Daily call fail

[Soobo1]

Hi everyone - long time no post and I forgot my logon.

Since getting the message that a new type of guide was on its way (26 June) my beloved TiVo has failed each of its daily calls to the 0161 number and I only have 1 day of guide remaining I've done a test call and get the "no answer" response - what could be going wrong?

Grateful for any help x

[DX30]

There are people experiencing lockups on the 0161 number at the moment but your problem sounds different. I'd suggest you check the cabling in case the phone cable is loose. I'd also try unplugging the TiVo from the mains for a few minutes then trying again - a power cycle often helps. If neither works what happens when you dial the number using your phone - do you get a modem answering on the other end?

Some details of your TiVo would be good so people have an idea what to suggest. Are you running the standard TiVo software? Or have you bought a new drive from someone? If so who? Or did you download the altepg iso file from here and make your own new drive?

[Soobo1]

Thanks for the reply. All the cabling is fine and I've done a manual call and it connects fine but about 5 mins into the call it locks up and fails. I've called the number directly from the phone and it answers with modem noise. Do you have any details on the lock ups on the 0161 number?

Will try a power cycle.

Just standard Tivo software here on an original machine that has never been interfered with other than changing the phone number from time to time for dial ups I've had this faithful beast since 1999!

[DX30]

All the cabling is fine and I've done a manual call and it connects fine but about 5 mins into the call it locks up and fails. I've called the number directly from the phone and it answers with modem noise. Do you have any details on the lock ups on the 0161 number?

That does sound like the "normal" lockup problem - it was the reference to "no answer" that made me think it might be something else. There are a number of threads about this problem and this is one of the more recent.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1818

Just standard Tivo software here on an original machine that has never been interfered with other than changing the phone number from time to time for dial ups I've had this faithful beast since 1999!

Other users have posted using the original software as curing the problem viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1823

Your experience suggests the original software also suffers from lockups and that isn't a 100% cure.

I'm afraid I am a bit pessimistic about this. The lockups have been happening on the 0161 number from the start, although they seem to have become more frequent over time. They happen randomly so although people can make a change that seems to fix things it usually doesn't last. In the end I think fitting a network card is the only thing guaranteed to work but unfortunately they are difficult to get hold of. Your best chance is a networked tivo on ebay or someone posting a "tivo needs a good home" on this forum.

A SerialPPP link via a PC or Laptop is also a viable option but you do need to be pretty "techy" to set one up. There are threads about it in this forum if you want to give that a go.

Otherwise it is probably a case of crossing your fingers and keep trying manual calls until one hopefully succeeds.

[Furbag]

Other users have posted using the original software as curing the problem viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1823

I would like to add a LARGE word of caution to this fix if you use the 0845 number with this fix

Have just discovered mums TiVo has hung on the on several occasions now for hours and hour and left the phone line open !!!!!!

Currently the bill is at just shy of £230 in 4 days, needless to say I've reverted it back to the 0161 number. So I'm not sure if this will happen on the 0161 number but at least it shouldnt run up a huge bill

[DX30]

I would like to add a LARGE word of caution to this fix if you use the 0845 number with this fix

Have just discovered mums TiVo has hung on the on several occasions now for hours and hour and left the phone line open !!!!!!

Currently the bill is at just shy of £230 in 4 days, needless to say I've reverted it back to the 0161 number. So I'm not sure if this will happen on the 0161 number but at least it shouldnt run up a huge bill

The 0161 number (and the discontinued 0845 number) both had a 1 hour cutoff after which the server end hangs up precisely to avoid large phone bills in the event of a hung TiVo.

That however has its own problems as on a poor quality line you can need longer than 1 hour to complete a guided setup. The remaining 0845 line has no server cutoff for those people - it isn't a dedicated TiVo number, just a general purpose internet dialup that can be used by PC's etc. As you have found out that sort of number can be risky when it goes wrong.

[Furbag]

Ah I thought they had a 1hr cut off, didnt realise the other 0845 didnt have that on it, lesson learned

[Soobo]

Well after persevering I got it working again, but now I come back from hols to find no successful call for last two weeks poor TiVo

I fear i need to find an alternative. Does anyone have a recommendation? I just have a standard TV aerial, no satellite dish and not keen on BT Tv, cable TV and satellite not an option where I live

Thank you

[Furbag]

I fear i need to find an alternative. Does anyone have a recommendation? I just have a standard TV aerial, no satellite dish and not keen on BT Tv, cable TV and satellite not an option where I live

Thank you

In all honesty there isnt much, tried a couple of free view options and to be honest they are quite a poor mans version of TiVo. If you can keep him running I personally would. Do you know what you did to bring it back ? certainly I found changing the dial settings manually solved the unable to call or it locking up, although it does revert back to the old setting on a reboot but it does seem to have solved mums problem.

[gcobb]

Would a Tivo with a network card be an option? They do sometimes come up here.

Otherwise... I have a Humax (along with my Tivos, of course). It is no Tivo but it seemed to be pretty much the best of the rest. It doesn't need a network connection but if you do put it on the network you can get recordings off it and you can play material from other video servers through it. It also has some apps for things like iPlayer but I don't use them so I don't know if they have been kept up to date. Of course, they have probably changed models and features since I bought mine.