# Remote loses pairing after a few days



## Finalrinse (Jan 13, 2005)

I have a Roamio Basic and Mini V2 in the same room same shelf (I use the Roamio basic for OTA). Each is using it's own factory TiVo remote. For awhile, like a few months, all worked well. Now, every few days when I try to use the Mini V2 there is no response from the remote. I have to pull the plug on the Mini and power back up, then all is well for a few days. Any ideas why this just started happening?


----------



## jhirschman (Jan 26, 2014)

I'm seeing problems with my Mini's remote, too. The pairing doesn't seem to stick.


----------



## Finalrinse (Jan 13, 2005)

Finalrinse said:


> I have a Roamio Basic and Mini V2 in the same room same shelf (I use the Roamio basic for OTA). Each is using it's own factory TiVo remote. For awhile, like a few months, all worked well. Now, every few days when I try to use the Mini V2 there is no response from the remote. I have to pull the plug on the Mini and power back up, then all is well for a few days. Any ideas why this just started happening?


I would like to bring this back up, still having the issue. Any ideas?


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

I'm having the same problem as the OP. I'm glad to see I'm not alone. 

My Mini V2 stops responding to the RF remote commands. A reboot of the Mini corrects the problem so the pairing isn't really lost. This is repeatable every day after a period of inactivity. I was planning on calling TiVo about the problem.


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

sbiller said:


> I'm having the same problem as the OP. I'm glad to see I'm not alone.
> 
> My Mini V2 stops responding to the RF remote commands. A reboot of the Mini corrects the problem so the pairing isn't really lost. This is repeatable every day after a period of inactivity. I was planning on calling TiVo about the problem.


Called TiVo support. The technical representative did not have any good suggestions. Since I have the original RF remote and the Slide Pro remote, I'm going to troubleshoot a bit more to see if they both lose the ability to control or if it isolated to one remote. She indicated that the box could be bad since a reset fixes the problem.


----------



## string-bean (Oct 14, 2015)

I have the same issue with my Mini. I have found that my remote does work if I switch it to IR, so it is strictly a loss of the RF connection. 

I am in contact with TiVo support, but they have not come up with a solution yet. I'll post here if they figure out how to correct the problem.


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

string-bean said:


> I have the same issue with my Mini. I have found that my remote does work if I switch it to IR, so it is strictly a loss of the RF connection.
> 
> I am in contact with TiVo support, but they have not come up with a solution yet. I'll post here if they figure out how to correct the problem.


After pairing my 2nd RF remote with the Mini, I waited until the RF failed to work. Both RF remotes failed to communicate with the Mini V2. Once again, RF and iOS app communication continued to work. A reboot of the Mini corrected the problem as expected.

I do have an extra RF dongle for a Mini V1 that I could try. I suspect that this will work flawlessly since I have never experienced this problem on a non-RF box.


----------



## Leon WIlkinson (Feb 13, 2000)

sbiller said:


> Once again, RF and iOS app communication continued to work. A reboot of the Mini corrected the problem as expected.


You meant IR still works on both Remotes?


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

Leon WIlkinson said:


> You meant IR still works on both Remotes?


Correct. IR still works on the remotes for controlling the television volume, power, etc.


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

Just finished a phone call with a very pleasant and cooperative tech support person. He agreed to replace my out of warranty Mini V2 (activated Feb 2015) at no charge. It will be interesting to see if I see this problem again but it sounds like it isn't very common.


----------



## jeffdoering (Dec 1, 2003)

I am having *exactly* the same issue with a Tivo Mini that's about 3 weeks old. Using slider + stock remotes (both in RF mode). Loosing control within a few hours. Network control still works fine, box is responsive. Only solution appears to be plug-and-unplug.

So maybe not entirely uncommon. Let us know if your issue disappears with a new box. Don't want to start swapping hardware too soon in case it is a software problem. I did not have this issue the first week or two using the Mini.


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

To date, the new Mini V2 is working flawlessly.


----------



## Finalrinse (Jan 13, 2005)

sbiller said:


> To date, the new Mini V2 is working flawlessly.


Great to know, mine is still acting up, time for a call


----------



## string-bean (Oct 14, 2015)

As I posted earlier, I have the same issue with my TiVo Mini. After many conversations and troubleshooting, TiVo finally agreed to exchange it. They initially wanted $50 for the exchange, but after talking to a supervisor they were able to waive that fee. My mini was purchased in June, so it was a month past the 90 day warranty period from when I initially contacted them.

