# Mini Losing Connection to Roamio



## 9300170 (Feb 21, 2003)

Every day at approximately 3PM, my mini loses connectivity to the main Roamio. This has been happening for 6 months or more.

I'm connected via ethernet. I use static IP addresses on both boxes.

The fix is to go in to the bedroom and reboot the Roamio. Once it is done booting, the mini goes back to normal function.

I've had TiVo's since the series 1 but it's hard to convince family members that TiVo is still a good thing when our Contour box (that they make us have to get our deal) is rock solid with zero issues. If it isn't this issue then the darn tuning adapter is locking up every week or two.  I'm so close to selling these units and giving up on TiVo once and for all. I really don't want to, but I'm just worn out on the constant tweeking and low level pain of owning a TiVo. 

Any thoughts on what I can to to get my TiVo stable again?


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

How does the Mini tell you it has lost connectivity?

Tuning adapter is not something I have personal experience with, but I have heard about people who place it on a timer to power cycle every week or so.


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Plus one for investing in a cheap timer for the Roamio. TA's are cursed at more than any other cable company device...for a reason, some suspect, it was to cause problems for folks not renting the cable company equipment. 
The device which hands out IP's to your Tivos so they can get and stay connected to each other is a router. If you post the make and model number, someone may have a tweek to see if you can stay connected better. If you are using a separate switch, there have been numerous reports of problems with "green" or energy saving switches, losing their connections when not being used for a while.
Other thought, pretty sure it is a violation of FCC regulations to force the rental of any cable company equipment to get a "package" deal. Anything that can replaced a cable company device is supposed to get a similar deal if using a cable card, minus the rental equipment price.


----------



## 9300170 (Feb 21, 2003)

My network topology is a bit complicated but i spent a couple of decades as a LAN administrator and I'm still pretty handy with a network. The segment of my network that connects my tivos is not going through a switch. Both Tivos connect directly to the Cox provided Cisco DPQ3925 via Cat 6. My network also contains a ZyXEL GS1100-16 16 Port Gigabit Ethernet Rackmount Switch but as I mentioned, I'm not routing the Tivo's through the switch. I also have a Netgear 6300 acting as a wireless repeater for a portion of the house (but again this segment of my network is not being used for the TiVos.)

The message that pops up on the mini says something like "cannot find DVR Master Bedroom" or something...sorry, I dont have the error in front of me at the moment. The behaviour can be very strange in that it can sometimes still connect to "live tv" but not to the now playing list, but other times, it's a complete boat anchor until rebooted.

The error is so timely, happening almost every single day at 3:00 sharp that my first thought would be DHCP recycling, but I'm using static IPs on every device in the house (27 internet connected devices in total, not including phones and pads).

I don't experience any connectivity isuses with any other devices in my home. The Roku's, Smart TV's, and NAS's are all rock solid... Problem is just with my once loved but now maligned TiVos.


----------



## 9300170 (Feb 21, 2003)

Oh, and the package deal thing? At one point, I returned the contour box and our bill immediatly jumped by $120 a month. A dozen calls and multiple visits to Cox Home store resulted in us taking the Contour box home just to get the package restored to our bill. We had to get the record 6 with dvr from cox or else the bill jumped $120 a month. We dont use the DVR on it and it just sits in a guest room where I'd prefer a mini to be (if I could feel confident that I really want to buy another mini considering the issues I have with this one and the fact that we need that contour box just to get "the deal".')

I'm pretty savvy about insisting on my rights and getting billed properly but Cox absolutley tells me with multiple conversations that I have to have their box too.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

9300170 said:


> The error is so timely, happening almost every single day at 3:00 sharp that my first thought would be DHCP recycling, but I'm using static IPs on every device in the house (27 internet connected devices in total, not including phones and pads).
> 
> I don't experience any connectivity isuses with any other devices in my home. The Roku's, Smart TV's, and NAS's are all rock solid... Problem is just with my once loved but now maligned TiVos.


I don't know if it's important, but my Netgear router allocates IP address leases for 24 hours. No way to change it either. I wonder if you leave the router off for an hour if the time would change?

Nothing on a TiVo has a 24 hour period to my knowledge. I don't use fixed IP addresses, but some TiVo devices do have reservations. I have two Roamio and four Mini boxes.


