# TCP Port 37?



## davetroup (Aug 15, 2004)

I have a Roamio OTA and a Tivo Mini which have been successfully connected (via MoCa) to each other and to my home network for more than a year. Everything was working fine until recently.

Now I'm unable to use the TiVo (iOS) app to do anything. When I launch the app it is unable to connect to my TiVo box. However, the TiVo can connect to the TiVo service (through the network) without difficulty If I try to schedule a program or anything else using the app, it fails. (This used to work flawlessly.)

Network diagnostics fails the TCP test and reports that I need to open TCP Port 37. So I set up a port forward to open Port 37, reboot everything, but nothing changes. I believe that TCP Port 37 is open and assigned to the Roamio box but the error remains.

Since this was all working previously, it makes me think that something has changed on the Tivo end of things. Anybody else having this problem?


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

I would start with a reboot of all your Tivos, including the router/gateway before trying to find the issue.


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## davetroup (Aug 15, 2004)

I've rebooted everything more times than I can count! But I'll do it again.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

davetroup said:


> Network diagnostics fails the TCP test and reports that I need to open TCP Port 37. So I set up a port forward to open Port 37, reboot everything, but nothing changes. I believe that TCP Port 37 is open and assigned to the Roamio box but the error remains.
> Since this was all working previously, it makes me think that something has changed on the Tivo end of things. Anybody else having this problem?


How's your clock?
Solved: Different between port 123 (ntp) and 37 (timeserve... - Hewlett Packard Enterprise Community

You are the only person with this problem.


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## davetroup (Aug 15, 2004)

Interesting. Port 37 is an obsolete time-setting service? The TiVo shows the correct date and time. 

I tried and bunch of things and suddenly the app started working again. I don't know why. Tivo still shows the Port 37 problem, so obviously that was a red herring and doesn't seem to have any meaningful effect. Anyway, all is well for now. Thanks for the help.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

davetroup said:


> Interesting. Port 37 is an obsolete time-setting service? The TiVo shows the correct date and time.
> 
> I tried and bunch of things and suddenly the app started working again. I don't know why. Tivo still shows the Port 37 problem, so obviously that was a red herring and doesn't seem to have any meaningful effect. Anyway, all is well for now. Thanks for the help.


I'm glad everything is working. I hesitate to ever say "nothing changed" since my ISP and router are always getting or doing updates. I know my ISP is changing everything to add IPv6 right now. Who knows what bugs they will miss.

There's also a small chance the error is wrong and the Roamio has a problem but can't tell you. But it may go away on its own.


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## ChurchillWS (Jan 25, 2017)

I seem to be having a similar issue except with the Android app and noticed my Bolt was displaying the same issue. Have not been able to get into my Verizon router to change the port 37 settings yet. Can't find the admin credentials for it...Manual for it has not been a help as it identifies credentials as admin and password, which don't seem to work.

I recently switched from a defective Bolt to a refurbished sent by Tivo. New box seems to be working fine except the Port 37 error and I am not able to view my recordings or a list of shows outside my home network.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

ChurchillWS said:


> I seem to be having a similar issue except with the Android app and noticed my Bolt was displaying the same issue. Have not been able to get into my Verizon router to change the port 37 settings yet. Can't find the admin credentials for it...Manual for it has not been a help as it identifies credentials as admin and password, which don't seem to work.
> I recently switched from a defective Bolt to a refurbished sent by Tivo. New box seems to be working fine except the Port 37 error and I am not able to view my recordings or a list of shows outside my home network.


I feel for you. I think you can probably ignore the port 37 error. The streaming problem could be like my Search failures. I think you might want to read this thread: tivo fails on TCP port 37 since several aspects of this problem have been discussed. One item should stand out: I had three Mini units off line for a week. I enabled them and there was no port 37 error. Then I connected them, one at a time, and each then had the error after a forced connection. The relationship to TiVo Online is interesting also. But, good luck in whatever you decide.


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## ChurchillWS (Jan 25, 2017)

Not working yet, but instead of this app is having trouble connecting, and not even showing my recordings, I am getting Error Code:E=47 V=-1 and it does show all of my recordings as well as tries to start playing the recording. The only thing that changed is that I canceled the service on an extra box that I had. I only had the extra service because I needed to transfer some old recordings from my old box to the new refurb Tivo sent me under warranty.


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## ajwees41 (May 7, 2006)

what is the use for port 37 being open or closed on Tivo I have noticed since the Port 37 error has shown up for me Cox on demand via the Tivo has been working almost all the time not many network outages


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## Diana Collins (Aug 21, 2002)

Port 37 (TCP or UDP) is reserved for the Time Protocol - an outdated way to provide time synchronization across a network. It was superseded by NTP. Time Protocol support is generally included in the network layer (inetd) in most Unix and Linux distros. It is usually disabled and the system clock synchronization is handled by NTP.