I should receive my new mini in a few days, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it lasts longer than my current one.

During my conversations with them they did mention that a main culprit of losing the RF connection is when the Mini is within three feet of a router. I wanted to mention that here in case someone with this issue has that scenario.


----------



## jeffdoering (Dec 1, 2003)

Interesting. Sounds to me like saying "within 3 feet of a router" is a non-technical (or deliberately vague) way of saying "our RF solution has some kind of interface problems that we don't handle correctly". My mini is not within three feet of a "router" but it' is very close to other computer network hardware (none with WLAN antennas though). So it really depends on what they think causes the interference. I guess getting a new box from them and seeing if the issue continues would be a good test. Telling me to move my equipment would not be an acceptable resolution. But sbiller didn't mention moving anything after replacing his box.


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

My Mini was located in a bedroom nowhere close to the router. The only device nearby was a Roku box. My replacement V2 Mini continues to work well.


----------



## string-bean (Oct 14, 2015)

I also found the router comment in the Troubleshooting section of the Roamio Remote Control on their support site.

https://support.tivo.com/articles/Product_Information/Roamio-Remote-Control

*My Roamio remote will not work in RF mode*

Although the Roamio remote in RF mode has a range of approximately 30 feet, certain materials or other devices using RF signal can interfere with the RF signal from your remote. Specifically, make sure that you are more than 18 inches away from any router or Wi-Fi access point when using the remote in RF mode.

If you are unable to use RF mode, you can switch your remote to IR mode. For instructions, see Switching to IR mode.

If your remote doesn't function in either RF mode or IR mode, replace your batteries and try again.

If your remote still doesn't function in RF mode or IR mode, Contact TiVo Support.


----------



## Joseph Betts (Jan 2, 2016)

My new Mini worked great until about a week ago. Suddenly the remote doesn't work every morning (or after several hours) unless I unplug and restart the Mini. The TiVo help chat line was of no help.


----------



## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

Joseph Betts said:


> My new Mini worked great until about a week ago. Suddenly the remote doesn't work every morning (or after several hours) unless I unplug and restart the Mini. The TiVo help chat line was of no help.


Sounds like you should convince TiVo Support to replace the Mini. I would make sure it repeats at least a few times.


----------



## junknspam3 (Feb 25, 2015)

My Tivo Mini & remote just unpaired from each other just tonight. Did a reboot of the mini and it works again. 
Is there a way to manually pair remotes to a certain tivo device.


----------



## joehilarious (Jan 10, 2016)

My Tivo Minis worked great for about six months. Then the the Tivo Mini units would see the romio plus as not being a legitimate device to pair with. I have gone around and around with tech support. I was using TP Links (Ethernet over power) to connect. They then said to wire it directly so it could refind the unit. I have two physical locations where I use my TiVo. One network is at 192.168.199.x. My other network was using 192.168.10.x. I rewired everything physically and put it another switch to no avail . I brought one of the units to the 192.168.199.x network and it worked great. I brought it to the other network and it would not work and gave the V70 error.

Multiple calls to Tech support did always resulted int telling me to plug in everything and then try it....or download three times on the main unit and it will work. Nothing did work until..........

I went to the 192.168.10.x number and renumbered it to 192.168.199.x.

So evidentely if you have multiple Tivo units they all have to be on the same numbered network. This is ridiculous and is a technical flow with the software. This needs to be fixed because I do not understand why they designed it this way. Initially it was fine for six months .. Then it changed.

Can someone in tech support look at this and have it fixed.


----------



## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

Similar issue with mine (mounted on back of Samsung LCD).
It's about 15' away from my WiFi router.

I did get it via Amazon, so I could get it replaced through them. Is there any gotchas when replacing hardware "not by TiVo"?


----------



## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

joehilarious said:


> My Tivo Minis worked great for about six months. Then the the Tivo Mini units would see the romio plus as not being a legitimate device to pair with. I have gone around and around with tech support. I was using TP Links (Ethernet over power) to connect. They then said to wire it directly so it could refind the unit. I have two physical locations where I use my TiVo. One network is at 192.168.199.x. My other network was using 192.168.10.x. I rewired everything physically and put it another switch to no avail . I brought one of the units to the 192.168.199.x network and it worked great. I brought it to the other network and it would not work and gave the V70 error.
> 
> Multiple calls to Tech support did always resulted int telling me to plug in everything and then try it....or download three times on the main unit and it will work. Nothing did work until..........
> 
> ...


