# No local dial-in numbers in any area code



## whitmerm

Greetings!

I have a Hughes SD-DVR40 on which I recently did a "clear and delete everything" reset. It boots successfully, and I can watch live TV. The problem is that, in order to record shows, I have to make an initial phone call.

Ostensibly, the purpose of this first phone call is to download a list of local dial-up numbers for my specified local area code. The TiVo is able to complete this first call successfully (without having to put a different phone number in as a dialing prefix). The problem is that, after completing the first call, it tells me that there are no local dial-in numbers available in my area code and that I should try a different nearby area code.

I'm calling from Atlanta, and I have other TiVos that successfully call out to a local number in my area code, so I don't believe that there are actually no dial-up numbers here. Secondly, I've tried dozens of other area codes from different major cities, and it tells me there aren't any local dial-in numbers in any of those area codes either.

Any ideas?


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## wesmills

I think DirecTiVos have an outdated number to dial for getting local numbers. Try this procedure from WeaKnees:

"Try a new/different dial-in number. Many VoIP users have reported that not all dial-in numbers work equally well with VoIP and an external modem. To change your dial-in number, first find the number here. Then, change your dialing prefix from ",#319" (pause enter 319 on your remote) to ",#319,,XXXXX" and replace the "Xs" with the number that you found from the linnk above, as you would dial it on your phone."


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## whitmerm

Thanks for the quick reply. Unfortunately, I get the same result either way. The call completes successfully, but there are no local dial-in numbers available for whatever area code I specify.

For the record, this is an unhacked TiVo using the internal modem over a traditional landline. Using another phone on the same line, I can hear it dial out and connect.


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## weaknees

Those instructions are only partially good.

You need to have your dialing prefix be the following:

,#019,,XXXXXX

The 319 is for an external modem; you need 019 for your internal modem.


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## arc6th

The 019 dialing prefix code doesn't eliminate the Final Setup Steps page which is encountered whenever we enter the Phone settings or attempt to record a show. We cannot change any phone settings until the box believes it has downloaded useful numbers. The number is dialed & connected, but the box isn't convinced we are allowed to use the DVR part of the DVR40, yet.

I expect a return call from DirecTV's tech support in the next few days, but after reading a few other threads I expect I'll be left with a TB hard drive I can toss into my Drobo.


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## weaknees

Yes. There is a problem with DIRECTV's servers. Whatever area code you select, you get the same error (no numbers). Anyone who does a "Clear and Delete Everything" on their TiVo will be stuck. I can only assume that DIRECTV is working on the problem.


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## Dansch18

I just activated an old R10, and I'm having the same problem. I was on the telephone with Directv and they couldn't solve it. They thought perhaps different units dial different numbers which isn't true.


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## pteronaut

How about telling your DTiVo that your area code is 800, 888 or 866?


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## lichenpursley

I recently purchase a refurbished Philips DSR704 and I've got the same problem. Spent 5 hours with 3 different DirecTV reps on the phone yesterday and had no resolution. Telling the system to try a 800, 866, 888, 877 area code doesn't help. I tried three other major area codes 415 (SF), 503 (PDX), and 212 (NY), no luck there either. I also tried tricking the TiVo into calling one of the many numbers listed on TiVo's website for the 702 area code by putting the number in the Dial Prefix. This work in as far as it dial and completed the sequence. However, it did not download any local numbers and I still can't use the DVR part of the tuner. I Any ideas out there?


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## weaknees

We have notified DIRECTV engineers of the problem, and they have notified TiVo. I have not (yet) received an update, but the problem impacts every DIRECTV TiVo (or newly installed hard drive) that is going through setup for the first time.


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## TDJ

I am having the exact same problem. I just dropped a new HD in this machine and I can't get passed the setup guide (I've never had this problem before) because every time I make the call it comes back with something like " there are no dial numbers for this area code" which is bull because I just made calls on my other 2 dvr's this morning using numbers from my area code. Also, it's giving me the same message no matter what area code I put in.

I talked to DirecTv about this last Friday and they were clueless. As a matter of fact, they told me that it could be because my equipment is so old and I should get newer machines. I didn't spend all that money at Weaknees on a big HD just to chuck it and take whatever DirecTv wants to give to me. I'm not giving up that easy. But, I am concerned about this.


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## cataloger42

Just adding another complaint with the same problem on a used R10. Another example of Directv's resistance to supporting Tivo, I'm guessing.


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## lichenpursley

So we're on to day 4 (Business Days) of this same problem with no resolution from DIRECTV or TIVO. Just got off the phone with DIRECTV and was told that this was a TIVO problem and they have no plans to provide additional support or fix the issue. TIVO won't talk to me because they say it's a DIRECTV problem. 

Maybe it's just time to throw in the towel, upgrade to a new TIVO and switch to cable.


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## ervilla41

Hello Everyone I also have this error with final set up has anyone found a fix for yet as of 08/18/2010. I have tried several fixes no luck. I believe there are many others with this issue.


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## shwru980r

Looks like Tivo is playing hard ball to deactivate any Tivo they possibly can.


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## TDJ

Success ! But, still no dial in numbers. I know it doesn't make sense. But, I'll take it.

Since last Friday, I haven't been able to get through the setup guide because DirecTV keeps telling my machine that there are no local dial in numbers. As a result, I've had live TV. But, the dvr service won't activate.

Yesterday morning around 9:30, I turned my dvr on and it was making a normal call which I didn't tell it to do. I was thrilled because I haven't been able to access the screen where you can tell it to make a normal call. When it comes to phone settings, I've only been able to access the setup guide to look for local dial in numbers. It took over 40 minutes to complete the call. After that, I was able to record and setup my season passes. I've even made another successful update call since then.

