Forum Discussion

bertie_B's avatar
bertie_B
On our wavelength
7 months ago

Automatic PIN Reset

We have a V6 and a TiVo box,   overnight the PIN on the V6 box had reset back to the default.  The TiVo box had remained as it was. 

Although I thought it was an "account" wide PIN,  Im now assuming the PIN is hard coded to the device, can someone please confirm this (or not)

Also, and possibly more serious - can a V6 box be hacked and the PIN reset remotely ?  I dont and never have used TV on the Go,  but could this have been done ?  Is there a way/place I can see what devices are registered to use TV on the go on my account ?  I can find no info on this from google searches or on the VM website. 

 

thanks in advance 

  • japitts's avatar
    japitts
    Very Insightful Person

    My understanding is that the PIN is contained on the electronic smart-card that's embedded within the box. All of the TiVo/V6's connections are directly to VM's regional head-end servers, so PIN security is managed there.

    • bertie_B's avatar
      bertie_B
      On our wavelength

      thanks,   I understand that for the TiVo box is a "point to point" connection,  but the V6 is also connected to the WWW,  so "could" be accessed from outside of VM ?   Odd that it got reset "automatically"  - my immediate thought was "hack" and that someone could be trying to use TV on the Go ?  - buying movies/services etc ? 

      • japitts's avatar
        japitts
        Very Insightful Person

        bertie_B wrote:

        but the V6 is also connected to the WWW,


        It's not. As I mentioned in my previous post, all the V6's connections go via VM's regional head-ends. It has no direct external connection.

  • If the V6 has reset back to the default 1234 you should be able to reset again to whatever you want.

    If you download the TVGO app to a mobile or tablet and then go to Settings and then Device management you will be able to see any devices registered.

    There is a change pin option in the Parental controls settings which I haven't used.

     

     

    • bertie_B's avatar
      bertie_B
      On our wavelength

      thanks,  Im not really asking "how do I do it"  its "why did it happen"   s and could someone have hacked/used TV on the go  by hacking ?  should I be "worried"  does TV on the go  require the PIN to access/buy stuff -  or  its actually not possible for "someone else"  to access your box

      • roy247's avatar
        roy247
        Superstar

        They would need to know your account sign in details, but if you download the app or sign in on-line then you can see if any devices are registered if you have never used the app there shouldn't be any.

        It was probably a glitch with the box.

        I would have thought if someone had hacked your box they would have changed the pin number to something you couldn't access the box again.

         

         

  • Roger_Gooner's avatar
    Roger_Gooner
    Alessandro Volta

    You need to understand how cable TV works. The STB is connected to the hub (a combined cable modem and router) which in turn is connected to the hub site (for live TV) and thence to the regional headend (for VOD). All traffic is managed by DOCSIS, a set of standards developed by CableLab. All streamed content and software updates are delivered over IP on VM's closed network. No STB has a direct connection to the internet and VPN has no place in the network.