This isn't an official TiVo forum. You'll need to contact TiVo.

Given that, there is a wealth of information here gathered by actual users and most often is more valuable than TiVo support


----------



## snerd (Jun 6, 2008)

joehilarious said:


> So evidentely if you have multiple Tivo units they all have to be on the same numbered network. This is ridiculous and is a technical flow with the software. This needs to be fixed because I do not understand why they designed it this way. Initially it was fine for six months .. Then it changed.


All TiVos that share the same account, and thus share the same MAK, need to be on the same subnet.

If you have multiple networks, you need to set up separate TiVo accounts for each network.


----------



## junknspam3 (Feb 25, 2015)

Yes, joehilarious your tivos and minis need to be on the same subnet in order to communicate.
Now back to the topic of THIS thread.
Has anyone heard anything from TiVo about the unpairing problem of the minis and their remotes?


----------



## GimmePepsi (Aug 16, 2002)

My 2 month old Tivo Mini just developed the exact same problem as the OP. Prior to three days ago the RF pairing was working 100% perfectly, with never a hiccup. But now the Mini and the remote appear to lose their pairing after a few hours of inactivity. Nothing restores it except a power cycle of the Mini, after which the remote again works 100% perfectly in RF mode for a while. (At no time does it "drop out of RF mode into IR mode" as others have reported in another thread. Based on the red/yellow coloration, it stays in RF mode, but the Mini stops recognizing any button presses. The IR A/V functions continue to work fine no matter what I do.)

I've tried replacing the batteries in the remote, also I've done a global reset and re-paired. Nothing prevents the condition from recurring. For now I have put the remote into IR mode exclusively.

It does not seem to me that the symptoms are consistent with any kind of interference problem.

Since it's only 2 months old, I plan on calling Tivo to get them to send me a new Mini.


----------



## gespears (Aug 10, 2007)

GimmePepsi said:


> But now the Mini and the remote appear to lose their pairing after a few hours of inactivity. Nothing restores it except a power cycle of the Mini.


I had the same issue with a refurb that TiVo sent me to replace a Mini they killed with an update. The TiVo CSR immediately sent a replacement and acted like is was a well known issue.


----------



## GimmePepsi (Aug 16, 2002)

Well, I never called TiVo, because as a last resort I moved the Mini slightly away from my WiFi router, and the problem has not happened once in the many days since then. It was 1 foot away from the router, now it's 3 feet away.

I was aware of the advice to not put the Mini closer than 1.5 feet from a router, but I didn't think that was the explanation for my problem, because of a) the similar symptoms described by other people whose Mini was NOT close to their router, and b) the fact that mine would work 100% fine for several hours before losing the pairing. (If there was an interference problem wouldn't I see that immediately?)

Whatever the explanation is, I am now happy.


----------



## haggis444 (Jan 21, 2004)

Probably a dumb question, when this happens does the light on your remote turn on? I have had a similar issue and was assuming all along the remote was somehow eating batteries. So replacing them with new seems to fix the problem. My son swears the light does not come on during a button press when this occurs but the TV is on a porch so the natural light might be obfuscating the light. 

When you have this happen does pulling and reseating the batteries establish the connection again? 

My Mini is inches away from an access point so I am thinking maybe I have the same issue you do.


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

haggis444 said:


> Probably a dumb question, when this happens does the light on your remote turn on? I have had a similar issue and was assuming all along the remote was somehow eating batteries. So replacing them with new seems to fix the problem. My son swears the light does not come on during a button press when this occurs but the TV is on a porch so the natural light might be obfuscating the light.
> 
> When you have this happen does pulling and reseating the batteries establish the connection again?
> 
> My Mini is inches away from an access point so I am thinking maybe I have the same issue you do.


Make life simpler: Don't guess at battery health -- use either voltmeter or a battery tester, both available for under $10 on Amazon.

For a voltmeter, search "multimeter" in all departments. Or search "battery tester" in all departments.

Battery testers (e.g., D-Fantix BT168D) have two advantages over voltage measurements: (1) easier to connect to battery and (2) they test under load, I.e. drawing some current (which voltmeters don't do).

I use a voltmeter. Alkaline AA cells measure about 1.6V when fresh and the last time I replaced them in my Roamio RF remote they were down to 1.17V. Other electronic items may work well down to 1V or may need 1.3V -- varies with the device.

Voltages will measure lower in the battery tester, especially for depleted batteries and you will actually see the voltage falling as you keep the tester connected.


