# Cabelcard problem with FIOS and fix



## WizarDru (Jan 18, 2005)

Just putting this out there in case anyone else runs against it and is curious: on Tuesday, my wife noticed that all of our pay channels (specifically all HBO and Cinemax channels) had become unavailable on our TiVo Premiere XL. All the channels in our FIOS EXTREME HD (I think that's what they call it now) package were intact. Our second TiVo (a regular Premiere with WD expander) was able to read them fine.

The behavior would be as follows:

Tune to Channel (ex: 899, HBO HD); the screen goes to the Cablecard info screen (grey and white) displaying cablecard info and verizon's phone number. If you press CLEAR to exit, you get a blank screen, followed by about 10 seconds later by the 'you are not authorized' message.

Assuming this might be related to the recent change at Verizon FIOS of the copy protection bit, I called their help line. After sitting on hold for a while, I reached a tech who then had me check various settings. He tried first resetting and then reactivating the cablecard. This produced an even more unusual behavior: after pressing 'CLEAR' it would actually show the channel properly for 1-10 seconds, then freeze on that image for about 10 seconds before again determining it wasn't authorized. Verizon then fell back on the belief that it was most likely a TiVo problem, but that if TiVo found no problem, they could try swapping the card. 

A quick call to TiVo had us look at some information on the card to determine that while it was successfully paired, it wasn't decoding the encrypted channels properly. They recommended getting a new cablecard. A subsequent call back to Verizon arranged for that.

Last night the card arrived and after a long call with Verizon, we got it activated and then successfully paired. The card was clearly the problem.

No horror story, here. I just wanted to share the information in case anyone saw a similar error. Both Verizon and TiVo had polite, friendly phone support and did their best to help me. Problem solved.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

FiOS sent info out to subscribers over a month ago stating that people would need to get their cards paired to their devices. This was for the Copy Protecton which HBO and Cinemax wanted to enforce. None of the other channels currently have an issue if the cards are not paired.

I paired my cards the week of getting the letter. For me it was a quick and painless process using the automated telephone system to get my three cards paired.


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## rrm820 (Jun 28, 2005)

My issue is exactly the same as described. HBO channels get the authorize screen ever since they put in the copyright change last week. But my problem has not been resolved.

i am currenly stuck in the middle between Verizon and Tivo. I have a Series 3, i'm on my second set of cable cards from Verizon (i have 2 cable card slots), that have been reset and reintialized numerous times. Both Tivo and Verizon are saying it's the other guy's problem. This compounded by the fact that the Tivo tech i got on the phone was pretty poor (sounded like he was drunk). luck of the draw i guess. I think i finally got the drunk tech to escalate up the Tivo food chain, so hopefully the right engineers will start looking into this problem from the Tivo side.

I have to admin the Verizon guys have been cooperative. They even dispatched a tech to my house to test signal strength. And after escalating up to their engineers, they are insisting it has to do with Tivo not handling the newer signal when the copyright thing went down last week.

Im hoping this is not a unique problem and someone at Tivo knows the root cause for this issue, and hopefully the magic needed to fix it. Im guessing if there is any truth to Verizons claim, that maybe there is a firmware upgrade of sorts that needs to be applied to my Tivo to fix this. And hopefully, some engineer at Tivo is on top of this. If not, and this problem is unique, i think i'll be playing ping pong for a bit between the two until this gets resolved.

Will keep you posted in case anyone else is having this problem.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

I think Verizon is incapable of pairing single-stream cards. Maybe it's time to retire my S3 anyway...


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## joe1515 (Jul 21, 2009)

Starting last night I was having the same issues. At first I tried to just re-activate the cards using the automated phone number but that did not work. I called Verizon and they were no help either. I finally figured out how to get mine to work. Here are the steps I followed;

1. I removed the cable card and re inserted
2. Then I called the automated cable number and re-activated the cards
3. Then I performed a full guide set up

I hope this helps.

-Joe


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## FiosUser (Nov 16, 2007)

I have an S3, two single stream cards, and last night this problem happened to me on HBO and Cinemax in California on FIOS.

