# Moving cable card from Premiere to Roamio



## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

The faq says this:



> Can I use my old CableCARD in my new TiVo DVR?
> 
> You may use a CableCARD from an earlier generation TiVo box, but it must be a Multi-stream CableCARD (M-Card). Single-stream cards are not supported by TiVo Roamio boxes. Simply move the Multi-stream CableCARD from your old TiVo box to your new TiVo box and follow the instructions on the installation menus that automatically appear on your TV screen.


Is it really that easy? or will I have to get the cable company involved to un-pair the card from the old Premiere and re-pair it with the new Roamio? I'm a comcast subscriber.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

You have to call and un-pair/re-pair.


----------



## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

Any comcast users have reports on how easy it is to do this? Do the phone reps know what you're talking about?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I think I remember seeing a post from someone with a direct line to contact the Comcast CableCARD experts. It was in this forum somewhere. Try searching around.


----------



## tdeegan (Oct 1, 2003)

smbaker said:


> The faq says this:
> 
> Is it really that easy? or will I have to get the cable company involved to un-pair the card from the old Premiere and re-pair it with the new Roamio? I'm a comcast subscriber.


It's that easy. I'm a Comcast subscriber. I pulled the cable card from my XL4 and plugged it into my Roamio Pro. Called into Tivo's CableCard dept and conference called with a Comcast tech. All of my tuners were working within 10 minutes or so.


----------



## Irishb (Dec 11, 2013)

I moved my cablecard from a premiere to a roamio with no problem. I spent 5 minutes on the phone while the Comcast CSR paired the card and Tivo. No problems. Painless.


----------



## JSY (Nov 6, 2002)

I'm actually going to do this soon as my Roamio arrives tomorrow. I have been trying to find if there is a special number I can call for Time Warner (NYC) cable card service but my search in these forums have been unsuccessful so far. Does anyone know if one exists? Would love to avoid talking to people who have no clue as to what I'm trying to do.


----------



## 59er (Mar 27, 2008)

For TWC, try (866) 532-2598.


----------



## CrispyCritter (Feb 28, 2001)

TiVo has a pretty complete list of national cablecard numbers at http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2747


----------



## Elgato54 (Sep 21, 2010)

When I moved mine the Cox Cablecard support number was displayed on the init screen.


----------



## joy_division (Nov 22, 2007)

I am not a Comcast subscriber, so this does not help you, but maybe it will help someone who has Fios if they are looking here.

I pulled the cablecard out of my Tivo HD and put it in my Roamio. Booted it up and it went to the cablecard screen. I picked "test channels" and it worked right off the bat. No calls to Verizon.

I have only Showtime as premium channels, so that may also be a factor.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

On FIOS the only channels that are protected are HBO and Cinemax. If you ever get those channels you will have to call and have it paired before they will work.


----------



## JSY (Nov 6, 2002)

Thanks for the useful info above on which numbers to call! I received my Roamio Pro today but a bit tired and besides it's too late to set up. Will try it tomorrow!


----------



## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

JSY said:


> Thanks for the useful info above on which numbers to call! I received my Roamio Pro today but a bit tired and besides it's too late to set up. Will try it tomorrow!


That's it, you're not worthy.......send it back!


----------



## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

smbaker said:


> Any comcast users have reports on how easy it is to do this? Do the phone reps know what you're talking about?


Very easy for me when I moved a card from an HD to an Elite, just call the CC number and give them the info for the new box. Should be done by the time you get off the call, don't believe the 'can take up to 45 mins.' line they give you. If it's not fully paired within 5-10 minutes (i.e. all premiums, Encores etc. work) they didn't do it right.


----------



## dreite (Nov 23, 2013)

I moved my Comcast cablecard last night from Premiere to Roamio. I was lucky enough to get a gal who's English was good enough I could understand and I could actually hear her tapping the keys on her computer. She said "I'll send it now" and the box was working within two seconds.


----------



## JSY (Nov 6, 2002)

Okay, my experience today:

Called the TWC support numbers above and had to wait for an hour on hold.. Arrrgh, but once connected, the person knew exactly what to do and it was done in about 5 minutes. More time was spent waiting for the Roamio to check CP Auth I think. It went amazingly well. 

HOWEVER, I still don't have my TiVo account switched over! I called them first and they were having system problems and it's been escalated. They are supposed to call me in a few hours.. :-/ I'm about to leave my home so if they do call, I'll miss it.