There's just one strange thing and it's really not important to me. Even though my machine is making successful calls, when I go under settings, phone and change phone settings, there is the list of options which includes "dial-in number" at the top. There is still no number listed there. When I click on it, I am still prompted to make a toll free call to look for a good dial in number. When I do that and the call succeeds, it is still coming back and saying that there are no dial in numbers for my area code just like before.

So, I don't know what number my machine called for its update. But, I'm up and running just like usual and whenever I turn the dvr on, I'm not prompted to make a call for dial in numbers. Everything appears normal. Maybe everyone elses machines will update like this also.


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## lichenpursley

Well my machine is scheduled to attempt a call at 12:29 PDT today. Unfortunately, I won't be around to see how that goes but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Hopefully, when I get home tonight I have a similar semi-success story.


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## Admdata

I have HDVR2 when it makes a call I have the same thing in the fact that it doesn't have a dial in # but if I hook up a phone line to it and tell it to dial it does and works fine downloading something. (I don't keep a phone line hooked up to it) since it doesn't do anything for the tivo (software updates and etc)


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## cataloger42

Question for TDJ - can you record anything? My receiver seems to be working fine without the list of call-in numbers. The in-line recording works. But when I try to press the record button or schedule a recording, the message comes back that I need to call before this feature is available.


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## TDJ

"Question for TDJ - can you record anything?"

Yes. As soon as that very long phone call went through on Tuesday, I was able to record live by just hitting the record button. Then, I set my season passes up.

The other slightly odd thing I noticed while all of this was going on was that this dvr was downloading service data from the satellite three times a night. Usually it's just once per night around 2:00 AM. But, I would see it downloading at 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 every night for about four nights in a row until it finally made that call I described earlier.


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## lichenpursley

My Philips DSR704 did not successfully make it's last two scheduled calls and the local phone issue is still unresolved.


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## scott429

Just got off the phone with directv (Saturday, noon ET) because of No Local Access Numbers (Samsung SIR4040). She dug around and eventually discovered that the problem's been documented and they expect to have the toll-free Guided Setup working in 48-72.

We'll see...


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## bunsterlama

Scott429 they told you 48-72 hrs. They told me 36-48 hrs last Tuesday, So we will see. I have a Philips Series 2 and I'm having the same problem goining on day 8!


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## lichenpursley

I call shenanigans! 
DIRECTV told me there engineers would have the problem resolved in 48hrs on Saturday 14 Aug. What incentive does DIRECTV have to fix this problem? They know their customers have only three options:
1. Accept their offers to provide a DIRECTV brand DVR. 
(Which BTW, works about as well as you'd expect a TIVO brand knock off to work.)
2. Cancel their DIRECTV service. 
(Which I looked into. I now have a much better understanding of just how bad cable customer service is and why DIRECTV can legitimately claim that their service is competitively priced.)
3. Simply accept not being able to actually use the DVR functionality of their old DIRECTV TIVOs.

SHENANIGANS!!!


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## Adam1115

lichenpursley said:


> I call shenanigans!
> DIRECTV told me there engineers would have the problem resolved in 48hrs on Saturday 14 Aug. What incentive does DIRECTV have to fix this problem? They know their customers have only three options:
> 1. Accept their offers to provide a DIRECTV brand DVR.
> (Which BTW, works about as well as you'd expect a TIVO brand knock off to work.)
> 2. Cancel their DIRECTV service.
> (Which I looked into. I now have a much better understanding of just how bad cable customer service is and why DIRECTV can legitimately claim that their service is competitively priced.)
> 3. Simply accept not being able to actually use the DVR functionality of their old DIRECTV TIVOs.
> 
> SHENANIGANS!!!


In fairness, I believe the DirecTiVo dials into TiVo, not DirecTV... It may have nothing to do with DirecTV...


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## trvlntom

I just joined the forum.
Same story as everyone else.

Accept. DirectTV is sending me a new DVR at no charge.


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## moonchilddave

Same boat as everyone else here... No numbers available no matter what area code I put in, including 800.

Does anyone know the number that the DirecTivo dials to get the local numbers? I had an issue on an old SA Series 1 TiVo with the modem partially bad... I ended up having to dial the number myself and then plug the phone line and TiVo would take it the rest of the way. The number it dialed to get the list of numbers was 877-877-1756.


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## Keeptfaith

I am going on 14 days of frustration.

I have an old DirecTiVo RCA DVR40 and bought a new hard drive. The install went great and all was good until I got to the Update Local Numbers screen of the Guided Setup.

I spent several days talking to DirecTV, TiVo and AT&T Uvers. I was told that the call won't work with Uverse Voice so I called AT&T to turn the phone line back to the analog phone line. (The tech then proceeded to break our internet connection, but that's another story). Suffice it to say that the phone call still didn't work and I continued to get the dreaded "You have no dial in numbers for that area code" screen.

I then called DirecTV and asked straight away to talk to a supervisor. After I spoke with the supervisor on Friday, Aug 20, at about 3 PM (PST), I was told that she was sending an email to TiVo to have them send my box an 800 number that could be used for my daily call. I tried to explain that it's not the daily call that I'm trying to get, but she cut me off and said it would work in 48 - 72 hours. (Not sure if that is business hours or real-time hours).

At least I know I'm not alone. I'll let you know what happens.


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## moonchilddave

I spoke to DirecTV last night about this, and was told they would set it up to call my TiVo so that I would be able to record - but it could take up to 24 hours. 24 hours later, still no luck.

This is ****ing ridiculous... Is there some way to hack into the file system on the TiVo and trick it into thinking the call was made and put in a local number?


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## pkindell

I got my Tivo back from Weaknees today. Same problem as everyone else. 
Has anyone elses dialed in on it's own? 
TDJ, did you do anything to your setup to help it along?

