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Re: Virgin Media TV New Customer – Pixelated Picture – Error CS2004 – Coax Signal Quality is Bad/Good
Thanks to those who contributed troubleshooting thoughts with the issues mentioned. Below is an update. Engineer 1 diagnosed too much noise on the line and recommended a new line installation into the property. The line installers (who I gather are a 3rd party operating on behalf of Virgin Media) draped a line over the flower bed and connected it roughly to the external wall. My mother was surprised that they were content to leave the junction box [on the property wall] exposed to the rain, without a lid. "It'll be fine," came the response. The other installer recognised that it was necessary to install a box. The line they installed lacked any slack so this luminous green foam sleeve lies atop the soil/flower bed like a dead anaconda and we can't conceal it in the soil. An extra 2m would've achieved this. As for the service, TV channels remained pixelated and the signal quality still "Bad". Engineer 2 connected his diagnostic equipment to the line and after much fiddling with the Virgin TV box and white cable, stood up, pleased that he'd resolved it. This disappeared the instant we flicked through some channels and they were as pixelated as ever. He therefore concluded that the issue must be the green cabinet on the street. He said he would arrange the network team to come out. (Some days later) No network team arrived. Instead engineer 3 knocked on the door not having been informed what the issues were. I explained. This engineer was helpful and informative; he showed us from his diagnostic equipment readings that showed red indicators that should be green. This suggested the signal was not balanced. So, he set about resolving that. This included changing the internal VirginMedia box on the wall and changing the cables and adjusting the balance. He did say that the previous engineers should have done that based on the readings. Anyway, after he'd finished, those red indicators (except one) were now green. The remaining red indicator would (he said) mean that someone would have to re-establish our connection in the green cabinet on the street. He arranged for someone from the network to come out and see to that on the same day. They did. Result: According to the Settings>Diagnostics in the TV menu, the signal is now showing as "Good" and in the first 24 hours, the channels have been stable – no pixelation. So, in earnest, our 14 day cooling off/evaluation period begins now and we wait to see if these changes have the lasting effect we hope. (I'd like this ticket to remain open.) Two observations: (1) Why the first two engineers couldn't do what engineer 3 did suggests inconsistent levels of know-how and experience among Virgin Media's engineering team. It seems luck of the draw if you get someone competent. (2) Why the line installers couldn't employ a little common sense and allow us a little slack on the line so we could bury the cable is a real shame.5.9KViews0likes1CommentVirgin Media TV New Customer – Pixelated Picture – Error CS2004 – Coax Signal Quality is Bad/Good
I received our new Virgin Media 360 TV Box today. After a bit of head scratching wondering why on earth they've tethered coax cables and ethernet cables in one monstrosity, everything was working and we were quite euphoric for all of 20 minutes. We signed up for 350Mbps fibre and Mixit TV package. Initial web speeds showed 350+mbps. Then the problems set in. We noticed that web speeds dropped to 85mbps. Then we noticed that the picture was pixelated across all live TV channels in the guide. Then we started receiving the CS2004 error. I tried troubleshooting by replacing the ethernet cables from the 360TV box to the hub, but this made no difference. The Diagnostics sub-menu was interesting. It alternated between describing the Signal as 'Good' and 'Bad'. When it was bad, the CS2004 error message appears. The thing is, even though the internet speed is around 85mbps (below the minimum guaranteed speed of 180mbps), we can stream live content via the Apple TV without interruption. We can also stream live content fine through the embedded apps on our LG TV. So, the issue appears to be live TV on the 360 box. Having called Virgin Media CS, and selected Technical Help/Faults, an automated line test was run which concluded that there were intermittent problems on the line and to wait 23 hrs. I have checked the cable terminations and they are firmly attached to the 360 TV box and the junction box into the house. I notice that pixelation issues have been reported aplenty here before. Sadly, some VM helper usually offers to take the conversation off into a private message exchange and, annoyingly, the solution is never posted for others experiencing the issue. Your help is appreciated.6.2KViews0likes5CommentsRe: Sky Customers Unable to Call Virgin Media VOIP
