# Pairing Tivo Edge w/Comcast



## Shane123

I moved recently, and was able to pair my TiVo Premiere using the automatic comcast/xfinity screens. However, my Edge won't pair using the same cablecards. I figured I just got a bad one, so TiVo sent me out a replacement one. However, the new one is doing the same thing.

I've spent hours on the phone with Comcast at this point, and haven't really made any headway. The only thing I've noticed behaviorally between the two TiVo's is the Premier will tune a channel if it doesn't have a channel list from Comcast, while the Edge won't do that. And in looking at my Premier's setup, it looks like it's not getting a channel list from Comcast. Has anyone seen anything like this or have any suggestions?


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## Shane123

These are the screens from the Premier. The Edge just throws up v66 errors no matter how many cable cards we throw at it. The same cards work fine with the Premier.


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## JoeKustra

The screens you have shown are from Diagnostics, not cable card menus. The Diagnostics will always say Paired: No. But the channel list received and VCT ID are reality. If it's a *Motorola* card, the Conditional Access display should show something like:







Val: V means it is paired. VAL: ? means it was paired but lost it when you changed hardware. VCT ID is usually a lower number, under 10.

No channel list received means no channels will work. Since a simple cable card swap usually works, even un-paired, my vote is bad Edge or Comcast doesn't know how to do a pairing. Sorry, but I don't have an Edge or Premiere with a cable card.


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## kpeters59

You can't really just move CableCards back and forth between machines.

With Comcast you _really_ need to make sure the card is un-paired before pairing it to another device.

-KP


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## Shane123

Yes, I know, I re-paired them. The point was that I know the cablecards are good.


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## kpeters59

My point was that you _must first_ Un-Pair them...did you do that?

-KP


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## Pokemon_Dad

Shane123 said:


> I've spent hours on the phone with Comcast at this point,


Have you tried the self-service website? That has worked better for me than calling. 
*[URL='https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/']XFINITY CableCARDTM activation & pairing* [/URL]


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## Shane123

Yes, I tried self service, and that worked great for the Premier, but not for the edge or my bolt either. (I bought it just in case I couldn't get the edge working, but it has the same problem)

I didn't see a way to unpair it with comcast. I know the automatic tool doesn't work pairing more than once to the same tivo, so what I've done instead is shuffled the cards between the edge and the bolt, or the edge and the Premier. Is there a way to unpair in the Comcasts UI?


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## Shane123

The shuffle works every time with the Premier, basically move cards between them. First tier at Comcast is clueless and screws up the pairimg every time, but the second tier in Flagstaff is okay.


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## kpeters59

You pretty much have to call Comcast to move a paired card to a new device.

But, it really ought to work at least a _little_ bit. Maybe loacal channels might tune or the like.

Does the CableCard Diagnostics Menu indicate that a CableCard is inserted?

-KP


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## Shane123

Yes, the diagnostic menu shows the card is there. It has the contact info for comcast to pair, and the OOB message count increments, so I know the headend is able to send OOBs to the edge at least. I haven't looked at the SNR that is registered on the Edge yet, but that's one of my next steps.


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## Shane123

Here's what my conditional access screen and network setup screens look like. I think the card is paired?, but still no channels.


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## Pokemon_Dad

Shane123 said:


> Here's what my conditional access screen and network setup screens look like. I think the card is paired?, but still no channels.


On the Conditional Access screen, "Con: Yes" indicates the pairing process has at least begun, but the fact that the screen below that is blank indicates that the process is not complete. There should be a lot more information. I would just leave it alone for a while and see if that fills in, by itself or when you click "Refresh".

In my experience the rest of that screen shows up eventually, and then you're all set. Maybe something on their end is down, just for today. I'd sleep on it, and if the process does not complete by tomorrow then maybe try this to get to a higher support tier: https://www.tivocommunity.com/community/index.php?threads/is-it...


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## kpeters59

It _is_ connected to a valid cable signal, right?

-KP


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## Shane123

KP: yes, the OOB SNR bounces around quite a bit, but it's between 27 and 34, same line the Premier works without troubles. It gets OOB packets. There's a splitter, which feeds the cable modem, the Premier and the Edge. The premier reports a 86% signal strength.

PD: Yeah I'll check tomorrow. That screen has way more info on the Premier. I activated it on Wednesday though and it's been plugged in since.


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## kdmorse

So here's where I would put my money....

Your cable cards show as properly paired. There is however some information still missing on the unit. Most noticeably, on the first image you posted, it says "Channel List Received: No". You may be chasing the wrong tail. You may have the cable cards properly paired. You may simply be missing the channel map.

Call them, or chat with them, and tell them to hit you. Tell them to hit the card. Tell them to send the signal they would send to a cable box if the customer said channels were missing. You will have to insist. You will have to pretend you're playing blackjack.

Sir, how can I help you today?
Hit Me!
I don't understand.
Please sent a hit to all my boxes. I seem to have lost my channel map, and need it refreshed.
Ok, but first I'd like to check a few things <cut him off>
No, first hit me. We can check other things later.
Sir, you should be aware that we don't usually <cut him off>
HIT ME!
In fact, HIt Me, then wait 30 seconds, and Hit Me Again!
Sir, we don't <cut him off>
HIT ME!
Ok, I'm sending a hit to all devices on your account. Sir, can you please check <cut him off>
I've got all my channels now, thank you!

