IPC4100: SNR Level, value & Short term Error Count Readings.

[dexman]

Back when we had Motorola STBs, I could navigate the menus to check on SNR & Error Count readings to check for cabling issues before they became service affecting or after we started seeing problems.

Off & on I've been checking the same screen on my bedroom's ipc4100 and the data fields are either blank "value", -error- " SNR Level" or N/A "Short term Error Count". Ditto for our other mini as well as the main unit.

Are these data fields still valid with the new Arris STBs? 🤔Screen Shot.

[clem21]

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@dexman wrote:

Back when we had Motorola STBs, I could navigate the menus to check on SNR & Error Count readings to check for cabling issues before they became service affecting or after we started seeing problems.

Off & on I've been checking the same screen on my bedroom's ipc4100 and the data fields are either blank "value", -error- " SNR Level" or N/A "Short term Error Count". Ditto for our other mini as well as the main unit.

Are these data fields still valid with the new Arris STBs? 🤔Screen Shot.

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Yes, they usually are populated with either GOOD, POOR, or the actual numerical value. I have no idea why you are seeing this. I assume you are looking at: Main Menu > Settings > System Information.

I'd try unplugging power to the VMS box for at least 3 minutes, then restoring power and see if it re-populates correctly. Might also try Power cycling the router and see if that helps.

Does page 2 look like this:

Also here:

[dexman]

Hi Clem!

I see two differences.

. Voice Server Status: Not Connected.

. Streaming Server Status: Section is missing.

Other than that, they are pretty much identical.

Paul

[clem21]

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@dexman wrote:

Hi Clem!

I see two differences.

. Voice Server Status: Not Connected.

. Streaming Server Status: Section is missing.

Other than that, they are pretty much identical.

Paul

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Are you using a Fios router as the main in the system? Can you see the YouTube and Netflix channels from the box?

[dexman]

Yup to the hardware. 3100 router and three 3200 extenders. Not sure about YouTube/Netflix. Will need to try that out.

This situation has been since day #1, so, it isn't the result of a recent change.

[dexman]

Luckily everyone else stepped out of the house, allowing me the chance to power cycle everything (the ONT and all three STBs).

The primary STB does show the error information. The minis do not.

I'm starting to wonder if this is by design. 🤔

Two of our TVs are "dumb". They are HD, but do not have Internet capability.

[clem21]

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@dexman wrote:

Luckily everyone else stepped out of the house, allowing me the chance to power cycle everything (the ONT and all three STBs).

The primary STB does show the error information. The minis do not.

I'm starting to wonder if this is by design. 🤔

Two of our TVs are "dumb". They are HD, but do not have Internet capability.

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I was talking about the Netflix and You Tube widgets built into the Fios boxes, not in the TVs themselves.

[dexman]

Whoops....My bad. 😕

Yes. I can access & watch YouTube videos via the STB app.

Video quality was perfectly fine. 🙂

[clem21]

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@dexman wrote:

Whoops....My bad. 😕

Yes. I can access & watch YouTube videos via the STB app.

Video quality was perfectly fine. 🙂

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That's really strange as the minis get all their content from the VMS. Don't know what else could cause it except possibly bad VMS. Definitely not that way by design.

[dexman]

Hey Clem,

On a hunch, after I posted my last reply, I called Verizon Customer Support and spoke with Jake (US-based rep).

He said (and I'll use basic terminology rather than the technical ones) that the mini STBs (clients) do not have onboard tuners. The tuners are inside the main unit (media server). So, unlike the main unit, the mini STBs don't really have a way to report the stats.

If this is true, it's a bit sad because a marginal splitter or connector could low level impact the transmission to one mini but not the other(s). Checking the stats and seeing a few errors would signal a problem in the making even if the effects were not being seen at the moment.

Maybe Arris will modify the hardware in a future release to allow minis to report errors much the same way that the main unit (media server) does.

Paul

[dexman]

A workaround....(albeit clumsy)....would be to swap the VMS and clients to be able to check for incrementing errors at each television. 

Hoping Arris will address the inability for the clients to display line statistics in the same manner as the Media Server does. 🤔

[clem21]

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@dexman wrote:

A workaround....(albeit clumsy)....would be to swap the VMS and clients to be able to check for incrementing errors at each television. 

Hoping Arris will address the inability for the clients to display line statistics in the same manner as the Media Server does. 🤔

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My guess is they have no reason to do that. The IPCs get their data from the VMS, so anything not right at the VMS level should be passed on to the IPC boxes. All the tuners are in the VMS, so Arris has no real reason to duplicate the error reporting. Now if they could show transmission errors TO the IPC boxes from the VMS, it would be helpful.

[dexman]

That's my thinking. With the existing hardware, swapping units seems to be the only way to accomplish that.

A costlier option might be to purchase test equipment, but, that wouldn't be justified for a one-time event. 🤔

[gs0b · Accepted solution]

There's a menu that shows MoCA signal strength and bit-error-rates for all of the set-top-boxes.  That's what you want to look at to determine the signal strength at a mini.  It also shows signal data for each of the main boxes six tuners.

From the menu, select:

   Customer Support

   Top Support Tools

   Connected Device Status

Once this loads, navigate to one of the setup boxes and select it.  Then select

   Advanced Diagnostics

Enjoy!

[dexman]

Bingo!

Is there a way to make the path that gs0b provided into a sticky? Being able to check the stats is helpful in trying to track down cabling/splitter issues. 🙂