# Can't pair Roamio or Premiere with Charter



## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

After 4 trips out by Charter techs in STL and several cable card swaps and hours spent on the web,
I have been unable to pair 2 of my Tivo's by Charter. Finally yesterday a tech told me that there is
an issue between Charter and Tivo's firmware keeping the boxes from being paired. I get all channels
except the premium channels like HBO and Showtime. On the cable card conditional access screen
CON = "YES" but VAL is always "?" I have other Tivo's and even the Premier was paired in the past
and all when smoothly. The tech said they don't pair now because of a firmware problem.

The tech said Charter and Tivo know about the problem and are working on it with firmware upgrades.
Does anybody know anything about this?

Thanks!


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## tootal2 (Oct 14, 2005)

The cards might be on a old account so they won't pair. It took Charter almost 2 hours to get my new tivo roamio working because the cards were on old account.


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## tootal2 (Oct 14, 2005)

They do pair cards


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

Curious. Did your box receive 20.4.7a yet? It just came out. Maybe that's what it fixes. (shot in the dark.)

Next update (20.4.8) should happen sometime in the next couple weeks at the latest.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> Curious. Did your box receive 20.4.7a yet? It just came out. Maybe that's what it fixes. (shot in the dark.)
> 
> Next update (20.4.8) should happen sometime in the next couple weeks at the latest.


Support for Charter is not reliant on newer firmware. The best method for pairing with Charter is to call the support line and say "cablecard" to get a cablecard specialist. Local installers can rarely pair a cablecard.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

rainwater said:


> Support for Charter is not reliant on newer firmware. The best method for pairing with Charter is to call the support line and say "cablecard" to get a cablecard specialist. Local installers can rarely pair a cablecard.


It might not be a cablecard firmware update they were referring to. Who knows. As I said, shot in the dark.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> When the Roamio first came out, there were Verizon CC issues. 20.4.6a-RC1 recently fixed compatibility with a specific MSO's tuning adapters. Maybe 7a fixes this MSO's CC pairing issues. It's possible. Who knows. As I said, shot in the dark.


I haven't seen or read a single report of cablecard pairing issues with Roamio firmware. Verizon is a different beast. The issue is surely the local techs don't know how to pair cablecards. I've had Charter install around 15 cablecards over the years and maybe 1 or 2 times did the local techs actually pair them correctly.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Hi,
Your post and problems sound very similiar to this one
http://tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=528137 
Which generally sounds like general ineptness or worse....You might want to file a complaint with the FCC due to Charters failure to support cablecards.
There are supposed to be some firmware problems with some cable cards and the TA's but there is already updates that supposedly fix those issues.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

Updated my post to be more clear.

Maybe the installers don't know what they're doing and were just lying for some unknown reason, but with no other information, a Tivo bug can't be eliminated if they aren't lying. They've issues minor releases to fix MSO problems before, and we don't know what 7a does. As I said, shot in the dark.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

tootal2 said:


> The cards might be on a old account so they won't pair. It took Charter almost 2 hours to get my new tivo roamio working because the cards were on old account.


What do you mean by an old account? I've been a Charter customer for a long time and a Tivo customer for a long time. Who's account are you referring to and what's the solution? Did you have this problem?


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> Curious. Did your box receive 20.4.7a yet? It just came out. Maybe that's what it fixes. (shot in the dark.)
> 
> Next update (20.4.8) should happen sometime in the next couple weeks at the latest.


I just got the 20.4.7a yesterday and haven't had a chance yet to call and have them try to pair them. Will do that after work. I did the priority update for 20.4.8. It's sad that they don't get a change log with the updates to know what's in them.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

rainwater said:


> Support for Charter is not reliant on newer firmware. The best method for pairing with Charter is to call the support line and say "cablecard" to get a cablecard specialist. Local installers can rarely pair a cablecard.