How could you happen you ask? It's a workflow loophole. The agent usually send the hit before doing cable card work (which has a different update message). That first hit, going out before pairing has been fixed, usually goes nowhere. You need to get them to manually do it again, after the cable cards are happy.

Twice during cable card machinations, I've ended up in a ditch just like yours. And in both cases, poking comcast with a stick until they sent me a channel map solved the problem.

The upside, is that channel maps are refreshed on a schedule. So, there's a better than even chance that if you go to bed, it'll be working in the morning anyway.

(Best of luck, may the force be with you).


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## Shane123

I'll do that. I did notice this oddity as well:









Is that the device limit?


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## JoeKustra

Shane123 said:


> I'll do that. I did notice this oddity as well:
> Is that the device limit?


Please stop looking at the Diagnostics display. It's incomplete and mostly wrong in the cable card area. Stick with the cable card menus.


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## lessd

The cable card menu gives you a phone number that takes you where you need to be in Comcast, give them the S/N of the card and tell them to first un-pair the card then give them the pairing info they want. You must be in the cable card menu to get this information. If the card did not come from the local Comcast your now at get a new card from the local Comcast.


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## KevTech

kpeters59 said:


> You can't really just move CableCards back and forth between machines.
> 
> With Comcast you _really_ need to make sure the card is un-paired before pairing it to another device.
> 
> -KP


The self service can un-pair but you have to do it the correct way.

Select a cablecard serial number already listed then edit the host id and data id to whatever the new device pairing screen shows.

If you try to enter the serial number again of a card already in the system then the pairing will fail.

You want to edit the card info which will un-pair the previous host/data id and pair the new host/data id.

If you have multiple cards you want to make sure you select the right card before editing the info.


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## Shane123

@KevTech I don't really see a way to do that in the activation UI. It will let me pick cards, but then it just wants me to put in data/host ID info in to pair, it won't let me "unpair". I used the self-service UI to attempt to pair the Edge, Bolt, and Premier in a two cable card loop basically. Only about half the time was I able to get to the "Con: yes" case, but all were "Val:?".

I tried to get ahold of comcast, but the wait was crazy long today and I think it was going to first-tier. So..., I don't know, I guess I'll try the "hit it" suggestion a bunch of times when I can get through to tier 2.


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## KevTech

Shane123 said:


> @KevTech I don't really see a way to do that in the activation UI. It will let me pick cards, but then it just wants me to put in data/host ID info in to pair, it won't let me "unpair".


Select a card in there then change the Host ID/Data ID to what is in the Edge screen.

When you change the Host/Data ID it will unpair that device and pair the new Host/Data ID.

Just make sure it is the card you want to change.


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## Shane123

Ok, yes, that's what I've been doing, and it does work for the Premier, just not the Edge or the Bolt as of yet. I do think one of the two cards is bad though, it failed to pair on the Premier. That really doesn't explain why the good card wouldn't pair with the Edge or the Bolt, but at least it's something approximating progress.


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## Pokemon_Dad

Shane123 said:


> I tried to get ahold of comcast, but the wait was crazy long today and I think it was going to first-tier. So..., I don't know, I guess I'll try the "hit it" suggestion a bunch of times when I can get through to tier 2.


Don't forget the post I linked to about the Comcast tech support forum. You may waste far less time there.


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## Shane123

PD: thanks, I put something in the direct forum. Spent dumb number of hours on it today, the activation UI fails to lookup my cablecards 90% of the time, and the activation times out 80% of the time. (Incredibly annoying, because it times out sending something from the head-end, but it does update the database..., so I've got to pair it to something else just to get it to attempt to pair the box that I want it to pair to) Maybe my head-end is fried if not every Comcast TiVo customer is screaming.


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## Pokemon_Dad

Oh we've all been screaming for years, lol. Every time we moved, I thought I was going to tear my hair out. As a matter of fact, maybe that's why I've lost so much hair, or at least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Good luck, and please keep us updated!


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## sansom

Yeah what a nightmare. My first Edge/CC pairing was a dream. Self Service worked flawlessly. Then the HD failed and I went into a boot loop. The replacement Edge would not pair with the s set lf service and took at least 4 calls and 6 hours on the phone to get them to manually add everything on their end.


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## mattyro7878

Next time I have cablecards issues I will go to an x1. I am too old and can not put up with Comcast bs anymore. I will be on hold for 2nd tier and then get put back in the "joe schmoe" queue. Makes me crazy and violent.


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## Shane123

Through dslreports PD referenced I was able to get through to 3rd tier, which escalated. There was something wrong with the headend. Now the one working is the Bolt, but I'm not taking that CC out for anything . So, I'll get a new one and pair the Edge next week. The way they won't tune channels or show guide on the Edge until paired is a huge blunder, the cable company will just auto-blame tivo even when thier equipment is the issue.


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