I fooled around with it and I have to admit the 6 tuners is a bit cool. I like switching between the tuners and then able to skip back on the channel that I was not watching.

Hopefully TiVo can switch my service plan soon because that message to activate is annoying!

Thanks!


----------



## AAinCal (Dec 21, 2013)

I had a great experience with the TWC number listed above while switching a CableCard from a Premiere to a Roamio. I was on hold for less than five minutes and on the phone for another few minutes for the pairing process. The timing of my call may have helped with the wait time. I'm on the West coast, the CableCard team is out East, and I called around 5 pm here or 8 pm there.

I called a second time a few hours later when only 2 of the 6 tuners on my Roamio seemed to be working and got equally competent help. I thought maybe my CableCard didn't support 6 streams, but the tech support guy checked on the make and firmware version I had and convinced me that it should. It turned out he was right and my tuning adapter just needed rebooting.

The whole process was MUCH smoother than four years ago when I first got my Premiere. Back then, they insisted on a service call, and it took three trips out over more than a week before I got a technician who knew what he was doing.


----------



## KTOA (Nov 25, 2006)

A week ago I transferred a CC from a Premiere to a Roamio. I always call TiVo and have them conf call TWC. 

It was painless, virtually no wait for TWC to answer the phone, and complete in about 10 minutes. I like having TiVo on the phone to answer any tech questions.


----------



## Bluesfan77 (Nov 17, 2006)

KTOA said:


> A week ago I transferred a CC from a Premiere to a Roamio. I always call TiVo and have them conf call TWC.
> 
> It was painless, virtually no wait for TWC to answer the phone, and complete in about 10 minutes. I like having TiVo on the phone to answer any tech questions.


I did the same when I moved from my HD to Roamio Plus on Charter. It was nice to have both CSRs on the line.


----------



## The TiVo Dude (Jun 9, 2004)

Comcast here.

Moved the card and did a refresh via their automated line - all good.


----------



## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

The TiVo Dude said:


> Moved the card and did a refresh via their automated line - all good.


Automated line? Where did you get that number? Is it on the page that CrispyCritter linked?


----------



## mpf541 (Nov 25, 2009)

smbaker said:


> Any comcast users have reports on how easy it is to do this? Do the phone reps know what you're talking about?


I have done this in the Chicago area 2 times. When the Roamio first came out it took a couple calls to Comcast. One with the tivo rep on the call to tell Comcast what to do.

I did it again last week and the tech from Comcast knew exactly what to do and got it done right away. But I called the cable card # I found by searching this forum. It just takes some that know they have to unpair it from the old box and then pair to new box.


----------



## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

Well, I just finished talking to them:

1) I tried the website: "We are unable to communicate with our system"

2) I tried the automated line: "We are unable to find an account associated with your phone number"

3) I tried the voice line, where I talked to a very nice lady who I could barely understand. Gave her the last four letters of the cablecard S/N, was on hold for about 2 minutes, and it's supposed to be all done.

I still can't tune HBO, but I think she said something about it 'taking a while'.


----------



## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

Two questions:

1) Is there a way to tell from a diagnostic screen whether or not the card is properly paired with the new box? 

2) Assuming the lady on the phone did what she was supposed to do (un-pair and re-pair), how long should it take for my premium channels to start working again?


----------



## Tom Pich (Jan 29, 2013)

smbaker said:


> Two questions:
> 
> 1) Is there a way to tell from a diagnostic screen whether or not the card is properly paired with the new box?
> 
> 2) Assuming the lady on the phone did what she was supposed to do (un-pair and re-pair), how long should it take for my premium channels to start working again?


1. Navigate to the Cable Card menu. (Tivo Central > Settings and Messages > Account and System Info > CableCard Decoder > CableCard Options > CableCard menu) Select "Conditional Access". "Val" should read "V" if the card is paired correctly. "?" will appear if it not. BTW: The "Con" value signifies whether the card is activated or not. (Yes or No) This is how to get there on the Premiere. I'm assuming it is the same on the Roamio.

2. In my experience not more than 40 minutes.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

smbaker said:


> I still can't tune HBO, but I think she said something about it 'taking a while'.


When it works it works almost immediately. I've got the "it can take a while" excuse a few times and every time it ended up not working and I had to call back.