----------



## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

If it disconnects like clockwork at the same time, I would suspect something on your router set, such as DHCP leasing. I would investigate......

Fixed IP gains benefits, For example: During Tivo downloads, and I have had to reboot my router and normally the Tivos would get a different IP address, but they are actually fixed assigned IPs. The downloads had no issues, such as trying to find the Tivo's IP (Its still the same.)


----------



## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

9300170 said:


> Oh, and the package deal thing? At one point, I returned the contour box and our bill immediatly jumped by $120 a month. A dozen calls and multiple visits to Cox Home store resulted in us taking the Contour box home just to get the package restored to our bill. We had to get the record 6 with dvr from cox or else the bill jumped $120 a month. We dont use the DVR on it and it just sits in a guest room where I'd prefer a mini to be (if I could feel confident that I really want to buy another mini considering the issues I have with this one and the fact that we need that contour box just to get "the deal".')
> 
> I'm pretty savvy about insisting on my rights and getting billed properly but Cox absolutley tells me with multiple conversations that I have to have their box too.


That is very strange, and possibly illegal. I had Cox before with TiVo and nothing like what you describe happened.

Did you look at the itemized portions of the $120 increase when you returned the boxes? Was it a specific discount conditional of using Contour? They can't possibly have a higher base tv package for their own box, vs using CableCard...


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

ThAbtO said:


> If it disconnects like clockwork at the same time, I would suspect something on your router set, such as DHCP leasing. I would investigate......
> 
> Fixed IP gains benefits, For example: During Tivo downloads, and I have had to reboot my router and normally the Tivos would get a different IP address, but they are actually fixed assigned IPs. The downloads had no issues, such as trying to find the Tivo's IP (Its still the same.)


OP stated that they're using "static IP addresses on both boxes"; however, they didn't say whether they're doing so by manually entering the IP addresses on each device or if they're using static DHCP leases. A static lease isn't the same as a manually-entered IP address.

Also, what about the IGMP snooping issue some have come across?


----------



## 9300170 (Feb 21, 2003)

krkaufman said:


> OP stated that they're using "static IP addresses on both boxes"; however, they didn't say whether they're doing so by manually entering the IP addresses on each device or if they're using static DHCP leases. A static lease isn't the same as a manually-entered IP address.
> 
> Also, what about the IGMP snooping issue some have come across?


No, I'm not reserving IP's through the router, I'm assigning them directly on the TiVo in a block that DHCP doesn't use (192.168.1.161 and 192.168.1.162).

I'll look through the forums for the IGMP snooping issue...not sure what that is...


----------



## 9300170 (Feb 21, 2003)

And I get it that Cox shouldn't be able to do what they are doing on the "incredible deal" we get, but they are and have outright told me on 3 separate occasions that I HAVE to take the contour box or we will not get "the deal."

We "corrected" the issue very quickly when I first returned the box and the rate jumped so no bill was ever generated with the new rate...they called us and told us about the jump in price so we rushed back to pick up the unneeded contour box.

I get it that it shouldn't be that way...but it is...

Its kind of like the random tuning adapter issues we have. I've shown the various techs who have come out the ugly SNR values when the tuning adapter won't lock but their response is to just snip the end off the coax and put on a new connector...they say that's all they can do, leave, and then a couple days later the tuning adapter doesn't work again. <sigh>

Yes, they should be able to fix these things with their systems and we pay them over $200 a month, but they just can't do it (or wont). They send these nice (but clueless) guys out who have never seen a TiVo who tell me I should just get a couple more contour boxes and I'll not have any more issues. They wear you down.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

9300170 said:


> No, I'm not reserving IP's through the router, I'm assigning them directly on the TiVo in a block that DHCP doesn't use (192.168.1.161 and 192.168.1.162).
> 
> I'll look through the forums for the IGMP snooping issue...not sure what that is...


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGMP_snooping


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

JoeKustra said:


> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGMP_snooping


See also: http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10771621


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

krkaufman said:


> See also: http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10771621


Thanks, I tried to find that. My router doesn't support that option.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

JoeKustra said:


> Thanks, I tried to find that. My router doesn't support that option.


No problem. I figured it'd be easier for me to find the specific "fixed my problem" posts than having someone without any exposure to the issue wading through all the search results. The symptoms do seem similar to those reported by the OP, aside from the time-of-day repetition.

