# Does out-of-home LTE streaming to an iPhone work for ANYONE?



## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

This has been broken for me for so long (years) across multiple iPhones that at some point I concluded it must be broken for everyone and Tivo must not care enough to fix it (which is surprising - it was a flagship marketing feature for the Bolt). But as I was unable to watch the Wimbledon finals while out and about today it occurred to me that maybe I should confirm that's actually the case! Can ANYONE successfully stream to an iPhone over LTE?

The message I've gotten all these years is:
"Streaming Not Supported: Streaming over a cellular connection is not supported. Connect to a WiFi network in order to stream."

Occasionally, a program will actually successfully stream for a 5-10 seconds before that error appears. Watching in-home over WiFi works fine. I'm at the latest version of the Tivo iOS app and have tried deleting/re-adding our iPhones as streaming devices.

Bolt
Verizon Fios 50/50 over Moca
iPhone 6, iPhone 7


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## pfiagra (Oct 13, 2014)

jesrush said:


> This has been broken for me for so long (years) across multiple iPhones that at some point I concluded it must be broken for everyone and Tivo must not care enough to fix it (which is surprising - it was a flagship marketing feature for the Bolt). But as I was unable to watch the Wimbledon finals while out and about today it occurred to me that maybe I should confirm that's actually the case! Can ANYONE successfully stream to an iPhone over LTE?
> 
> The message I've gotten all these years is:
> "Streaming Not Supported: Streaming over a cellular connection is not supported. Connect to a WiFi network in order to stream."
> ...


My understanding is that streaming to the iOS app wouldn't start over cellular, but if you started the stream through WiFi, you could continue it over the cellular network.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Android works over LTE and/or WiFi. But Slingbox is the more stable solution for out of home streaming for me most of the time.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

jesrush said:


> This has been broken for me for so long (years) across multiple iPhones that at some point I concluded it must be broken for everyone and Tivo must not care enough to fix it (which is surprising - it was a flagship marketing feature for the Bolt). But as I was unable to watch the Wimbledon finals while out and about today it occurred to me that maybe I should confirm that's actually the case! Can ANYONE successfully stream to an iPhone over LTE?
> 
> The message I've gotten all these years is:
> "Streaming Not Supported: Streaming over a cellular connection is not supported. Connect to a WiFi network in order to stream."
> ...


It is disallowed by Apple policy which speaks to quality standards. It is not broken, it just isn't allowed. If you have a second device on the same account that you can tether, you can fool the iOS device into thinking it is WiFi. Or you can jailbreak your phone.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

TonyD79 said:


> It is disallowed by Apple policy which speaks to quality standards. It is not broken, it just isn't allowed


Unfortunately, I don't think they clearly state this in their information on it (or at least the pages that initially came up when I searched for streaming on TiVo's website), but this support document has the comment below regarding the cellular restriction for iOS (but nothing on the why this is a restriction for that platform which Dan had indicated had to do with Apple's requirements for cellular streaming).

https://support.tivo.com/articles/Installation_Setup_Configuration/Out-of-Home-Streaming#ioscellular

*IMPORTANT iOS information:* Cellular restrictions require that streaming a show without downloading requires that your iOS device is connected to a high-speed wireless network. Existing recordings on your TiVo will start downloading to your device from the beginning of the recording. For in progress live TV, the TiVo will create a recording on the DVR and then begin downloading to the device from the beginning of that recording. Once the download has started you can start watching the show up to the point that has been downloaded to the device. In the case of a low quality cellular connection you may want to wait until a portion of the show has been downloaded before starting to watch that download to minimize interruptions (i.e., "catching up"). In the case of a high-quality cellular connection it is possible to download fast enough to watch the show immediately without interruption.

Scott


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

HerronScott said:


> Unfortunately, I don't think they clearly state this in their information on it (or at least the pages that initially came up when I searched for streaming on TiVo's website), but this support document has the comment below regarding the cellular restriction for iOS (but nothing on the why this is a restriction for that platform which Dan had indicated had to do with Apple's requirements for cellular streaming).
> 
> https://support.tivo.com/articles/Installation_Setup_Configuration/Out-of-Home-Streaming#ioscellular
> 
> ...


That is utter nonsense. iOS over cellular has never worked nor been supported. You cannot download nor can you stream.


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## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

TonyD79 said:


> It is disallowed by Apple policy


Tony - what is the Apple policy that Tivo is running up against? I'm able to stream Amazon Prime, Plex Live TV etc. over LTE to my iPhone...