It must be because I've called countless times and so have the techs to give them the Card SN/Host ID and Data ID. One of the boxes was already paired but tech took the cable card out to try it in another box and then put it back into the box it was paired in and couldn't get it to re-pair in that box. I've also called a couple of days ago and had them try to re-pair by giving them the numbers again and it did not work. Something must have changed and firmware/software could be the only thing.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Wattsline said:


> It must be because I've called countless times and so have the techs to give them the Card SN/Host ID and Data ID. One of the boxes was already paired but tech took the cable card out to try it in another box and then put it back into the box it was paired in and couldn't get it to re-pair in that box. I've also called a couple of days ago and had them try to re-pair by giving them the numbers again and it did not work. Something must have changed and firmware/software could be the only thing.


A tech can't re-pair a cablecard with Charter. It must be removed from your account first and only a manager can do it. This is why at this point, I never let a tech try to pair cablecards. I just call the Charter toll free number and talk to a cablecard specialist. When you talk to Charter you must tell them to get a manager to remove the old pairing. Otherwise, they will never pair it correctly.


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## tootal2 (Oct 14, 2005)

Wattsline said:


> What do you mean by an old account? I've been a Charter customer for a long time and a Tivo customer for a long time. Who's account are you referring to and what's the solution? Did you have this problem?


The new cable card the tech installed was link to a old account so the card would not pair. He got the old account off the cable card and got it paird


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

rainwater said:


> A tech can't re-pair a cablecard with Charter. It must be removed from your account first and only a manager can do it. This is why at this point, I never let a tech try to pair cablecards. I just call the Charter toll free number and talk to a cablecard specialist. When you talk to Charter you must tell them to get a manager to remove the old pairing. Otherwise, they will never pair it correctly.


The tech's call the same number I would call and talk to the same people. If they swap cards they are adding it to the account and it has nothing to do with removing it that I'm aware of. This is STL not another site. If the data already exist in the account and they update it, say the Data ID, they can overwrite the Data ID and send the pairing sequence and it's evident from my Tivo flashing and the tuning adapter going off line depending on what they send. So why wouldn't it pair again if the data is correct and they send the correct pairing sequence "VAL", "INIT", and a "HIT"?

I've also used the same card with a new Tivo and it paired just fine. It's just since about a month ago I'm having problems.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

tootal2 said:


> The new cable card the tech installed was link to a old account so the card would not pair. He got the old account off the cable card and got it paird


That sounds like you had two accounts. I only have one that I know off. I can have them check.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Wattsline said:


> The tech's call the same number I would call and talk to the same people.


Did the techs ask for a manager to remove the old pairing? The system will not let anyone else remove the pairing. Most of the time, the person doesn't even realize their is an error until they try to pair it. And even then, they will not know why.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

rainwater said:


> Did the techs ask for a manager to remove the old pairing? The system will not let anyone else remove the pairing. Most of the time, the person doesn't even realize their is an error until they try to pair it. And even then, they will not know why.


Tried to pair again tonight with 20.4.7a. It did NOT work! Had charter remove the information and add it back, that still did NOT work. I had a tech tell me there is a firmware problem between Charter and Tivo and they are working on it.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Wattsline said:


> Tried to pair again tonight with 20.4.7a. It did NOT work! Had charter remove the information and add it back, that still did NOT work. I had a tech tell me there is a firmware problem between Charter and Tivo and they are working on it.


I've heard about the "firmware" problem for over 5 years. It is usually just an excuse for them to not try to fix the problem. There is a 99% chance it is an account problem. Again, unless they connect you or the tech with a manager, they will never re-pair that cablecard. It isn't technically possible with Charter's current system. Charter made this dumb change requiring manager authorizations about 2 years ago and it causes nothing but headaches.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

I'm a new Charter customer. They did manage to pair the CableCard, but I'm missing about a third of the HBO, Cinemax, & Showtime channels.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

rainwater said:


> I've heard about the "firmware" problem for over 5 years. It is usually just an excuse for them to not try to fix the problem. There is a 99% chance it is an account problem. Again, unless they connect you or the tech with a manager, they will never re-pair that cablecard. It isn't technically possible with Charter's current system. Charter made this dumb change requiring manager authorizations about 2 years ago and it causes nothing but headaches.


