One Channel Freezing Up
seanpb2
Enthusiast - Level 2

Just wondering if anyone ever found the answer to this?  I have the same problem - that went away for a long time, but these last couple of weeks it's been happening at least once a day.  It's always the same channel (#504 - CBS in the Boston area) - all other channels work just fine and this particular one keeps freezing up.  I have to reboot the STB each time.   It happens to also be the same channel we watch most frequently/record things on.  Thanks!

107 Replies
clem21
Community Leader
Community Leader

@bkulis12 wrote:

Having the same issue as everyone else here. Called Verizon customer support three different times and was told the issue was fixed. Now happening multiple times a day. Had them replace the main set box, but the system just froze again. Frustrating as this never happened before we upgraded to Verizon One


Reboot the Router and the box. Then check all the coax connections, from the ONT to the splitter, splitter to the router, router to box. I had a bad box do this once, but it affected several channels on the same frequency.

Augustlp
Enthusiast - Level 1

I am having the same issue. It has been happening for months. I would reset the box via the menu and it would work great. It used to be 1x a month, then 1x a week and now it is every day and today seems to be every few minutes. I have chatted with Verizon all day and they say there is an outage. Not sure how it is NOW an issue and qualifies for an outage. I cannot watch any recorded shows from 504. It will say it recorded and when I go to watch it will not play. Let's hope they fix this cause it is REALLY annoying!

Gweagraff
Enthusiast - Level 2

I think part of the issue may be because, like many companies, Verizon is short staffed right now, so they don’t have enough people to work on this type of issue. But I do agree that it’s very annoying because this may be a channel that I watch more than any other. 

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PG171
Enthusiast - Level 2

I have the same problem. Verizon refuses to acknowledge the issue. 

PG171
Enthusiast - Level 2

Verizon told me about a work around ! Turned off the HD tuning in settings. That didn’t work either. 

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petesza1
Enthusiast - Level 2

I just hung up with Deshawn from VZ support with this EXACT same issue, same channel 504.  Of course that is Survivor, Jeopardy and all the shows my wife and I watch (and tape) the most.  When it freezes nothing is recorded on the DVR either.  This problem has been going on for years.  We have had FiOS for ever and moved to the Quantum router and latest set top box and this same channel has been having this same problem for years (it does come and go).  I told Deshawn about this and was not familiar with the issue but did reach out to other VZ SME's who confirmed the issue.  He came back with the following "Work around" until VZ can fix the bug in their head end:

Using your remote go to:
1 Menu
2 Settings
3 System
4 Television
5 Auto Tune To HD (scroll down a bit for this one)
6 Turn that OFF and then save/ok

Unfortunately we already had our turned OFF so it is not a "work around" fix for us.  I turned it ON and then OFF again to see if that might do something. 

I swear it happens more often when you rewind and fast forward live TV.  I figure with all the FiOS subscribers watching Survivor in broadcast mode then start rewinding, fast forwarding past commercials, etc, it gets hosed up even worse.  When will VZ ever move to IP TV?  

If anyone has any other info please post!  With ~5 minutes to reboot the box it's always a rush to fix before Survivor starts!

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Cloudyplusplus
Enthusiast - Level 3

@petesza wrote:

I just hung up with Deshawn from VZ support with this EXACT same issue, same channel 504.  Of course that is Survivor, Jeopardy and all the shows my wife and I watch (and tape) the most.  When it freezes nothing is recorded on the DVR either.  This problem has been going on for years.  We have had FiOS for ever and moved to the Quantum router and latest set top box and this same channel has been having this same problem for years (it does come and go).  I told Deshawn about this and was not familiar with the issue but did reach out to other VZ SME's who confirmed the issue.  He came back with the following "Work around" until VZ can fix the bug in their head end:

Using your remote go to:
1 Menu
2 Settings
3 System
4 Television
5 Auto Tune To HD (scroll down a bit for this one)
6 Turn that OFF and then save/ok

Unfortunately we already had our turned OFF so it is not a "work around" fix for us.  I turned it ON and then OFF again to see if that might do something. 

I swear it happens more often when you rewind and fast forward live TV.  I figure with all the FiOS subscribers watching Survivor in broadcast mode then start rewinding, fast forwarding past commercials, etc, it gets hosed up even worse.  When will VZ ever move to IP TV?  

If anyone has any other info please post!  With ~5 minutes to reboot the box it's always a rush to fix before Survivor starts!


I received the same advice when I called tech support a couple days ago. Actually, they mentioned toggling it, not switch it to "Off". Mine was already set to "Off", so I tried toggling it to "On". Nope! 

Autotune HD is a setting that if you tune to a SD version of any channel (channel 4 in this case), it will automatically tune to the HD version (channel 504, the offending channel.) 

So, setting Autotune HD to "Off" will allow you to watch or record the SD version of the channel (as a work around). However, it doesn't resolve the problematic HD 504 nor does it help if you have a series of recordings scheduled on 504. However, until they fix it, it's really the only dependable method for viewing/recording this channel (I hope.)

petesza1
Enthusiast - Level 2

We were watching Jeopardy last night on 504 and guess what?  It happened again twice!  So the first time I got into the My FiOS app on my phone and ran through the process to reset my FiOS One set top box.  That takes about 5 minutes or so, feels like a lot longer as I hum the Jeopardy tune in my head....  It could not have been 5 minutes after everything came back on and Jeopardy froze the second time!  So this time I called VZ tech support ready to let them know that this issue is blowing up on their vz.com forums and this time their ACD recognized my phone number after I dialed in and asked me if I was calling about the same issue.  I hit #1 for a big YES and they told me that a fix was going in at midnight.  I have not checked yet but assuming that means it went in last night (Friday) and we should be back to watching CBS Channel 4 on HD channel 504.  Fingers crossed.....