Update: I called Sky for the 3rd time today (03.02.2023). Like Sky user Caro77 on the Sky forum here I asked the issue to be escalated. For some reason they asked us to provide examples of numbers that weren't able to get through to the VM landline. I found this baffling and stressed that we couldn't provide an exhaustive list explaining that anyone with a Sky number (landline or mobile) should be able to get through. They resolved the issue within 2 hrs. Friends confirmed they can now get through. Hurrah. So, it turns out it's wasn't a problem on the Virgin Media end after all. The "outage" that Virgin Media keep referring to has absolutely nothing to do with it. Had we kept listening to Virgin Media, we'd have been waiting for indefinitely. Virgin Media take note. If customers raise issues, resist the habit of consulting the service status and automatically concluding it's connected to the outage. Try helping customers by doing some investigation first.3KViews2likes0CommentsRe: Sky Customers Unable to Call Virgin Media VOIP
Thank you @CardiffMan. I've added our case to that forum and we'll watch it closely. I also just spoke to Sky again. They acknowledge that there was a problem on their side 3 weeks ago i.e. first week of Jan 2023, but that has now been resolved. There are now two posts on that forum which are current e.g. 28th Jan and 3rd Feb by Sky customers who have reported this issue to Sky and Virgin. Sky say they investigate if three customers report the same issue to them by phone. So, if you know a Sky customer who cannot call a Virgin number, please have them report the issue to Sky. Thank you.1.5KViews1like1CommentRe: Sky Customers Unable to Call Virgin Media VOIP
Thank you @nodrogd for this insight. Would this explain why it's only Sky numbers that are not getting through? After 4 resolutions attempts and nothing, it's clear that VM need help resolving the issue. How does one suggest these possibilities to those managing those areas of VM's network? VM Tech support simply run through a series of remote (automated) tests and refer to the outage in the area (even though the outage may not be the cause). Then they point to yet another resolution date. That's where the sorry exchange ends.2KViews0likes1CommentRe: Sky Customers Unable to Call Virgin Media VOIP
Every time we answer a tranche of security questions, she produces another set of security questions. We've already provided account number, name, area code. Then she wanted last bill amount, direct debit date and something else I've forgotten. Next she'll be asking for inside leg measurements and then fail us because we answered in imperial instead of metric.2KViews1like2CommentsSky Customers Unable to Call Virgin Media VOIP
Fellow VM customers, Since November friends and family with Sky mobiles (or landlines) have been unable to call my VM VOIP line. (The telephone is connected to our VM hub). Making calls is no problem. It appears that numbers from other phone providers can get through, so it seems to affect only Sky numbers. When they call they hear an error message: "Sorry, that number does not exist." VM sent an engineer out and he confirmed all our internal equipment (hub, phone and line) is fine, so suggested it must be an external issue. Sure enough, he consulted his issue-checker, and noted that there was an outage in the area. I see from Sky forums that Sky customers are reporting problems between the two networks. I even spoke to a Sky technician who seemed knowledgeable and friendly, but Sky place the issue firmly in Virgin Media's corner. Virgin Media telephone support (stop laughing) acknowledge there's an outage in the area, but that's all they know and that's all they ever say. The field technicians have set 4 dates to fix it and failed 4 times. Each time they set themselves a new date and try again. They have a set a 5th resolution date of 3rd Jan. There may be an outage, but in over 2 months VM can't actually confirm if that outage is responsible for this specific issue. So, we may be waiting for VM to fix a problem, not the problem. Faulty hardware and wiring can account for degradation of service across the board, but this isn't across the board, it's specific to Sky numbers, so it seems more of a config issue. So, if you're experiencing the issue, please comment. If you have insights that may help, please also feel free to comment. (VM Mods, if all you can do is confirm there's an outage and repeat the next resolution date, please save your energy.) Thanks all.Solved3.5KViews0likes21Comments