# Tivo Mini freezes after being off for awhile



## DallasGG (May 5, 2015)

I have 2 Mini's (one each of the 1st gen and 2nd gen). Each one of them has frozen up after not being used for awhile. In all cases this problem occurs when I attempt to wake them up from being asleep and not having used them for a day or so. What happens is that when I press the remote control I can see the light flash on the Tivo Mini but nothing happens...they won't wake up from sleep. And they don't both have this problem on the same day...one might work normally and the other won't wake up on a given day. The only way I've figured out how to get them working is to unplug them from power and then plug them back in again and then they reboot and work normally again.

fyi. They both work with my Roamio OTA which is connected to my router via ethernet cable. One of the Minis works via ethernet cable and the other one via wifi bridge.

Is this a known problem? Has anyone else run into this problem. Any ideas or suggestions as to what might cause this or what I can do when this happens instead of powering them down and then back up again?


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

DallasGG said:


> I have 2 Mini's (one each of the 1st gen and 2nd gen). Each one of them has frozen up after not being used for awhile. In all cases this problem occurs when I attempt to wake them up from being asleep and not having used them for a day or so. What happens is that when I press the remote control I can see the light flash on the Tivo Mini but nothing happens...they won't wake up from sleep. And they don't both have this problem on the same day...one might work normally and the other won't wake up on a given day. The only way I've figured out how to get them working is to unplug them from power and then plug them back in again and then they reboot and work normally again.
> 
> fyi. They both work with my Roamio OTA which is connected to my router via ethernet cable. One of the Minis works via ethernet cable and the other one via wifi bridge.
> 
> Is this a known problem? Has anyone else run into this problem. Any ideas or suggestions as to what might cause this or what I can do when this happens instead of powering them down and then back up again?


Hi,
How are your minis networked Ethernet or MoCA? When you say "frozen" does that mean unresponsive to all remote commands? Tivo Central / Live TV not available?


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## DallasGG (May 5, 2015)

fcfc2 said:


> Hi,
> How are your minis networked Ethernet or MoCA? When you say "frozen" does that mean unresponsive to all remote commands? Tivo Central / Live TV not available?


One of the Mini's uses an ethernet cable and the other one works through a wifi bridge. What happens is that I haven't used the Mini for a day or so and they are "off/asleep". Most of the time when I hit the Tivo button on the remote control the Mini's usually wake up and work normally. But in this case when I hit the Tivo button, they won't wake up. When I hit the Tivo button on the remote I can see the light on the Mini blink but nothing happens and they won't wake up. Only powering them down and up (by unplugging them) fixes the problem.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

DallasGG said:


> One of the Mini's uses an ethernet cable and the other one works through a wifi bridge. What happens is that I haven't used the Mini for a day or so and they are "off/asleep". Most of the time when I hit the Tivo button on the remote control the Mini's usually wake up and work normally. But in this case when I hit the Tivo button, they won't wake up. When I hit the Tivo button on the remote I can see the light on the Mini blink but nothing happens and they won't wake up. Only powering them down and up (by unplugging them) fixes the problem.


Hi again,
Sorry, no answers yet, more questions. When you power up the TV do you have the Tivo screen saver bouncing around that says something like "Press the Tivo button or Live TV" or is the screen frozen during the problem occurrences? Is the Ethernet connected mini going directly through your router or a switch? What brand is your router and Ethernet bridge?


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## DallasGG (May 5, 2015)

fcfc2 said:


> Hi again,
> Sorry, no answers yet, more questions. When you power up the TV do you have the Tivo screen saver bouncing around that says something like "Press the Tivo button or Live TV" or is the screen frozen during the problem occurrences? Is the Ethernet connected mini going directly through your router or a switch? What brand is your router and Ethernet bridge?


When I power up the TV, it's always on the TV's Tuner, and not the HDMI source for the Mini. The Tivo screen saver would not be bounding around because when I'm done with the Mini, I always go into settings and put it in standby mode. I guess I should have used the correct terminology earlier...that the problem occurs trying to get it out of standby mode...instead I said it was "off/asleep" in my earlier msgs.

The Tivo Roamio and one of the Tivo Mini's are both connected directly to the router. The router is a Trendnet TEW-751DR. The other Mini is connected to an Airlink AP671W for the wifi bridge. The problem occurs with both Mini's, regardless of whether they're connected via ethernet or wifi bridge.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

DallasGG said:


> When I power up the TV, it's always on the TV's Tuner, and not the HDMI source for the Mini. The Tivo screen saver would not be bounding around because when I'm done with the Mini, I always go into settings and put it in standby mode. I guess I should have used the correct terminology earlier...that the problem occurs trying to get it out of standby mode...instead I said it was "off/asleep" in my earlier msgs.
> 
> The Tivo Roamio and one of the Tivo Mini's are both connected directly to the router. The router is a Trendnet TEW-751DR. The other Mini is connected to an Airlink AP671W for the wifi bridge. The problem occurs with both Mini's, regardless of whether they're connected via ethernet or wifi bridge.