Tried calling and pairing with the number that flashed on the cable card screen, but it didn't work.

Phone call to support didn't work either.

They are sending me two new cards to try out. I'll try the fix suggested above here to remove and replace cards, call to activate, and guide setup. Hope it works!


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## Gregor (Feb 18, 2002)

You might try asking Verizon what the Host iD is that they have on file. If it is different from the one on your screen, then they can change it. They'll ask for one other piece of information.

(Verizon started by asking me what the serial number of the card was, then they gave it a hit, and it didn't work. I then asked them what Host ID they had on file, and it was different than what the TV screen said.)


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## bantar (Apr 27, 2004)

Same problem here with Tivo HD and two S cards. In the Verizon thread, there were posts suggesting that M cards may resolve the problem. I expect to get these on Tuesday and post the results. I've had 3 different techs attempt to pair the cards, with only the last one that really knew what to do. We definitely compared and corrected all of the parameters for activation, so it does not appear to be strictly related to wrong parameter information (however, you do need to make sure that it's accurate for the pairing to occur). And, yes, my host IDs were incorrect, until the 3rd tech changed it.


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## billys9319 (Nov 13, 2007)

I tried 6 S-cards in my Series 3 and all failed. As soon as I tried two M-Cards they both activated with out any problems.


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## mulscully (May 31, 2003)

Same here with HBO and 2 of my 3 cable cards. The tech I spoke to send some kind of signal that bricked my one cable card, then he decided to send a truck out 'cause he did not want to brick the other. I tried to get him to check the card setup and pairing but he insisted he knew what he was doing..

Well anyway, last night I downloaded the verizon in-home agent software, and was able to find my other malfunction cable card in the set up cable card section, repaired the card myself there and now it works..

So it seems that now you definitely need your cards paired correctly for the channels with the copy once bit set..


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## rrm820 (Jun 28, 2005)

After spending 3 hours on the phone with TiVo and Verizon techs, they confirmed there was no more they could do at their level. Both techs were escalating to their respective supervisors, instructing them to raise to the AD/engineers to resolve the problem.

The TiVo tech did announce that during our call, he had received an internal TiVo communique that a recent issue exists between TiVo and fios pertaining to copy protection on premium channels with no known resolution. Here's hoping they get the right people involved and put out a fix.


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## bantar (Apr 27, 2004)

Well, I got my M-Card to replace the two S-Cards in my Tivo HD and with one more phone call to get it activated, I'm up and running with HBO and Cinemax working again. The automated system couldn't activate the card, so I needed to have a tech finish this for me. 

Note: None of the 4 (that I spoke to) FIOS techs knew what was required to solve this problem. Their internal notes simply state that the card should be deactivated and reactivated to correct the issue. Certainly, this isn't enough for our problems. Ask them to change you to an M-Card. Additionally, I had to request that they pair the card. Activation wasn't enough for HBO. Each tech had to research this command before executing it.


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## eisenb11 (Sep 6, 2006)

I've recently had this problem with my Series 3 and have it solved now as well. The problem is that HBO doesn't work because they insisted on the stupid copy protection flag being flipped on.

In my case, 1 S card worked, but the other didn't.

We tried a bunch of stuff over the phone - hit the card, remove and add in their system, etc, etc. Nothing got the second card working.

Got 2 new M cards today. I popped out the old ones and popped in the new ones. I used the selfinstall web page (URL in the instructions that come with the card) and got everything up and running. 

Screen started dead, but a picture was up in about 10 minutes. It took another 30 or so minutes before channel 131 (the pairing test channel) and HBO worked. Just needed to wait it out.

So far so good.


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## FLGator (Aug 16, 2012)

I have multiple Tivos.... Premier Elite XL, Series 3, Series 2, etc. I also experienced the same issues this week with all my premium channels on the Premier Elite XL system going to gray "unauthorized screen". Verizon Fios informed me that they were upgrading (aka downgrading there system with "copyright protect") and it would be working within 24 hours. 