Called Tivo and they were aware of a fimware problem too but couldn't tell me exactly what it was, did say 20.4.8 fixes some compatibility issues. I've talked to several managers and they have played around with the account, deleting the silver package and adding it back yet nothing has worked. I wonder if pairing is being screwed up by Moca being on?


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

waynomo said:


> I'm a new Charter customer. They did manage to pair the CableCard, but I'm missing about a third of the HBO, Cinemax, & Showtime channels.


I am missing just the premiums. On your cable card conditional access screen does the VAL have a "?" or a "V". It's not pared unless you have a "V"


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## cummingsje (Feb 28, 2015)

Wattsline said:


> Called Tivo and they were aware of a fimware problem too but couldn't tell me exactly what it was, did say 20.4.8 fixes some compatibility issues. I've talked to several managers and they have played around with the account, deleting the silver package and adding it back yet nothing has worked. I wonder if pairing is being screwed up by Moca being on?


I have MOCA enabled and my Tivo Roamios are paired and working properly with Gold package (Charter in Oxford, MI). With that being said, I had the same issue (missing most, not all, premiums) using a Ceton Infinitv tuner and Windows Media Center. Went 'round and 'round with Charter and finally sent diagnostics to Ceton HelpDesk and they said tuner was bad. I was skeptical but purchased a Homerun HD Prime network tuner and got it paired the first time with all premium channels. Been running fine for about 3 weeks.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Wattsline said:


> Called Tivo and they were aware of a fimware problem too but couldn't tell me exactly what it was, did say 20.4.8 fixes some compatibility issues. I've talked to several managers and they have played around with the account, deleting the silver package and adding it back yet nothing has worked. I wonder if pairing is being screwed up by Moca being on?


I doubt the firmware issues have anything to do with pairing. There have been no reports of pairing problems with Roamio software. The issue they may be referring to is with tuning issues with all 6 tuners. That is a separate issue.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

cummingsje said:


> I have MOCA enabled and my Tivo Roamios are paired and working properly with Gold package (Charter in Oxford, MI). With that being said, I had the same issue (missing most, not all, premiums) using a Ceton Infinitv tuner and Windows Media Center. Went 'round and 'round with Charter and finally sent diagnostics to Ceton HelpDesk and they said tuner was bad. I was skeptical but purchased a Homerun HD Prime network tuner and got it paired the first time with all premium channels. Been running fine for about 3 weeks.


I've had a HDHomeRun for a long time and it works just fine with WMC. I love the combination! Too bad Windows 10 won't get any WMC!! They allowed it on 7 and 8 (development has been gone for a while) but on 10 they say no more. I haven't had any problems getting anything to pair until about a month ago! The box I had paired won't re-pair now and another Roamio won't pair.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

rainwater said:


> I doubt the firmware issues have anything to do with pairing. There have been no reports of pairing problems with Roamio software. The issue they may be referring to is with tuning issues with all 6 tuners. That is a separate issue.


The gal at Charter said the issue was only with Roamio's. I didn't feel good about it because I have a premier that won't pair now too. She did have a procedure to fix the problem she was talking about. It had to do with sending an INIT to the tuning adapter. We tried it and it did not help. Her's might have been about getting 1.40 firmware on the tuning adapter. Do you work for Charter? When you say "no reports" where would that come from?


