# How very strange--Cox Cable is promoting TiVo Bolt



## mikeyts

https://www.cox.com/residential/special-offers/tivo-bolt.html?sc_id=cr_dm_camp_z_tivo_vanity


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## ajwees41

mikeyts said:


> https://www.cox.com/residential/special-offers/tivo-bolt.html?sc_id=cr_dm_camp_z_tivo_vanity


not really they advertised the roamio after the started rolling the cox ondemand to Tivo's


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## aaronwt

Sounds good to me.


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## moyekj

Notice no mention of the best feature: SkipMode. I guess Cox doesn't want to be associated with promoting skipping commercials...


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## mikeyts

moyekj said:


> Notice no mention of the best feature: SkipMode. I guess Cox doesn't want to be associated with promoting skipping commercials...


Its absence is particularly noticeable since they list QuickMode as a bullet point.



ajwees41 said:


> not really they advertised the roamio after the started rolling the cox ondemand to Tivo's


I hadn't noticed them advertising that. I was all excited about that until I found that it works about once every 4th try for me.

It's really weird to see them openly discuss CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters in an ad, not to mention Netflix and Amazon Video.


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## atmuscarella

My 100% no fact guess is that they see people accessing other streaming service via a TiVo as preferable to their customers buying a Roku or Amazon Fire TV device.


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## moyekj

Also note that for Cox VOD to work with TiVo you have to use Cox as an ISP, so this solution is in Cox's interests since it promotes use of Cox Advanced TV as well as Cox internet service. Plus Cox probably spent a good amount of money getting the Cox VOD on TiVo implementation working, so trying to promote it makes sense on that front too. Still, yes it is surprising to see anything that promotes use of CableCards from a cable company.


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## Mickey88

Even more strange is the fact that I just purchased a TIVO and I am unable to use it for Cox in Rhode Island. After having multiple tech visits and calls, i was finally able to find out that in this area no new TIVO Bolts or Romeos can receive channels allegedly because of the TIVO firmware update in late November. The cable card/Cox system can't authorize the channels for new installs. I don't think that this is a national problem as TIVO says that this is working in other areas. It is very frustrating. 99% of the COX techs here are not even aware of the problem and try to fix it to no avail. One supervisor finally told me of an internal memo documenting the problem. I put in a complaint to the FCC, although I heard that the FCC cable card regulations for the Cable Companies are ending in January 2016 and no new regs are in place. Very frustrating.


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## wmcbrine

Mickey88 said:


> ... although I heard that the FCC cable card regulations for the Cable Companies are ending in January 2016 and no new regs are in place.


Untrue. They get to stop using them in their own boxes... that's all. They still have to support them.


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## jordan34

Mickey88 said:


> Even more strange is the fact that I just purchased a TIVO and I am unable to use it for Cox in Rhode Island. After having multiple tech visits and calls, i was finally able to find out that in this area no new TIVO Bolts or Romeos can receive channels allegedly because of the TIVO firmware update in late November. The cable card/Cox system can't authorize the channels for new installs. I don't think that this is a national problem as TIVO says that this is working in other areas. It is very frustrating. 99% of the COX techs here are not even aware of the problem and try to fix it to no avail. One supervisor finally told me of an internal memo documenting the problem. I put in a complaint to the FCC, although I heard that the FCC cable card regulations for the Cable Companies are ending in January 2016 and no new regs are in place. Very frustrating.


I'm in the same situation with Cox in Orange County, CA. I have a new Bolt that I have yet been able to get working with Cox. It's stuck at 89% on the Acquiring Channel Information screen. I've let Cox and Tivo know about the problem and they say they're aware of it, but no resolution yet. I have a 6 month old Roamio Plus that's been working fine though, so I'm assuming it's only a problem with the initial setup and channel mapping.


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## Mickey88

I would encourage you to file a complaint with the FCC at:

https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us?return_to=/hc/en-us/requests

I think that this would put some pressure on Cox to fix the problem more quickly, because otherwise I can't see this as a high priority for them.


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## CoxInPHX

I have seen several posts regarding new Cox and Bolt installs all with the stuck on 89% Acquiring Channel Information.

Every post I have seen was a Motorola CC and Tuning Adapter.

I do not believe that SA/Cisco markets are effected, My installs have all gone fine.


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## Mickey88

I have finally gotten to the bottom of the problem with TIVO-Motorola-Cox and finally have my Bolt working. Because of my complaint to the FCC, Cox was all over helping me. It turns out that the Arris Motorola cards do not work with the Bolt. Arris recently upgrade their card in response and the new one works fine. Because of my complaint a troubleshooter got access to a new card. If one is trying to get the Bolt activated with the older cards you can try lots and none will work.


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## jordan34

That's great news! Where are you located? I'm wondering if I went to the local Cox store that they would know anything about it and give me a newer card (doubt it). Did you get the card from a tech that came out to your house, or did you go to a store?


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## Mickey88

I am in Rhode Island. The only reason that I was able to the new card so quickly was because I complained to the FCC. Suddenly I was a high priority for them. A customer support exec researched the problem, found out about this and got the new card to a tech who came out and helped. The tech called and said he had a "brand new card" and I thought it was the typical bs, but in fact it was a new one. Most of the others are refurbished old cards that don't work with the recent TiVo firmware update. I had previously gotten cards from both the store and from techs, none of which worked. I would call Cox and ask for a supervisor in the cable card department who possibly could help. Unfortunately you have almost no chance of anybody knowing what is going on. File an online complaint with the FCC if there is no help from Cox and you should get your card within a week. Let me know if I can help with names from this area.


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## ajwees41

Mickey88 said:


> I have finally gotten to the bottom of the problem with TIVO-Motorola-Cox and finally have my Bolt working. Because of my complaint to the FCC, Cox was all over helping me. It turns out that the Arris Motorola cards do not work with the Bolt. Arris recently upgrade their card in response and the new one works fine. Because of my complaint a troubleshooter got access to a new card. If one is trying to get the Bolt activated with the older cards you can try lots and none will work.


more likely a firmware issun not the card it self.


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## KevinOC

Mickey88 said:


> I am in Rhode Island. The only reason that I was able to the new card so quickly was because I complained to the FCC. Suddenly I was a high priority for them. A customer support exec researched the problem, found out about this and got the new card to a tech who came out and helped. The tech called and said he had a "brand new card" and I thought it was the typical bs, but in fact it was a new one. Most of the others are refurbished old cards that don't work with the recent TiVo firmware update. I had previously gotten cards from both the store and from techs, none of which worked. I would call Cox and ask for a supervisor in the cable card department who possibly could help. Unfortunately you have almost no chance of anybody knowing what is going on. File an online complaint with the FCC if there is no help from Cox and you should get your card within a week. Let me know if I can help with names from this area.


We upgraded our TiVo HD XL to a Bolt this past week and things unfolded exactly as Mickey88 described. It is definitely happening here with Cox Orange County, CA. We were unsuccessful in getting the Bolt to move beyond the "Acquiring Channel Information" at 89% progress bar. We have returned to the older TiVo HD XL, but it would be fantastic if we could help Cox here get our Bolt up and running. The last tech that visited mentioned that folks were successful after trying out multiple CableCards. Perhaps they eventually get one of the newer cards - kind of like winning the lottery. Cox OC is all Motorola and uses the same Arris CC.


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## steltom

Still on going problem here in the Hampton Roads area. Get a text from cox tech every-once and awhile w/the "still researching" headline...
:down:


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## Ford.P51

Also in the Hampton Roads area, and having the same problem.

On the Cox forum one of the representatives said they "have a telecom scheduled for the end of the week" and they would keep us updated. Obviously not a priority for them ....


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## moyekj

Solution to the problem for those with Motorola cards is summarized here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10749505#post10749505


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## HarperVision

ajwees41 said:


> more likely a firmware issun not the card it self.





moyekj said:


> Solution to the problem for those with Motorola cards is summarized here: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10749505#post10749505


And most likely you don't even need a new card. New firmware can be downloaded to the card, usually when its first installed you'll get a message pop up saying that it's downloading new FW. If it doesn't that could be part of the problem.


