TO’d At TiVo Tech Support
TiVo.com, if you are reading this post please pay attention. A good friend of mine recently had a problem with his TiVo. After getting his most recent service update, his 802.11b network adapter stopped working. He tried the usual debugging steps (unplugged card, plugged back in, reset box etc..) however; nothing seemed to work. He sacrificed his pride and called TiVo tech support. To my surprise, the tech was of no help to him. Essentially the tech told him that the adapter must have “gone bad” over night. At one point the tech even tried to suggest that the network adapter was no longer supported however; it is still on the list of supported adapters. IMO, I highly doubt that the adapter just “went bad” overnight. More then likely the service update screwed things up.
Since he knows how big of a TiVo geek I am, he immediately told me about the problem he was having. Right now, he is left with a TiVo box that is no longer getting updates. I told him to call tech support again and see if he can get somebody else on the line who is a little bit more helpful. He is a little reluctant to do call back because of the bad experience he already had.
I know that a rotten apple doesn’t make a bad batch however; my buddies experience has truly altered his opinion of TiVo. If anybody has a suggestion please let me know.
March 30th, 2005 at 10:34 am |
Same experience. I have a supported, listed wireless adapter. Never had a problem in over a year. Since the TTG update (ver 7.1?), it has quit working three or four times. I’ve been able to bring it back by unplugging, rebooting, doing whatever I could think of. Not even sure which steps actually bring it back. But I now find myself having to check daily to see if it is still alive, or if it “died”.
I tried calling TiVo tech support, but was told thgere was a 30 minute wait. I gave up.
Stuart F
Houston TX
PS: Read your blog all the time; really enjoy it! Keep it up!
March 30th, 2005 at 5:16 pm |
which adaptor was it? it would make sense to see if others that have the same adaptor are experiencing the same issues.
March 31st, 2005 at 9:22 am |
My buddy has the D-Link DWL-122. Just today he told me that it now works! I know it is strange however; this morning it started to work. Anybody else have a similar experience?
March 31st, 2005 at 11:21 am |
I think what I’m hearing is that 7.1 blows, right? : ) When the update happened, I had a couple of connectivity issues that resolved themselves (surprisingly) by doing the whole end-to-end shut-down/unplug/power-up (cable modem, router, mac, Tivo).
Also, I made sure that the router was locked into Access Control … apparently (and this is from the network guy at my office) if there’s another wireless router in range that acting as a DHCP server and the power goes down, it’s possible as everything comes back up, for the wireless access point to get a) confused or b) be unable to hook up to the other router because its signal is too weak.
Glad it worked out. My netgear w111 v. 2 is still plugging away, though 7.1 continues to suck.
Cheers.
March 31st, 2005 at 12:14 pm |
Anyone that has a problem with TiVo, should immediately post to the tivocommunity.com forums. It is amazing how many smart, friend folks that are there, that are very eager to help you out.
March 31st, 2005 at 8:59 pm |
Good point! Tivocommunity is a great resource.
March 31st, 2005 at 9:03 pm |
Webslog,
I wouldn’t say 7.1 “blows” however; several people have mentioned that they are having issues with it. As far as I am concerned, I haven’t had any problems with 7.1. In my opinion, the problems with 7.1 are def’n outweighed by the benefit of TiVoToGo. I am sure that TiVo will work out whatever issues people are having with 7.1.
May 18th, 2005 at 3:26 pm |
I’m having the same problem with my network going down for no known reason. I also got the ‘update’ to make the world a better place. I have tried everything listed here and elsewhere to get my network back up and so far, no luck.
This is somewhat offputting for TIVO. No support, no luck.
May 24th, 2005 at 12:08 pm |
Ever since the May 11th 7.1b “update” my D-Link DWL-122 USB wireless adapter has been unable to connect to the WAP in the next room, despite working flawlessly the preceding 6 months. When I called TiVo tech support today, their suggestion was to buy a new NIC b/c “the chipset must not be working with the new update.” The funny part was, when I asked him which NIC I should buy to replace mine, he suggested the DWL-122. And when I asked whether TiVo would pay for the replacement, since its update obviously caused this problem, he said there was no way.
June 6th, 2005 at 11:33 am |
I have DWL-122 IT works now. When I got the update It did not. Had to reboot the the tivo for it to work. Now it works
December 26th, 2005 at 4:10 pm |
[...] I know that I’ve ragged on TiVo’s customer support before however, this time I was extremely happy with their level or response. Keep up the good work TiVo! [...]
February 17th, 2008 at 6:24 am |
What is going on with tivo? got MA111 and that worked for 2 or 3 years and both just stopped working for no reason. didnt have to hook up to phone line and then all of a sudden had to. went and got new rotor. didnt change having to hook up to phone. There just seem to be any tech support available through tivo. Spent all that money on those tivo machines! Just love the concept! What do i do now?