These guys can really be idiots when it comes to CableCARDs. When I installed my Sister's 2 HD units they had to send a tech both times to get the cards working. The first one made a call and got it working in like 30 seconds. The second one was on the phone with some other idiot for like an hour then suddenly something they did made it work and neither of them really knew what. It was just magic.

Luckily when I moved the cards from my Premiere to my Roamio, and then later moved my wife's Premiere to an XL4, both times it was real easy. I was dreading it both times.


----------



## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> When it works it works almost immediately. I've got the "it can take a while" excuse a few times and every time it ended up not working and I had to call back.


This wasn't my experience with Comcast. I was missing some channels after the card was paired to the Roamio. HBO eventually came on in a few hours. Channels like FOX News were missing for a day or two. I didn't really notice when they came back but it definitely didn't happen immediately. YMMV of course.


----------



## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

Agree with Dan here, on Comcast in the ATL with a few card pairings all channels (including HBO) worked right away when done correctly.


----------



## dbenrosen (Sep 20, 2003)

My Roamio Plus is coming tomorrow. I have Fios CableCARDs in my old S3 (with OLED display). They are M-Cards, but I've had them for at least 4 years. Should I replace/exchange one for a new card or have they not upgraded the cards at all?


----------



## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

dbenrosen said:


> My Roamio Plus is coming tomorrow. I have Fios CableCARDs in my old S3 (with OLED display). They are M-Cards, but I've had them for at least 4 years. Should I replace/exchange one for a new card or have they not upgraded the cards at all?


I would go get a new one while keeping your old one and see which is the latest version. It would be a good idea to do this anyway so you can keep both tivos active to transfer shows and season passes. Then just take the oldest one back once you're done and the old TiVo is deactivated.


----------



## Tom Pich (Jan 29, 2013)

dbenrosen said:


> My Roamio Plus is coming tomorrow. I have Fios CableCARDs in my old S3 (with OLED display). They are M-Cards, but I've had them for at least 4 years. Should I replace/exchange one for a new card or have they not upgraded the cards at all?


I don't have FiOS but I remember reading this a while ago from Margret Schmidt concerning the part number of Motorola CableCards with FiOS.



> Originally Posted by TiVoMargret
> 
> If that number is either one of these:
> 514517-002-00 (MCPOD1)
> ...


FiOS customers were experiencing pairing problems as well as macro blocking issues with the older CableCards, so you want to make sure you have CableCard part# 514517-*017*-00.


----------



## GPT999 (Jun 22, 2009)

I know this i an older thread but, OMG everytime I have to pair a card with Comcast here in MN, it never goes smoothly. It takes several times. I just got a Roamio a few months back, took a few tries to get HBO working, On Demand was not working, I tried several times over the coming weeks with changing cards, etc. Each time would take several calls and hours to get everything back and the on demand has never worked, I gave up. 
Now I had situation with my Roamio failing so I wanted to switch that cable card to my premiere... Same crap and now its worse, several days later, no HBO still. Have talked to Tivo , they said no problems. Comcast always says the card is paired but the Conditional Access status "Val: ? 0x51" says otherwise. They tell me to wait 45 min to "check" but the last time it worked, it was right away...  Sorry just venting,... And when I get my fixed Roamio back, guess what I will have to do this again. Shoot me, pls!


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

GPT999 said:


> I know this i an older thread but, OMG everytime I have to pair a card with Comcast here in MN, it never goes smoothly. It takes several times. I just got a Roamio a few months back, took a few tries to get HBO working, On Demand was not working, I tried several times over the coming weeks with changing cards, etc. Each time would take several calls and hours to get everything back and the on demand has never worked, I gave up.
> Now I had situation with my Roamio failing so I wanted to switch that cable card to my premiere... Same crap and now its worse, several days later, no HBO still. Have talked to Tivo , they said no problems. Comcast always says the card is paired but the Conditional Access status "Val: ? 0x51" says otherwise. They tell me to wait 45 min to "check" but the last time it worked, it was right away...  Sorry just venting,... And when I get my fixed Roamio back, guess what I will have to do this again. Shoot me, pls!


I have activated cable cards Comcast (Tel 8774052298) about 20 times for myself and friends, works only about 90% of the time without problems.