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## jfpga

Mickey88 said:


> I am in Rhode Island. The only reason that I was able to the new card so quickly was because I complained to the FCC. Suddenly I was a high priority for them. A customer support exec researched the problem, found out about this and got the new card to a tech who came out and helped. The tech called and said he had a "brand new card" and I thought it was the typical bs, but in fact it was a new one. Most of the others are refurbished old cards that don't work with the recent TiVo firmware update. I had previously gotten cards from both the store and from techs, none of which worked. I would call Cox and ask for a supervisor in the cable card department who possibly could help. Unfortunately you have almost no chance of anybody knowing what is going on. File an online complaint with the FCC if there is no help from Cox and you should get your card within a week. Let me know if I can help with names from this area.


I am in Rhode Island also and don't want to go through all this BS that you had to go through with my new Bolt. So first cable card doesn't work and actually had a truck show up today (guy was clueless and no help). The card says its paired up correctly. I get no picture but guide data etc... is fine. Getting ready to bring the card back, before I do any idea what the best way plan of action would be?
Try a firmware upgrade on the card?
Try and get a new card?
If a new card is the best way, what the best way to get a new card? FCC complaint?


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## HarperVision

jfpga said:


> I am in Rhode Island also and don't want to go through all this BS that you had to go through with my new Bolt. So first cable card doesn't work and actually had a truck show up today (guy was clueless and no help). The card says its paired up correctly. I get no picture but guide data etc... is fine. Getting ready to bring the card back, before I do any idea what the best way plan of action would be?
> Try a firmware upgrade on the card?
> Try and get a new card?
> If a new card is the best way, what the best way to get a new card? FCC complaint?


You forgot.....try to get a CSR that has a clue. I would escalate your issue to higher up tech departments and if that doesn't work, then report to the FCC that they're unable to provision and pair your cablecard correctly.


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## jfpga

Just had a 30 minute conference call with a TiVo tech rep and a Cox tech rep. We didnt get it resolved yet. The TiVo rep said that everything is ok with the cable card pairing, up to date firmware on card etc....
but on this screen







the text after AUTH on the cable card screen should not read MP. That means my card is not authorized to receive any channels. The Cox rep couldn't resolve it.

So I called back the Cox cable card department later and we decided to roll another truck over with an inhouse Cox tech rep that will have a handful of cards. Lets hope


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## HarperVision

jfpga said:


> Just had a 30 minute conference call with a TiVo tech rep and a Cox tech rep. We didnt get it resolved yet. The TiVo rep said that everything is ok with the cable card pairing, up to date firmware on card etc....
> but on this screen
> View attachment 24794
> 
> the text after AUTH on the cable card screen should not read MP. That means my card is not authorized to receive any channels. The Cox rep couldn't resolve it.
> 
> So I called back the Cox cable card department later and we decided to roll another truck over with an inhouse Cox tech rep that will have a handful of cards. Lets hope


I reiterate:


HarperVision said:


> You forgot.....*try to get a CSR that has a clue. * I would escalate your issue to higher up tech departments and if that doesn't work, then report to the FCC that they're unable to provision and pair your cablecard correctly.


No truck roll should be needed, nor a stack of new cablecards, but I guess there is a small chance that your card could be bad, but not likely. If it is, its probably due to them bricking it in all their failed attempts!


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## krabbypatty

Any new information on this? Has anyone else filed a FCC complaint? Has that resolved anyone else's issues? Any Orange County California TiVo users fixed yet?


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## krabbypatty

Just try www.Cox.com/tivo


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## moyekj

krabbypatty said:


> Any new information on this? Has anyone else filed a FCC complaint? Has that resolved anyone else's issues? Any Orange County California TiVo users fixed yet?


 The problem is well known (cablecard firmware issue) if that's what you're asking:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10760308#post10760308


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## ajwees41

krabbypatty said:


> Just try www.Cox.com/tivo


it's just advertising cox is not providing a Tivo Bolt or any Tivo hardware


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## mikeyts

I think that krabbypatty was pointing out that there is a simpler URL to get to the ad than the one that I cited.


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## jfpga

Ok an in house tech called before his appointment today to say he didnt have any cable cards and would have to track a rep that had one. He showed up an hour late with the card. Was here for about 90 minutes trying to configure the card he brought with him. The card he was replacing was new and didnt work, they did something to get the older card with out of date firmware to work. Don't think they even know what they did, but the AUTH setting toggled over from MP to something else and it worked. Happy camper now.


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## HarperVision

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile!


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## OsoTech

I'm having the same issue as jfpga. I can get the channel listing, but no channels are authorized and Auth is set to "MP". I called up the Cox CableCard department and they basically washed their hands of the problem and didn't even try to fix it. I believe her exact words were "We've been told to not attempt to fix issues with a Tivo Bolt install". Bunch of BS.


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## Ford.P51

Another Cox/Bolt sufferer. Come on Tivo get your fix done!!! I'm going to return this thing if you can't make it work.


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## strangely

Anybody know what the correct version of the Cable card firmware should be? I now have this issue and it would be good to see what the working version is to compare against perhaps?


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## nick82oc

I posted at length in another forum regarding my issues with Bolt and Cox in Orange County, CA. I couldn't get either a Bolt or Roamio to work. Would love to know when there is resolution to this issue. May give it another try, but for now my TiVos are going back to the store.


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## SomeRandomIdiot

I was helping a friend with their business account if a major MSO this week. Got to the point if signing the 3 year agreement and mentioned we needed 2 cable cards. 

Went up to the ladder to the Business Network Execs. Said same thing. I told them this was an FCC Violation and also sent them the exact FCC Rules and Regs. 

Still said they don't support them in Enterprise. 

I noted Enterprise was not exempt and got no where. 

So I filed out the FCC Complaint Form. Less info than posting a complaint here. Got an immediate email back (automated to let me know complaint received). I figured, typical Government, this will go no where. 

To my surprise in less than 2 hours I received a response with a complaint case number and info they were contacting the MSO about the complaint. 

Less than 2 minutes after getting the email someone from the Executive Escalation Team that handles FCC issues was calling me. 

I went through everything with him and he promised to get it solved. 

No solution yet, though the FCC email said the MSO had 30 days. 

I suspect it will be solved much sooner than that. 

However the point, it takes less time to file out the FCC Complaint form than to post 5 sentences here. 

They get the complaint out immediately and clearly the MSO's Executive spinchter muscle immediately tightens up. 

Though I seldom say get the Govt involved, in this case, fill out the form.


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## strangely

Anyone get anywhere with getting this fixed yet? Seems Cox are still insisting its a TIVO issue. I put in an FCC complaint too yesterday, however other than an automated response I haven't been contacted.


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## OsoTech

Nothing yet from my end. Spoke with a Cox representative and Tivo was supposed to have a fix by the end of last week. So they are definitely still insisting it is a problem with Tivo.

Side story: I put up a less than favorable 2-star review of the Bolt device on the Tivo page outlining my ordeal trying to get it to work, and *curiously* it was never posted. Seems the company that runs the surveys filters out negative reviews to increase perception of the device. That explains why I was seeing 4 and 5 star reviews titled "Absolute worst!" -- giving it a high star rating is the only way to get the review posted. Can't trust online reviews...


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## mkrsm

Anyone get any updates on the Cox/Bolt issue? I have talked with Cox a few times and got the MTR700 Tuning Adapter (FW 1.4) to see channels, but can not get the Cable Card to get "Con" to go to yes. Getting the Tuning Adapter to work got me past the 89% Acquiring Channels issue, but now I get the "you are not authorized (V58)" issue. I heard from an installer today that the problem started with the Cox transfer to all digital a couple of months ago, but they say it is the Tivo side that needs to be fixed. I was trying to transfer from the buggy Cisco 9865HDC DVR that Cox offers. Hope I didn't trade one occasional useless product for another one! These are expensive bricks.

I would really like to use the Tivo, but will have to return it if Cox and Tivo can't get their act together. Looking at threads on this issue, it is hard to imagine why they are taking so long to come up with a solution.


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## bethOC

Having the Cox/Bolt issue in OC also. Was not getting anywhere with either side. Instead of talking to TiVo tech support yet AGAIN, yesterday I decided to call their sales line instead, to ask them -- doesn't it concern TiVo that Cox is preventing customers from using their latest product in a region as populous as So CA? At the start of the call I asked for a manager and was fortunate to get Jessica (a Supervisor) -- she was the first I've spoken with there who was already aware of the issue and seems genuinely motivated to help get it addressed. She pointed out that TiVo HQ is in San Jose, so it must be that TiVo Bolt is working properly with Cox over there, so to be having issues w/ Cox OC does not make sense and is simply unacceptable. She told me she is in the process of compiling case info from OC customers to escalate to corporate to get more visibility on the matter and hopefully motivate TiVo to increase pressure on Cox OC. I mentioned this chain of tivocommunity posts and she asked me to send her the link, which I just submitted via my TiVo case#. I also called FCC and they said the fastest way to get a response is to submit a complaint online, which I plan to do next. It's really tempting to throw in the towel, but I'm a long time TiVo enthusiast and really don't want to return my Bolt! I'm hoping several squeaky wheels are better than one, so let's keep at it!


