# Bolt changes channels without warning



## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

Title says all.... just now, without any onscreen warning my Bolt abruptly changed channels in the middle of watching a live show in order to start a scheduled recording. I thought it was supposed to put up a warning for a minute or so prior to changing channels asking if I wanted to change channels or cancel the recording. 

Has this feature been removed? 

Paul


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Reminds me of this:

Bolt randomly changes channels

-KP


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## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

kpeters59 said:


> Reminds me of this:
> 
> Bolt randomly changes channels
> 
> -KP


Yes, that thread does describe a *similar *behavior. But in my case, it changed the channel to begin an *actual legitimate recording.* The only issue was that it did not put up a notice that it needed to change the channel and it had been less than 30 minutes since I last pressed a button. Maybe even less.

It definitely does not change randomly or on the hour like the thread you linked.

Paul


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## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

Bolt 500GB (upgraded to 3TB)
Did it again today. I was watching a movie live and had paused and then later resumed to let it build up about a 15 minute buffer (the movie was riddled with commercials). About a minute after resuming, it abruptly changed channels with no onscreen warning whatsoever. When I attempted to change back to the channel that was showing my movie I found that all four tuners were now busy. Clearly it had changed channels to begin a scheduled recording without putting up the "about to change channels" popup like it is supposed to. I allowed it to cancel one of the recordings and was then able to return to my movie but of course my buffer was gone. 

This time, I called Tivo to report this as a software issue and was unable to get them to understand this was NOT a user or hardware issue. I was asked things like whether I had removed the remote batteries and/or had unplugged the Tivo as "troubleshooting" steps. Nowhere was there any indication that the script they were reading included "report as possible software issue". I finally got a supervisor who also started talking about troubleshooting with an end goal of replacing the Bolt if troubleshooting was unable to resolve the issue. After stressing.... several times..... that this was NOT something that could be solved with troubleshooting or replacement, he finally said he would escalate the issue and that someone should get back to me in 3-5 days. I'm definitely not holding my breath but who knows..... 

Given the apparent lack of a path back to the firmware development team (unless the user is VERY persistent), I am truly amazed that that they resolve ANY esoteric software issues. 

Paul


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

pgoelz said:


> Bolt 500GB (upgraded to 3TB)
> Did it again today. I was watching a movie live and had paused and then later resumed to let it build up about a 15 minute buffer (the movie was riddled with commercials). About a minute after resuming, it abruptly changed channels with no onscreen warning whatsoever. When I attempted to change back to the channel that was showing my movie I found that all four tuners were now busy. Clearly it had changed channels to begin a scheduled recording without putting up the "about to change channels" popup like it is supposed to.
> Paul


It is a user issue. If you want to watch something until the end you've got to record it. You can't really count on the live buffers if you have a lot of recordings scheduled. Buffers are secondary to scheduled recordings and the box won't hesitate to switch channels.

It's also a design issue. The pop-up warning occurs too early before the channel change. It's now almost two or three minutes ahead of time. For the Series 1 it wasn't more than a minute. It sounds like you were out of the room when the pop-up happened.

I'm still using TE3, not TE4/Hydra, so I don't know if things are worse or better on it.


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## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

BobCamp1 said:


> It is a user issue. If you want to watch something until the end you've got to record it. You can't really count on the live buffers if you have a lot of recordings scheduled. Buffers are secondary to scheduled recordings and the box won't hesitate to switch channels.
> 
> It's also a design issue. The pop-up warning occurs too early before the channel change. It's now almost two or three minutes ahead of time. For the Series 1 it wasn't more than a minute. It sounds like you were out of the room when the pop-up happened.
> 
> I'm still using TE3, not TE4/Hydra, so I don't know if things are worse or better on it.


I'm on TE3 also. And I was in the room and looking at the screen the whole time. No pop up. Ever. Same as last time.

Paul


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

My channel-change pop-ups are occurring, on my Bolt, less than a minute (perhaps half-a-minute?) before the channel-change.


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## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

Mikeguy said:


> My channel-change pop-ups are occurring, on my Bolt, less than a minute (perhaps half-a-minute?) before the channel-change.


So are mine most of the time. but every once in a while it behaves the way I described.

Paul


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

OK, if you want you can try to just reset the GUI without rebooting the whole box. This won't disrupt any recordings:

From TiVo Central press Thumbs down -> Thumbs up -> Play -> Play

But as I said you've got to record something you get interested in.


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## My Cape is a Recliner (Oct 5, 2019)

?? I know there is a programmed feature that I have that removes the bar quicker. Is there a chance yours is just sped up, or are you sure its completely gone? 
Mine is three seconds. I know you can change the banner to make it more transparent, change the location, and size. Is there a chance you used a multi button "hidden code" to remove the warning, or disabled it?


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## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

My Cape is a Recliner said:


> ?? I know there is a programmed feature that I have that removes the bar quicker. Is there a chance yours is just sped up, or are you sure its completely gone?
> Mine is three seconds. I know you can change the banner to make it more transparent, change the location, and size. Is there a chance you used a multi button "hidden code" to remove the warning, or disabled it?


I guess that is always possible. But if there is a way to hide the "about to change the channel" warning, I am unaware of it.

I had an Email from Tivo last night in response to my call. They want me to contact them at the regular phone support number for "further troubleshooting". Since the Email was from a "do not reply" address and I am not really interested in going yet another round of useless troubleshooting with the offshore phone people, I Emailed Tivo at the regular contact address and referenced the case ID number. I stated that I was not willing to waste my time rebooting and removing remote batteries (been done recently anyway for other reasons) but I am ready and willing to provide any information I can to help THEM troubleshoot THEIR firmware. Not holding my breath. At least this is a minor and infrequent issue.

Paul


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## My Cape is a Recliner (Oct 5, 2019)

what about clip overlapping? 
settings and messages : user preferences : clip overlapping - it is limited to 5 minutes, but when there is a conflict it cancels the lower priority recording (up to the last 5 minutes, (not sure if that time can be modified)), and automatically changes the channel..

Have you noticed if there is less than 5 minutes left in the recording when the channel changes?
Have you tried to recreate it?


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## pgoelz (May 1, 2005)

Actually, you might be onto something. I did notice that less than a minute after the most recent unwanted channel change, one of the four tuners went inactive. It still doesn't explain the unannounced channel change unless this is an unintended side effect of clip protection. This is still a firmware issue though, since the expected behavior would be to warn before ANY un-commanded channel change. 

Paul.


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