Well didn't work... spent three days various times on phone with them trying to pair system again, they also suggested I "upgrade" to their box, and finally agreed was this particular cable card and sent me a new one. I got new one today and installed it and had same issue. 

Tonight they informed me they are no longer supporting TIVO or cable cards. I have tried again just incase it was the representative and got same answer. My Tivo Series 3 still works fine... but when I removed one of the cards it blocked the premium channels so don't remove yours on that particular card. 

I am now stuck with brand new Tivo boxes and 2 year contract with Verizon Fios so need to figure out problem or get both companies to cancel contacts and buy back equipment. I guess TIVO lost their battle with FCC and cable companies are squeezing them out of business... sounds like a monopoly.

Any other suggestions before I give up?


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## eisenb11 (Sep 6, 2006)

FLGator said:


> Tonight they informed me they are no longer supporting TIVO or cable cards. I have tried again just incase it was the representative and got same answer.


That's does not sound correct. They have to support cable cards, it's a FCC requirement. Sounds like you got some bad agents.



> Any other suggestions before I give up?


If you got the cards, try going to the website listed in the included documents to do a cable card self install. I did and everything started working about 40 minutes later. Not sure, if it's too late, though, as you've already added them, but it's worth a try.

If all else fails, try having them send you another set of cards then doing the self install when you get them.


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## FLGator (Aug 16, 2012)

eisenb11 said:


> That's does not sound correct. They have to support cable cards, it's a FCC requirement. Sounds like you got some bad agents.
> 
> If you got the cards, try going to the website listed in the included documents to do a cable card self install. I did and everything started working about 40 minutes later. Not sure, if it's too late, though, as you've already added them, but it's worth a try.
> 
> If all else fails, try having them send you another set of cards then doing the self install when you get them.


I did the self "home agent" reset... and got all channels working except HBO and Cinemax. I am wondering if anyone else was able to get HBO and Cinemax running again since those are the new "copy protected" and nontransferrable channels?


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## FiosUser (Nov 16, 2007)

My new S cards came.

In they went. Auto configure, phone configure, website configure, tech support configure:

HBO and Cinemax are still gone.

On phone hold right now trying to get them to send me M cards (for same price as S cards...they claim I need to pay more--$1 more. I'm holding out!)


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## eisenb11 (Sep 6, 2006)

FLGator said:


> I did the self "home agent" reset... and got all channels working except HBO and Cinemax. I am wondering if anyone else was able to get HBO and Cinemax running again since those are the new "copy protected" and nontransferrable channels?


I have HBO running. I thought a few others have reported the same after getting M cards as well.


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## eisenb11 (Sep 6, 2006)

FiosUser said:


> My new S cards came.
> 
> In they went. Auto configure, phone configure, website configure, tech support configure:
> 
> ...


Let us know if you're successful. I was thinking of calling in for the same. No reason we should pay $1 more per card for something that wasn't our fault.


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## dsnotgood (Aug 26, 2010)

FLGator said:


> I have multiple Tivos.... Premier Elite XL, Series 3, Series 2, etc. I also experienced the same issues this week with all my premium channels on the Premier Elite XL system going to gray "unauthorized screen". Verizon Fios informed me that they were upgrading (aka downgrading there system with "copyright protect") and it would be working within 24 hours.
> 
> Well didn't work... spent three days various times on phone with them trying to pair system again, they also suggested I "upgrade" to their box, and finally agreed was this particular cable card and sent me a new one. I got new one today and installed it and had same issue.
> 
> ...


Just call back and get a new agent. I had same issue, they sent me two new m cards, I then called and it took a while for the guy to get it paired but he fixed it. If I were you, I would call back,ask for all new m cards, when they come in, call them and tell them you need to activate it. Do not hang up until they fix it, if your agent seems like he has no idea, hang up and call back. The first agent I got was clueless. The second knew what to do. All my channels work fine now. Just took an hour on phone for guy to figure it out.