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## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

moyekj said:


> Slingbox is the more stable solution for out of home streaming for me most of the time


How does your Slingbox solution work? I'm guessing you have a Tivo mini feeding a slingbox and then you use the Tivo app from afar to choose what to play on the Tivo mini?


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

No need for TiVo app at all with Slingbox. It has a virtual remote control that looks like the real one and use it to directly control the Mini to stream. As a bonus you get SkipMode as well which the TiVo app doesn't support.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

moyekj said:


> No need for TiVo app at all with Slingbox. It has a virtual remote control that looks like the real one and use it to directly control the Mini to stream. As a bonus you get SkipMode as well which the TiVo app doesn't support.


Skipmode works well with the SLingbox, but there is too much of a delay relibaly use FF/Rew. I'm on Android so I'm able to use the TiVo app. It's rock solid on my devices. The only time I use my Slingbox now is for shows that cannot be streamed out of home. Which also can't be transferred out of the box. I also use Plex for viewing my recordings out of home on a TV from a streamer like a Roku. But for a device with a small screen, like a tablet or phone, the TiVo app is what I use.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

TonyD79 said:


> That is utter nonsense. iOS over cellular has never worked nor been supported. You cannot download nor can you stream.


Wait you can't download shows on cellular either with iOS?? That certainly seems odd. No iOS devices here so only experience has been with an Android tablet (not my primary either).

Scott


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## pfiagra (Oct 13, 2014)

HerronScott said:


> Wait you can't download shows on cellular either with iOS?? That certainly seems odd. No iOS devices here so only experience has been with an Android tablet (not my primary either).
> 
> Scott


You can certainly download shows over WiFi onto the iOS app while not on your home network, but its speed/success depends upon your home's WiFi upload speed.


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## aspexil (Oct 16, 2015)

I gave up on slingbox years ago. And have had zero issues streaming with Tivo on Android even to Luxembourg (from Indianapolis) over WiFi. You need to be sure to enable OOH streaming before you leave home.


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## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

pfiagra said:


> You can certainly download shows over WiFi onto the iOS app while not on your home network, but its speed/success depends upon your home's WiFi upload speed.


Yep - but downloading shows to an iOS device is effectively useless because it's impossibly slow. At home on 5ghz wifi with a strong signal I think it took my iPhone 7 just shy of two hours to download a 3 hour football game. Imagine that over LTE...


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

pfiagra said:


> You can certainly download shows over WiFi onto the iOS app while not on your home network, but its speed/success depends upon your home's WiFi upload speed.


Yes, but Tony indicated that the TiVo article was wrong and that you can't download on cellular with iOS.

Scott


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

jesrush said:


> Yep - but downloading shows to an iOS device is effectively useless because it's impossibly slow. At home on 5ghz wifi with a strong signal I think it took my iPhone 7 just shy of two hours to download a 3 hour football game. Imagine that over LTE...


I think the point is that you download at home, over WiFi, in the background, *instead* of using LTE, streaming.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

jesrush said:


> Yep - but downloading shows to an iOS device is effectively useless because it's impossibly slow. At home on 5ghz wifi with a strong signal I think it took my iPhone 7 just shy of two hours to download a 3 hour football game. Imagine that over LTE...


I've never downloaded three hours of a football game but have done hour long shows and it didn't take anywhere near 2/3 of the recording time. It is slower than it should be but I haven't seen it that bad.


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## Steve (Apr 24, 2003)

HerronScott said:


> Wait you can't download shows on cellular either with iOS?? That certainly seems odd. No iOS devices here so only experience has been with an Android tablet (not my primary either).


You can. I'm able to download over cellular and start watching after 30 seconds to a minute. No problems, except there's no skip ahead buffer unless you wait few minutes before you start to watch.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Steve said:


> You can. I'm able to download over cellular and start watching after 30 seconds to a minute. No problems, except there's no skip ahead buffer unless you wait few minutes before you start to watch.


Ok, that makes more sense.

Tony? Why did you indicate that you can't download over cellular with iOS or is that just your experience?

Scott


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

Steve said:


> You can. I'm able to download over cellular and start watching after 30 seconds to a minute. No problems, except there's no skip ahead buffer unless you wait few minutes before you start to watch.


No problems downloading over cellular on iOS here either.