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## hasbeen (Feb 21, 2015)

I went thru a bunch of excitement getting my cable card and tuning adapter setup and functioning correctly but it finally did work fine and all 6 tuners work just like they should. Charter was a great source of ignorance and misinformation during the process so just be aware that a lot of their folks have no idea what a cable card does or what a tuning adapter does, much less how to get them set up and working.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

hasbeen said:


> I went thru a bunch of excitement getting my cable card and tuning adapter setup and functioning correctly but it finally did work fine and all 6 tuners work just like they should. Charter was a great source of ignorance and misinformation during the process so just be aware that a lot of their folks have no idea what a cable card does or what a tuning adapter does, much less how to get them set up and working.


So how did you finally get it to work? Do you have a "V" for the Val field on the conditional access screen? I've had no problems with 7 boxes until a month ago!


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## Dusty Roads (Dec 24, 2003)

rainwater said:


> I doubt the firmware issues have anything to do with pairing. There have been no reports of pairing problems with Roamio software. The issue they may be referring to is with tuning issues with all 6 tuners. That is a separate issue.


Motorola Cable Cards with a firmware of 6.25 (I believe) are supposed to support 6 channels. But that wouldn't stop them from pairing.

Been having the exact same issue, also live in St. Louis. Finally got a new cable card and a tuning adapter with firmware 1.40. My situation is exactly like yours in that Val = ?. Can't get HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime.
Tivo is sending a replacement tomorrow so we'll see how this goes. Feel like I will have ruled out equipment as an issue. This leaves, software bugs and human error. Not sure how to rule those out.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

Dusty Roads said:


> Motorola Cable Cards with a firmware of 6.25 (I believe) are supposed to support 6 channels. But that wouldn't stop them from pairing.
> 
> Been having the exact same issue, also live in St. Louis. Finally got a new cable card and a tuning adapter with firmware 1.40. My situation is exactly like yours in that Val = ?. Can't get HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime.
> Tivo is sending a replacement tomorrow so we'll how this goes. Feel like I will have ruled out equipment as an issue. This leaves, software bugs and human error. Not sure how to rule those out.


I've had 4 Roamio Pro's from Tivo in the last 2 months. First 2 were refurbs and paired no problem. Third and forth were a refurb and a new unit. Neither one will pair! Makes me think something else is going on.


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## jmbach (Jan 1, 2009)

I have Charter and I can tell you that it is pot luck to get a CSR that knows how to pair a cableCARD. The cableCARD Charter uses here is the Motorola. Some areas use Cisco/Scientific Atlanta. I have no experience with the Cisco/Scientific Atlanta cards but from reading they appear easier than the Motorola cards.

Most of the CSRs at Charter just want to send a hit to the card for pairing which invariably fails. The next step is a truck roll.

Most will check to see if the Serial Number and Unit number are the same and if they are, they usually stop there. However you will not get the magical Val: V unless the Data ID on your unit matches the head end. The ability to make the Data ID change depends on the level of tech you talk to. In fact most of the time when I ask the first level tech to repeat me the value of the Data ID, they tell me they cannot see that. So, I ask to go to the next level until someone can tell me the Data ID value they see. Not every tech that sees the Data ID can make the changes stick. I had one tech make the change and when my unit did not pair after a repeat hit, I asked him to out of my account and back into it again only to find out that it did not change. Went to a tech one level up and the change stuck. One paring experience I had I went through 6 techs in two different departments and 90 minutes on the phone until I found one that could make the change. 

Essentially, if the cableCARD has been used prior, the previous pairing has to be deleted at the head end for the new paring to stick. It is that step that most CSR cannot perform either through lack of knowledge or lack of privileged. Most of the time a supervisor had to enter their password to delete any paring information. This step is not required for a never been paired before card. 

All this to say, if the CSR you are dealing with is unable, cannot, or will not get your card/unit paired, ask to go to a higher level. You will eventually find someone who will be able to do it. If not, wait 12 hours and call back. I have Roamios and Premieres and have yet to have one not pair. I am not saying that there could not be a bug in the TiVo that prevents pairing, but in my experience, it usually Charter who has the problem.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

Charter is particularly difficult to properly activate a CableCard on, because they don't have a dedicated CableCard phone number to call like the other major cable companies do. So you have to do what is described above and keep escalating up through the support levels until you finally hit on someone with the ability to properly pair a CableCard.


