’s billed) or if they can simply cancel the add-on again, considering the system has already registered the change, but this might work for any subscriber that wants those additional streams and finding AT&T TV representatives unable to help.
Update on price increase
For reference, the details on the possible fix for the simultaneous streams issue surfaced in a thread that was created to provide an update on the reported price increase that’s coming. According to the poster, the plans to increase the price of AT&T TV Now and DirecTV Now subscriber plans by $10 per month have been scrapped. However, this information has yet to be confirmed. The price increase was expected to take effect on March 23.
Source: Reddit
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