PK


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## DianaD

My Tivo is working! It updated early this morning. I can now set up season passes and record. It still can not find any numbers in my area code. I did enter the local phone number and the 1 - area code into the prefix dialing but I don't know if that helped. It was scheduled to call for an update the last three nights, but none of those worked until this morning.


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## TDJ

pkindell said:


> I got my Tivo back from Weaknees today. Same problem as everyone else.
> Has anyone elses dialed in on it's own?
> TDJ, did you do anything to your setup to help it along?
> 
> PK


I tried all of those strange codes for the dial in prefix. But, none of that worked. I tried dozens of times to retrieve the numbers and the calls succeeded but said that there were no numbers for my area code. My DVR just made the normal call on its own one day out of the blue and I don't know why. I do think it is encouraging for everyone else that DianaD just had the same thing happen. It could be just a matter of time for everyone elses DVR to make a successful call.


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## forgetg

I have the same issue on a hr10-250, "there no numbers for my area code"....I was on the phone last night for 3 hours with DT and 1 hour with Tivo....DT said a rep from Tivo will call me with in 72 hours...what BS


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## Keeptfaith

Keeptfaith said:


> I am going on 14 days of frustration.
> 
> I have an old DirecTiVo RCA DVR40 and bought a new hard drive. The install went great and all was good until I got to the Update Local Numbers screen of the Guided Setup.
> 
> I spent several days talking to DirecTV, TiVo and AT&T Uvers. I was told that the call won't work with Uverse Voice so I called AT&T to turn the phone line back to the analog phone line. (The tech then proceeded to break our internet connection, but that's another story). Suffice it to say that the phone call still didn't work and I continued to get the dreaded "You have no dial in numbers for that area code" screen.
> 
> I then called DirecTV and asked straight away to talk to a supervisor. After I spoke with the supervisor on Friday, Aug 20, at about 3 PM (PST), I was told that she was sending an email to TiVo to have them send my box an 800 number that could be used for my daily call. I tried to explain that it's not the daily call that I'm trying to get, but she cut me off and said it would work in 48 - 72 hours. (Not sure if that is business hours or real-time hours).
> 
> At least I know I'm not alone. I'll let you know what happens.


I just called DirecTV again and the sent another signal (that I suspect is only for Live TV and then tried to sell me more HD channel). Still no local numbers. Ugh!


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## moonchilddave

Just curious here... and frustrated as hell. I notice my DSR704 has USB ports. If I buy a TiVo wireless adapter, would I possibly be able to get to get past this whole issue? Since my understanding is that the number that is called is just a UUNET number to connect to the internet. This may not work however if it's a server issue on TiVo's part. However it seems like this is mostly a DirecTV issue (although I don't know how) - because I don't see anyone with a standalone complaining of the same issue.


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## ecurbswerdna

I installed a new hard drive in my HDVR2 but when I finally made the dreaded call to DT, they said I had go clear everything. Prior to that I just could not record or see recorded shows, but I could search for phone numbers in the guided setup, and it returned them OK. Now no phone numbers after the clear everything!
Question: are these numbers belonging to DirecTV or TiVo? I suspect if they are TiVo numbers, DT* has not restored the correct "800" number to retrieve the local numbers we need. Although I've heard that DT* is coming with a new TiVo box, it appears that the tech supports are not helping each other. Just a suspicion on my part. Hope someone gets a good answer!!


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## adamyork

Just another voice to add to the frustration. I replaced a failing drive in my Directv R10, deleted and cleared everything (I had no functioning backup so I had to use instantcake), and I'm currently stuck on "There are no local dial-in numbers for your area code."

Highly annoying.


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## moonchilddave

Has anyone contacted Weaknees or DVR Upgrade about this issue? Seems like if word about this gets out, they are going to lose a portion of their customer base. That would seem to give them incentive to figure out what's going on and possibly correct it or get in touch with someone at DirecTV who can.

As for the initial call, I'm not sure about how that works. I know that the DirecTivo units call home to TiVo AND DirecTV. The TiVo call is once a week I think, and the DirecTV call about once a month (to report PPV purchases).

I think all TiVo does is call a UUNET number (which should be on TiVo's side) to create an internet connection. I just tried getting phone numbers in a different area code on an older standalone (non DirecTV) TiVo and it got the numbers just fine. That leads me to believe this is not something that TiVo can fix - it's almost definitely a DirecTV issue.


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## weaknees

We're very well aware of the issue - see our responses above in this thread.

We've got our own thread about it here:

http://www.********.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4225

and we're encouraging people to leave their units connected to both phone and satellite. There have been several reported circumstances where the units have authorized themselves somehow in that configuration. We haven't had it happen in the office yet, but something does seem to be working for some users.


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## weaknees

Well - that didn't work! But the relevant info is in the post here.


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## ecurbswerdna

weaknees said:


> We're very well aware of the issue - see our responses above in this thread.
> 
> We've got our own thread about it here:
> 
> http://www.********.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4225
> __________________________________________________________
> 
> Sorry weaknees, but the link you gave didn't work for me. Then I assumed
> the asterisks should be replaced by your name (weaknees). That took me to a site map, but the link that I thought was relative just repeated the site map. I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or the link has been broken. (or my assumptions were wrong!)
> My unit still has not connected by itself - hoping! I'm going to be away from home for a few days, but I will check back here to see if anyone finds a solution.


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## Flexanimous

I tried to provide the word you need to replace the astericks with in order to see the other thread, but it blocked that as well. 

It's easy to find though..just go into Weaknees forums, open any thread, and change the last four digits in the URL to "4225".

Regardless, it's just another thread of people having the same issue.

Add me to the list of victims. Going on 9 days now. I'll keep you all posted if I see any changes.


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## ecurbswerdna

TDJ,DianD, What was the phone setup just prior to the autonomous calls that went through. I am assuming that you tried some of the suggestions in this thread, and wonder if something other that default settings were there. Was your area code set? Any clue to help the rest of us?
Thanks to all!