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## FLGator (Aug 16, 2012)

dsnotgood said:


> Just call back and get a new agent. I had same issue, they sent me two new m cards, I then called and it took a while for the guy to get it paired but he fixed it. If I were you, I would call back,ask for all new m cards, when they come in, call them and tell them you need to activate it. Do not hang up until they fix it, if your agent seems like he has no idea, hang up and call back. The first agent I got was clueless. The second knew what to do. All my channels work fine now. Just took an hour on phone for guy to figure it out.


ok... here is update to fix problem after several days and spending another 3 hours on the phone with Tech and Bill/Order department bouncing me around because billing/order dept and tech dept were not synchronized. If you are one of the many that are missing your HBO and Cinemax here is how I fixed it.

1) make sure you have an "M" cable card
2) call tech support and have them DELETE your card and profile completely. It appears that with the new copy right protection on HBO/Cinemax something got messed up where systems and billing weren't matched.
3) go to the Cable Card setting section on paring and provide them with the newest Card ID, Host ID, Data ID, and SN... note that the Data Id changes everytime you try to have system reset so make sure you have the current one. Wait a long time for them while you stay on the phone for them to have the higher level support people match up everything
4) in the Cable Card setting section - test your basic channels, then premium, and then HBO and Cinemax last.

You must have them DELETE your profile...and if they take a short cut your system will never reset no matter how many new cable cards they send you... and tell them no thanks you don't want their DVR box. Good Luck and have lots of patience!


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## cyberbeach (Nov 29, 2002)

I'm having this problem but when I call the cable card activation number it asks me for an activation code from my original letter from Verizon.

No clue where that is or what the number is - I got FIOS over 3 years ago.

?


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## bantar (Apr 27, 2004)

Press # for the activation code, then it will ask you for more information. In my case, I typed in all of the necessary data and then it said, let me get you a live technican to handle your issue. Even later, when I got my M card and an activation code, it didn't work. A live technican was again needed to get it setup right.


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## WizarDru (Jan 18, 2005)

cyberbeach said:


> I'm having this problem but when I call the cable card activation number it asks me for an activation code from my original letter from Verizon.
> 
> No clue where that is or what the number is - I got FIOS over 3 years ago.


As Bantar notes, you should get an option where it has you say "I don't know" or "I don't have it" and then it will prompt you for the cable card ID and some other information. That info can be found by tuning to channel 131 iirc or going on the Tivo menu --> Settings -->Cable Decoder Settings and then getting the information from there.


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## WizarDru (Jan 18, 2005)

aaronwt said:


> FiOS sent info out to subscribers over a month ago stating that people would need to get their cards paired to their devices. This was for the Copy Protecton which HBO and Cinemax wanted to enforce. None of the other channels currently have an issue if the cards are not paired.
> 
> I paired my cards the week of getting the letter. For me it was a quick and painless process using the automated telephone system to get my three cards paired.


Yes, I got that letter. It said tune to this channel (131, iirc) and if it comes up OK, then you don't need to do anything else. And for the first week AFTER the switch, I didn't. This problem happened a week later and ONLY on one of my two TiVo HD units. A new 'M' card fixed it for me, but judging from this thread, it was a lot more work for some other folks.


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## FiosUser (Nov 16, 2007)

Took a truck roll to bring two M cards to me.

Fixed it right away.

At one point they had 4 cable cards mailed out to me because they couldn't figure out how to swap S for M cards. I just had to tell them to come out.


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## FiosUser (Nov 16, 2007)

Oh, I don't know about the price yet.

I have to call them this week to see how much they are charging me.

I'll have to make sure to get a month's credit for no HBO too.


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## global_dev (Mar 15, 2010)

i had this problem with cinemax on 8/11 on 2 premieres, called verizon, they deactivated and reactivated cards to no avail. i went away for a month and tried again last night. spent 2 hours+ they had incorrect info in the system, and supposedly changed it and still couldn't past the problem.

my Pairing status shows ?, not V.. they had no clue how to get it to V.. 

they told me that tons of TiVos just won't work and that technical told her that i should exchange the m cards for verizon set top boxes.. 

i am going to try again with the pairing/binding argument or try pulling the cards and do the guided setup.. what a hassle

i wish they had some faq for the fios tivo CSRs, they just plain can't troubleshoot well..


