Cisco wireless receiver known issue with playback of recorded content

[JefferMC ACE - Professor]

---

FormerWillyb wrote:

On coax.  If you have a new home or new wiring, you may be able to get faster than 10Mb over coax.  My house is 22 years old, and even when it was new, the cable company guy commented on the low coax cable quality.  I've run Internet speed tests from a laptop connected to a coax-wired STB as well as from my Vizio TV itself.  With my 18Mb U-verse Internet, the best I can get over the Coax is approximately 9600 bps. 

---

Cable that old likely doesn't meet the specs that AT&T installers are suppose to require. Have you installed UVREALTIME and looked at the nominal bit rate on that link?

[FormerWillyb]

---

JefferMC wrote:

 Cable that old likely doesn't meet the specs that AT&T installers are suppose to require. Have you installed UVREALTIME and looked at the nominal bit rate on that link?

---

No, I haven't, but then I don't really have a problem with my cable-connected STB's.  My Vizio TV and Roku boxes are all wifi.  I'm almost sorry I brought up the coax question, as it seems to be driving this thread off track.  

The OP asked about problems with wireless STB playing back DVR recordings.  I offered up what I did that has worked for me.  The coax stuff was really sidebar, in case readers were not aware that a coax-wired STB could also function as a single-port network switch for a network/internet device.  The data on coaxial cables, while interesting, is not pertinent to the original post, answer to which is obvious to all by now:  Yes, there does seem to be a fairly widespread problem with DVR playback over a wireless STB.

I apologize to the forum for causing the thread to get off the through track and onto a siding.  (Railroad jargon)

[RCSMG ACE - Expert]

Glad you to know you got that issue resolved.  He may not have heard of any problems with wireless boxes, but I knew there would be a few issues at least.

[GvilleUverseGuy]

Just to register my own problems - I set up my first wireless box a little over 24 hours ago.  The only problem I have experienced is the white bar / losing list of recordings.  It has happened about 6 to 8 times in 24 hours.  I have rebooted every U-Verse component I own (RG, DVR, STBs, WAP) and still have the problem.  The wireless STB downloaded a software update automatically right after I connected it to the WAP last night (and I have rebooted it, the WAP, and the RG since that update was applied).

The last thing I tried tonight was to replace the ethernet cable from the RG to the WAP with my own cable.  I have rebooted the WAP and wireless box again and will see how it does tomorrow.  I hope U-Verse will be able to come up with a solution to this problem if it continues happening.  

My own setup has the RG/WAP about 15 feet from the wireless STB across an open space.  The STB's wireless lights show full connection strength at all times.

[Dennis_H]

Good luck, but I wouldn't hold my breath... I had the WAP about 20 foot away and still had issues. Back to wired and back to no problems for me...

[jsig]

My DVR keeps displaying the "Press OK to browse a list of recordings" bar across the bottom of the screen when playing recordings. Anyone seen this?

{post merged}

[GvilleUverseGuy]

Intentionally ran TV with wireless box most of the day after swapping ethernet cable on the WAP. Also a couple hours watched on DVR. Had one instance of the OK message in 10 hours. So improved for me but not solved yet.

[Remmy700P]

Been reading this thread with interest. Amazing that folks are actually paying $49 for the install and $7/mo for these things! I don't and would be irate if I did!

I have been addressing the "Press OK to..." banner during DVR playback with Tier 2 tech support ever since we got the wireless STB. I am getting a solid 4 bars on the WSTB by placing the WAP on top of the entertainment unit in a vertical position, i.e. the cables are pointing down and the top of the WAP is pointing down the hall to the WSTB's bedroom location (about 40' away). This seemed to make a substantial change in stability to the wireless connection, but the banner issue was still there. (As a side note, I think that the WAP boxes would show a marked performance improvement by having an external antenna akin to the original wireless routers.)

It doesn't have any issues simply playing regular TV channels, so that means that 1. it isn't the signal strength from the WAP-to-WSTB, and 2. there is a communication protocol issue between the WSTB and the DVR. My determination was a software glitch in the WSTB's DVR recording list polling function (pulling the recorded program data into the WSTB). I was right.

It was confirmed by Tier 2 Tech Support management personnel that there is an operating system (OS) glitch with the WSTB. The fix will have to come from the OS provider (Microsoft). I was told that it was supposed to arrive in an update in the month of June. Still waiting.

Most tech support reps and field personnel do not know about this. Don't ask me why.

Don't go chasing your tail trying new cables, new locations, new configurations, etc.

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

See my message below:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Receivers-Battery-Backup/Cisco-wireless-receiver-known-issue-with-playback-...

[GvilleUverseGuy]

I installed a 2nd wireless STB yesterday.  It has run smoothly so far without the "OK" bar issue.  The first STB I installed still does the "OK" message, perhaps 3 - 4 times per day. 