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## scott429

Still no local access numbers. 

Customer Service (after a couple of minutes of "let me check just one more thing") asked me for my Service Number (found under System Information) to forward to TiVo. She said that in 3-4 days my receiver should have another toll-free dial in number to use for setup and ongoing calls.
First time they've offered to contact TiVo for me, or asked for any info from the receiver. 

Does this sound like another ploy to keep me away from them for another few days?


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## Telzey

I just activated 2 machines that I got of ebay and have the same problem with no local dial-in numbers.

However, I used InstantCake to create clean hard drives, and it didn't require a "clean-and-delete-all". Both machines are actually working fine now that the new access cards have been enabled by DirecTV.

For some reason they're able to connect for their daily call even though the phone number is blank and the phone setup for my local area code can't find any numbers.

Don't know what's going on, but I guess that I got lucky.


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## Adam1115

Why are the weaknees forums banned here? Aren't they a sponsor?


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## scott429

I contacted Exec. Cust Care this morning. I can't post URLs, but you can find the form at the directv website. At the bottom of the home page go to Our Company, then use the link on the left side for Executive Team.

David called me this afternoon, and agreed with the CSR about sending my Service Number to TiVo.

I also asked him to check this forum to see what everyone's been reporting.


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## stat1995

moonchilddave said:


> Same boat as everyone else here... No numbers available no matter what area code I put in, including 800.
> 
> Does anyone know the number that the DirecTivo dials to get the local numbers? I had an issue on an old SA Series 1 TiVo with the modem partially bad... I ended up having to dial the number myself and then plug the phone line and TiVo would take it the rest of the way. The number it dialed to get the list of numbers was 877-877-1756.


What steps did you follow to get this to work?


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## ervilla41

Well I also have the same success story as TDJ my Tivo units both have not completed a successfull service connection call which now I can record programs on the units.

Suceess


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## Duffycoug

Has anyone tried getting the list of local numbers from the tivo website, picking a local number and putting the entire number in as the prefix...I did that when my box wouldn't make the initial call and it worked...not sure if it will help or not.


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## stat1995

ervilla41 said:


> Well I also have the same success story as TDJ my Tivo units both have not completed a successfull service connection call which now I can record programs on the units.
> 
> Suceess


How long did you have this problem before you realized it was working? Last night DTV told me they were going to send my service number to Tivo who would then send an 800 number to my box...at some point in the next 3-4 days. I miss my Tivo  When my old drive crashed I never dreamed I'd have so much trouble. I'd buy a Directivo in a heartbeat if they'd come out with it already!


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## juxivo

I found a script called setupcomplete.tcl on another dvr forum (Google it, i cant post the link). I ran it and it worked. After I rebooted it went right to now playing and all the tivo functions worked. It bypasses the setup call entirely.


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## bunsterlama

Telzey what is Instant cake and how do I go about using it to fix my Philips Series 2 DVR. It has been 11 days now and this is really getting old.


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## Telzey

bunsterlama said:


> Telzey what is Instant cake and how do I go about using it to fix my Philips Series 2 DVR.


It is the software from DVRUpgrade that you can use to create a clean new drive for your Tivo using pretty much any existing PATA drive that you have.

Please note that there are free methods of doing the same thing, but you'll have to do a lot more hunting around.

Unfortunately, he doubled the price at some point in the last couple of years, and it now costs $40 for InstantCake and another $20 for PTVnet.

I purchased both of these because I have 5 DirectTivos and it was worth the cost to me to get the easy InstantCake setup.

If you're only trying to fix a single machine, you might not find it worth the cost for you, and I'd suggest that you ask for help in the Tivo Underground section of this forum.

All-in-all, unless you enjoy mucking around in the innards of computers, you might find it easier to keep holding on for a bit longer for an official fix.


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## stat1995

Juxivo, how do you do that? I assume you have to have an internet connection. I'm not sure how I'd get software on this box and then run it...


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## DougF

Got this message back earlier when I asked for an update.



> Thank you for writing. I understand your concerns about not being able to make a daily call. I see that we have escalated this issue for you. Please be aware that you should receive access to toll-free number within 48-72 hours. Once you receive this number you will need to make a daily call within 3-4 days to receive access to toll-free number. If you have not received the number please let us know.


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## stat1995

Duffycoug said:


> Has anyone tried getting the list of local numbers from the tivo website, picking a local number and putting the entire number in as the prefix...I did that when my box wouldn't make the initial call and it worked...not sure if it will help or not.


I've tried. No success with that idea.


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## moonchilddave

I have tried using a local number as the prefix as well with no luck either. I'm still waiting for it to start working hopefully. I am guessing that I could be waiting up to a month for it to start working. I just have this feeling that the activation is happening when the TiVo somehow calls DirecTV to report PPV purchases.

I also sent a PM to TivoJerry on these forums (although not sure if he's still around) as he seemed to be able to get things going again when a similar problem happened a few years back.

For those who now having working units... What was your final phone setup that it was on when it started working?


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## DianaD

I entered ' 1 - area code - local number from the website '. It took a couple of days after that. I never order PPV so that can't be why mine started working.


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## moonchilddave

Does anyone know how to get it to run "fakecall" or "setupcomplete" with the drive in the PC? I downloaded the latest MFSLive CD and have it booted into that and am at a command prompt. Any ideas on how to get passed this bloody setup call?


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## forgetg

I also contacted Directv's office of the President, you can only email them, but they called within 8 hours...they in turn said that they will contact Tivo and have them send my unit a 800 number to dial..within 4 hours my unit and DVR service is up and running...I don't know if it was the 800 or it just made a call on its own..I would suggest a email to the office of the President..I did not put any prefix in ..it was all blank, for the link just put directv dot com in front of 
/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIFnorail.jsp?assetId=P4960016#h:594.391


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## moonchilddave

Ok, I just emailed exc customer support, and haven't gotten a call back yet, however one of my DSR704's has started working! Now, in order to prevent having to go through all this hassle again...