----------



## digitalfirefly (Apr 15, 2005)

I just did this last night. I moved it from my XL4 to the Roamio Pro. Went through the setup, and it worked fine. I didn't need to contact the cable company at all.


----------



## pkyzivat (May 8, 2002)

I'll add my experiences in migrating from a TiVo HD to TiVo Roamio plus. I'm naturally pessimistic about upgrades going well, but the experiences here had me thinking things might go well. Not!

I set the new Roamio up yesterday, side-by-side with the old one. Roamio came up fine. I was able to migrate most of my season passes with the Season Pass Manager. (That was a bit of a pain. Something to discuss another time.) 

My next step was to verify that I could copy recorded programs from old to new. That took a call to TiVo before it worked. Even though both old and new had been working on the network for Season Pass Manager apparently they couldn't see each other. I had to restart my router to fix that.

So the only thing left was to move my cablecard. (I waited till this morning, so there would be a full work day to complete this.) I pulled it from the HD, put it into the Roamio, and indeed got the screen telling me to call Comcast. (I should now be home free - just a couple of minutes on the phone.)

When I called I was almost immediately connected to a nice person who understood what I wanted to do and said she could help. She started working on it, then indicated that she didn't seem to be able to do what was needed. After consulting someone else she told me she just learned that there was a separate department for cablecard activation, and she didn't have the access to do it herself. So she transferred me. (To a music-on-hold queue.) So far I've been on the phone 22 minutes.

At the 33 minute mark I was connected to another tech. I read him info off my screen and he started to do the pairing.

At the 40 minute mark he told me he was getting errors - please hang on.

At the 47 minute mark he told me the error was in unpairing from my old device. Continue to hold while he works on it.

At the 65 minute mark the call spontaneously started ringing again. Picked up by an operator who had no idea what was going on. Put on hold while she tried to get be back where I should be.

At 76 minute mark, connected to a new tech. (Less knowledgeable than the prior one.) Audio quality on the call was extremely bad. We could barely hear each other. (She seemed to think this was my fault, even though I'm on same call and quality was fine with others.) She gets the same unpairing error as the prior tech. Says she may have to send a truck. But continues to work on it.

At 87 minutes my call was abruptly dropped with no explanation. So I call again. Get put in queue again.

At 96 minutes, get another new agent. Tell her I'm pissed. She seems to be a supervisor. Says she won't put me on hold. Asked me to explain what has happened, but doesn't seem to have the technical knowledge to understand in detail. Asks me to stand by while she connects to an expert. (At least blessed silence instead of bad music on hold.) But I never spoke to an expert. She came back on the line, told me she could send a truck (in several days) or I could go get a new cablecard to try. (Said the old card might not work in the new TiVo. I asked: couldn't she tell from the SN whether the old one would be compatible? No.) She began the spin that it might be a tivo problem and I should contact TiVo. (And tell them what???) Also that if she sends a truck I might be charged. (I guess this is Comcast damage control - when things go wrong blame anybody but Comcast.)

At 115 minutes, I told her to stay on the line while I move the cable card back to my old TiVo - in case it needs to be paired again there. When I moved it, everything seemed to work ok in the old tivo. So I told her I was done for now - will go get a new cablecard for the Roamio. (I don't have any reason to believe that will work better, but what can I do?)

Bottom line: on the phone 2 hrs, back to my old TiVo.

WHEN will Fios come to my house???

Can somebody explain to me why it is necessary to pair the cablecard with a device? (I'm not asked to pair my washing machine with my electric socket.) Why does the cable company have any reason to know what I connect my cable card to?


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

pkyzivat said:


> Can somebody explain to me why it is necessary to pair the cablecard with a device? (I'm not asked to pair my washing machine with my electric socket.) Why does the cable company have any reason to know what I connect my cable card to?


Your washing machine has no security issues, your TiVo does, if pairing was not required than people could sell Cable Cards on say E-Bay and would work in any Cable Card electronics, such as a TiVo, and the cable co.s would not know about it and could not charge you.


----------



## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

pkyzivat,

Did you call the Comcast cablecard operation at 877-405-2298?

If so, call it again and see if they will connect you with Stormey or Ian in Denver. I've dealt with both, they know their stuff, and are very good guys.