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## jamesteixeira (Nov 22, 2014)

I'm getting the "must open TCP port 37" on all 3 of my mini's. They will play live tv but will not show the recordings on one or more of my roamio dvrs. On the dvrs that it does show the recordings, I get a SD screen that has a bigger font and does not show folders. I have Spectrum Arris MTA gateway. I cannot port forward port 37 to more than one IP address. How do I open the port?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Good luck. My TiVo and Mini boxes have reported a Port 37 TCP error for months. Strange that TiVo's support forums have never had a thread on Port 37.


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## jamesteixeira (Nov 22, 2014)

Strangely, one of the 3 tivo mini's started working last night. We'll see what happens tonight.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

jamesteixeira said:


> Strangely, one of the 3 tivo mini's started working last night. We'll see what happens tonight.


TiVo support: "There's no problem since only you have reported it." Seriously, I'm the only one who has reported it.


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## mlcarson (Dec 31, 2007)

Same TCP port 37 problem on network diagnostics here.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mlcarson said:


> Same TCP port 37 problem on network diagnostics here.


How long has it been bad?


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## mlcarson (Dec 31, 2007)

I'm not sure. This is on my parent's Tivo Roamio and I just arrived and noticed it today. It won't connect to the Tivo mothership for guide data so I suspect that it's fairly recent since I have guide listings until 1/4. My router was a TP-Link WR542G v7 with the latest firmware. I just replaced that router with an Edgerouter Lite and had the same issue so think that the router can be ruled out as a root cause since these two devices have nothing in common.

Switched back to the original router and did an NMAP connection on TCP/37 from my PC to time-d-g.nist.gov (129.6.15.27) and NMAP shows the port open and Wireshark shows a TCP connection being established so the router isn't preventing internal to external TCP/37 communications. An nmap TCP/37 scan of the Tivo Roamio itself shows that the port is filtered for incoming TCP/37 which isn't surprising.

I rebooted the Tivo Roamio but the issue persists. The software version is 20.7.4.RC18-840-6-840. Anybody else having the same network problem? Any suggestions?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mlcarson said:


> I rebooted the Tivo Roamio but the issue persists. The software version is 20.7.4.RC18-840-6-840. Anybody else having the same network problem? Any suggestions?


Suggestion: ignore it like I did for six months. Then it went away. I'm speculating that you discovered the port error because you were looking for a reason the service connections failed. Only thing I have seen posted on failing service connections that seems to help is multiple (3x 4x) retries in rapid succession. But that is not a 100% fix.

Just thinking. In the past, TiVo CS would tell callers to do two connections in a row. Maybe the failure of a service connection causes something to change within the TiVo (or at TiVo) that makes subsequent connections act differently? Just a guess.


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## Miles Lott (Dec 25, 2017)

My Bolt started doing the same. On Friday I started seeing issues with connecting which referenced port 37 and error C117 (?). Today, after much local troubleshooting, I called Tivo. There is a case they are working on regarding this issue. I am currently stuck in guided setup and get either error N17 or N18. As soon as I mentioned the port 37 error, they told me about this other case. So, you're not alone. I am on Xfinity in Texas, fwiw.


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## longslim_52 (Oct 31, 2014)

I'm having the seem issue, Tivo SR had me reboot twice no joy. I have had the box three years with no issue before like this. I wonder is it hardware based, because I get internet and phone bundle and they work fine. Plus I can watch youtube or Netflix but can't connect to TIVO central.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

longslim_52 said:


> I'm having the seem issue, Tivo SR had me reboot twice no joy. I have had the box three years with no issue before like this. I wonder is it hardware based, because I get internet and phone bundle and they work fine. Plus I can watch youtube or Netflix but can't connect to TIVO central.


Your service connection failure is not related to the port 37 failure.

See -> Connection Failing 12/23/17


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

The TCP port 37 not open error is a big giant non issue that affects absolutely nothing.


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## kdmorse (Jan 29, 2001)

JoeKustra said:


> Your service connection failure is not related to the port 37 failure.
> See -> Connection Failing 12/23/17


Actually, it's not 100% unrelated, although it's not the cause of any problems.

Tivo services get fronted through two servers let us call them H1, and H2. But first, a server, SLS, sends you to one or the other.

Between Friday and Tuesday, H2 was kinda sick. If you got directed to H2, you could not make a daily call. If you got directed to H1, you could. If you were being sent to H2, failing, but tricked it into connecting to H1, you could come back to life.

Port 37 was in no way involved in the above outage.