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Cloudyplusplus
Enthusiast - Level 3

@petesza wrote:

We were watching Jeopardy last night on 504 and guess what?  It happened again twice!  So the first time I got into the My FiOS app on my phone and ran through the process to reset my FiOS One set top box.  That takes about 5 minutes or so, feels like a lot longer as I hum the Jeopardy tune in my head....  It could not have been 5 minutes after everything came back on and Jeopardy froze the second time!  So this time I called VZ tech support ready to let them know that this issue is blowing up on their vz.com forums and this time their ACD recognized my phone number after I dialed in and asked me if I was calling about the same issue.  I hit #1 for a big YES and they told me that a fix was going in at midnight.  I have not checked yet but assuming that means it went in last night (Friday) and we should be back to watching CBS Channel 4 on HD channel 504.  Fingers crossed.....


Yeah, it's still a problem. I called again this morning and was told it would be fixed by noon today. I've not checked it yet, but don't have a lot of confidence at this point.

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Gweagraff
Enthusiast - Level 2

Have you actually kept a log of how often it happens? I watched WBZ 504 for about an hour this morning (but not on the main box) and it didn't seem to be a problem. Yesterday I felt like it was much worse.

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ghwwe72
Newbie

Having the same issue with this channel the last few days wish they would fix it!

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HelplessTV
Enthusiast - Level 1

SAME SAME SAME--So totally aggravating!!!! Have spoken to Verizon multiple times..sometimes with someone who knows what they're talking about and sometimes someone from India that I can't understand or hear!!!!

They have "rebooted" several times...nothing....one had me unplugging everything in the house--which then killed every TV and internet!!---PANIC-- and of course, nowdays, no one can come into the house to evaluate and fix anything...So what to do???????? Very upsetting.

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lola14
Newbie

I have the same problem with 504 too . called Verizon several times about this and got same answers and nothing done. what I wound up doing is going to best buy and buying an antenna , hooking it up to tv go into input on tv and change tv from cable to antenna . watch tv from antenna instead of cable . picture comes out good and you get several channels . Antenna not expensive $15 or so

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Bgraves1
Newbie

Same issue channel 504, very annoying. I tried calling Verizon but couldn’t get to live person. Automated system tried rebooting my system but then said they were having trouble with my reboot and they would transfer me to live person. Almost an hour wait time so I gave up

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carol251
Enthusiast - Level 2

omg, did you find out what the problem is, this happens constantly on my tv. channel 504 freezes, sometimes pullling the plug works other times not.  Please help.

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Gweagraff
Enthusiast - Level 2

Just an update, the problem still persists. I’m thinking about cutting the cord because of this. 

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Gweagraff
Enthusiast - Level 2

I just thought of something else. I know a few people have said they feel like this starting happening when they upgraded to Fios TV One. I upgraded to One back in November and it wasn’t happening back then but I remember it happened for about a day in January, then was fine for awhile though it would sometimes happen once every few weeks or so, but last week it really started getting bad. But what I wanted to ask: does everyone here who has been experiencing the problem have Fios TV One? Because I saw someone said they know someone in Acton who hasn’t seen the problem. And I know this normally may sound strange, but do you think it would be possible to downgrade from Fios TV One back to the system before it?

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Michael7851
Enthusiast - Level 1

Verizon has been dragging their heels on this problem for months now. A ticket has been around for quite some time to fix the issue but the only updates which come daily is that it will be fixed by each day by noon.

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Bear311
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hello,

One of my TV channels in all my boxes keeps freezing after a second and cannot tape my shows.  

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Cloudyplusplus
Enthusiast - Level 3

@Bear31 wrote:

Hello,

One of my TV channels in all my boxes keeps freezing after a second and cannot tape my shows.  


This one looks to be different than this thread. Though it started out as a general issue, this thread is now specifically about Boston channel 504 (CBS).  If your zip code is 20744 (MD), it might be a similar issue, but you might want to start a new thread with the area in the subject.

To see if it's related to this issue, we are seeing:

  • One channel is problematic. All other channels seem fine.
  • That channel can be OK for days, hours or minutes. Lately, it's been a couple hours at best. Rebooting the system clears it until the next time.
  • That channel is HD. The SD version of the channel is OK.
  • It's only on Fios TV One equipment, not the older equipment.
  • It's a heavily viewed/recorded channel (CBS vs. one of the marginal channels.)

Good luck.

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Scooter31
Enthusiast - Level 2

This situation is out of control at Verizon. Over 700 customers affected in Boston area. It clearly is an issue with how Fios is decoding the wbzhd feed. Work arounds are a joke. You can watch in SD but you pay for HD. Only fix is to reboot vms 4100 server but now that only works for a brief time. They sent me a new box and both boxes would freeze at the same time. I have been reporting this issue since last October. Someone at Verizon needs to stand up and get this resolved. As far as I am concerned they owe everyone refunds and they need to resolve. I now have had to subscribe to YouTube TV to watch wbzhd and to record shows. Verizon should be embarrassed. They push the resolution date to the next day every day. CS reps have no clue until they read the notes and then just apologize. Next move is to get wbz involved and the towns who have the franchise agreements. It seems they won’t mind losing everyone’s tv and box fees when everyone impacted cuts the cord. You would think the would want to protect their tv business.