----------



## Riteguy (Aug 29, 2016)

I have two Mimi's connected to a Bolt and both Mini's will lose pairing requiring a reboot of the mini which corrects the problem. Problem is becoming more frequent as I exceed 6 months of ownership of the system.

Notice when kids rush thru channel changes, the problem occurs. Also, times when we shut down the mini holding the remote close to the receiver, wondering if the TV goes off leaving the mini on. Could this leave the mini on too long causing the loss of pairing?

Becoming more annoying as the amount of resets is increasing.


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Riteguy said:


> I have two Mimi's connected to a Bolt and both Mini's will lose pairing requiring a reboot of the mini which corrects the problem. Problem is becoming more frequent as I exceed 6 months of ownership of the system.
> 
> Notice when kids rush thru channel changes, the problem occurs. Also, times when we shut down the mini holding the remote close to the receiver, wondering if the TV goes off leaving the mini on. Could this leave the mini on too long causing the loss of pairing?
> 
> Becoming more annoying as the amount of resets is increasing.


Have you tried a global reset of the remotes? Instructions here:
https://support.tivo.com/SupportPor...-Perform-a-Global-Reset-for-my-Remote-Control
The linked instructions don't mention the *Mini* Remote but the described procedure seems to be identical to what is described in the Mini Viewers Guide on page 38:
http://assets.tivo.com/assets/resources/HowTo/Mini_VG_OP1_Jan2015.pdf
Although it's not called a "global reset" there. This reset will require that you reset the code to control your TV controls, unfortunately. Don't know if this will solve your problems. I have a mini but haven't had remote issues (yet). I have to do this on my Roamio remote after every time it is restarted. Once done it will be good until the next restart.


----------



## type the text (Aug 15, 2016)

One of our remotes unpairs each time we end use.
What I have not seen mentioned is that the mini will still work with the app on my phone without a reboot. Reset button will NOT fix issue only a pull of the power does then about half the time remote will start to work. Our mini is not close to the router nor out of line of sight from the remote.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

type the text said:


> One of our remotes unpairs each time we end use.
> What I have not seen mentioned is that the mini will still work with the app on my phone without a reboot. Reset button will NOT fix issue only a pull of the power does then about half the time remote will start to work. Our mini is not close to the router nor out of line of sight from the remote.


Please explain "reset button". Are you using a v1 Mini or v2? If v2, is it in IR mode? Line of sight is not a factor with the remote in RF mode. My Mini is behind the TV.


----------



## type the text (Aug 15, 2016)

I understand that the remote I have is rf but when you don't mention things like line of sight people seem to jump in with advice on such matters applicable or not. Reset button on the bottom of the box, mine is yellow. For me though pulling the plug works better but takes longer to reboot.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

type the text said:


> I understand that the remote I have is rf but when you don't mention things like line of sight people seem to jump in with advice on such matters applicable or not. Reset button on the bottom of the box, mine is yellow. For me though pulling the plug works better but takes longer to reboot.


I guess that when the remote stops controlling the Mini you feel it is not paired? A few things to check.

The System Information display should display the remote's battery level in RF mode. If it says unknown, hit TiVo and "D" and check again.

If the remote stops affecting the Mini, check the LED of the remote. If it is red when you hit a button the RF connection is lost and it has gone to IR mode. This can fix itself if you block the front of the remote with your hand and hit any button twice. It may be an interference problem. My computer causes interference.

Pairing, with the LED blinking yellow, is a very specific operation. If you perform the reset linked to above, a pairing can be done. A power cycle of a Mini does not affect pairing. Removal of the batteries from the remote does not affect pairing.

I have never used that reset button. I have five Mini boxes. Only one is v1 in IR mode.


----------



## type the text (Aug 15, 2016)

Checked system info using APP controller.
remote address O
battery level unknown

Remote blinks yellow.

I will try the steps listed above.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

type the text said:


> Checked system info using APP controller.
> remote address O
> battery level unknown
> 
> ...


Remote address is an IR thing. Battery is always unknown after a restart until you hit TiVo and "D".


----------



## NeitherSparky (Jan 3, 2008)

I just bought a used Mini with the rf remote from someone, so I'm not sure how old it it, and I've already experienced the remote issues and had to restart the box. I switched the remote to ir because I don't care if its rf or ir, but that's a pain. Hopefully that's all I need to do to "fix" it...