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## hasbeen (Feb 21, 2015)

Wattsline said:


> So how did you finally get it to work? Do you have a "V" for the Val field on the conditional access screen? I've had no problems with 7 boxes until a month ago!


I can't check my val field at the moment but most of my troubles where that the tech insisted the Cable Card only supported two tuners and he did not install the TA correctly. I think I got a brand new Motorola CC at the 6.25 level and it worked fine once paired which went quickly. The TA was a whole different story but we eventually got it running.


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## Wattsline (Apr 27, 2015)

Had another charter advanced tech out and I suspected what the problem was. This was the fifth tech and I've been unable to pair a Roamio or Premiere for over a month. I told him what I thought the problem was and he got on the phone and we eventually got to someone at NOC. It seams they changed the Headend software recently and that's when the problems began. They are trying to fix it and and they are having a meeting today, 5/11, with interested parties including Tivo supposedly. I hope they get this resolved soon. I've heard a lot of people with this problem and a lot of suggested solutions that I've confirmed did not work.


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## HarperVision (May 14, 2007)

jmbach said:


> I have Charter and I can tell you that it is pot luck to get a CSR that knows how to pair a cableCARD. The cableCARD Charter uses here is the Motorola. Some areas use Cisco/Scientific Atlanta. I have no experience with the Cisco/Scientific Atlanta cards but from reading they appear easier than the Motorola cards. Most of the CSRs at Charter just want to send a hit to the card for pairing which invariably fails. The next step is a truck roll. Most will check to see if the Serial Number and Unit number are the same and if they are, they usually stop there. However you will not get the magical Val: V unless the Data ID on your unit matches the head end. The ability to make the Data ID change depends on the level of tech you talk to. In fact most of the time when I ask the first level tech to repeat me the value of the Data ID, they tell me they cannot see that. So, I ask to go to the next level until someone can tell me the Data ID value they see. Not every tech that sees the Data ID can make the changes stick. I had one tech make the change and when my unit did not pair after a repeat hit, I asked him to out of my account and back into it again only to find out that it did not change. Went to a tech one level up and the change stuck. One paring experience I had I went through 6 techs in two different departments and 90 minutes on the phone until I found one that could make the change. Essentially, if the cableCARD has been used prior, the previous pairing has to be deleted at the head end for the new paring to stick. It is that step that most CSR cannot perform either through lack of knowledge or lack of privileged. Most of the time a supervisor had to enter their password to delete any paring information. This step is not required for a never been paired before card. All this to say, if the CSR you are dealing with is unable, cannot, or will not get your card/unit paired, ask to go to a higher level. You will eventually find someone who will be able to do it. If not, wait 12 hours and call back. I have Roamios and Premieres and have yet to have one not pair. I am not saying that there could not be a bug in the TiVo that prevents pairing, but in my experience, it usually Charter who has the problem.


Great write up and couldn't agree more! :up:

I've had the exact same experiences with both Comcast and Oceanic TWC since cablecard's inception. I have NOT ONCE had to take a card back to be replaced as "bad", even at the insistence of the csr many times and asking for truck rolls. I just kept insisting they keep trying and escalating until the card finally paired correctly. It was ALWAYS an issue on their pairing/provisioning end.


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## schatham (Mar 17, 2007)

jmbach said:


> Most will check to see if the Serial Number and Unit number are the same and if they are, they usually stop there. However you will not get the magical Val: V unless the Data ID on your unit matches the head end. The ability to make the Data ID change depends on the level of tech you talk to. . .


Spot on.
The data being wrong or in my case not added is why I did not get HBO or on demand. This was Xfinity, but I was lucky and the second call I got a rep who noticed the data error and had it fixed in 2 minutes. I bet this is the issue every time you get channels but no premiums.


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