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## mikeyts

bethOC said:


> She pointed out that TiVo HQ is in San Jose, so it must be that TiVo Bolt is working properly with Cox over there, so to be having issues w/ Cox OC does not make sense and is simply unacceptable.


Did you explain to her that Cox uses Motorola equipment in some systems and Cisco equipment in others?


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## CoxInPHX

There is a beta SW patch for this issue, hasn't anyone emailed Margret to test it out?

Cox in California, is only in the following areas.

Santa Barbara - uses Cisco no issues
Palos Verdes - uses Motorola
Orange County - uses Motorola
San Diego - uses Cisco no issues


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## mikeyts

CoxInPHX said:


> There is a beta SW patch for this issue, hasn't anyone emailed Margret to test it out?
> 
> Cox in California, is only in the following areas.
> 
> Santa Barbara - uses Cisco no issues
> Palos Verdes - uses Motorola
> Orange County - uses Motorola
> San Diego - uses Cisco no issues


So it should also be pointed out to the CSR who spoke to Beth OC that there is no Cox system where TiVo HQ is .


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## Ranger1

I also have this issue in Orange County, CA. Equipment: TiVo Bolt, Motorola tuning adapter and Arris cable card. I was able to walk through the initial setup just fine, and TiVo has done all its updates, but even though I appear to have a complete channel list I get no audio/video and a "This channel is not authorized" message on every channel-- even basic cable.

I've spoken to 4 Cox tech support reps to no avail.

Based on this thread, it sounds like it's one of a few (possibly-related) issues:


The Motorola tuning adapter and/or Arris cable card appear to be incompatible with TiVo Bolt. A "very new" cable card may work. I have Firmware 6.25; is there a firmware version that works or do we actually need a physical card?
My cable card has AUTH set to "MP." Apparently this won't work, but might the new card/firmware correct this?
TiVO itself may be preparing a software update to address/workaround this problem.

Does ANYONE have TiVo Bolt working on Cox - Orange County? Haven't there been thousands of units sold here? The COX solutions store was generally aware of "issues" and pointed to TiVo. TiVo says they are not aware of any issues and pointed to COX. After (now 5) calls to Cox, they say they can't help without sending a tech out. This is frustrating.

I have a technician scheduled for a visit on Wednesday night, but it sounds like they won't be able to help (and I'd rather save the cost). At this point I'm ready to send the Bolt back, completely cancel Cox, and switch to AT&T U-verse to get a decent DVR (or cut cables altogether and just stick with Apple TV).

Update 1: After call #6 to Cox, I asked about how old the cable card was. The tech did mention it was one of their older cards. He suggested I head to the Cox Solutions Store and ask for a couple newer cards, if they have any. Headed out the door now...

Update 2: So far, no luck. I'll try rebooting devices, etc. and calling tech support again. The folks at the Cox solution store said they have no way of knowing whether a card is "new" or not. I don't know how the phone tech determined that earlier, but it must be in the firmware somewhere. I can't see it in the cablecard menus, though. I do have the same firmware version I had in the last card, though. They laughed when I told them the TiVo rep I spoke with didn't know anything about any Bolt/Cox OC problems.

Update 3: No-go. The tech unpaired and re-paired the TA and CC and we rebooted the TA and the TiVo to no avail. She didn't seem to see any dates in the cable card, so I don't know about trying to get a "new" card. I asked her to scan for other cases related to "Bolt" and she found 3 other Orange County users having similar issues. One case, referencing the 89% loading problem (which I don't suffer from) had been updated 4 hours ago, and I will paraphrase: TiVo, Arris and Cox engineers have been able to reproduce the issue in the lab and are actively working on a solution. Tech Support seemed to start getting calls after a TiVo update, which may have caused this issue in their Arris markets (they did confirm it was Arris).

Update 5: The only setting/status on my cable card that appears out-of-sorts is the AUTH field, which reports MP instead of the S that it should be. I called Cox again, hoping to get another agent who might know about this. She sent my tuning adapter a hit right off the bat. While we were waiting on the TA I asked about this field, but she said that's not something they can control. She said a tech in the field should be able to troubleshoot it. While we were talking, bam! Some show started playing on the TiVo. It was fixed! She says she didn't change anything, but I think the rep I asked about it last night might have kept working on it after I hung up (she called back, but I was in the shower). I might have just needed one more hit to update my card.

MP stands for: _"Missing packets in authorization stream. You may see an error in live TV that says something like "Channel not authorized." This error appears when the CableCARD fails to receive all of the authorization information from the headend. Check the signal strength and quality by following the instructions at Troubleshooting Digital Cable Signals:Roamio Series, Premiere Series, and Series3 DVRs."_

For your reference, TiVo has some great troubleshooting advice I've been following since this all started:
https://support.tivo.com/articles/T...ooting-Roamio-Series-and-Premiere-Series-DVRs


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## OsoTech

Ranger1 said:


> Does ANYONE have TiVO Bolt working on Cox - Orange County?


jfpga earlier in this thread said he was able to get it working, once the Auth setting was changed away from "MP". I believe there was also another user, perhaps not in the OC market, that got it to work once he received a brand new CableCard.

I gave up after a Cox representative basically told me to just "wait for a fix", without even attempting to diagnose, after I told her I had a Bolt.


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## Ranger1

I saw that, but the people I talked to at Cox said they could not "change" that. It's not a setting, it's a status. MP means that packets are missing from the authorization stream, likely due to low signal-- but all my signals were fine according to what I saw in the various status screens, and in the 6 years I've lived here I've never had any cable problems.

However, I called COX again tonight just to see if another rep could do anything. The rep first sent a "hit" to my tuning adapter. While we were waiting on that I asked about this field, but she said that's not something they can control. She said a tech in the field should be able to troubleshoot it. While we were talking, bam! Some show started playing on the TiVo. It was fixed!

I swear, I must have had "hits" sent to me 15 times. I don't know if someone changed something on their side or if I just needed to get a "lucky hit" but it worked. And sure enough, when I check the cable card, AUTH is now S.


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## bethOC

For Cox/Bolt issue in OC, please be sure to submit a complaint to the FCC (if you haven't already) - it is very quick/easy and only takes a minute. Here's the link: https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov 
If you want, you can copy the issue description I used:
Cox in Orange County is telling me they are incompatible with TiVo Bolt. TiVo is telling me that Cox in Orange County is contracted with them and Bolt should be supported. I have been on more calls than I can count with each side, and they are finger-pointing at each other. Per several tivocommunity blog posts Ive seen, sounds like all Orange County customers having same issue, and that it might be related to outdated firmware on the particular model of Motorola MCards being used in the OC area, as well as lack of information/training of install/support staff on both sides. Please see the following for references to MCard issue and Orange County: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10749505#post10749505. Per this blog, several customers have reported this same issue to the FCC.


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## bethOC

Re Cox/Bolt issue in OC, was on the phone tonight w/ TiVo with Cox conferenced in for over 2 hours, but not as lucky as Ranger1. TiVo is now tracking this as "Known Issue #421256". This is TiVo's reference # for the market-scale issue (not my personal ticket#), so I recommend you reference it if you call them. They say they now have it escalated to highest priority and are working with Cox to resolve.

I shared this thread with them and tried pushing them on the fact that if Ranger1 in OC now has resolution (same general equipment as mine, w/out knowing firmware details), there must be a way to solve this for the rest of us. Sounds like "something" Cox did was the resolution for Ranger1, so I was trying to persuade TiVo to put pressure on Cox to determine exactly what that was...

Thanks so much to Ranger1 and to the rest of you for sharing your info!


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## Ranger1

Glad to help, Beth! Since you asked about firmware, I'll share what info I gleaned off my setup right before it magically started working:

TUNING ADAPTER
Platform Version: 01.40 (Sep 10 2014)

CABLECARD (Conditional Access section):
CON: Yes (correct)
VAL: V (correct)
AUTH: MP (WRONG  SHOULD BE S)
CCI: 0x00 (indicates possible cable signal/wiring issue, but again my CC was paired and connected and I got the channel list)

CABLECARD (Network Setup):
VCTID: 18 (OK - values should be > 0)
OOB MSGS: 104234 (increases with refresh, which means the CC is connected to head-end successfully)

I wasn't really sure where the firmware version was on the CC, though I may have just missed it. It was on my to-do list to look again when the whole thing started working.

