new 500 GB DVR Multi Room Not working!

[mattreadjunk]

I received the new 500 GB DVR this past Friday and set it up over the weekend. I'm having issues with viewing the new content on the new DVR with other STBs.

I've tried rebooting all the boxes and unplug each one but still get the same message that There was error connecting to the DVR STB. It's almost like the boxes are trying to still access the previous DVR. I tried to submit to Verizon Support on Twitter and it's been 3 days without hearing back if they had a solution. They tell me the same cut and paste message they give everyone to DM them on Twitter and here is the link to the form but then you don't hear back at all.

Has anyone else experienced issues with the new 500 GB DVR and Multi Room access?

[matcarl · Accepted solution]

Everyone has been having that problem. You have to call customer service so they can make the new DVR the multiroom unit.

[Hubrisnxs]

they should make that a user - configurable feature in the IMG menu.  like under in home agent or something.  

[eljefe2]

I had the problem with mutli-room DVR when I first installed the 7232 but it cleared itself up overnight.  I'm thinking the port forwarding rule for the DVR STB in the Actiontec router might have needed to been recreated.

A problem with auto-activation seems to be that the old DVR says in the system for...who knows how long?  It's been several days for me and I still have both DVR's showing on the TV Central website and in iPhone and iPad apps.  I even called tech support this morning and the rep said she deleted the 7216 (which I've returned) from my account.  As of now, both DVR's are still showing up.

I did go Verizon TV Central > My TV > Set Top Boxes and renamed the old and new DVR's to (very original) DVR Old and Living Room.  I can now easily tell which is which when managing the 7232 over the web or with the iPhone/iPad apps.

Not sure if that's any help or not, but after rebooting all devices including my router, and renaming the DVR's, and waiting overnight, all features are working here including Multi-Room DVR and on screen caller ID.

[NNard]

I actually removed my old DVR from the router network and allowed the router to issue the same IP address to my new DVR.  I hope it works.  I will check with my scheduled recordings.

[prisaz]

I switched from a 7216 MR-DVR to a 7232 and had tech support switch the MR feature to the new box, and have no problems. The STBs and DVRs talk to each other on their own little MoCA network. COAX or splitter issues can cause problems. Router not involved. I have MRDVR running and all routing functions are turned off on the Actiontec, and the the WAN ports are not even connected. The Actiontec is bridge LAN to MoCA. My router is a Linux box. The Actiontec does filter STB broadcast traffic from my LAN. It sees no MoCA traffic except for VOD and guide updates. All other UDP broadcast traffic is blocked on the bridge.

The hub errors people were seeing on the older 1.7 img were not HUB as in router related. The hub acts as the master on the MoCA network. Looking at the STB diagnostic menu D16 for "Connected Home" my DVR shows as the hub and is verified by the MAC address my Linux box assigns an IP address to. If you are having Multi Room DVR issues I can almost guarantee that it is not a router issue. Check and make sure you have good quality RG-6 coax and the proper splitter(s). Make sure there is no line loss or interference between the boxes. Also make sure Multi Room is assigned properly only to the DVR wanting to be the Multi Room DVR. It can not be assigned to more than one DVR. Now with the 1.9 image the rules may change, but I am not sure. Right now it is my understanding that only one DVR can be the HUB. Now that may be changing, we will need to wait and see. I believe it will change.

Now back to removing the old DVR and having Multi Room Enabled on your new DVR. You may want to have both DVRs connected so the feature can be disabled on the old DVR and enabled on the new. If you do not do this and reconnect the old DVR you may end up with two trying to act as HUBs. May not work well with 1.8. Not saying I know for sure, and my assumptions are only based on observations. But when I had Multi Room moved from old to new, both my DVRs were connected, and my system works great.

[matcarl]

They do not both need to be connected for Verizon to switch the multiroom function.

[mattreadjunk]

Thanks for the comments. @Verizonsupport switched the Multi Room DVR to the new DVR box instead of the old one.

[prisaz]

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@matcarl wrote:

They do not both need to be connected for Verizon to switch the multiroom function.

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It was my impression that the DVR must receive a configuration from Verizon to enable or disable the Mulitroom feature on the DVR. The hardware is the same, but the feature must be turned on or off. Are you saying the next time the DVR connects to the Verizon system, it will receive the command to enable or disable it as the hub? I was not sure if it would receive the command to enable or disable the MR function each time it connects or if was a one shot deal. Like some of the features only get sent on a reset or when the box is initialized?

[architechie]

Calling technical support has not worked.

Background.  I received my new 500 GB HD DVR last week and set it up per the instructions. It churned and blinked and then everything went black (TV screen and STB). I turned it on and got only local stations. No clock. No options. No guide. No menu. I then left the house and let it try to download/update itself. 6 hours passes with no luck. So I called for support. The agent was able to activate the box so I could get HBO and other stations, but the menu, guide and clock still didn't work. I reset the device several times; rebooted the router; tried in-home agent; and even reset the verizon system box. Nothing helped. Finally, he decided to ship me a new STB.  It arrived yesterday and acts just like the other one--exactly. i.e. It also does not work properly. I called again and apparently there was some problem with the network updating the guides so the agent couldn't help. She asked me to call back. So I connect my old 160 GB HD STB back up and it works almost immediately. The new guide looks cool too. So much for getting excited over new technology.

Anyone else having this problem? How did you resolve it?