On demand and catch up issues

[Lauraknowles]

Having constant issues with catch-up and on demand. I.e. bbc iplayer, catch up from channels. Freezing, losing volume, going into what looks like slow-mo and having to reboot daily. Have reported this only to be told there’s no issue in my area, there clearly is, it’s a fault occurrence. Requested an engineer visit to replace hardware, was told that wasn’t necessary yet I’m still having issues! Not good enough. £100 a month for tv services I cannot use. 

[japitts · Accepted solution]

TiVo's have an in-built internet connection which can sometimes fail without you realising, and this will cause problems with all online functionality incuding OnDemand.

On the front-left of your TiVo, check the middle green-LED, that has a heartbeat symbol next to it. Does this ever flash when you have problems? If so, there's your issue - and it's a fault.

[Lauraknowles]

Yes it does. It also has another symbol next to it, two arrows pointing in opposite directions which comes on and causes an error message immediately which turns off whatever I’m watching, even if it’s a recorded programme in my shows. Three times tonight, 2 of which have caused a total freeze and I’ve had to turn off at the wall and restart. It’s a daily occurrence at the minute 

[japitts]

The two-arrow symbol you mention is on a V6, not a TiVo - the two boxes are shown here 

In any case, a box that's freezing in the way you describe clearly has a fault. There's two ways you can report that..

1: Call into VM - 150 from a Virgin phone, or 0345 4541111 from any other phone.

2: Wait here for VM staffers to respond, this may take a couple of days.

[Lauraknowles]

You’re right, it’s a v6. Thanks so much for you help! I always find I get a better response on here than on the phone. The operators on the phone generally insist there’s no issue and just repeat that until you get fed up enough to end the call. I’ll wait for a reply from someone on here from virgin. Thanks again 

[japitts]

Whilst the rebooting box is a fault, the connectivity for internet-based services is completely different between the TiVo & V6, so this could be something else entirely.

Your V6 connects to your homehub for the internet, and this connection can be either wireless or Ethernet cabled. Which is yours?

If it's wireless, check the wireless signal strength - follow Home > Help & Settings > Settings > Network, and the status is shown in the top-right. Quite a few issues with OnDemand on V6 boxes are caused by poor wireless signal strength meaning the connection to your homehub is too weak to be usable.

[Lauraknowles]

Do I’ve done that, it says ‘70% (good)’ yet the 2 arrows are still lit and I can’t access anything on demand. Only what’s on from the guide. 
Upstairs box I think is wireless, downstairs is Ethernet. I’m running a test now, see if that shows anything 

[Lauraknowles]

Connection failed on test. Infuriating on a Sunday night when I’ve all my catching up to do! 

[japitts]

I'd always recommend recording programmes you know you'll want to watch, rather than rely on any streaming or OD service, but....

If the signal strength is reported as 70% that should be ok. If you select "Connect to Virgin Media services now" at the bottom and wait 15 or so minutes, do you get a success reported on the left? If not, what's the reason given for the failure?

[Lauraknowles]

Same thing happens with my recorded stuff! Was watching upstairs tv but from the recordings on the box downstairs and it just error messaged turned the programme off. It actually says ‘watch other TiVo box’ on the ‘my shows’ options hence why I thought it was TiVo. 
Anywho, did the ‘connect to virgin media’ it ‘failed while negotiating’ on connecting stating only ‘connection unsuccessful’. C217 is the connection issue error code (I assume)