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## dsnotgood (Aug 26, 2010)

global_dev said:


> i had this problem with cinemax on 8/11 on 2 premieres, called verizon, they deactivated and reactivated cards to no avail. i went away for a month and tried again last night. spent 2 hours+ they had incorrect info in the system, and supposedly changed it and still couldn't past the problem.
> 
> my Pairing status shows ?, not V.. they had no clue how to get it to V..
> 
> ...


Ask for new cards. That fixed it for me


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## global_dev (Mar 15, 2010)

i was about to call and get a new CSR, but decided to let the automated system "reset" my cards (not activate again as they are). The "val" still appears as "?", but Cinemax is working again. It seems to have worked, hopefully it'll stay.


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## WizarDru (Jan 18, 2005)

global_dev said:


> i was about to call and get a new CSR, but decided to let the automated system "reset" my cards (not activate again as they are). The "val" still appears as "?", but Cinemax is working again. It seems to have worked, hopefully it'll stay.


If it doesn't, ask for new cards. If they tell you that TiVos 'just won't work', they're either lying or ignorant. Most likely the cards are defective or too old and replacing them will fix the problem. If they haven't replaced your cards, demand that they do so.


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## global_dev (Mar 15, 2010)

WizarDru said:


> If it doesn't, ask for new cards. If they tell you that TiVos 'just won't work', they're either lying or ignorant. Most likely the cards are defective or too old and replacing them will fix the problem. If they haven't replaced your cards, demand that they do so.


It stopped working. VZ sending out "additional" cablecards... they wanted to shut down the current cablecards that moment, prior to sending out the additional ones, which weren't considered subsititions (per CSR SOP). I told them no way can they shut off service for 3+ business days... some discussion with tech CSR about not being able to send cards allowed them to keep service on so I can watch the other channels until they show up in "3 business days".

The technical CSR was saying that all activation/pairing signals to my Tivo's were returning the result "inconclusive". sound familiar to anyone?


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## WizarDru (Jan 18, 2005)

global_dev said:


> It stopped working. VZ sending out "additional" cablecards... they wanted to shut down the current cablecards that moment, prior to sending out the additional ones, which weren't considered subsititions (per CSR SOP). I told them no way can they shut off service for 3+ business days... some discussion with tech CSR about not being able to send cards allowed them to keep service on so I can watch the other channels until they show up in "3 business days".
> 
> The technical CSR was saying that all activation/pairing signals to my Tivo's were returning the result "inconclusive". sound familiar to anyone?


The only reason they would shut down your current cable cards is because you were swapping the cards RIGHT THEN. And even then, I don't believe they have to do that. They mailed me a replacement 'M' card and I swapped it and called them. Period. I swear some of these reps are just lying right out of the tails, possibly due to ignorance or laziness, I dunno.


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## sabre70 (Mar 28, 2010)

I had same issue with Cinemax channels not coming in. After 3 calls to Vz I finally got them working. The tech reset the card then reentered the data ID #. She called it some sort of a cable card swap test, where they disable the card and the re ping it and whoola it worked. I tried all of the above mention things and none worked except for this. I mentioned to her about eliminating the card profile and re entering it but she wanted to try this test and re ping process first then she would have done that. Vz is sending me a new cc which I will be returning to them rite away. Sometimes you just need to get the right tech on the phone. Good luck to everyone with this issue.


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## global_dev (Mar 15, 2010)

finally fixed (looks like for good as Val = V, not ?) with 2 new cards. phone activation failed, finally CSR did swap and validate on 1st and it worked ( he didn't realize it was a TiVo, then proceeded to tell me that the word out to CSRs that HBO & Cinemax don't work anymore on TiVOs, when I mentioned it was a TiVo and I was like "you just fixed TiVo #1, so let's do TivO #2. " He sounded dumbfounded for a moment and then fixed #2. also with a "V" Val now.

