Stream box - adding subscriptions

[gconn]

Hi, anyone else encountering issues adding new subscriptions (e.g. Sky sports, BT sport, Netflix) on their Stream Box? I am unable to do so, either via the box itself or online at manage my stream at virginmedia.com. In the case of the former there is an error message: “Oops. There is a technical glitch. Please try again later”, along with a barcode. On the website there is no option displayed to add subscriptions and the stream account says: “Sorry, something’s gone wrong. We’re having some technical issues so we can’t add this right now. Please try again later”.

I’ve had the Stream box for about three weeks and live TV works well. However, one of the main reasons I purchased the box was to add subscriptions on a 30-day rolling basis. Indeed, this is advertise as one of the main features of the box.

Please let me know if you have also encountered this issue and, if so, did you find a solution? When I speak to technical support at Virgin Media, they are unfamiliar with the Stream box and have been unable to resolve my issue. They suggested it may be the box and a replacement box was due to be sent out but this never materialised. An engineer is now scheduled to visit next week but it is not clear to me that this is a hardware issue.

[John_GS]

Hi gconn

Thanks for posting and welcome back to the community.

My apologies for the issue with the Stream box. The tech visit would be the next step and if they cannot fix it, they'll be able to replace it for you.

Please let us know how the visit goes.

Best wishes,

[gconn]

The error message on the TV and also the "manage my subscriptions" link on my recent bill direct me to head to:

https://www.virginmedia.com/manage-stream

Unfortunately this is unsuccessful as you receive the following error message:

"Oh, crikey. We can't find that page.  Maybe the link you clicked is broken or you typed in the wrong address. Perhaps the page doesn't exist any more. Or maybe it's just a glitch in the matrix."

This makes it very difficult to add subscriptions to the Stream box when the necessary webpage does not exist.  Has the functionality of the stream box been thoroughly tested by Virgin Media prior to releasing the box?

[gconn]

Engineer attended this morning.  As I suspected, he confirmed that it is not a hardware issue and therefore did not replace the box.  Engineer believes it is an issue with my account and to phone customer services to get this issue resolved.  The challenge is that customer services are unfamiliar with the Stream box and despite speaking to several different people, no-one has been able to fix the issue.

[Chris_W1]

Hi gconn, thanks for the message and sorry to hear that you are having issues with this and I will send you a private messafe so that this can be looked into further for you. ^Chris 

[gconn]

Update: the fault remains.  On Monday the request was passed on to the FMS team at Virgin Media and I was told to expect a call-back.  This has not materialised.

The Virgin Media website states: "What is Stream?  It’s our easy-to-use, flexible, and seamless TV streaming service. Just plug the Stream box into your TV to access favourite subscription services like Sky Sports, Netflix and Disney+ along with all the TV channels and apps you can’t live without, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and YouTube."  I've had the Stream box for over a month and despite numerous phone calls to VM customer support, no process has been made and I'll still can't add subscriptions - either via the box, or on-line or over the phone.  From my experience, Virgin Media have launched the product too soon, before it has been tested and also before staff have been aware of it's functionality and how to help customers to resolve problems.

[gconn]

I have just been on the phone for nearly 2 hours.  First to Sagar in the FMS team (2nd line technical support) who was unable to resolve the issue.  In his view it is not a technical issue and he does not understand why it has been passed on to him.  He said I have to speak to customer services as they have the ability to add subscription services. I then spoke to Bob in customer services who explained that it is not possible to add new subscriptions directly to the stream box and this functionality is only available on a VM TV box.  This is contrary to the information provided on the VM website which describes (and gives instructions) on how to add new subscriptions and also receive a 10% discount when you pay directly via your VM bill.  Bob emphasised that he has no ability to add any subscriptions to Stream over the phone.

I've spoken multiple times to customer services, spoken to second line technical support and also had an engineer visit.  I still can't add any new subscriptions to the Stream box either on-line, over the phone or via the box itself.  Where do I go from here?

[Ashleigh_C]

Hi there @gconn

Thank you so much for your updates and I am so sorry to hear that you have faced this issue and that it is ongoing. 

I can see that you are in a PM with my colleague, and they have been looking into this with you. 

Are you able to continue updating us with how the next steps go? 

Thank you. 

[gconn]

Hi Ash_C, yes I can provide updates. Unfortunately the issue still exists. I am unable to add any subscriptions to my Stream box which really defeats the purpose of the stream box.

I spoke to Steven in technical support on Friday who was friendly and carried out some diagnostics on the box. He has now raised a ticket internally for support to take another look.

It is very frustrating that no-one is able to fix the issue. What is evident is that the knowledge and familiarity with the Stream box amongst staff at Virgin Media is dismal and needs addressing.

[gconn]

Spoiler

 

Update: no progress has been made. Here is a screenshot of the error message when I try to manage subscriptions via my Virgin Media account.