Hi,
I am not sure what you think you are gaining by bothering to go into the settings and putting the device into standby, but I have seen several posts indicating that using standby has seem to trigger a number of problems that all disappear after disabling it. My understanding is that even on the DVR's which use much more power than a mini, the savings by using standby is really tiny and on the mini it is likely even smaller.
Most folks just turn the TV off and forget about the mini, except for those that are concerned about tuner availability for recording, but they just hit the Tivo button which returns to Tivo Central and immediately releases the tuner, otherwise, the mini times out after four hours of non-use. 
I am not sure what is causing your TV to change it's hdmi setting when it is turned off, I have used 4-5 brands and none do that. They all come back on to whatever port they were using when they were turned off.


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## DallasGG (May 5, 2015)

I guess part of my question was if anyone else had run across this problem. Just curious.

Also, it has nothing to do with my TV's hdmi setting. It's the Tivo Mini that freezes up and will no longer respond to the remote when coming out of standby.


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## novacane (Feb 4, 2016)

okay so I have been in contact with Tivo support for the last two weeks with this problem and i'm really getting sick of having to unplug and to rest the Tivo.. So I have done everything but jump through hoops for them from resting the tivo to getting a new HDMI cord with nothing working. the screen that is up on the TV when i start it is a "press the tivo or tv live button" and nothing happens. this is hookup to a Sony TV Bravia KDL-55HX750. they now tell me to exchange the tivo mini i have fork over 49.99 which my mini is only 4 1/2 months old which this has been doing this since I got it. so if anyone has any ideas please contact me.. Frustrated to no end

Thanks


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

novacane said:


> okay so I have been in contact with Tivo support for the last two weeks with this problem and i'm really getting sick of having to unplug and to rest the Tivo.. So I have done everything but jump through hoops for them from resting the tivo to getting a new HDMI cord with nothing working. the screen that is up on the TV when i start it is a "press the tivo or tv live button" and nothing happens. this is hookup to a Sony TV Bravia KDL-55HX750. they now tell me to exchange the tivo mini i have fork over 49.99 which my mini is only 4 1/2 months old which this has been doing this since I got it. so if anyone has any ideas please contact me.. Frustrated to no end
> 
> Thanks


Hi,
Your issue sounds different and has the characteristics of an HDMI handshake problem. There have been several other posts regarding that problem and if memory serves, Sony Bravia series have been mentioned to display it. No one that I recall has an easy fix but I believe a work around which some have had success with is to use some type of intermediary connection on the HDMI cable to keep the port active. You will have to try searching the forums for this, which is not well designed by the way, and see what you turn up. If you google "HDMI handshake", you will see you are not alone. I believe some of the folks have used something like this, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004F9LVXC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage 
to get a steady connection. I would do a lot of homework before buying equipment.
Here, I found a link which might have some answers http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=535459&highlight=sony+bravia


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## pesto126 (Dec 15, 2007)

I have the same problem... turn on my TV with TV remote (or TIVO Mini remote) and have the "screensaver" running - neither the TIVO or TV Power buttons do anything... its totally stuck and I need to pull the plug and wait for the slow as sand Tivo to reboot.

Any ideas? As is this thing is useless if I need to reboot every day... using a Vizio TV, HDMI, ethernet setup.

Thanks!


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## elas123 (Jan 1, 2004)

i am having the same problem with one of my mini's now. it started couple weeks ago before the new update. my kids kept telling me and i just starting looking into it and found this. maybe ill do a clear and delete and see, idk


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## RPeppe (Feb 17, 2002)

Exact same issue with a 3 month old Mini- it worked fine for months, but now it goes into the screen saver mode (with the bouncing notice to push Tivo or Live TV) and will not wake up. The only fix us to unplug and let it reboot. Support had me try things over a few days such as swapping the location and cable, and even suggested that "minis must be plugged directly into the wall and not a power strip." Tried all of these suggestions and no go, so they are sending a new unit and I will return this one.