I was afraid I might lose it again, but I've restarted Bolt several times and it's still fine. The only thing I'm missing is the Cox ON Demand menu item doesn't appear (it's not even an option, and all the troubleshooting steps at https://support.tivo.com/articles/Troubleshooting/Cox-On-DEMAND-Troubleshooting). A TiVo supervisor is supposed to call tonight, so hopefully we can work through it.

I am honestly afraid to power cycle the Tuning Adapter, so I'm not going to experiment with that.


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## ajwees41

Ranger1 said:


> Glad to help, Beth! Since you asked about firmware, I'll share what info I gleaned off my setup right before it magically started working:
> 
> TUNING ADAPTER
> Platform Version: 01.40 (Sep 10 2014)
> 
> CABLECARD (Conditional Access section):
> CON: Yes (correct)
> VAL: V (correct)
> AUTH: MP (WRONG  SHOULD BE S)
> CCI: 0x00 (indicates possible cable signal/wiring issue, but again my CC was paired and connected and I got the channel list)
> 
> CABLECARD (Network Setup):
> VCTID: 18 (OK - values should be > 0)
> OOB MSGS: 104234 (increases with refresh, which means the CC is connected to head-end successfully)
> 
> I wasn't really sure where the firmware version was on the CC, though I may have just missed it. It was on my to-do list to look again when the whole thing started working.
> 
> I was afraid I might lose it again, but I've restarted Bolt several times and it's still fine. The only thing I'm missing is the Cox ON Demand menu item doesn't appear (it's not even an option, and all the troubleshooting steps at https://support.tivo.com/articles/Troubleshooting/Cox-On-DEMAND-Troubleshooting). A TiVo supervisor is supposed to call tonight, so hopefully we can work through it.
> 
> I am honestly afraid to power cycle the Tuning Adapter, so I'm not going to experiment with that.


check the cox ondemand in the settings/channels /my video providers area and if Cox ondemand is there my sure it is checked. min is check, but when I go to watch a video I get a C501 error but Tivo says everything is ok on Tivo's end Cox is no help.


----------



## Ranger1

ajwees41 said:


> check the cox ondemand in the settings/channels /my video providers area and if Cox ondemand is there my sure it is checked. min is check, but when I go to watch a video I get a C501 error but Tivo says everything is ok on Tivo's end Cox is no help.


Thanks, but that's one of the first things I tried. I tried ALL the troubleshooting steps in the document I referenced above, so there doesn't appear to be a simple solution (for me, at least). I'll see what they say tonight. If you find a solution for your CS501 error, please remember to share it! Given how this all has been going, I'm pretty much guaranteed to have the same issue when I finally get on demand to show up.

https://support.tivo.com/articles/Troubleshooting/Cox-On-DEMAND-Troubleshooting


----------



## sm4194

I am another OC resident who just picked up a Bolt this past weekend and have been trying to get it set up with no luck. I have the same Auth = MP issue that Ranger1 had. I have spent hours on the phone with TiVO and Cox as they point fingers back at each other.

I have a tech visit scheduled for this evening but not very confident they will be able to help. I will at least tell him to have the back office send "hits" to the box to try to get it up and running.

Ranger1, if you can PM me with an other info they can use to try to reproduce what they did for you, I'd appreciate it.


----------



## ajwees41

if you are have the MP issue try calling the 1-800 cox cable card number not local support


----------



## sm4194

Since it appears the Cisco tuning adapter/cable card solution works with the Bolt, does anyone know if I pick up that equipment from a San Diego Cox Solutions store if there if there is even a chance it would work in Orange County. 

I am guessing there is a reason for two different vendors in adjacent markets, but I am grasping at straws and trying to find a solution.


----------



## ajwees41

most likely will not work


----------



## mikeyts

I don't believe that it would work if both systems were using the same brand equipment. How would you convince a San Diego Cox office to give you their equipment without an account for an address in their system?


----------



## sm4194

Just had a tech come by to assist with the Bolt setup but once he found out I had a Bolt he told me there was nothing he could do since it was a known issue with TiVO and that Tivo was working on a fix. He called a supervisor who was very knowledgeable about the issues with the Bolt and claimed they tested a fix with TiVO on Jan 22 that worked but TiVO was yet to roll it out. 

I have one week left on my return window so I guess the Bolt is going back.


----------



## Ranger1

sm4194 said:


> Just had a tech come by to assist with the Bolt setup but once he found out I had a Bolt he told me there was nothing he could do since it was a known issue with TiVO and that Tivo was working on a fix. He called a supervisor who was very knowledgeable about the issues with the Bolt and claimed they tested a fix with TiVO on Jan 22 that worked but TiVO was yet to roll it out.
> 
> I have one week left on my return window so I guess the Bolt is going back.


Yes, I wish both companies communicated better with their support staff, and were more open about what they were doing about these issues. It's crazy that there's no TiVo or Cox "knowledgebase" article on this topic.

The only additional advice I can tell you is that it may take many attempts. Over the 8 or 9 Cox calls, I had probably 15 "hits" and probably the same number of TA "restarts" sent to the Tuning Adapter. I _suspect_ that one of the reps did something, and that it got applied on the last "hit" -- but maybe I just got a lucky hit.

Also, be absolutely sure that your system is wired correctly. Cox gave me the cable card, the tuning adapter, a splitter, a USB cable and 3 coax cables. I wondered about all the cabling, because the instructions that came with the adapter instructed me to pass the cable signal from the wall into the TA and out into the Bolt. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG according to what I was told.

The correct instructions (http://media.cox.com/support/print_media/tv/equipment/user_guides/cable_box/InstallingYourMotoTA.pdf) indicate that you need to run the cable from the wall into a splitter, and each output goes into each device. The TA line also has a POE filter added to it. COX DID NOT GIVE THIS TO ME WHEN I PICKED UP THE TA/CC. They really need to give their customers correct hardware and instructions. And by the way, it took a few calls to tech support before I finally got them to walk me through the wiring in detail...so don't expect them to ask you.

I did end up rebooting my tuning adapter, and all is still working fine. One problem I have is that I cannot see the Cox On Demand "video provider" in the list on the TiVo Bolt, but I called TiVo support and they said someone will add it in a day or two. The only other issue is that when I reboot Bolt, the video resolution settings go back to 1080P (automatic) instead keeping my manual settings for my 4k TV.

Other than that, I really have to say I love the TiVo Bolt. So fast, polished, intuitive compared to my HD DVR.


----------



## sm4194

After 3 hours last night with Cox tech support, an hour this morning with TiVO tech support, and on the phone with Cox again this evening, still all channels are unauthorized and the MP setting remains. The TiVO tech support person did acknowledge they knew about an issue in Orange County but had no estimate on when it would be resolved. 

Since other folks like Ranger1 got it working, I know it is possible so I am now hoping one of the 20 hits my TiVO has gotten will magically make it start working. I am not optimistic.


----------



## strangely

So frustrating that they don't release the software. I emailed Margret several times and was told I would be put on a list to get the beta SW. The update should've happened last Monday but it didn't and all attempts in emailing Margaret again have been fruitless as she won't reply.

By the way, how come my bolt doesn't have Auth listed anywhere in the cable card menus? Shouldn't it be in the same one as the Con and Val are listed in?


----------



## SomeRandomIdiot

As I am not in a Cox market, several questions. 

1) does cox lease Bolts?

2) does Cox sell Bolts?

3) if 1 or 2, for how much?

4) if they do #2, do they set up a monthly installment plan for 6, 12 or 24 months?


----------



## CoxInPHX

No, Cox does not sell or lease Bolts, part of the original agreement in 2010 was that Cox would also promote TiVo as an optional DVR/STB.

August 12, 2010
http://newsroom.cox.com/news-releases?item=517

September 1, 2015
http://newsroom.cox.com/news-releases?item=122422

https://www.cox.com/tivo


----------



## SomeRandomIdiot

CoxInPHX said:


> No, Cox does not sell or lease Bolts, part of the original agreement in 2010 was that Cox would also promote TiVo as an optional DVR/STB.
> 
> August 12, 2010
> http://newsroom.cox.com/news-releases?item=517
> 
> September 1, 2015
> http://newsroom.cox.com/news-releases?item=122422
> 
> https://www.cox.com/tivo


That really is a lost opportunity that Cox would not sell them considering the markup on CE. Furthermore, they could just add to bill....even let customer pay over 6, 12 or 24 months.