Knock on wood, but it hasn't been a problem for me, yet.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

p.s. What _may be_ *the original Amazon review* that tipped thczv off to the IGMP snooping solution has some additional detail that may be beneficial...

_Second, my Tivo Mini stopped working when I replaced an older, unmanaged gigabit ethernet switch with the GS116Ev2 - live TV worked, but not playback of recorded shows. It appears that this switch, in its default configuration, does not allow Tivo boxes on the network to discover each other. I only got it running after using the switch's management interface to disable IGMP snooping and to set multicast forwarding to "Hardware". Even then, it required power-cycling (not just resetting) all of the Tivo gear._​
That Amazon review has some good info on accessing the management interface, as well.


----------



## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

9300170 said:


> And I get it that Cox shouldn't be able to do what they are doing on the "incredible deal" we get, but they are and have outright told me on 3 separate occasions that I HAVE to take the contour box or we will not get "the deal."
> 
> We "corrected" the issue very quickly when I first returned the box and the rate jumped so no bill was ever generated with the new rate...they called us and told us about the jump in price so we rushed back to pick up the unneeded contour box.
> 
> ...


https://www.fcc.gov/media/cablecard-know-your-rights

First bullet point: "Pay only for equipment you have. Your operator must give you a discount on any packages that include the price of a set-top box if you choose to use your own CableCARD-enabled device. FCC Rule 76.1205(b)(5)."

Link to file FCC complaint: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=33794

It's really not that hard to do.

Regarding your package, if it also includes the rental of their gateway, modem/router and you have access to another router, I would request that the gateway be put into "bridge" mode, at least temporarily, and try using your own router, you should be able to tell within 24 hours if that resolves the mini issue.


----------



## 9300170 (Feb 21, 2003)

So, the cox modem has the igmp settings crippled. I added a spare router to the mix where i coukd adjust that setting and things have been better for the last few days...hopefully,nthat wa the fix.

On the whol force me to have their box and dvr service thing, i get it that they are not supposed to have that requirement, but they tell me there is nothing they can do. If they take the rquipment and dvr charge off of my account, the bill jumps by $120. The only time i have any luck with cox is when i can refer to very specific instructions or codes when i talk to them. I did this when i finally told them how to enable on demand and i was very specific about which flag they had to set. It was exhausting, but they finally got that going...i just dont have hours and hours to hang on hold or to tell them how to do their job. Id prefer another mini but it is also good to have the contour box when tivo, the cablecard, or the tuning adapter are flaking out.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

9300170 said:


> Every day at approximately 3PM, my mini loses connectivity to the main Roamio. This has been happening for 6 months or more.





9300170 said:


> So, the cox modem has the igmp settings crippled. I added a spare router to the mix where i coukd adjust that setting and things have been better for the last few days...hopefully, that was the fix.


Thanks for the feedback.

Is it still working, or did the problems recur?


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

9300170 said:


> So, the cox modem has the igmp settings crippled. I added a spare router to the mix where i coukd adjust that setting and things have been better for the last few days...hopefully,nthat wa the fix.


Following up, did your TiVo connectivity remain stable after making the IGMP snooping change?


----------



## rpm29 (May 29, 2007)

krkaufman said:


> p.s. What _may be_ *the original Amazon review* that tipped thczv off to the IGMP snooping solution has some additional detail that may be beneficial...
> 
> _Second, my Tivo Mini stopped working when I replaced an older, unmanaged gigabit ethernet switch with the GS116Ev2 - live TV worked, but not playback of recorded shows. It appears that this switch, in its default configuration, does not allow Tivo boxes on the network to discover each other. I only got it running after using the switch's management interface to disable IGMP snooping and to set multicast forwarding to "Hardware". Even then, it required power-cycling (not just resetting) all of the Tivo gear._​
> That Amazon review has some good info on accessing the management interface, as well.


Thank you for posting this information. This is the exact issue I was having.

I had changed my switch and it was a more featured switch (Netgear JGS516PE). Went in and turned off IGMP and everything worked.

I called Tivo support but they never mentioned this potential issue. You would at least hope they would ask if you had changed a switch.

Thank you so much for the help.


----------