----------



## pkyzivat (May 8, 2002)

lessd said:


> Your washing machine has no security issues, your TiVo does, if pairing was not required than people could sell Cable Cards on say E-Bay and would work in any Cable Card electronics, such as a TiVo, and the cable co.s would not know about it and could not charge you.


I'm only questioning pairing of the cablecard and a *device*. It makes sense for them to pair the cablecard with a billable *account*. It should not matter to them what I connect the cablecard to, any more than it matters to them what I connect a cable *box* to.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

They do. In fact they even pair the device to your account. (or at least Charter does) I had 3 Premiere units that were paired to CableCARDs on my account. I replaced them with a couple of Roamio Pros. For two of the CableCARDs I repaired them to the new Roamios, but the 3rd I did not. I simply removed the card and then gave the TiVo to my sister. When I was setting it up for her, with a new card she got that was linked to her account, the customer service guy told me that the TiVo was already paired to another account (mine) and couldn't be used until it was unpaired. Luckily I was the one calling so we were able to do it right there, but if my Sister or her husband had been the ones to call they wouldn't have been able to do anything until I called and unpaired the TiVo from my account.


----------



## pkyzivat (May 8, 2002)

Update: I got a new cablecard from the local comcast office. Brought it home, and inserted it. Instead of getting the pairing screen, I got:

"A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all cable services at this time. Please call cable operator and report error code 161-1."

I see from googling that this is probably a bad card. But I called Comcast *again*. I'll skip the blow by blow, but they deny any knowledge of this error code. They kept asking for the Host Id, which IIUC is only available from the pairing screen.

Eventually I got them to schedulle a service appointment for Sunday. (They work on Sunday???) At least then it will be the installer that has to go through the hassle. I had them annotate the order to request that the installer come equipped with lots of cable cards.

Here is the icing on the cake:

When I picked up the new card, they logged it as an *additional* card that will incur an extra charge. I was told I would avoid the charge if I returned the old card today.

While on the phone, I asked what about billing if I keep the card until after the service call. I was told I'll get a pro-rated charge for the days I have it. I questioned why I would be charged for a card that doesn't work and hasn't been paired. I got gobbledy **** for an answer - as best I could tell it was that the new (broken) one would be considered my "free" one, while the old working one will be consdiered the one I must pay for!!!

My first priority is to get things working. But after that I will keep hassling them if they actually try to charge me for this.


----------



## pkyzivat (May 8, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> They do. In fact they even pair the device to your account. (or at least Charter does) I had 3 Premiere units that were paired to CableCARDs on my account. I replaced them with a couple of Roamio Pros. For two of the CableCARDs I repaired them to the new Roamios, but the 3rd I did not. I simply removed the card and then gave the TiVo to my sister. When I was setting it up for her, with a new card she got that was linked to her account, the customer service guy told me that the TiVo was already paired to another account (mine) and couldn't be used until it was unpaired. Luckily I was the one calling so we were able to do it right there, but if my Sister or her husband had been the ones to call they wouldn't have been able to do anything until I called and unpaired the TiVo from my account.


I'm still trying to understand what is actually going on with pairing. Is this pairing happening in a Comcast database, or in the cablecard itself?


If it is happening in a database, then they should not need any access to the device to unpair it.

If it is happening in the cablecard, then why should it take two steps to unpair and then pari? Shouldn't a new pairing simply overwrite the old one?


----------



## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

pkyzivat said:


> I'm still trying to understand what is actually going on with pairing. Is this pairing happening in a Comcast database, or in the cablecard itself?
> 
> 
> If it is happening in a database, then they should not need any access to the device to unpair it.
> ...


Based on what a Comcast cablecard CSR told me, there is some handshake that goes on between Comcast servers and the cable cards. The handshake occurs approximately every 24-48 hours. I am speculating they unpair first to clean out the old info (old Tivo) and then pair to add the new info (new Tivo).

[As an aside, one thing among many things that I like about the Mini is that it does not require a cablecard].

At the end of the day, it is what it is. So I would not over think it but instead call the phone number given above, get unpaired/paired and hopefully report back that you are a reasonably happy camper.


----------



## Darkon (Sep 17, 2007)

I'm actually having problems getting my Roamio Plus working with the cable card after I moved the card from my Premiere to the Roamio. 