Add monthly service after 12 month to bill giving their subs a cheaper rate as they would handle that backend.

Could have been a potential profit center. Missed opportunity.


----------



## sm4194

Can someone let me know the contact info for "Margaret". I am assuming she is a TiVO employee. I have had a nightmare experience trying to get the Bolt activated. I feel ridiculous that I have spent so much time on this device, when it feels like TiVO doesn't even care if I get it activated or return it. Hopefully I can get that software update before my return window closes in 7 days.


----------



## JoeKustra

sm4194 said:


> Can someone let me know the contact info for "Margaret". I am assuming she is a TiVO employee. I have had a nightmare experience trying to get the Bolt activated. I feel ridiculous that I have spent so much time on this device, when it feels like TiVO doesn't even care if I get it activated or return it. Hopefully I can get that software update before my return window closes in 7 days.


[email protected] and note the spelling. She is VP of Design.


----------



## mkrsm

strangely said:


> By the way, how come my bolt doesn't have Auth listed anywhere in the cable card menus? Shouldn't it be in the same one as the Con and Val are listed in?


AUTH is on the Conditional Access menu, but that field didn't show for me until I tried to get Cox to pair the cable card/tuning adapter a couple of times. Mine say MP, and Con shows as No.

I'm thinking of pulling my cable card and taking it to the Cox store for a swap, but are there any identifiers on a cable card that might show it as newer? I currently have an Arris card with a SN that starts with MA1436, could that be a date code for a mfg date of the 36th week of 2014?


----------



## JoeKustra

mkrsm said:


> AUTH is on the Conditional Access menu, but that field didn't show for me until I tried to get Cox to pair the cable card/tuning adapter a couple of times. Mine say MP, and Con shows as No.
> 
> I'm thinking of pulling my cable card and taking it to the Cox store for a swap, but are there any identifiers on a cable card that might show it as newer? I currently have an Arris card with a SN that starts with MA1436, could that be a date code for a mfg date of the 36th week of 2014?


I have Con as Yes. The beginning of my old Moto card is MA0907. My cable company is VERY old. Like me.


----------



## bethOC

Today I got a brief email reply from my local Cox rep. He said: "I just heard back from my boss today and he said that our engineers are closing in on a solution but it is not 100%." Didn't get an ETA or anything beyond that, just wanted to share the latest I have.


----------



## SomeRandomIdiot

bethOC said:


> Today I got a brief email reply from my local Cox rep. He said: "I just heard back from my boss today and he said that our engineers are closing in on a solution but it is not 100%." Didn't get an ETA or anything beyond that, just wanted to share the latest I have.


Tell them, great....push that out.....while 100% won't be fixed, if 95% are, then 95% of the people will be happier than they are today. Otherwise your words mean nothing.


----------



## Ranger1

TiVo notified me today via email that they were pushing a new version of the OS to my Bolt, because at one point I emailed Margaret and expressed interest in beta-testing the software fix for the Cox on Bolt issue. Since Cox was already working on my Bolt (knock on wood), I was worried the update might actually break something -- but my cable video seems fine so far. 

They added more apps/video providers, but I still didn't see Cox On Demand. I called TiVo Support back, but they told me the visibility of this application is controlled by the cable card. So, now I'm on the phone with Cox again...

Cox just stated that they have an outage of Cox On Demand for all Orange County TiVo customers until tomorrow @ 9am. I asked when it started...they said January 14th!


----------



## CoxInPHX

Ranger1 said:


> Cox just stated that they have an outage of Cox On Demand for all TiVo customers until tomorrow @ 9am. I asked when it started...they said January 14th!


My Cox OnDemand is working fine, If there is some outage it must be localized or just an outage that effects adding new units.


----------



## Ranger1

CoxInPHX said:


> My Cox OnDemand is working fine, If there is some outage it must be localized or just an outage that effects adding new units.


D'oh! I should have said Orange County TiVo users. I updated the original post -- thanks for pointing that out!


----------



## BRiT wtfdotcom

Mine has been working fine yesterday and today as well.


----------



## moyekj

Ranger1 said:


> D'oh! I should have said Orange County TiVo users. I updated the original post -- thanks for pointing that out!


 As usual it's BS because I just tried and VOD is working for me on Roamio Pro, which is actually surprising because half the time I've tried over that last year it doesn't (not that I use it much).


----------



## Ranger1

moyekj said:


> As usual it's BS because I just tried and VOD is working for me on Roamio Pro, which is actually surprising because half the time I've tried over that last year it doesn't (not that I use it much).


It sure would be nice if we could get accurate information from these guys.

I tell ya, this TiVo has been way more hassle than it's worth at this point... and I'm one of the lucky ones who got it working. COX sure doesn't want to support them, and TiVo can't do much about COX. All the finger-pointing is making me dizzy.


----------



## ajwees41

Ranger1 said:


> TiVo notified me today via email that they were pushing a new version of the OS to my Bolt, because at one point I emailed Margaret and expressed interest in beta-testing the software fix for the Cox on Bolt issue. Since Cox was already working on my Bolt (knock on wood), I was worried the update might actually break something -- but my cable video seems fine so far.
> 
> They added more apps/video providers, but I still didn't see Cox On Demand. I called TiVo Support back, but they told me the visibility of this application is controlled by the cable card. So, now I'm on the phone with Cox again...
> 
> Cox just stated that they have an outage of Cox On Demand for all Orange County TiVo customers until tomorrow @ 9am. I asked when it started...they said January 14th!


maybe they mean Cox Omaha customers Cox ondemand via Tivo has been down for almost 2 months.


----------



## strangely

I had the beta pushed to my box today and unfortunately it hasn't worked for me. Fed up with getting charged TV fees and fighting cox tech installer fees.


----------



## sm4194

Strangely, was the beta supposed to fix the Bolts inability to get channels from Cox (Auth = MP) or was it a fix for VOD.


----------



## mikeyts

What's the version number of "the beta"?


----------



## Ranger1

mikeyts said:


> What's the version number of "the beta"?


It turns out the beta was to address a failure during the channel acquisition process (the 89% failure originally noted). I never had that problem. I thought they sent it to me because of the missing video/audio problem, but apparently not.

I would not expect it to solve the Cox On Demand issue, though I was certainly hoping. I think I should move that to another thread.

I'm downright fed up with both TiVo and Cox not knowing what the hell is going on.

The beta software is 20.5.9.RC7, and they said it was a very stable build so they are nearing their release to the general public.


----------



## ajwees41

Ranger1 said:


> It turns out the beta was to address a failure during the channel acquisition process (the 89% failure originally noted). I never had that problem. I thought they sent it to me because of the missing video/audio problem, but apparently not.
> 
> I would not expect it to solve the Cox On Demand issue, though I was certainly hoping. I think I should move that to another thread.
> 
> I'm downright fed up with both TiVo and Cox not knowing what the hell is going on.
> 
> The beta software is 20.5.9.RC7, and they said it was a very stable build so they are nearing their release to the general public.


I made a separate thread about Cox ondemand and included what I was able to find out from cox.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10794961#post10794961


----------



## strangely

sm4194 said:


> Strangely, was the beta supposed to fix the Bolts inability to get channels from Cox (Auth = MP) or was it a fix for VOD.


Yes it was supposed to be to fix the the inability to get channels from Cox Sorry for the late reply. it was 20.5.9 RC7


----------



## Ranger1

Cox On Demand now appears on my TiVo Bolt!

It took many calls to both TiVo and Cox. At first, Cox On Demand didn't even show up in my TiVo Video Providers list. Alternating calls to TiVo and Cox didn't produce much benefit. TiVo initially thought they could add the menu item, but eventually stated that it must be something on the Motorola cablecard programming that was preventing it from showing up. 3 or 4 calls to Cox resulted in me being told that Cox has had a "On Demand for TiVo Outage" since January 14th. They kept suggesting that I try back in a couple days, so I kept doing that.

Then, today I just got lucky and got a rep who really knew what he was doing. He looked at the cablecard and said:

*"On Demand for TiVo isn't enabled for your cable card!"
*
Apparently there is normal Cox On Demand (which has always worked fine for me on my old Cox DVR), and a separate On Demand for TiVo. It took this support rep maybe 30 seconds to see this, enable it and send the hit to the cablecard.

