The easy guide to installing a DIRECTV AM21 Antenna Module

Why are you settling for the six or seven local channels you can get from DIRECTV? In many markets there are dozens of channels of FREE TV! You may already have an antenna hooked up but did you know you can feed those local channels right into your DIRECTV DVR and record them? All you need is the DIRECTV AM21 antenna module. The AM21 isn’t new technology… in fact it’s been out for years. However, with the recent craze to “cut the cord” many people are rediscovering antenna television.

Let’s take a look at the easy way to connect a DIRECTV AM21.

The first step is unplugging your existing DIRECTV receiver. Every current DIRECTV receiver except the H25 and HR44 Genie uses the same power plug. Unplug the DIRECTV receiver and (except for H25 and HR44) connect the power cable to the AM21 instead.

Then, take the supplied USB cable and connect it between the AM21 and the receiver’s USB port in the back.

Finally, connect the power plug attached to the AM21 to your receiver (except H25 and HR44.) This way you don’t need an extra plug for the AM21. If you have an H25 or HR44 receiver, you can plug it into its regular power adapter. You will need a power cord for the AM21, which should be included in the box.

When the receiver boots up, it should display a message saying “Off-Air adapter found” and you will go into a menu where you can set up to two zip codes to search. If you move, going into the Settings menu ({MENU}, Settings&Help, Settings, Satellite & Ant) will let you change these ZIP codes.

The new channels will appear in your guide. If you use a custom favorites list, you will have to add them manually. Off-air channels will be identified with a dash (such as 2-1 instead of just 2) and you can schedule recordings and pause live TV with them just as if they were satellite-delivered channels.


The AM21 attached to a Genie DVR will allow up to two Genie Clients to get off-air programming as well.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.