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## elas123 (Jan 1, 2004)

i found that it is the remote itself. i have 2 other remotes and when this happens, the other remotes with work it. i did a clear and delete. they did a global reset of the remote and still wont work after screensaver mode. my bolt remote and a directv remote i have programmed to it work but not the mini remote. making me wonder if the rf in the remote is wonky in rf mode now

edit. ok i put the mini remote in ir mode (tivo button+red c) and guess what it works. and put back into rf mode and it wont work. so it is the rf mode inside the remote for mine. they are sending a new remote.


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## unknownpa (Feb 23, 2016)

elas123 said:


> i found that it is the remote itself. i have 2 other remotes and when this happens, the other remotes with work it. i did a clear and delete. they did a global reset of the remote and still wont work after screensaver mode. my bolt remote and a directv remote i have programmed to it work but not the mini remote. making me wonder if the rf in the remote is wonky in rf mode now
> 
> edit. ok i put the mini remote in ir mode (tivo button+red c) and guess what it works. and put back into rf mode and it wont work. so it is the rf mode inside the remote for mine. they are sending a new remote.


Will you report the results back when you get the new remote?


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## elas123 (Jan 1, 2004)

Yes I will. For now the mini and remote is working fine in ir mode for couple days now so I'm sure it's the rf mode in the remote


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## RPeppe (Feb 17, 2002)

My replacement mini started doing the same thing- no response to wake up. Turns out it was indeed the remote, specifically the RF part of the remote. A reset on the remote solved the problem, at least for the moment. We will see if it lasts.


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## elas123 (Jan 1, 2004)

My remote was replaced and has been fine since in rf mode


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## miketx (Sep 22, 2005)

I have this exact same problem on a new Mini I bought a few months ago. It resides in a seldom used room (until my kids come home from college, which just happened). The Mini seems to lose the video connection (goes completely blank...no bouncing Tivo, nothing...just a blue screen) and a reboot fixes it (temporarily). I'll have to investigate the remote "rf" connection.

The other Mini I received at exactly the same time works fine.


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## elas123 (Jan 1, 2004)

My same mini has been fine with the new remote for over a month now. I'd have to say It was definitely the remote rf problem.. Just to check turn ur remote in ir mode and see if it wakes the mini up or if it happens again. When I did that to mine before the replacement it worked like a charm too


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## alp44 (May 21, 2003)

I Have the same problem - Mini connected to Romio via MoCa. I turn on tv and have the screensaver with the TiVo logo bouncing around, with press Tivo Live or ... but nothing happens when I press the suggested buttons on remote. Have to repower Mini to get back pictrure.



DallasGG said:


> I guess part of my question was if anyone else had run across this problem. Just curious.
> 
> Also, it has nothing to do with my TV's hdmi setting. It's the Tivo Mini that freezes up and will no longer respond to the remote when coming out of standby.


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## kjstorch (Dec 12, 2002)

miketx said:


> I have this exact same problem on a new Mini I bought a few months ago. It resides in a seldom used room (until my kids come home from college, which just happened). The Mini seems to lose the video connection (goes completely blank...no bouncing Tivo, nothing...just a blue screen) and a reboot fixes it (temporarily). I'll have to investigate the remote "rf" connection.
> 
> The other Mini I received at exactly the same time works fine.


Your problem sounds more like the HDMI handshake issue that fcfc2 describes in a post above. It seems to be TV specific and I've had it on one of my older Samsungs. I installed a HDMI switch from Monoprice in-between the TiVo and the TV to solve it.


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## jeffl910 (Mar 25, 2013)

I have been having a similar (or the same) issue lately as well. It started maybe 4-6 months ago but has been getting progressively worse and worse.

I leave my tivo mini on and just turn off my TV when im done watching. When i come back to watch more TV, I turn on the TV, but the Mini doesnt respond to the remote control anymore. I have to unplug the mini & then plug it back in, then it will respond to the remote again.

The reason why i think its a problem with the Tivo Mini and not the remote is because the Mini becomes responsive to the remote after its reset, even though nothing has been changed to the remote.

Do any of you guys have this problem too? I have had this mini for almost a year and Tivo wants $49.99 to exchange it, which I think is a ripoff considering their product isnt working as expected.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

If I might suggest. First put the Mini into Standby. Then turn off the TV.

Reverse: turn on the TV, after you know that worked, hit the Live TV button.

I've been doing this for a while without issues. On a previous TV I would have the problems you described (but not every time).

Side effect: EAS tests don't enable the Mini.


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## koenip (Jul 27, 2003)

I banged my head against the wall for weeks and finally solved my problem by re-pairing my remote to the mini. I'm not able to explain why the lack of being paired caused this problem, but I take placebos for their medical value, so this is a no brainer. It's worth a 30-second experiment, no?


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