Then, of course, I had to reboot TiVo... but there it was! The elusive Cox On Demand menu item had appeared.

At that point I tried playing a video, but nothing worked. The Cox rep expected this, but said that now that I had the menu item the case workflow suggested that he escalate this to a specialist. After a few minutes of hold, someone came on the line and said she was going to review everything in my account and would be calling me back. By that time it was a little late, so I didn't expect a call back... but when I tried On Demand later that evening, it worked! Both the normal "free" stuff and the "Premium" channels that I subscribe to (HBO, etc) now work. I have not tried renting a movie yet, though.

So, whatever they did, it worked. My Bolt is now seemingly fully-functional (I'll check rentals this weekend). It took about 18 days and probably 25 phone calls, emails, and Facebook posts, etc.

All I can say to the rest of you is this: I know how insanely frustrating this is, as I've lived the same pain...but it is possible to get it working. I'm sure in several ways I just got lucky, but you may, too.


----------



## sm4194

Ranger1, was the representative you worked with in the Cable Card support group. If you remember his/her name, can you let us know. I have no doubt the right support person can figure out how to get the Bolts in OC activated but the issue is finding that very knowledgeable person.


----------



## strangely

Unbelievable that Cox has now locked their thread about this on their support site. If they want to play silly buggers like that then I'm gonna start lashing out on their social media feeds too and I suggest that everyone else does also!


----------



## mkrsm

I had this posted in the Cox forum, thought it might be useful here, too. I'm now one of the few that has gotten the Tivo to work with Cox OC.

Oddities:
Test Channels in the cable card menu still results in "No channels available"
Test Channels with MCard in Tuning Adapter menu does show channels
Cable Signal Strength doesn't work if Tuning Adapter is up

Software version 20.5.6RC21-USC-11-849 (apparently an older one?)

Cable Card menu -
Conditional Access:
UnitAddress.: ...
Encryption: DES
EMM CSN: 0x01/02 <date cable card was last reset>
Con:Yes EBCP: Yes Val:V 0x04 (Con:No when it wasn't working)
ActivePrg:<0> 1 2 3
PMTCMD Prg:10367 ECM:0x0100
LTSID: 000 TSIndex: 0
SvcID:... Svc:0 Enc:ENC
CPisabled CA Reply: 0x01 N
Auth:S CCI:0x00 Epoch:0xD7 (Auth:MP with orig cable card, S with new)
Component PIDS in Hex: ....

Cable Card Status
Man:Motorola Uptime:...
HW:0554050003 Boot: 04.01
FW* 06.25 --/-/--:-:-
FW -.---/-/--:-:-
Unit Address: ...
DL State:IDLE
Left:0 Rcvd:0 Rate:0
Last Error:None

Network Setup
OOB Mode: OOB GTC: OOB
2-Way: Unknown
Rx RF Freq: <varies> LKC: 75.25N
Tx RF Freq:--.- Power:-
RF OOB Status: WAIT SYNC (switches with WAIT TUNE)
EMM ID/PID: -/-
VCTID: 18 OOB Msgs: 0
VCT/NIT XAIT/NIT CVT/SIT EAS/Full Tx Full Rx - all 0

Cable Card Pairing: (Motorola cable card)
...
Card S/N MT1321... (first cable card I tried was an Arris MA1436...)
(assuming that is a date code, the cable card now working is older)
eCM MAC: Unknown
Host MAC: all 0
Host Type: One-way

DSG - In OOB Mode

It had been powered down for a few days, and I powered it up again yesterday. I checked a while after turning it on and noticed it the tuner was now working.


----------



## ajwees41

Ranger1 said:


> Cox On Demand now appears on my TiVo Bolt!
> 
> It took many calls to both TiVo and Cox. At first, Cox On Demand didn't even show up in my TiVo Video Providers list. Alternating calls to TiVo and Cox didn't produce much benefit. TiVo initially thought they could add the menu item, but eventually stated that it must be something on the Motorola cablecard programming that was preventing it from showing up. 3 or 4 calls to Cox resulted in me being told that Cox has had a "On Demand for TiVo Outage" since January 14th. They kept suggesting that I try back in a couple days, so I kept doing that.
> 
> Then, today I just got lucky and got a rep who really knew what he was doing. He looked at the cablecard and said:
> 
> *"On Demand for TiVo isn't enabled for your cable card!"
> *
> Apparently there is normal Cox On Demand (which has always worked fine for me on my old Cox DVR), and a separate On Demand for TiVo. It took this support rep maybe 30 seconds to see this, enable it and send the hit to the cablecard.
> 
> Then, of course, I had to reboot TiVo... but there it was! The elusive Cox On Demand menu item had appeared.
> 
> At that point I tried playing a video, but nothing worked. The Cox rep expected this, but said that now that I had the menu item the case workflow suggested that he escalate this to a specialist. After a few minutes of hold, someone came on the line and said she was going to review everything in my account and would be calling me back. By that time it was a little late, so I didn't expect a call back... but when I tried On Demand later that evening, it worked! Both the normal "free" stuff and the "Premium" channels that I subscribe to (HBO, etc) now work. I have not tried renting a movie yet, though.
> 
> So, whatever they did, it worked. My Bolt is now seemingly fully-functional (I'll check rentals this weekend). It took about 18 days and probably 25 phone calls, emails, and Facebook posts, etc.
> 
> All I can say to the rest of you is this: I know how insanely frustrating this is, as I've lived the same pain...but it is possible to get it working. I'm sure in several ways I just got lucky, but you may, too.


thats great to hear hope Cox and Tivo can figure out why some are still getting C501 errors or no errors and still not able to access Cox on demand on Tivo?


----------



## halo1982

I got mine activated today with 0 issues (well mostly, my first Bolt was a bad one but I exchanged it and now I'm up and running with OnDemand and all!).


----------



## lab_man

halo1982 said:


> I got mine activated today with 0 issues (well mostly, my first Bolt was a bad one but I exchanged it and now I'm up and running with OnDemand and all!).


The recent successes are encouraging. Maybe there is hope. How did you know your equipment was bad?


----------



## sm4194

Halo, are you also in Orange County and was this a new Bolt you were trying to set up? If so, did you use the tuning adapter as shown in the Cox instructions? (wall to splitter then POE filter then tuning adapter)


----------



## sm4194

Tivo Tech Support supervisor just told me the OC Bolt issues should have been fixed by a software update pushed out on 2/16. I am far from convinced but will try to get the Tivo working again this weekend. Please share if you are in OC and weren't able to get your Bolt activated with Cox Cable card but now can since 2/16.


----------



## lab_man

Im in orange county and just spent multiple hours with my bolt with no luck, including a conference call with Cox and tivo. Tito insists it should work - they seem clueless / in denial.

Tech came out and wouldn't touch the bolt - wouldn't even switch cable card. Supervisor ended calling back - knew nothing about any updates this week. Said no eta.


----------



## lab_man

lab_man said:


> Im in orange county and just spent multiple hours with my bolt with no luck, including a conference call with Cox and tivo. Tito insists it should work - they seem clueless / in denial.
> 
> Tech came out and wouldn't touch the bolt - wouldn't even switch cable card. Supervisor ended calling back - knew nothing about any updates this week. Said no eta.


I should also say that no one at Cox knew anything about any updates and Tivo was just in major denial that there were any issues.

I get through setup - just get Channel not authorized V85 error instead of a picture.


----------



## sm4194

Picked up a new Bolt and tried it with two different cable cards and tuning adapters. The Cox tech support person ran out of ideas after an hour of trying to get the Card to authorize. One strange thing is that I have strong singal strength on all channels as long as tuning adapter isn't plugged in. Once the USB cable is connected, the signal strength drops to zero. Any ideas?


----------



## mkrsm

I think if you have an active Tuning Adapter, you need to use the Tuning Adapter menu to check signal strength. On mine, when the Tuning Adapter is up, the Channel Signal Strength shows something like "no digital signal".


----------



## bethOC

mkrsm: Thanks for sharing all your details here. How/where were you able to get a card with S/N MT... ? Do you have any idea what caused yours to start working?