If I make a backup of the drive now that it is working - with the latest version of WinMFS - should I not be able to restore it (or a freshly baked InstantCake image) and not have to go through this again should I ever put a new drive in? Would that save me from having to go through this initial setup hell? 

Could I also possibly backup the working unit using WinMFS and restore to the other unit or would that cause issues because of the HD being married to the hardware?


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## whitepelican

moonchilddave said:


> If I make a backup of the drive now that it is working - with the latest version of WinMFS - should I not be able to restore it (or a freshly baked InstantCake image) and not have to go through this again should I ever put a new drive in? Would that save me from having to go through this initial setup hell?


Yes, making a backup at this point should work for future issues.



moonchilddave said:


> Could I also possibly backup the working unit using WinMFS and restore to the other unit or would that cause issues because of the HD being married to the hardware?


Won't work. You'd have to do a "Clear & Delete Everything" after restoring to the other unit, which would cause you to go back to Guided Setup.


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## Flexanimous

You know...I don't understand DirecTV.

If it's just a matter of them needing to push a different 1-800 number to the receivers for the initial call, can't they just go ahead and do that for all of their receivers and save their customers the frustration of having to complain? They must know it's not an isolated issue, judging by the number of complaints they have had about it.  Not very customer service-oriented.

Thanks for letting me get that out..lol.

Thank you for the information. I'll be emailing them now.


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## pkindell

My unit started working on its own after several days. I left all the dial in prefixs set to none. Nothing fancy, just the default dial in settings. I did call DTV and complain the first day I started having the problem. They also told me they would send an 800 number via messages.


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## JimboDunky

I have a Philips DSR6000. I went to the TiVo website and got the list of local dial-in numbers. Then, I entered my local number into the "set dial prefix" selection. In CT, you have to dial the area code for a local number, and 1+ the area code for a non-local number. So I entered "203XXXXXXX,". The comma is important because a 2 second pause will complete the call. Even though the tivo modem will attempt to dial the numbers after the prefix, it doesn't matter because the call will have already completed. You'll then be able to put this issue to rest.

This all happened after getting a replacement drive from weaknees. I was using the 800 dial in number but for a week now my guide data has not compiled further than 1 day. I'm hoping this does the trick. I forced 3 daily calls today after getting my local dial-in number situated but still seeing the black bar message at the bottom of my pick programs to record screen telling me it'll take 1-2 days to get guide data. A restart hasn't fixed the issue.

My DSR6000 is from 1999, and I saw a 3V CR2032 battery on the motherboard. Figured after 11 years it'd be dead so I replaced it when I dropped in the weaknees drive. I don't even know what it's used for.

Also modded my box. Cut a circle out of the lid and installed a CPU fan which had blue LEDs. Looks pretty funny.

-J


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## stat1995

Huzzah! My Tivo is working. On Wednesday night I asked them to send my service number to Tivo. This number was found in the system information. They told me they'd send an 800 number through messages and it would take 3-4 days. I came home tonight and it was working.


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## cataloger42

Took about 10 days but I, too, finally got the secret pass (without trying to contact Tivo or Directv). Just started working one morning. Still no call in numbers. As Weaknees suggested, just keep the phone line plugged in and hope for the best.


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## bunsterlama

Well mt tivo finally made the call last night about 12:30am, my DVR part works like it should, but no dial in numbers listed. So did it, I email the CEO/President of Directv last night and they called me today by noon and it's Sunday, they sent my service number to Tivo anyways so it would send a dial in number to my tivo box. He told me to call back in 72hrs if did not work. I suggest anyone who is still having a problem with their Tivo DVR should email the CEO/President/Advocate Team it worked well for me.


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## jonapt

Same story as everyone else, my HR10 Instant Cake 6.4a upgrade sends no tones when onscreen shows it as Dialing.

After wasting a couple of hours trying to figure out why my did not work, I called Support and asked the rep to re-activate the unit. The reps can activate via satellite, and within seconds, the unit was fully-functional.

Those of you still stuck with live TV paperweights might want to try re-activation.

DTVs dialed by TiVo respond and become functional, which proves the modems are fine, and it is easy to understand why DTV and TiVo are buffaloed.

- The TiVo itself does the dialing
- Software downloads are not transmitted via satellite
- An Instant Cake image cannot have been corrupted by a previous phone download

This has the look and feel of a latent bug, triggered perhaps by time elapsed from a specified starting day and time.


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## rpp

This is still not working for me. Has anyone had any success?


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## Keeptfaith

After two calls to DirecTV to get them to have TiVo to send an 800 number to my box, it made the call automatically.

Good thing! I was about to return my hard drive to Weakness at a considerable loss to me.

My DirecTV RCA DVR40 with a new hard drive now records! Wish Lists and Season Passes all working.

The phone setting were at the factory default of nothing in the dialing prefix or the call waiting prefix. Phone Detection off and Dial Tone connection On.

Note: I went into the phone settings to see what the local dial in number is and it is set to None. Not sure if the connection was made over the phone or the satellite.


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## scott429

My receiver made a successful Service Connection call, so I can record and set Season Passes.

It hasn't yet done a good Service Data Download but it hasn't tried since the Service Connection call.

There's still no phone number listed in the phone settings page, but Exec. Cust. Svc said it should be okay.


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## moonchilddave

Both of my DSR704's are back online and recording! However, I've noticed one odd thing... They are both running 6.4a-01-2-101 software. One has showcases and stars on the main menu - the other does not. Any ideas on why that is?