Now i need to hook up the elites...


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## WizarDru (Jan 18, 2005)

It's a cable company party line, not actual fact. Every time I've seen an issue with a TiVo that was due to a cablecard, the cable company claimed it was the TiVo not being compatible. And it's NEVER true.

The only question in my mind is whether it's intentional misrepresentation or just reckless endangerment with the truth. Often I suspect the front-line guys are told 'just tell them it doesn't work' because the 2nd level engineers don't want to have to spend the time to fix such devices.


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## gelbers (Oct 2, 2003)

So my tivo was working fine and then suddenly I started to get the message about activating the cable card (have a M card) and channel not authorized. Only happening on HBO and Cinemax. Been on the phone all day with Verizon and just going round and round. On there end, they say they can not even see any of my tivos or verizon boxs on their system.. (NEVER SEEN THIS) according to them...but they know there is a known issue with HBO and Cinemax. I requested them to send me a new cable card. Do people think that will solve the problem?? I dont know what else to do?


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## global_dev (Mar 15, 2010)

gelbers said:


> So my tivo was working fine and then suddenly I started to get the message about activating the cable card (have a M card) and channel not authorized. Only happening on HBO and Cinemax. .. I requested them to send me a new cable card. Do people think that will solve the problem?? I dont know what else to do?


 New cards helped fixed mine, but I still had to have a activation tech CSR do activation/validation/pairing.


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## David_SG (Jan 4, 2007)

I had the same problem a couple of months ago with my HBO channels. Called them up and they reactivated the card and everything seemed to work fine. But then I noticed that a few HD channels - TNT, NFL Network, and most recently, AMC - no longer work. I get a message saying there is a problem with the signal on those channels - but there shouldn't be any signal strength problems with my setup. Anybody have a similar problem? Just ordered a new cablecard - hopefully that will fix the problem.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

A strange thing I noticed -- channel 757 (Cartoon Network HD) has shown up on my Premiere, but not on my original S3, which still has unpaired cards. Yet, the channel shows a CCI of 0. Nor is it an H.264 channel.

Never mind, I rebooted the S3 (after it got stuck in the Diagnostics menu -- really annoying bug, that), and it's working now.


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## disturbedfred (Oct 2, 2004)

Hey guys I can recommend @VerizonSupport on twitter. It's worth signing up just to have access. I lost all my HBO's and the Redzone channel on all three of my Premiere's. Called FIOS support 5 consecutive weeks with no joy. 20 minutes on Twitter with @VerizonSupport and all was good again. Went from the worst customer service to the best with a different approach. Hope this helps. @HeadleeKen


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## NSPhillips (May 31, 2007)

I got my first Premiere on Thursday and spent several long calls with tech support trying to pair the card I moved from my HD. They tried to pair them over and over again and eventually tried to tell me I need a software update from Tivo.

Step 2 was to trade my old card for a new one picked up from the Verizon store Saturday. That didn't help at all, so I spent another hour on the phone with support.

Finally on Sunday I called the automated pairing line and selected "No Picture" instead of "re-activate" and that reset process actually worked. I had all my HBOs and Cinemaxes within minutes.

Not sure if that would have worked originally, but it seems like it might have saved me some time.


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## ALbino (Jun 25, 2002)

I just spent 3 hours going back and forth with Verizon trying to solve my cablecard issue with my TiVo XL4, wherein Showtime worked fine but Cinemax gave me the "not authorized" DOS-looking message.

My Host ID, Card ID and Data ID all initially matched when they did the reset, but at some point my Data ID changed (how that's possible I have no idea) but luckily we double checked all the numbers again at the end, and all of a sudden the Data ID was different. So he inputted the new Data ID, resent the activate signal, and bam, it worked.

I guess I would say that if anybody else is suffering from this issue to obviously check the Host ID and Card ID, but then double check to make sure your Data ID hasn't changed via a card reset from them, or TiVo reboot, or whatever.


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