----------



## mkrsm

I got the cable card with the MT... S/N at a Cox Store when I traded it for the MA... card I had been unsuccessful in getting to work. An easy way to tell the older card is if it is branded Motorola rather than Arris. I called Cox and had them activate the new cable card (still no channels), but I overlooked the tuning adapter, it went back to the blinking yellow light. One big difference in this card is that it never showed Auth:MP, it has S instead. Wild speculation: maybe the card had previously been used in a Tivo device so something was already activated to allow it to proceed?

I don't know if there was any update to the Tivo from when I started since I hadn't checked the software version at the time. I had also tried resetting the Tivo and bringing it back up, that may have updated something. Anyway, I had given up trying to get it to work until I saw someone had success in this forum. I had pulled the plug on it and the tuning adapter for a few days. I was actually composing an email to Tivo to try to get the beta software and plugged it back in to get the SN number, but when I turned on my TV (around 20 minutes later), I noticed it was showing a TV program and working. I called Cox later and got the tuning adapter working, too.

So was it one of these (or a combination) that got it working?
-powering off for a while
-getting the right cable card
-not having the tuning adapter up
-resetting and bringing it back up

Also, make sure you verify the cable card pairing Data field is still correct after the process of pairing with the tuning adapter. Recheck at the end of the process to see if you need to update it with Cox again. I think that is way got me past the 89% issue (or was it the "bullets" Cox sent down the line?).


----------



## sm4194

I just picked up 4 MT cards after failing with the Arris cards.I will try them all with the Bolt this evening. I can't believe how much time I have spent trying to get this to work and my wife is about to kill me.


----------



## mkrsm

Wonder if your best strategy would be first to see if one of those cards gives you Auth:S rather than Auth:MP? Had the angry wife issue here, too. Didn't help that the Cisco DVR6 from Cox kept freezing up, finally was able to dump it yesterday. I had been down to using miniboxes on VCRs.


----------



## mkrsm

Forgot to add, the cable card that worked for me showed Auth:S even before I tried to pair it to the Tivo.


----------



## lab_man

I was told to check for obb messages >0 after inserting card with direct line to TiVo from wall. If 0, means card is bad which is my case x 2. Also did not read auth = s.


----------



## sm4194

Got the Bolt working using a Motorola branded card with serial number starting with MA. Immediately after installation the Auth = S and a quick call to Cox had it paired and working in 5 minutes. I think underlying issue is Arris cards don't work with the Bolt. Try asking for Motorola cards.


----------



## bethOC

Which Cox store location in OC is providing the Motorola (non-Arris) cards? (My last visit was the one in RSM a couple weeks ago and they gave me another Arris.)


----------



## sm4194

I got four Motorola cards from the Solutions store on 6234 Irvine Blvd. The first one I tried worked. The other change I made to the setup was removing the POE filter that the instructions told me to include after the splitter but before the tuning adapter. Since my original cable installer added a POE filter where the main cable line enters the house, I had two in the wiring prior to removing the one next to the tuning adapter.


----------



## mkrsm

bethOC: I wonder if you ended up with the Arris S/N MA1436EF43.. cable card I turned in at the Cox Store in RSM a couple of weeks ago, where they gave me the Motorola card that went on to work (but not right away).


----------



## Geran

I upgraded to the new Beta today (RC13). After reading the growing suspicion that switching from an Arris CableCARD to a Motorola one might lead to success, I swapped out the Arris for the one Motorola card I had in my stack. I haven't called Cox yet to activate it.
What I don't understand is this whole Auth: S (or MP). My Conditional Access screen doesn't list that. It's much shorter than what the TiVo troubleshooting guide shows. It shows:
UnitAddress: 000-xxxxx-yyyyy-zzz
Encryption: DES
EMM CSN: 0x01/02 unknown
Con: No EBCP: Yes Val:? 0x01

That's it, no additional data on this screen.

I see some of you mention they had Auth:S before even calling Cox to pair the card. What do you think, should I bother?

Note: having the tuning adapter connecter or not does not change this screen. With the previous card (Arris) that wasn't giving me any success, I had the exact same screen here (just a different value for UnitAddress and EMM CSN)


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## lab_man

I was able to get a connection last night with a new Moto card thanks to this forum and no thanks to cox. After putting in the card, I still had obb messages at 0 and auth = mp. It Took a couple hits to get it running. I also noted cox did not have my tuning adapter serial number input. Not sure if that made a difference or not.


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## mkrsm

Geran: when I first installed the cable card I also had the short menu, but around 30 minutes later there was more data showing


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## Geran

mkrsm said:


> Geran: when I first installed the cable card I also had the short menu, but around 30 minutes later there was more data showing


Is that 30mins after getting it paired or just sitting in the Bolt? My precious card, the Arris, was in there for weeks and still never got the full screen.


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## strangely

My box was updated to RC13 last night also and still no dice for me either. Looks like I might head out to the RSM store to see if I can get a moto branded card.


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## Geran

strangely said:


> My box was updated to RC13 last night also and still no dice for me either. Looks like I might head out to the RSM store to see if I can get a moto branded card.


Ha! That's what I am doing too. I grabbed my 4 cards to get them exchanged. From what I'm reading, if I get "Con: No", then I shouldn't even bother with the card.


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## strangely

I got a moto card which appears to be the same FW. Still no dice though for me . I guess the others got lucky.

One thing to note, in that all of my previous attempts to have cox pair a card resulted in the data number remaining the same even though the cox reps insists it should change when un-paired or re-paired.


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## Geran

strangely said:


> I got a moto card which appears to be the same FW. Still no dice though for me . I guess the others got lucky.
> 
> One thing to note, in that all of my previous attempts to have cox pair a card resulted in the data number remaining the same even though the cox reps insists it should change when un-paired or re-paired.


I've had the same issue about the data number not changing on my cards too. So it looks like you and I are in the same boat.


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## strangely

Geran said:


> I've had the same issue about the data number not changing on my cards too. So it looks like you and I are in the same boat.


Where in OC do you live?


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## Geran

strangely said:


> Where in OC do you live?


Irvine, by the Spectrum.

I have just tried 4 different cards, including 2 Motorola. No luck. In only 1 case did the number of MSG actually go up. In all other cases, it seemed that even with unpair/repair my Data number stayed the same. Isn't that odd?


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## strangely

Geran said:


> Irvine, by the Spectrum.
> 
> I have just tried 4 different cards, including 2 Motorola. No luck. In only 1 case did the number of MSG actually go up. In all other cases, it seemed that even with unpair/repair my Data number stayed the same. Isn't that odd?


Yep very. I had a suspicion that mine hadn't changed from the last card since it looked similar, but I hadn't written it down and therefore I'm not sure.

In any case, hopefully this might be significant for the issue. I reported it to Tivo about a week ago and sent another email earlier about it not changing but didn't hear anything back.


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## sm4194

Well, the Bolt was working for 2 days but then all my premium channels started showing the unauthorized message. I called Cox to have the card hit again but the rep managed to unpaired the card so now I am not getting any channels again. I am on hold waiting to find a more knowledgeable rep to repair the card with my account.


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## mkrsm

Regarding the unauthorized message - maybe your tuning adapter went down? Do you know if the amber light on it was blinking or the red light lit? I wonder if a weak signal would cause something like that?


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## sm4194

Took two reps but got the Bolt back up and running and even got the Cox on Demand going (though get a v205 error message on certain shows). Now I have my fingers crossed for how long it will keep working.


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## strangely

@Geran, take a look at your PM if you could.


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## lab_man

sm4194 said:


> Took two reps but got the Bolt back up and running and even got the Cox on Demand going (though get a v205 error message on certain shows). Now I have my fingers crossed for how long it will keep working.


How does cox on demand show up? Is it a source to select like Hulu, Amazon, etc? I don't see it on that list so just want to make sure it should be there before I call yet again.

I'm a little reluctant to mess with it for fear they unpair and I can't get it back.


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## sm4194

To see Cox VOD, the Cox rep needs to add it to your account. I believe they referenced adding code 247 to my account but I might be mistaken on the number. Basically, I was told adding VOD is like adding HBO or Showtime Package, but it just has a different code and no charge. Then to get VOD to show on my TiVO Mini I had to go into my TiVO account and check the box for "downloads" in the device settings.


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## strangely

No thanks to Cox, mine is now working. Mostly their fault the whole time!


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## ajwees41

lab_man said:


> How does cox on demand show up? Is it a source to select like Hulu, Amazon, etc? I don't see it on that list so just want to make sure it should be there before I call yet again.
> 
> I'm a little reluctant to mess with it for fear they unpair and I can't get it back.


yes it's supposed to be in the menu with youtube make sure it's checked as a video provider in the channels menu on the TiVo at the bottom there is a my video providers menu.

hope it's easy as that.