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## stevel

Wait a day or two and look again. Sometimes it takes a while for these to update.


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## kid14607

moonchilddave said:


> Same boat as everyone else here... No numbers available no matter what area code I put in, including 800.
> 
> Does anyone know the number that the DirecTivo dials to get the local numbers? I had an issue on an old SA Series 1 TiVo with the modem partially bad... I ended up having to dial the number myself and then plug the phone line and TiVo would take it the rest of the way. The number it dialed to get the list of numbers was 877-877-1756.


3.tivo.com/tivo-misc/popfinder.do 
I used this site and tried all my choices of call in numbers Didn't work for me but at lease I have the #'s Might work for you give it a try. I couldn't add the http or the: or the // or the www to the address because you have to have at least 5 post to add a link so you add it!


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## kid14607

ecurbswerdna said:


> I installed a new hard drive in my HDVR2 but when I finally made the dreaded call to DT, they said I had go clear everything. Prior to that I just could not record or see recorded shows, but I could search for phone numbers in the guided setup, and it returned them OK. Now no phone numbers after the clear everything!
> Question: are these numbers belonging to DirecTV or TiVo? I suspect if they are TiVo numbers, DT* has not restored the correct "800" number to retrieve the local numbers we need. Although I've heard that DT* is coming with a new TiVo box, it appears that the tech supports are not helping each other. Just a suspicion on my part. Hope someone gets a good answer!!


3.tivo.com/tivo-misc/popfinder.do 
I used this site and tried all my choices of call in numbers Didn't work for me but at lease I have the #'s Might work for you give it a try. I couldn't add the http or the: or the // or the www to the address because you have to have at least 5 post to add a link so you add it!


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## DougF

It only took a week, three phone calls and four emails, but mine is finally working as of this morning.


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## krkaufman

Am experiencing the "no local numbers" issue on 2 re-initialized HDVR2s. I've made 2 calls to DirecTV tech support (which were thoroughly unhelpful), and emailed the Office of the President around midnight Tuesday morning.

And now I wait. Fingers crossed.

edit: p.s. At least I *think* I emailed the OotP. I submitted the form, but didn't receive any "email received" acknowledgment in my mailbox. To those who've emailed the OotP, did you get a receipt confirmation for your message?

edit2: Received phone call from OotP Weds afternoon, saying they'd forwarded my info to Tivo and that Tivo would be sending my units 800 numbers within 72 hours. (Am now 24 hours into the 72 hour window w/ no change.)


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## krkaufman

As an alternative, would Zippering my HDVR2s workaround the "no local numbers" problem and get my DVR service working again?


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## weaknees

krkaufman said:


> As an alternative, would Zippering my HDVR2s workaround the "no local numbers" problem and get my DVR service working again?


I don't think so. I've tried various networking solutions and I still come up needing to activate. Best bet is to leave the units running, connected to SAT, and connected to a phone line.


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## adunha2

I was given information today that DirecTV has no intention on resolving the problem with DirecTV DVRs with TiVo not being able to access local telephone numbers to allow the DVRs to record. This is an intentional policy by DirecTV to force users to discontinue use of the DirecTV DVRs with TiVo.


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## litzdog911

adunha2 said:


> I was given information today that DirecTV has no intention on resolving the problem with DirecTV DVRs with TiVo not being able to access local telephone numbers to allow the DVRs to record. This is an intentional policy by DirecTV to force users to discontinue use of the DirecTV DVRs with TiVo.


Really??? "Information" from what source???

As reported by others here, it is possible to get this working.

Clearly it's a plot by DirecTV to force folks to abandon their Tivo


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## whitepelican

krkaufman said:


> As an alternative, would Zippering my HDVR2s workaround the "no local numbers" problem and get my DVR service working again?


I've recently loaded new images on a couple of DirecTivos, and then proceeded to hack the software (not Zipper, but manually hacked). I was able to get through the Guided Setup on both without even having a phone line connected and then after running fakecall.tcl was able to get to the Now Playing list. I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to do the same by running the Zipper script.

I guess it's possible that you still wouldn't be able to record, but I no longer have DirecTV service active, so I really couldn't say either way. Like I said, I was able to get to the Now Playing list and (had there actually been any) play the recordings.


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## kid14607

Question? : I formatted my Directv DVR with Tivos hard drive (deleted every thing) and now I cant record or bring up the program guide and the background is no longer green with the Tivo logo it is now blue with the Directv logo and under phone options the option to set dial in number is missing. Can you help? 

Answer! What you likely did was reset the box back to factory settings, which cleared all the software updates you did to it over the years!
.* 
What this means! When the DVR comes from the factory it is just a DVR. It doesnt become a Dcectv DVR with Tivo until the Installer comes to your house and makes the calls to Tivo and Tivo downloads the software to the DVR.

Question? Why is the background now blue with the Direct logo?

Answer! 
. .* The reason that you now have a blue screen is that your receiver was upgraded to the latest software.* This does not change the way that the DVR works.* You will still be able to use the TIVO features that you used to use.* This updated software also add a number of new features that you did not have before.* Some of those new features are.
**
.**Online Scheduling / Remote Booking:
*** - Allows you to schedule recordings remotely via DIRECTV.com, tivo.com, and other Web sites.*

*** Recently Deleted Folder:
*** - Allows you to recover deleted recordings if disk space is available.*
*** - Feature is not intended for long-term storage of recordings.*

*** Overlap Protection:
*** - When tuner conflicts occur, receiver will be able to record two shows back-to-back by clipping (not recording) from end of first show or beginning of second show, based on priority set in Season Pass Manager.*
*** - Overlap Protection allows both programs to record, instead of canceling lower priority recording.*
*** - Clipped shows will be noted with an asterisk in To Do List.*
*** - Users can turn off Overlap Protection, if desired.
*
Sorry but I still dont have an answer to where the (set dial number option is.) Im working on it! I received a phone call today from Directv and he is going to forward the question to the Directv engineers ( the people who design the software) it will take a couple of weeks to get an answer! I should have an alternate solution tomorrow. Kid14607


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## stevel

I don't know where you got this information, but the first Q+A is completely bogus.

