Time Warner Cable DVR Box

I have had four different SA boxes in two weeks! They all had bad hard drives. I'm told by the local office that TW rents the boxes...doesn't own them. I'm so frustrated with their handing out bad boxes.

I live in an area that will intermittantly lose power for just a second. This will cause issues with your cable boxes. (Channel unavailable, DVR will not record properly etc etc.) 

All that has been needed is unplug the box for 10 seconds and let it reboot. (aprox 5 min) after that everything has been find again.

I've had it with Time Warner! I'm switching to Windstream. Digital cable with HD. High speed internet and unlimited phone. Time Warner= 163.99 a month. Windstream= 94.99 for practically the same thing. (HD is FREE!) 

Even if I end up with the same problems as with Time Warner, It's less expensive. (and that price is FOR LIFE!) No constant raises in price. 

Anyone want to come with me?

I have been trying for at least 8 months to get my wife a dvr recorder box for our bedroom. When I call the order line they say I need to contact customer service who then sends me to the sales office, when I try to go on line to order this service it is difficult to even get into my time warner account. Has anyone else gone through this dance?

Cable guy thanks for answering with all these suggestions. 

 

BUT I live in a brand new building, I am the first person to live here, so I don't think it is the wiring. I had this problem before I move to the apt. I have had this box since I moved to Dallas 7 yrs ago. My box still has Comcast on it! 

 

AGAIN my complaint is WHY can't I order the new box? WHY is it so unavailable? 

 

AND I do know how to work the DVR...it is not recording episodes. I have cleared the program off and added it again to see if this will help....NOPE. 

 

So is this a box issue or a company issue? Every time I speak to a tech, they tell me it is a programming issue that has been going on for 6 mths... 

 

And how do I know what the newer models are?

Your issues are clearly wiring ones. There might be bad service entering your building, ask your neighbors how their services are. If they aren't having issues, it could be in your apartment. Look at the outlets in your apartment, unscrew the cable from the wall. Do you see paint on the wall connection? You should see a color of either blue, yellow or grey. No paint should be on it.  

 

Apartment complexs have a history of painting over everything after each tenant. This can cause signal issues, as does older wiring in the building. How old is the apartment complex? Does the managment office have a wiring aggreement with TWC? 

 

Rule of thumb is this. If you keep swapping out boxes, then it isn't the boxes its something else.

You could solve the problem alot easier by investing in a Tivo. Everyone I know with DVRs from Time Warner Cable have issues with them. Tivos are sooooo much better! Tivo customer service ranks up there with the best in my opinion.

Time Warner Cable DVR Box  

My Time Warner Cable DVR Box stops and freezes while I'm changing channels approx 30% of the time, no matter how slow I press the button in between stations. Same with rewind or fast fowarding. Then, if I try to press the button multiple times, when it finally takes action, it goes haywire with all the actions I pressed. I reboot it (them) constantly and have tried four different boxes over several years. Time is tight, I already spend enough time watching programs, now I have to sit their like a Pablovian *** wating for a machine to tell me when I can press the button again, and then it's a crapshoot.  

I have the guide set to hold the newly changed channel info. for two seconds, yet some of the time even that freezes on me on the new channel. When I ask to get the newest box via phone support, some say it's just a crapshoot which box the tech brings. If I go to the time warner store in person, at best, I'll get the same attitude as the phone service...how dare I question Time Warner Cable Inc. At worst, I get a strange look when I ask to exchange old box for a the newest box/model...like how dare I give a special request to a customer service clerk. Does anyone else have this problem with their DVR box (I've even rented the newest DVR HD box ('tho I don't have a HD TV!). I'm guessing if no one else has this issue, it must be somewhere in the cable wiring between the main area outside my apt. building, to the connection inside the apt...in other words inside the outside/ inside wall. 

I've had this problem with every Time Warner Cable DVR Box that was rented to me. In fact, I just started up my service after cancelling for the above reasons, and the service tech volunteered that the boxes experience the fore-mentioned issues.

95% of all cable issues are usually in the customer's residence. The other 5% is everything else ( mainline, equipment, office errors etc ).  

 

The cable boxes are refirbished. After each use it is cleaned up and giving current upgrades based on the current software at that given time. This is done to save YOU money.  

 

It is luck of the draw when it comes to getting a " NEW " box. 99% of all boxes today are within a year old. Yes you can request that a technician bring you a newer box. I would do that, but I would also ask for a technician to come out and check your wiring and your signal to the home. As I stated above, 95% of issues are in the home or on the property.  

 

Example: RG-6 should be the cable that comes from the wall to your device, if it is an older smaller diameter cable it might not be giving you the best service quality. In home wiring is your responsibility, call an electrician.  

 

If you have an underground line from a PED or pole outside it is buried about 6 inches from the grass line. If you hit it digging or aerating in the Fall, if could be damaged causing blocking & freezing or blacked out channels. I.E. call before you dig! 

 

Splitters are commonly found behind converter boxes. This is a very bad thing as it will change the balance of the signal the cable provider has given to you. You want the best possible signal right? Remove the splitters if you have them and have another outlet installed if you want to have another device ( i.e. internet modem ) next to your converter box. 

 

As for why your box is recording the serie shows you have assigned to record. That's hard to know without being there and looking at your signals hitting that box. Could be a problem in the area, neighborhood, your drop to the home, or in your home. It could be customer error, or it could be the box.  

 

What kind of messages are you getting when the show doesn't record? Does it say the channel could not be found? Or does it say there is a conflict?  

 

If a message states that the channel couldn't be found, then its not the box and you need a tech to come out and look at the signal hitting your home from Pole/PED to the back of the box. 

 

You might already know this, but I will illerate it again for everyone else. 

 

Two shows can be recorded at one time, one of them has to be watched ( only two tuners ). Standard def uses up more record time than HD. TWC offers an OnDemand channel called " HD SHOWCASE ". Most of your networks are on this free service to you. Record what you need to, watch the HD SHOWCASE for everything else. Save your hardrive space for what you know isn't on that channel. 

 

Now, if a channel comes in black or is blue with " unavailable please try again later ". This could be two things, an area problem ( tree fell on the lines, or the box isn't communicating in two-way mode ).  

 

How to trouble shoot this specific issue and others? 

 

Before calling TWC, try unplugging the box from AC power. Do this by unplugging the power cable at the rear of the box ( usually on the same side as the power button but in the rear of the box ).  

 

I have had the same two HD-DVRS for 4 years with no issues. I unplug the power from both every 90 days for 5 seconds and let them reboot. This gives them a hard reboot, any issues will present themselves here with that. Any upgrades that were sent out and you didn't get, will come in with a hard reboot. 

 

If still having issues, call TWC for a technician to look at the signal and see if there is a problem. Push comes to shove, he/she will find an issue and also replace the box if it is as old as you think it is. 

 

Before I finish, remember this. New boxes are like new cars, they might have bugs with them that haven't been worked out yet. Wait for the next model.