[sr1kcbr]

Just adding some grissle for the techs to chew on (WARNING: these are merely opinions and in no way shape or form convey instructions that may lead to damage of property or loss of service)

. Found signal strength to be factor. AP has 3 antenna only 2 were working properly.

. Found firmware to spoof MACs, creates multi paths and disjoins poorly, l;eaves the streams incorrectly, lumping up causing disrruption of service (dserv stagger is blatantly evident before cut out/lock up)

. Found deeply  compromised system(s) (aka-flame..travel brought it home) casuing volitility within the home network. Hidden streams (443), havoc on multicast = nightmare. Cleaned up just that and brought my wstb's back to a state when they first  were installed.

.Found other interesting tidbits but no longer get paid for such things, see what FW brings before canceling service.

[joebrug]

Does anyone "in the know" have any indication of when the firmware is supposed to come out? I've had uverse for a little over a week now.. running one main DVR box and two wireless STB's.. One about 30-40 feet away from the WAP and another upstairs. Both have the "Press OK to browse" issue randomly. and it actually seems to happen when the DVR is starting another recording/finiishing a recording. Where there might be a "hiccup". Also, the boxes have lost communication with the DVR many times.. VERY frustrating/annoying. U-Verse really is great, WHEN ITS WORKING. Seems to be few and far between though

[FormerWillyb]

And now a new wireless stb issue arises:  Every couple days, the picture just goes away.  Black screen, no sound.  Shut off the TV and on.  No difference.  Switch wireless stb off and on.  No difference.  Only resetting the stb brings it back.

It's beginning to look like AT&T started selling the wireless STB before Cisco finished inventing it.

[aviewer ACE - Master]

FormerWillyb - The black screen occurs on wired STBs, as well. I believe component aswell as HDMI. HDMI for sure.

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert]

Yes, the black screen is a known issue with U-verse, and they are working with Microsoft to resolve.  It's not a wireless receiver issue.

[FormerWillyb]

---

texasguy37 wrote:

Yes, the black screen is a known issue with U-verse, and they are working with Microsoft to resolve.  It's not a wireless receiver issue.

---

This is not just a black screen.  It is a black screen and no audio.  For me it happens only with the wireless STB, not with the wired DVR or the other three wired STBs.

Microsoft, eh?  I seem to recall that the OS in these boxes is Windows CE.  That OS dates back to the early 90's, doesn't it?

[crisptito]

Can anyone from ATT respond to this issue? I am a new customer and having this problem on my wireless stb which is hooked to the main tv in the house used to watch recorded DVR programs. Very annoying. My tech actually told me this was a known issue when he installed the system (why ATT is selling hardware with know issues is beyond me).

The wireless box was the primary reason I switched to ATT due to the tv being located on a wall with a dead coax outlet. I need to know how long till a software fix is pushed to correct this bug. There isn't anything wrong with the connections or signal strength.

[jeffpickl]

I had this exact same issue. Have been through 3 boxes. 2 techs. The last tech replaced the STB and WAP and still had the same issue. Called his manager and she had seen it before. So we tried 2 things....

1) reduced the available space to more than 10% free space - Still had the issue

2) removed any duplicate programs on series record. Everything that was on there more than once was removed. I didn't realize how many of these I had.

I haven't had the issue with any new recordings since we did that. It was just Sunday and I could be talking too soon, but it's worth passing along as others haven't had much luck either. All i know is that if it comes up again, i'm getting it replaced with a wired one because this is ridiculous. Let me know how it works for folks.

[richwhiteohio]

I have the same issue. Last night I tried several things. First I made sure the main box was actually on. When you turn off the box with the att button on the remote it turns the box off as well as the tv. So pressed the power button & left the glass door on my center containing the main open. The problem was resolved. So then I closed the door and the problem returned. Now i have housed the main box in an open shelf and the problem has not resumed. In my opinion it is defiantly a communication issue between the main & wireless boxes.

[GvilleUverseGuy]

To provide an update on my wireless box issues: have been running two boxes for a few weeks now: 1. The first installed one has two problems: (1) the press okay message/losing the DVR recordings, and (2) heavy interference from our 5.8 ghz telephone system. Any time we receive a phone call or make a phone call the box loses connection to the WAP for a minute 2. The second wireless box is upstairs (WAP is down near the first box) and has had ZERO problems with anything. So local signal interference appears to be critical in how these puppies perform, as others have already posted! I will probably return the one box that has all the trouble and keep the other one.

[FormerWillyb]

It seems that our wireless STB's are doomed to problems.  I wonder if another answer might be here:

http://www.whdi.org/

Wireless HDMI could connect your wired STB to your TV wirelessly.  In addition--maybe--it might allow you to connect two TVs to the same STB, one attached directly to the STB via the component connectors and the other via wireless HDMI.  I don't know if this technology is ready for prime time, but it has promise!