During my first call, there was a problem during the initial attempt, but the person said she was able to get it paired. Unfortunately I was calling from work (after taking a pick of the relevant TiVo cablecard screens) so when I got home I found out it still wasn't working. I could only find a handful of standard-def channels that would tune and the rest said I wasn't authorized. Additionally, channels that should have shown up in my guide (such as 2 -10) wouldn't appear in the TiVo channel guide. 

After 3 separate attempts over the phone, the last guy suggested I swap the cable card for another one or setup a service call. I opted to swap the card and try again over the phone, but same result so now I'm scheduled for a service call tomorrow. Hopefully they guy can get things working because this is a real PITA. The Roamio is supposed to replace 2 Premiers but for it's just taking up space on my media cabinet.


----------



## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Darkon said:


> <snip>Additionally, channels that should have shown up in my guide (such as 2 -10) wouldn't appear in the TiVo channel guide.<snip>


Is it possible that those channels are analog?


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

kokishin said:


> Based on what a Comcast cablecard CSR told me, there is some handshake that goes on between Comcast servers and the cable cards. The handshake occurs approximately every 24-48 hours. I am speculating they unpair first to clean out the old info (old Tivo) and then pair to add the new info (new Tivo).
> 
> [As an aside, one thing among many things that I like about the Mini is that it does not require a cablecard].
> 
> At the end of the day, it is what it is. So I would not over think it but instead call the phone number given above, get unpaired/paired and hopefully report back that you are a reasonably happy camper.


And there is a built in timer in the cable card such that if unplug a paired TiVo for over 30 days (on Comcast CT at least ), when you turn it back on it can take up to 2 days to get all your stations back (unless you call and ask the cable co. to give your cable card a hit).


----------



## nooneuknow (Feb 5, 2011)

lessd said:


> And there is a built in timer in the cable card such that if unplug a paired TiVo for over 30 days (on Comcast CT at least ), when you turn it back on it can take up to 2 days to get all your stations back (unless you call and ask the cable co. to give your cable card a hit).


Cox will brick a card that has not been on the system for over 90 days. It will brick as soon as it re-establishes a communication >90 days since the last time it received an authorization refresh. This pretty much seems like insurance that the cards don't end up on ebay (at least as something that anybody can use), since the actual bricking mechanism is in the card itself. The Cisco TAs also have a brick mode. But, they are able to recover, as long as the right commands are sent to it by Cox. That makes sense, as a TA bidirectionally communicates.

I suggest that if you know you have done something to lose the pairing on your end of things, that the first request you make is to un-pair the card. Moving the card, or doing anything else that kills the pairing, will not result in their system knowing that it the case. If they start sending refresh hits, or EMMS, to an unpaired card, still "paired" on their end, lots of strange things can happen, and the amount of time it can take to establish pairing can be greatly increased.

Of course, if you have moved that card, the middle step between un-pair and re-pair, is to update the host ID for that card ID. Having the serial number ready to provide insures they are working with the right card, if you have more than one.


----------



## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

pkyzivat said:


> Update: I got a new cablecard from the local comcast office. Brought it home, and inserted it. Instead of getting the pairing screen, I got:
> 
> "A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all cable services at this time. Please call cable operator and report error code 161-1."
> 
> I see from googling that this is probably a bad card. But I called Comcast *again*.


You still haven't said which Comcast phone number you called. Was it the special Cable card number of your regular local service? I am going to be moving my cable card today and hope it goes smoother than your attempt.


----------



## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

shiffrin said:


> I am going to be moving my cable card today and hope it goes smoother than your attempt.


Just to report on my results of my move. I moved the cable card from my Premiere to my Roamio Pro this morning. It automatically displayed the cable card pairing screen. I called the special Comcast cable card number and waited on hold for 3 minutes. A person answered and asked me for the screen info. In 2 minutes my Roamio was working. I've checked most things including recording on 6 channels at once and everything seems to be working fine. I will continue to test everything out including the iPhone app. Very pleased with how thinghs went. Calling the special number is definitely the key.


----------



## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Have you checked On Demand?


----------



## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

lpwcomp said:


> Have you checked On Demand?


I just realized that I do not have On Demand on my menu. I was just going to do a search here on the forum and see if there is a solution. So far, this is my only problem (that I am aware of).


----------



## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

shiffrin said:


> I just realized that I do not have On Demand on my menu. I was just going to do a search here on the forum and see if there is a solution. So far, this is my only problem (that I am aware of).