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## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

For anyone who finds this thread later - I ended up buying a slingbox 350 off ebay for $50 and the $15 "A/V Breakout Cable Kit" for a Mini from Tivo. The 350 model is the cheapest slingbox that streams 1080p (but it does not have wifi and must use ethernet). The video goes: Tivo Mini --> Slingbox 350 --> Television. Most importantly: It works great out-of-home and avoids the ridiculous iOS cellular "limitation" and is also more stable than the Tivo app on WiFi. The Slingbox onscreen remote control is a little clunky and you certainly wouldn't want to use it to watch TV every day, but it's fine to get you to the occasional live sporting event. Even though slingbox has stopped making new boxes, there is no indication they'll be shutting down their cloud infrastructure anytime soon. All in all I'm a happy camper having circumvented probably the most annoying aspect of my Tivo ecosystem...


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I assume most annoying for iOS products? Because on my four Android devices, the TiVo app works great for streaming in home and out of home. It is solid on my android devices. I only consider using my Slingbox now for programs that are copy protected, so they are prohibited from streaming out of home with the TiVo app. And prohibited from being transferred between TiVos.


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## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

Yes - sounds like those using Android are in a much better spot with regards to streaming. Our household is way too deep in the apple ecosystem to switch just for TV streaming


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## Steve (Apr 24, 2003)

I guess everyone’s experience is different. My wife’s been in the hospital for the past two weeks and watching out of home with the iOS app has been rock solid. No commercial skip available, but you can ‘stack’ 30 slips.

We’re on WiFi here in the hospital, but as I mentioned earlier, cellular download and watching soon after the download begins works as well.


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## jay2o01 (Oct 7, 2018)

the latest tivo app blocks downloading and watching on lte for me.. any ideas? is there a setting you have to change before this will work, cuz I can't find it.


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## jesrush (Nov 7, 2015)

jay2o01 said:


> the latest tivo app blocks downloading and watching on lte for me.. any ideas? is there a setting you have to change before this will work, cuz I can't find it.


I'm not aware of any current issues. I'm running the latest iOS app with Hydra on my Bolt. I was able to download and watch a football game today.


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## nyjack (Mar 9, 2013)

jesrush said:


> This has been broken for me for so long (years) across multiple iPhones that at some point I concluded it must be broken for everyone and Tivo must not care enough to fix it (which is surprising - it was a flagship marketing feature for the Bolt). But as I was unable to watch the Wimbledon finals while out and about today it occurred to me that maybe I should confirm that's actually the case! Can ANYONE successfully stream to an iPhone over LTE?
> 
> The message I've gotten all these years is:
> "Streaming Not Supported: Streaming over a cellular connection is not supported. Connect to a WiFi network in order to stream."
> ...


Same here. iPhone 6s Comcast/Xfinity TiVo Roamio Premier connected via Ethernet


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## nyjack (Mar 9, 2013)

jesrush said:


> I'm not aware of any current issues. I'm running the latest iOS app with Hydra on my Bolt. I was able to download and watch a football game today.


Were you using cellular dat (LTE) or WiFi?


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## nyjack (Mar 9, 2013)

Were you using cellular data (LTE) or WiFi?


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Download and watch, yes. Stream live, no.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

TonyD79 said:


> Download and watch, yes. Stream live, no.


Ted said it was supposed to be coming. The biggest issue I can remember is Apple requires some kind of variable bit rate support but the app never supported it


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## SteveDC (Jun 12, 2015)

Total piece of crap still !!!
"Streaming not supported" "Streaming over a cellular connection is not supported"

SERIOUSLY !!! WTF!!! 

Come on Tivo, It is nearly 2020 and you STILL can't support streaming over cellular!!???

Been a Tivo customer from day 1, but EVERY day I get more and more pissed off with you !!!

FIX IOS STREAMING OVER LTE!!! And don't give me any BS about "it's Apple's fault" TONS of other apps stream/download just fine !!!


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

SteveDC said:


> Total piece of crap still !!!
> "Streaming not supported" "Streaming over a cellular connection is not supported"
> 
> SERIOUSLY !!! WTF!!!
> ...


Totally agree. Instead of allocating resources to features that customers want, they allocate resources to coming up with crap people don't want (i.e Tivo +)


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## Steve (Apr 24, 2003)

LTE streaming would be a nice holiday present. Fingers-crossed it's in the next update.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Steve said:


> LTE streaming would be a nice holiday present. Fingers-crossed it's in the next update.


Merry Christmas. 

iOS version 4.4.1 out

Scott


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