Both Tivo's have amnesia

[HerMrFixit]

The appalling WiFi coverage of the onboard Virgin Media Broadband modem and the complaints from family about the low signal strength and poor coverage had me resort to placing the unit into Modem Mode and disabling the onboard WiFi and replacing this element with a proper Wifi router. 

Smashing!   Lovely strong WiFi all over the the house and even out into the garden. 🙂

But wait,  The two STB's also need a connection, so I dutifully provide them with the details and all is lovely and everybody is happy.

Until...  The STB's both forget that they are to connect to the WiFi network and so all the customisable user recording lists and requests etc. disappear and domestic unhappiness ensues.

Go into setting and tell the STB's to connect to Virgin Media and they complain that the network cable is unplugged.  "But Mr. STB we are using WiFI, just like you did on the in-built wifi of the broadband modem and you never forgot those details, did you?  So why are you always forgetting to connect on the new WiFI?"  Tell it to look for WiFi networks and re-connect to the Wifi router(it still has the password lodged in its memory so it clearly has all the details it needs/needed.

Bingo!  everything works again.  🙂

But this is an everyday occurrence.  😞

No other device using the non-Virgin Wifi network has any issue staying connected, remembering to connect etc. etc.   Just these awful Virgin STB's.   They have the settings, they just decide not to connect automatically.  Utter Rubbish!

So fed up with this I am thinking of switching supplier.  😞

[japitts]

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@HerMrFixit wrote:

1. When everything is working the IP Address the V6 says it is using on my WiFi network is the same as the address the WiFi Admin pages show is being used by device (Tivo6800).

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Good - and how about when it's not working? I'm guessing the IP is different.

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@HerMrFixit wrote:

2. I can revert the hub to router mode of course, but do you mean connect the V6 directly by cable, or directly to the native W-Fi of the Hub (I suspect you mean the latter)?

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To be honest, both. Any step which removes and eliminates some of the variables here, can only help in narrowing down the cause. And an Ethernet cabled connection will always be preferable to a wireless one, given the choice.

[HerMrFixit]

Just a side note....

Last night while herself was trying to watch On Demand stuff it failed (a lot).

I went straight to the network settings to see that although it had the correct IP address wrt my WiFi router it had failed to connect to the VM service at its last attempt.    

Telling it to try again (without any reset of the network settings by me) and it connected fine.

The only thing I find "flakey" in this whole ensemble is the V6 box and the VM service.  But that's just me.  😉

I will wire up an e-net cable (I assume it will default to that if it finds there is a network).

q.  Do I plug the other end of this e-net cable into a port on my WiFi router or onto one of the ports on the Cable modem?

[Ernie_C]

Your router provides all function as the Virgin Media Hub is just a cable modem.

Plug the Ethernet cable from the V6 to an Ethernet port on your router.

[japitts]

On the plus-side you're now seeing a 192.168.1.x address on the V6.

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@HerMrFixit wrote:

I will wire up an e-net cable (I assume it will default to that if it finds there is a network).

q.  Do I plug the other end of this e-net cable into a port on my WiFi router or onto one of the ports on the Cable modem?

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Two questions in there...

1: An Ethernet cable connection will always take precedence over a wireless one, by design.

2: When the SH is in router mode, it serves 2 functions. The cablemodem and a router. When you use it in modem-mode, all but one Ethernet port is disabled, allowing a connection to your own router. You then connect your wired & wireless devices to your router.

So if you're using modem mode and your own router, then your V6 needs to be connected either wirelessly to your SSID, or by Ethernet cable to your router.

[Ernie_C]

Failed to connect at last attempt with valid IP address?

This simply means that the V6 did not have a valid IP address when the automatic network connection was scheduled but since then has been allocated a valid IP address by your router.

[Lee_R]

Hi @HerMrFixit thanks for posting and welcome to our community

Sorry to hear your V6 box has been losing connection to your WiFi.  Have you now resolved this with the suggestion from our fantastic community members?  I am here if you still require assistance?

Regards

Lee_R

[HerMrFixit]

Hi there Lee_R,

It is a "Yes & No" answer I am afraid.

There seems to 2 separate problems.

1.  The V6 boxes fail to connect to the VM service via my WiFi router when they do their periodic reconnects and all On-Demand services are unavailable because our "rights" to such services and the list of available content comes through this connection.   Of note is the fact that 169.x.x.x. appears in the IP address.   Forced reconnect from the handset results in a successful connection to my WiFi router every time and service is resumed.   No other devices on the WiFi network ever have a problem it is just the V6 boxes.

2.  On occasion even when the WiFi connection shows as the 192.168.x.x. of my WiFi router (and the router concurs that the V6 box has this address, the  "last connection attempt" status is "Failed". Telling it to try again results in it showing the same address as before and "succeeded".

Currently I have run a wired connection from my WiFi router box to the V6 box and no problems.

However, I do feel that the only thing that ever fails here is the V6 box(es), everything else (total of 11 devices) never has a problem connecting to the internet via my WiFi router.

The support from members has been terrific.  🙂

Thanks for asking.

[japitts]

I wrote a very long-winded reply to this post, but it boils down to the simple question...

Have you tried connecting your V6 to the Superhub directly yet?

IMO - the statement "Currently I have run a wired connection from my WiFi router box to the V6 box and no problems" is open to interpretation as to what "my router box" means - I take it to mean the third party router.

Whether that's wired or wirelessly isn't the important bit - although could potentially be interesting. Until that diagnostic step is ruled out, I don't see this issue going anywhere. It's probably one of the first things any tech will suggest, too.

[HerMrFixit]

Even though the V6 box is directly connected we still get On Demand Services "Temporarily Unavailable"...with error code 603 (which was the root "user perceived problem" right at the start).   I have been away for a few days so I need to revisit whether its a "rights to content" issue (connection to VM service failed (and why)) or just that the content is failing to be delivered by VM for "unspecified reasons".  🙂

[japitts]

Can you confirm 2 specific bits of info here...

1: Is your V6 connected to your Superhub by either Ethernet wired cable or wireless, and your SH is acting as router?

2: Are there any specific titles or programmes that are having this problem? Or is it in general? Try a few different programmes or broadcasters if it helps.