The way your TiVo works for phone numbers is to rerun Guided Setup. What it does is call an 800-number to get the list of numbers - but this is not working for many.


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## jonapt

Although my HR10 is now fully functional, it still has the problem of "no local numbers" and the first 'have not called' screen has appeared. 

That's a small price to pay for being able to set Season Passes and record since the CSR re-activated my HR10. I believe he did a de-activate then an activate, not a re-activate. 

Was I just very lucky or have those of you still having problems tried this approach and failed?


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## krkaufman

adunha2 said:


> I was given information today that DirecTV has no intention on resolving the problem with DirecTV DVRs with TiVo not being able to access local telephone numbers to allow the DVRs to record. This is an intentional policy by DirecTV to force users to discontinue use of the DirecTV DVRs with TiVo.


My tech supporter expressed a similar view, but backed off when I asked him if he was speaking authoritatively or officially for DirecTV. My guy further expressed that the problem was a symptom of a deteriorating relationship between DirecTV and TiVo, with another symptom being the lack of delivery of the DirecTV/TiVo HD product. Impossible to tell how much was hot-air and how much was unauthorized frankness.

edit: p.s. Steve, the fellow from the Customer Advocacy(?) dept (responding to the OotP email), said that contacting them was the proper channel for getting the problem addressed. The mystery to me is why the tech support people haven't uniformly been made aware of this.


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## weaknees

We just received a message from TiVo letting us know that the problem has been solved!

You should now be able to dial in your DIRECTV TiVo and get a list of local numbers.

(We also tested a box here and confirmed that things are working!)

Thanks to TiVo and DIRECTV!


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## kid14607

trvlntom said:


> I just joined the forum.
> Same story as everyone else.
> 
> Accept. DirectTV is sending me a new DVR at no charge.


This is only for people who own there directv dvr with tivo. Go to http: then add//invester.directv/officers.com Go down to the bottom of the list and click ellen filipak State your case on how directv should not have downloaded new software to your dvr because you own it and that they did not ask you first. Be firm that you will not settle for one of theres. and that you want it turned back to a directv with tivo dvr. It works I got mine back... I wrote it this way because I can't add a link untill I have5 post


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## poolgeezer

To those still having the dreaded "no local numbers" problem: email the president of Directv. They called me within 24 hours and told me to try using ,034# as a dial out prefix. It worked! DVR is now fully functional.


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## poolgeezer

I made a typo in my last post. The correct dial in prefix should be ,#034 NOT ,034#


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## stevel

That prefix slows down the modem to 33.8kb - I'm not sure why it is being suggested for this issue.


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## ecurbswerdna

This is just to let the forum know that my problem also has been fixed. I was away until Wednesday (Sept 1) and when I checked, my system had made a call on its own and recording was now working.

After seeing the message :


weaknees said:


> We just received a message from TiVo letting us know that the problem has been solved!
> 
> You should now be able to dial in your DIRECTV TiVo and get a list of local numbers.
> 
> (We also tested a box here and confirmed that things are working!)
> 
> Thanks to TiVo and DIRECTV!


I was able to get a local number. Now everything appears to be function as before.
Thanks for all the input and the effort that several have made, which probably got DirecTV to find a solution. (I suspect it was THEIR upgrade which lost the correct number!)


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## stevel

This was a TiVo problem. Those dialin numbers are TiVos. Most likely the 800 number that the DTiVos used either no longer worked or did not respond properly.


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## Dansch18

I was able to complete my setup and get the local numbers. Thanks to everyone that contributed to this discussion.


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## weaknees

ecurbswerdna said:


> Thanks for all the input and the effort that several have made, which probably got DirecTV to find a solution. (I suspect it was THEIR upgrade which lost the correct number!)


Actually (and interestingly for all of the conspiracy theorists out there), the problem (and the solution) came from TiVo, rather than DIRECTV. From the outset, DIRECTV engineers indicated to us that the problem was on TiVo's side, and it unfortunately took longer than we had hoped to get resolve the problem.


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## stevel

That's what I figured, since those dial-in lines are operated by TiVo and there has not been any software updates for DTiVos in quite a while now.


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## krkaufman

stevel said:


> That prefix slows down the modem to 33.8kb - I'm not sure why it is being suggested for this issue.


Given the timing of the post, I suspect the reason this change worked had more to do with weaknees' earlier post that TiVo had fixed the root problem.

edit: p.s. And agreed, the modem speed tweak would be more for a unit not able to successfully connect, as opposed to the symptoms cited here... successful connections but to an apparently empty local numbers listing.


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## krkaufman

whitepelican said:


> I've recently loaded new images on a couple of DirecTivos, and then proceeded to hack the software (not Zipper, but manually hacked). I was able to get through the Guided Setup on both without even having a phone line connected and then after running fakecall.tcl was able to get to the Now Playing list.


Yes, this worked for me, as well, with the caveat that I had opted to reset the hard drives to 6.2a software, first. Post-Zipper/tweak.sh, I ran fakecall.tcl and, as you indicate, I was able to begin using the DVR services, including recording (as my 3 units *are* still under active subscription).


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## poolgeezer

I am having a problem of pixilation or "even searching for signal Sat. 2 in". It is not the cable or anything outside the receiver. I know this because swapping satellite inputs at the unit still results in the same outcome. Does anyone have any ideas?


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## weaknees

poolgeezer said:


> I am having a problem of pixilation or "even searching for signal Sat. 2 in". It is not the cable or anything outside the receiver. I know this because swapping satellite inputs at the unit still results in the same outcome. Does anyone have any ideas?


