# The Great ATT Uverse outage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 24, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272 "2013-01-24T23:42:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/1 "2013-01-24T23:42:22Z")
When we re-acquired service, our recorded movies were gone. Are they stored on a local hard drive or on some ATT server somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/2 "2013-01-25T02:53:50Z")
They’re stored on your local PVR. Whenever I lose service or reboot the RG (either is a rare occurrence for me), it does take a while for the PVR to remember that it has programs on it. If they’ re still AWOL after five minutes, they’re probably gone forever, but you could try rebooting the system on the odd chance that it didn’t come up properly after the outage. AFAIK, the only stuff that would be stored on Uverse servers is on-demand programming. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/3 "2013-01-25T03:07:03Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > They’re stored on your local PVR. Whenever I lose service or reboot the RG (either is a rare occurrence for me), it does take a while for the PVR to remember that it has programs on it. If they’ re still AWOL after five minutes, they’re probably gone forever, but you could try rebooting the system on the odd chance that it didn’t come up properly after the outage. > > AFAIK, the only stuff that would be stored on Uverse servers is on-demand programming. Why would they be gone forever due to a service outage if they are stored on the local hard drive? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/4 "2013-01-25T03:41:45Z")
I wouldn’t expect a simple outage to make your programs disappear, which is why I suggested the system reboot. Unplug the RG, the PVR and any other set-top boxes. Power up the RG first. Once it’s back up, plug in the PVR, followed by the other boxes. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/5 "2013-01-25T04:00:56Z")
What is an RG and a PVR? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/6 "2013-01-25T04:24:58Z")
That worked without knowing what the acronyms for the router and the cable boxes were. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-att-uverse-outage/648272/7 "2013-01-25T04:50:19Z")
Glad it worked. When I was trying to beat our Uverse system into submission, there were a \*lot/I] of reboots and pondering that “Rethink Possible” slogan. The RG is the Residential Gateway, aka the box with all the lights that everything else plugs into, and PVR is a Personal Video Recorder, aka DVR or Digital Video Recorder. Another acronym you may run into is STB, or Set Top Box, for the “cable boxes” at the other TVs.