----------



## gyoumans (Jul 25, 2009)

I also have the issue with the loss of RF connection with my Tivo Mini. I can use the network remote (iOS app) to restart the Mini (HELP>RESTART OR RESET>RESTART THE TIVO BOX), and when it reboots the RF connection works perfectly... until the next time it loses connection. Physically unplugging the box works too...

I have had the Mini for a couple of years... and the issue has been happening sporadically for the last 6 months... but recently, it's happening more often (2-3 times a week). 

I appreciate all the help on this board - I was getting tired of pairing and repairing the remote. Based on what I have read here, I will call Tivo support to see if they can help me. If anyone has had luck getting help from Tivo, was there any key phrases that you used when describing the issue to the CSR?? 

Thanks,
Greg


----------



## mayta_capac (Aug 9, 2009)

I have the same issue with a TiVo Mini V2. After a few days the remote will only work in IR mode not in RF mode. It is not next to a router. I bought a refurb a few months ago with no issue. The mini works fine in IR mode but will only work in RF mode once I loss a connection by unplugging the Miniv2, any chance tivo will do anything for me? The Mini 1.5 years old but the problem surfaced 6 months ago.


----------



## jhimmel (Dec 27, 2002)

Having same problem with one of my Mini's. Guess it's time to call support.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


----------



## GimmePepsi (Aug 16, 2002)

For the first year I owned the Mini I experienced this problem in waves: There would be no problem for some months, then the problem would happen for some months, and so on, off and on. Then, starting about a year ago, the problem has never gone away. Meaning, every single day when I first try to use the RF remote, it doesn't work; so I power-cycle the Mini, and the RF remote then works for the remainder of that day; and then the whole thing repeats the next day, and every single day. I have now gotten accustomed to this minor annoyance, and I am too lazy to try other experiments like moving the Mini more than 4 feet away from my WiFi router, or seeing if it's the period of inactivity that triggers it.


----------



## adavidw (Feb 23, 2000)

I had this same issue with my first mini where the RF stops responding and the box needs to be power cycled. I called TiVo and had to go through a couple of reps and push pretty hard, but they finally replaced the box. The replacement box works flawlessly.

More recently, I picked up another refurb mini in a black Friday sale. Yep, it's got the same RF failure. If the problem wasn't so widespread, I'd assume I got my first one back.

Getting ready to call TiVo and press the issue as soon as I can set aside the time.


----------



## kujo999 (Jan 31, 2006)

adavidw said:


> I had this same issue with my first mini where the RF stops responding and the box needs to be power cycled. I called TiVo and had to go through a couple of reps and push pretty hard, but they finally replaced the box. The replacement box works flawlessly.
> 
> More recently, I picked up another refurb mini in a black Friday sale. Yep, it's got the same RF failure. If the problem wasn't so widespread, I'd assume I got my first one back.
> 
> Getting ready to call TiVo and press the issue as soon as I can set aside the time.


Any feedback from Tivo about the RF issue?


----------



## adavidw (Feb 23, 2000)

kujo999 said:


> Any feedback from Tivo about the RF issue?


I got sidetracked and haven't had a chance to call yet. Hopefully later this week.


----------



## adavidw (Feb 23, 2000)

Finally got around to calling on this. Dude first went through some process to get the box to "sync in". He says it's never "synced in" before, despite it functioning normally otherwise and despite him seeing it on the account. He hasn't been able to explain what "synced in" means, but is pretty sure that would fix it. I can't understand how anything on the account level could fix a known hardware defect, but whatever. I'm jumping through hoops like a good monkey.

Once I rebooted the machine after he did something on his side to have it "sync in", he had me reset the pairing on the remote. Afterward the remote worked fine (just like it does after every reboot). He was confident that the problem was now fixed, and I was equally confident that nothing had changed. I've repaired the remote plenty of times without change, and nothing the mothership can do can keep the RF chip from shutting down.

So, I politely but firmly insisted that the only solution was to swap out the box, since that's the only thing that worked for me the last time. He agreed but said there would be a charge since the warranty was only 90 days. I said that the warranty provides 90 days for labor, but 1 year for parts, and isn't a box swap just exchanging one box of parts for another. I'm not sure my logic is totally sound there, but I did say that since the problem existed on day one, it ought to be covered as if I'm calling on day one.

He put me on hold for a long time to get someone to approve the replacement with no charge. He came back and asked if I'd tried a few more troubleshooting steps. I said I'd tried everything, and then finally they approved replacement. I'll come back and post when I receive the replacement (which should fix everything).


----------