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## halo1982

sm4194 said:


> Halo, are you also in Orange County and was this a new Bolt you were trying to set up? If so, did you use the tuning adapter as shown in the Cox instructions? (wall to splitter then POE filter then tuning adapter)


I'm in Oklahoma, Tulsa using a Motorola M-Card and Tuning Adapter.


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## mkrsm

I got an email today, _TiVo Software Update: HBO GO, more kids entertainment, and more_. Has anyone here who got their Bolt working with Cox OC tried this? Hope it doesn't break our cablecard pairing that was so hard to get working.


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## jumper34017

halo1982 said:


> I'm in Oklahoma, Tulsa using a Motorola M-Card and Tuning Adapter.


I have the exact same setup, and I'm in Tulsa as well. I have yet to get my Bolt to work, and this is after two Cox truck rolls and the tech spending 8+ hours at my place.


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## halo1982

jumper34017 said:


> I have the exact same setup, and I'm in Tulsa as well. I have yet to get my Bolt to work, and this is after two Cox truck rolls and the tech spending 8+ hours at my place.


If you PM me I can send you pictures of my CableCARD Menu. My first Bolt was bad and would only get three or four channels...the new one is fantastic.


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## Geran

Still no luck on my side what's bizarre: the Data number NEVER changes. Not when their pair it, not when their unpair. No matter what cableCARD I use.


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## jumper34017

The 20.5.9 firmware update doesn't fix it, either. I updated, then spent 20 minutes on the phone with Cox re-pairing and re-pairing...it still gets stuck at 72% or 89% acquiring channels. My Bolt is basically a brick until this gets fixed.


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## OsoTech

Have no fear! Per the response to my FCC complaint, it appears that Cox is still blaming Tivo and they are expecting Tivo to release a software fix in _April_. Ridiculous.


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## lab_man

OsoTech said:


> Have no fear! Per the response to my FCC complaint, it appears that Cox is still blaming Tivo and they are expecting Tivo to release a software fix in _April_. Ridiculous.


Ha. At least you got a response. I've heard nothing since filing 2 weeks ago.


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## strangely

For my issue it was as simple as Cox not knowing that I had a data only trap filter fitted (by them). Everyone still having issues should have cox check this for sure.

It also sounds like from what I could glean from Tivo was that Cox may also be in someway to blame by interference caused by analog channels that are too near to the OOB frequency. They say they have gone "all digital" but there are still analog signals on a lot of frequencies with a message saying they have gone all digital.

I had a very lack luster response from the FCC stating that Cox will be responding to me, however I added notes to my case saying that I believed the FCC still owed a response to a couple of items. I can't wait until I get my response from Cox


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## Geran

Any update from peeps?

Following my FCC complain, an executive Cox cust service person called me partly to arrange a visit by a Cox technician this upcoming Saturday (3/12). Sure enough, this past Sunday I got a call enquiring where I was because the tech was sure. Face palm.

From what I heard from the rep, they expect the solution to be rolled out by TiVo around *April*.


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## strangely

@Geran, I got a letter from Cox in response to FCC complaint. As I expected its a joke, they essentially are trying to make the excuse that it was due to the SW etc and don't acknowledge the huge mistake that was the result of the data only filter being fitted.


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## CoxInPHX

Is this still a major issue, or have folks just given up on the Bolt?

I thought of this and was wondering if it was worth a try?

There is a Known Issue with the Bolt and Tuning Adapter when using the bottom USB port on the Bolt to connect the Tuning Adapter. See if using the Top USB port on the Bolt resolves any issues.
Using the Bottom USB port can result in many strange issues that I have personally experienced and have been reported by others.

https://support.tivo.com/articles/Known_Issue_Bug/BOLT-Reboot-when-plugging-in-tuning-adapter-USB


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## Craigm

Orange County


I gave up! went to antenna! Works great no bill!


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## halo1982

Ugh I unplugged my entertainment center/everything today and now can't get the tuning adapter to pair.


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## socrplyr

sm4194 said:


> I got four Motorola cards from the Solutions store on 6234 Irvine Blvd. The first one I tried worked. The other change I made to the setup was removing the POE filter that the instructions told me to include after the splitter but before the tuning adapter. Since my original cable installer added a POE filter where the main cable line enters the house, I had two in the wiring prior to removing the one next to the tuning adapter.


You want to put the POE filter back. The Tuning adapter may not be able to handle the MoCA signals coming out of the Bolt. The Tuning Adapter itself doesn't use MoCA, so you are blocking it from getting there. This is why they sent you instructions to set it up that way. The one where your main line comes into your house prevents MoCA from going out to others houses. It doesn't help your Tuning Adapter function well.


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## OsoTech

CoxInPHX said:


> Is this still a major issue, or have folks just given up on the Bolt?
> 
> I thought of this and was wondering if it was worth a try?
> 
> There is a Known Issue with the Bolt and Tuning Adapter when using the bottom USB port on the Bolt to connect the Tuning Adapter. See if using the Top USB port on the Bolt resolves any issues.
> Using the Bottom USB port can result in many strange issues that I have personally experienced and have been reported by others.
> 
> https://support.tivo.com/articles/Known_Issue_Bug/BOLT-Reboot-when-plugging-in-tuning-adapter-USB


I pretty much gave up and haven't tried since March. The Bolt is sitting unplugged in a box. I've been watching this thread to see if anyone else has luck to give me an indication to try again.

So much for the "one year free service". Maybe after the first year they will have a fix. :down:


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## jordan34

Just wanted to note that I donated my Tivo Bolt to "science" this week and let Cox take it back with them to their local office somewhere in OC. They were able to troubleshoot and narrow the down the issue that's affecting a small percentage of Tivo users in OC. The techs came to my house today to drop it off and re-install it (really just plugged it in) and all my channels came in! No more being stuck at 89%. I don't remember the exact terminology the techs used to describe how they fixed it, but it had something to do with the adjusting the in-band/out-of-band freq for channel 4(?) somewhere in my local area. It sounds like they now know the exact issue and how to fix it, so hopefully these guys will be sharing their findings and helping everyone else out.


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## foghorn2

Got to give it cox in making it work.


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## jordan34

jordan34 said:


> Just wanted to note that I donated my Tivo Bolt to "science" this week and let Cox take it back with them to their local office somewhere in OC. They were able to troubleshoot and narrow the down the issue that's affecting a small percentage of Tivo users in OC. The techs came to my house today to drop it off and re-install it (really just plugged it in) and all my channels came in! No more being stuck at 89%. I don't remember the exact terminology the techs used to describe how they fixed it, but it had something to do with the adjusting the in-band/out-of-band freq for channel 4(?) somewhere in my local area. It sounds like they now know the exact issue and how to fix it, so hopefully these guys will be sharing their findings and helping everyone else out.


I forgot to note that a senior person at Tivo actually reached out to me initially and coordinated this exchange with Cox, so it seems like they're trying to work together to get this issue resolved.


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## timedk

Finding someone at Cox to help me get this working has not been fun. My card and tuner are paired but just stuck at 89% also. @jordan34 , is the fix that Cox set up for you able to be completed by ourselves. I would love to change a setting and see my Bolt working at last. Thanks for any help.

Regards


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## timedk

This is the voodoo I did, but at least there is hope and it's working. Tried so many different things it's insane, but this process in the end got my Live TV cookin.

1- Boot up everything, Get Card and Tuner paired correctly with Cox cable.
2- Do a full reset "Clear & Delete Everything" on the TIVO (In Help Menu)
3- While that's getting done, get support via online or over the phone to send reset signals to both card and TA.
4- After Bolt boots up, go thru the guided setup you've done about 300 times by now and let it do it's thing.
5- At the end, it all looks just as hopeless as before and you get the 89% screen. I leave it running and every 45 min or so, I checked it for the error screen and just choose try again about 4 times before I fell asleep.
6- Wake up and all my channels are working  Maybe just dumb luck, but thought I would share what I tried.

Good luck everyone


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## jodell

Was a final resolution identified for the issues with pairing cable cards and tuning adapters with TiVo Bolts in Orange County? 

I am preparing to buy a new Bolt+ but would feel better if Cox knew what was wrong a few months ago and was confident it was fixed. I spent 2 weeks fighting with Cox to get a cable card paired with my Roamio a few months ago and don't relish the thought of that pain again.

Jeff


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