I fixed it. I saw a bunch of posts that said to force a connection and then restart. I did that and it worked. I moved over my season passes using the Tivo web page and my todo list is populated.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Perhaps I can learn something to help my problem. This morning I moved my M-Card from a basic Premiere (2-tuner) to a base Roamio. Before calling I ran the Guided Setup and found my channels were available. I felt happy that I could avoid calling my (small) cable company. I also have a second Premiere, also 2-tuner. Being curious I tried to record three programs while watching a fourth. It seemed to work. I deleted the test programs without viewing and went to the diagnostic screens. Tuners 0 and 1 looked just like my old Premiere (signal and SNR). Tuners 2 and 3 were going crazy with high RS uncorrected and missing SNR. The first thought was that since my card was paired in a two tuner unit, it would need to be paired in a four tuner unit to work right. So I called my CS lady and she paired the card from the numbers I got from the Roamio screen. It seemed to work, then I checked the diags and they were now bad for tuner 1 and 3. The card diag showed (0, 2, 1, 3) with 1 and 3 moving back and forth. I figured a bad cable card. I asked to swap the card after she told be that only two tuners work with an M-Card and they don't support TiVo. I knew that was going to happen. I drove to their office and got a new card (not in a bubble pack). I installed it: no channels and no change in diagnostics either. So I took the low road and did a full clean and rest. Now the diagnostic display is almost blank. I consider this progress. Tomorrow I'll call to get a new pairing. Any insight? I hope it's not the Roamio, and that seems unlikely at this point. At this time the channels can't load so I have nothing better to do except post this message and look for wisdom.

Update: New Roamio on the way. New cable card had no effect. That card, after pairing in the Roamio, is back in the Premiere.


----------



## pkyzivat (May 8, 2002)

pkyzivat said:


> Update: I got a new cablecard from the local comcast office. Brought it home, and inserted it. Instead of getting the pairing screen, I got:
> 
> "A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all cable services at this time. Please call cable operator and report error code 161-1."
> 
> ...


Another update:

The day before my service appointment I decided to return the non-functional card. While I had planned to wait for the tech to bring a replacement for the service call, they gave me a new one. Then, since I had it, I figured I might as well put it in and see what happened. The TiVo recognized it and went to the pairing screen. So I called again. The person on the line fiddled for awhile, but nothing good seemed to be happening, so I told her I would wait for the service call to sort it out.

But as soon as I got off the phone it started working! I checked it out, found all the tuners working, all channels accessible, and so cancelled the service call.

So now I'm happy with the new Roamio, but not any happier with Comcast.

Bottom line: 3.5 hours on the phone with comcast plus two trips to the comcast office to get it going.


----------



## pkyzivat (May 8, 2002)

shiffrin said:


> You still haven't said which Comcast phone number you called. Was it the special Cable card number of your regular local service? I am going to be moving my cable card today and hope it goes smoother than your attempt.


The number I called was 888-266-2278 (the number displayed on the pairing screen).


----------



## gary712 (Apr 3, 2010)

I have a premiere xl now and just ordered a romeo plus.I have fios in NY. Do I have to call to unpair/re-pair card or can I do it online. I have premium channels


----------



## kokishin (Sep 9, 2014)

pkyzivat said:


> The number I called was 888-266-2278 (the number displayed on the pairing screen).


The Comcast cablecard pairing number is: 877-405-2298.

888-266-2278 (888-COM-CAST) is the main Comcast number and not recommended for cable card pairing.


----------



## shiffrin (Aug 23, 2000)

pkyzivat said:


> The number I called was 888-266-2278 (the number displayed on the pairing screen).


Comcast is not fun to work with, but they do have a special number to call for cable card setup and they do a very good job. It has been stressed many times that you need to call the special number to get good service.


----------



## sangs (Jan 1, 2003)

gary712 said:


> I have a premiere xl now and just ordered a romeo plus.I have fios in NY. Do I have to call to unpair/re-pair card or can I do it online. I have premium channels


How old is the card and what is the serial number? There were problems with some older Motorola cards and FiOS. Do a search here and you should find the thread. Worst case scenario you need to get a new CC, which is pretty easy with FiOS.


----------



## gary712 (Apr 3, 2010)

the CC is from 4/2010 it never gave me trouble in the past. It would be a PITA to get the sn


----------