[FormerWillyb]

---

FormerWillyb wrote:

It seems that our wireless STB's are doomed to problems.  I wonder if another answer might be here:

http://www.whdi.org/

Wireless HDMI could connect your wired STB to your TV wirelessly.  In addition--maybe--it might allow you to connect two TVs to the same STB, one attached directly to the STB via the component connectors and the other via wireless HDMI.  I don't know if this technology is ready for prime time, but it has promise!

---

Followup.  After reading a review of three wireless HDMI systems at hometheater.com, I have further looked into this one at amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-Wireless-WiFi-Multi-Room-Video/dp/B005L9ZZ32/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_to...

It has an HDMI pass through, so you can still connect a local device via HDMI.  There are also separate receivers available in case you want to transmit to more than one TV.  Since my ATT WAP is in the kitchen with the receiver just behind the wall (the only way it would work even half way OK), I could replace the wireless STB with this setup and solve two problems:  the wireless STB bugs and the living room/kitchen TV's being out of sync when watching a recording or even the same channel. 

I'm still thinking, but I'll report back here with my results if I get it.  Let's see...$200 for the wireless HDMI or $7 per month for the troubled wireless STB.  That's quite an extended payback--28 months.

[aviewer ACE - Master]

FormerWillyb - Sounds like you are trying to feed a kitchen TV without the STB in the room. But, upi cab get an HDMI cable to it (you gave the wireless STB feeding it).

Another alternative to the $200 wireless HDMI is an HDMI splitter. Hooks up the same as the wireless, but wired. for $25 plus cost of HDMI cable - http://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-HDMI-1x2-Splitter-v13b.asp?ad_source=GoogleAdWords&ad_medium=PPC&ad_t...

Play the video down the page.

[efdisaster]

Decided to try the wireless STB when the sales person on the phone offered it to me while I was calling to replace a broken remote control. It seemed like a good choice, because we had a very long ethernet cable running across our floor due to freezing/stuttering picture problems, when were trying to use the existing coax in the house.

Our wireless box has the "Press OK" bug. I disabled the 5G band on our other wireless router, we weren't using it... the wifi analyzer on my phone doesn't show any other 5G networks, and a signal of -55 to -75. I haven't  tried changing the ethernet cable, yet. We did have a tech out here the other day... he played with our outside wiring for a while, and then came inside and replaced our RG and our wireless receiver (not entirely sure if he replaced the WAP as well, but he may have). We still have the "Press OK" bug, and the freezing On Demand and it "jumps to live" any time we get behind on a show, regardless of whether any other STBs are on or anything is recording... This new box also blacks out on live TV for a few seconds at a time, several times and then resets itself every few days.

Crappiest $50 upgrade ever. I'll gladly run the big ugly ethernet cable across my floor again. 

[jsig]

Has there been any updates to this issue? I have to call ATT to get one box replaced as it does nothing but reset over and oiver. When it does work it has this Press OK bar issue. The other receiver works fine except for the Press OK bar issue.

[juventus12]

i have been with UVERSE for only 3 months.  I was with DIRECTTV for over 10 years and the only reason i left them was because they dont offer internet service.  The only way i could get internet service was to contact Comcast.  That became expensive.  So I deceided to give ATT a try.  Brother do I regret it!!  I have all the same issues you all have been talking about and every week im on the phone with CS.

They set me up with a tech for tomorrow but I know there isnt anything he will be able to do for me since I have read all the same issues on this forum.

A word to anyone that is thinking of leaving their current tv provider....DONT DO IT !!!   Im certain that ATT is aware of these issues and I havent heard them trying to repair it.  If they dont know of the issues, then they are truly blind to their business and who would want to stay with a company that isnt aware of serious equipment issues.

Wont ne long before i cancel their service!!

[texasguy37 ACE - Expert · Accepted solution]

There appears to be a new firmware update being pushed out for the wireless receiver.

[beerjunkie1995]

More than likley those having issues with the wireless stb also have the DVR plugged into the RG via ethernet as well. If you can try this.

Keep the WAP connected to the RG ,and if you have a switch that can handle multicast traffic, Plug thr dvr into the switch.

or

With an approved splitter move the DVR to coax and keep the WAP into the RG

This has eliminated playback issues, freezing, and blue screen. Providing you have a good signal on STB

Try it and let me know. All TESTED feedback is welcome.

[RSTexas]

After 6 months of no joy, I found a solution to the "Press OK..." issue.

After having AT&T replace various hardware several times to no avail, I changed the SSID of my wirless network from the default 2WIREXXX to a custom name I made up. I also changed the password, but don't think changing the password matters. I live in a condo complex and noticed their are thirty 2WIRE networks in range. Don't know why there would be an issue, but like I said I no longer have the annoying "Press OK..." issue.

To access the 2WIRE Configuration page you need to put this address in your browser http://192.168.1.254. Note you will need to have your system password to save the settings.

Hope that helps you!  I was about to give up and switch providers.

[beerjunkie1995]

No testers. All these issues and no one to try?