That's likely a bad tuner.

We can fix it:

http://www.weaknees.com/directv-tivo-satellite-tuner-repair.php


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## whitepelican

poolgeezer said:


> I am having a problem of pixilation or "even searching for signal Sat. 2 in". It is not the cable or anything outside the receiver. I know this because swapping satellite inputs at the unit still results in the same outcome. Does anyone have any ideas?


http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6521453#post6521453


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## rcrocker

I was able to resolve it, it appears that if you do a clear and delete WITHOUT a local number on the drive, you just boxed yourself in with this problem. You would have this situation if you copied a drive image taken immediately after a clear and delete, without having a local number. Then, if you put this on another TIVO, and do a clear and delete (again), you've just done two clear and deletes in a row, with no active local phone number. The solution I used, obtain a local number by initiating the 1-800 call, BEFORE you do the clear and delete the second time, seems to work, even when the source image had no local number. Clear and delete the second time will clear the local number you just added, but by getting a local number first, the 1-800 call will now go through okay after the second clear and delete is performed.
Of course, best is to use a drive image of a hard drive that has an active local number to begin with, then when you clear and delete, the 1-800 call in number will work correctly.


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## satpro

Or you could just enter a known access number as a dialing prefix and then after it updates remove dialing prefix and select corresponding number from list instead.


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## sbuck143

This problem is back.

I am trying to get DVR capability on a newly obtained HR10-250 and it wont get past the "First Call Setup" part.

I tried putting in the known local dial in number as the dialing prefix. When I do this it makes a successful "test connection" in that part of the settings menu, but as a part of the "final steps to activate service" where you put in your area code...no bueno.

It still tells me there that my area code has no known local dial in numbers, which I know isn't true because my 2 other directv TiVo's connect to them just fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


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## zorro255

Ditto on the problem being back. Upgraded to new bigger harddrive. Thought this was going to be any easy upgrade. Then tried to do a call in. 

"Try Another Area Code." 
"The (###) area code has no dial-in numbers." 

I don't want to call DTvo until absolutly nessisary.

Any other suggestions I tried the early prefexies.


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## weaknees

TiVo is aware of the problem; we told them about it weeks ago. I can only presume/hope that they are working with DIRECTV. We have given them multiple TSNs of customers with this issue. We have had a couple of customers claim they could get around the issue by modifying the dialing prefix with ,#034,,XXXXXXXXX (replacing the Xs with a known working number from the popfinder, see below), and then forcing a test call ("Test Connection").

New Pop Finder link:

https://www.tivo.com/email-sub/popfinder.do


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## zorro255

,#034,,XXXXXXXXX tried it with the new link. Still didn't work. I am on the "Final Setup Setps". And I see the "Test Connection" on the bottom of the screen. Still nothing.

I also tried it with ,#034,,1XXXXXXXXXX and ,#034,,XXXXXXXXXX failed and ,#034,,1XXXXXXXXXX,

I had a call in success with the 1 in the prefrex but still the same no numbers error. 

I also called Dtv. She didn't know anything about this issue. She also never seen my tivo before.


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## sbuck143

zorro255 said:


> ,#034,,XXXXXXXXX tried it with the new link. Still didn't work. I am on the "Final Setup Setps". And I see the "Test Connection" on the bottom of the screen. Still nothing.
> 
> I also tried it with ,#034,,1XXXXXXXXXX and ,#034,,XXXXXXXXXX failed and ,#034,,1XXXXXXXXXX,
> 
> I had a call in success with the 1 in the prefrex but still the same no numbers error.
> 
> I also called Dtv. She didn't know anything about this issue. She also never seen my tivo before.


yeah it seems as DirecTV gets deeper and deeper in the Genie Whole Home DirecTV Plus paradigm, I really think they don't provide any training or support to their CSR's with their TIVO boxes.

I called TiVO and they punted entirely saying it is a DirecTV issue, call DirecTV and the CSR's act like they have never heard of TiVo before.


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## Marrelli

I don't have the problem of getting numbers. My system gave me a message that it has failed to call in, in two weeks. I connected a phone to the same jack and it works OK. I've tried switching to other local numbers also. I can get thru the Phone test successfully. But, it seems to timeout on "Accessing Acct Info" on "Connect to DVR Service". I also tried puting ,#034,, in the prefix.

So, unless this is a Directv or Tivo glitch, my unit might be damaged as far as making calls now.

My understanding is, that I can just disconnect the phone line and I will be pestered with these messages from time to time. But no other problems. Is this correct?


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## timkelco

So is this still a problem? 

I have been trying for a month to get dial in numbers. We installed a new drive in or R10 and get all the way to the Connecting part and get "Call interrupted" I get Negotiating...Configuring, Downloading then Failed, Call interrupted. We try 5 or more times a day we leave the phone line hooked up and it is always the same thing. Call waiting is off, not like we get any calls on that line it is a DSL phone line we never use for calls(but it does work) 

When I test the Phone Connection it all works "Test Succeeded"


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## unitron

weaknees said:


> That's likely a bad tuner.
> 
> We can fix it:
> 
> http://www.weaknees.com/directv-tivo-satellite-tuner-repair.php


Does that mean that you can actually fix bad tuners or that you figured he had a good tuner that wasn't working because of a bad cap right underneath the heat sink overhang on the power supply?

Because I've got a lifetimed S3 HD with an actual problem with one of the cable tuners.


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## timkelco

OK, so the "Call Interrupted" is not on my end. Just had a chat with Weaknees and it is a Tivo problem. It is all related to this topic cause in the beginning it was "No Local Numbers" now that is fixed. Now they are working on the "Failed Call Interrupted" problem. I just have to try it everyday till they fix it.


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