But..... Port 37 failures *also* are dependent on which server you are balanced to. H1 is fine, port 37 is open and answers. H2, nope, port 37 isn't open.

The same people who have had persistent Port 37 failures overt the last few months (because they're balanced to H2), would be the same people that couldn't call in for four days.

So, there is a relationship. It just caused the illusion that port 37 was involved, because the errors happened together to some people, or not at all for others.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

kdmorse said:


> Actually, it's not 100% unrelated, although it's not the cause of any problems.
> Tivo services get fronted through two servers let us call them H1, and H2. But first, a server, SLS, sends you to one or the other.
> Between Friday and Tuesday, H2 was kinda sick. If you got directed to H2, you could not make a daily call. If you got directed to H1, you could. If you were being sent to H2, failing, but tricked it into connecting to H1, you could come back to life.
> Port 37 was in no way involved in the above outage.
> ...


Ok, I stand corrected. I had that error on a Premiere, two Roamio and three Mini boxes from April until November 1. During that time my TiVo boxes had nothing that other users didn't have. With the latest service issue, I also had a few failures near the end. A second or third connection would succeed. Your explanation was great insight to the problem. It also made sense on the "make two connections" CS script. I have trapped all web sites on my router in the past but never saw those you documented. I've scrolled through the System Logs and all that shows up a lot is BILLBOARD errors. Maybe because they're all caps? I guess since things are running again we can go back to complaining about guide quality. Thanks for your help.

Now, how about a reference manual for those logs?


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## sfhub (Jan 6, 2007)

kdmorse said:


> But..... Port 37 failures *also* are dependent on which server you are balanced to. H1 is fine, port 37 is open and answers. H2, nope, port 37 isn't open.


Is it that Port 37 isn't open or that port 37 is open but after a connection is established nobody is responding? I've found in the past the TiVo deals with the first type of problem more gracefully than the second type of problem. For the second type of problem TiVo often gives confusing messages that lead you on a wild goose chase, like thinking your firewall is blocking something.


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## William Gafford (Feb 3, 2018)

I'm having the issue now - the mini was working OK for a few weeks, not getting the error on my DVR and mini that port 37 must be open. I tried port forwarding to 37 with no success in eliminating the message.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

William Gafford said:


> I'm having the issue now - the mini was working OK for a few weeks, not getting the error on my DVR and mini that port 37 must be open. I tried port forwarding to 37 with no success in eliminating the message.


Are you having any other problems? Post 24 gives a good explanation of the error.


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## Dan Vogt (Feb 4, 2018)

I had this error. "Open port 37 or 123" is BS. Your router has the wrong time and date. Log into your router and make sure the time and date is accurate. It won't be. Use the "Get GMT" button and it will set it correctly. Once set correctly, reboot the router and make sure you get the right time and date back post reboot. Then, reset your TiVO. That's it. I struggled with this until I read TCP port 123 was time related. Bingo. Your TiVO should now be able to update successfully.


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## JEJ (Jan 23, 2005)

I just now found this thread because my Bolt is displaying that it cannot connect to the TiVo Service. When I run the diagnostic check, that completes with out error.

I checked my firewall after seeing the TCP/37 message on the Bolt. The firewall is allowing these connections as it always has, but the session is being terminated by a TCP/RST sent back from the server.

@kdmorse - I like your explanation. It makes sense.

The firewall logs show that all TCP/37 connections are being terminated by the server immediately.
These connections are to pdk.vip.tp1.tivo.com (which I am resolving to 208.73.183.229)

Other connections to 208.73.183.229 are working, but there are also incomplete TCP handshakes for TCP ports 80, 8080 and 5337

I have a Premium XL2 and XL4 that do not have these issues. I've rebooted the Bolt and I have checked the clock on my firewall, which always has been fine.

The problem, for me, is unique to the Bolt


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

JEJ said:


> I just now found this thread because my Bolt is displaying that it cannot connect to the TiVo Service. When I run the diagnostic check, that completes with out error.
> I checked my firewall after seeing the TCP/37 message on the Bolt. The firewall is allowing these connections as it always has, but the session is being terminated by a TCP/RST sent back from the server.
> @kdmorse - I like your explanation. It makes sense.
> The firewall logs show that all TCP/37 connections are being terminated by the server immediately.
> ...


That is truly unique. Have you tried a wireless connection? Just guessing since you seem to have done everything right. Ports 80, 8080 and 537 are really needed.


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## just4tivo (Dec 9, 2015)

While we weren't watching this TCP port error seems to have been resolved and the TCP port test now results SUCCEEDED... at least on my two Roamio OTA boxes.


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## SteveD (Oct 22, 2002)

I noticed the same thing a couple of days ago. They must have finally opened up the port on both servers.


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