Sept 2020 Fios DVR and Guide Update

[Scott804]

This week Fios pushed out interface updates for their TV services. After nearly 3 hours in chats, I was finally told that there is no way to roll back updates once loaded and they base new update options based on posts in the forum. Below are my complaints that they will only fix with enough support on here, if you have the same issues, please mark the post. 

1. They removed the chapter function for recorded programs on the dvr (the up arrow that would allow you to move to any 10 min marker in a program).

2. The new Now and Next function causes latency when switching channels. Even after setting it to 0 seconds. 

3. They removed the ability to view a single channel lineup in the tv guide. In the past I would just hit guide a second time to see the next 5-10 shows on a single channel. 

4. Finally, I just find the prettier guide view harder to actually read and process. Not sure if it is the number of channels,  dark screen, or just that it is too busy.  Turning off the background video helped a little, but not much. 

[Southern2356]

I agree.  It's a band-aid and a rather poor one at that.  Just go back to the old guide.  Everyone will shut up and go home.

[Kevo721]

THANK GOD!  As of 10/27, there has been an update with MAJOR improvements to the guide and the info bar.  However now when you are flipping quickly through channels, the only thing that displays is the channel number an logo.  You can no longer see the show title unless you slowly flip channel up and down.  This is annoying, since before the initial update, flipping through channels was blazing fast and showed the show names as you were flipping.  I’m hopeful that this lag in displaying the show titles can be corrected?   Another thing is that we do not need to see the info bar when skipping forward or backwards as we are watching shows.  It’s distracting and irrelevant/not needed.  What’s the point of showing that when we are skipping forward or back?  I think the on-screen arrows are sufficient.  Overall, this is so much better than the disaster of the last update but it still needs further fixes and/or “options” so your customers can choose how they like to see things.  

[nonstoptwo]

Bad it's just bad when you cannot see the channel numbers. Cheaply and poorly done. 

[het100]

I got the APR 7.5 update today. It's a band aid, not a fix at all. It returns pip and chaptering, that's it. There is still no program color coding, the guide is way too cluttered, constantly lags and all of the features we loved in the prior guide such as easy access to a mini guide are all gone. Sorry, but I am not at all satisfied by this "fix". Roll it back to the prior guide! Verizon, that is what every single subscriber on this forum wants you to do. Just do it. 

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@Scott804 wrote:

This week Fios pushed out interface updates for their TV services. After nearly 3 hours in chats, I was finally told that there is no way to roll back updates once loaded and they base new update options based on posts in the forum. Below are my complaints that they will only fix with enough support on here, if you have the same issues, please mark the post. 

1. They removed the chapter function for recorded programs on the dvr (the up arrow that would allow you to move to any 10 min marker in a program).

2. The new Now and Next function causes latency when switching channels. Even after setting it to 0 seconds. 

3. They removed the ability to view a single channel lineup in the tv guide. In the past I would just hit guide a second time to see the next 5-10 shows on a single channel. 

4. Finally, I just find the prettier guide view harder to actually read and process. Not sure if it is the number of channels,  dark screen, or just that it is too busy.  Turning off the background video helped a little, but not much. 

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[Chasevt]

Like others I created an account on this forum for the sole purpose of posting about the guide changes. I can’t stand the new guide. I miss the color coding of program types (green for sports, red for movies, etc). I also miss the ability to hit the up button and see a short version of the guide that allows you to keep watching while scrolling through other channels for something else. I used that feature constantly and now the up bottom only brings up detail on the existing channel. The new guide is also extremely laggy and not as fast as the old one.  Please change it back!!!

[Longislandviewe]

I wanted to thank Verizon for listening to customers and bring back many of the features we missed with the 'upgrade'. Specifically picture in picture on guide and my favorite feature ever of chapter skipping on the DVR. Thank you very much!

[Jaywoody1]

I'm infuriated with this update. I went with Verizon for their DVR package and now everytime I go forward/back, hit FF/Rewind, it takes up half my screen with the overlay. I know what button I hit. I certainly don't need an 8 sec overlay to tell me I hit skip 30 secs and what program I'm watching. Its awful. They say the chaptering is back with the next update. The fact is the whole update needs to be removed and the team that put this together needs to be fired. This is an absolute atrocity. My contract is up in 16 days. Glad I didn't renew yet. I'd be screwed for 2 more years. Someone who has been thinking of cutting the cord just had their decision made a lot easier. 

[Herbie66]

Guide update is horrible.

I know there's another thread but that thread was labeled as solved which it's  not.

How can I roll back the update?

Or maybe they can have the option of the old or new guide.

[gs0b]

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@Herbie66 wrote:

Guide update is horrible.

I know there's another thread but that thread was labeled as solved which it's  not.

How can I roll back the update?

Or maybe they can have the option of the old or new guide.

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Please read the solution marked at the beginning of this thread, it has information about a new Guide update which resolves some of the issues.  It's marked as a solution so it's at the top of the thread and not buried deep down in the thread.

The new update is being pushed to the last group of users right now.  According to the info posted by Verizon, by this time tomorrow, everyone should have it.

[Southern2356]

Hopefully this is only a band-aid because the fixes were not that great.  The whole guide is still slow and hardly operational.  They just need to really duplicate the old guide if it's a platform issue.

Watching TV again last night and the guide is just horrible for trying to navigate.  While PiP is back as well as chapter for DVR, the rest is still just so klunky.

[Psihawk1]

Got the Oct update.   As others have posted.. its a patch.. Got PIP and chaptering.. Maybe they increased the size of the channel guide listing to make it slightly easier to read.   Still just a bad update and needs to be corrected.  What in this new guide do they try to tell us is better than the last one??

[2poodles1]

Let’s face it, just like “New Coke,” they are not going to admit they messed up. People could lose their jobs or be demoted. If we’re incredibly lucky, they will slowly bring back what we had under the guise of “new and improved.”  If not, people will watch less - it was Netflix for me last night because I didn’t want to stand 3 feet in front of my 65” TV to see what was on. And, when their contracts are up, they will change services. 

Verizon hopes we eventually stop complaining and just accept their mistake.  Nearly 1000 posts over the course of a month says otherwise. Which means they’re either indifferent to their customers or stupid.  

[zSkylar1]

Solved? I don’t think so. Number 1 rule of software programming - the code has to run efficiently and not slow down the hardware to a crawl. Was the update tested on the full complement of FIOS set top boxes? Do those users with the new “non display” boxes and mini boxes still have the non responsiveness? Maybe some users can chime in.

Verizon - please address the INFO button. When we press info the first press should have an info screen smaller and without the next program information. We hate the clutter. Do we really need to press info three times to get full program information? At least give us options in settings to configure the info button functionality. We could also use a setting option for number of lines shown on the guide - with less lines improving the size of the channel numbers so we can at least read them.

[Jahumo]

The clutter and sluggishness is just too much...I’ve had it

[Jahumo]

I’m ready to switch...

[bristollucy]

PIP is back and the text is slightly larger.  No color coding and the latency is driving me crazy!  Here in southeastern PA.

[LB310]

Not sure I've noticed the updates made during this last release.  The issues I see are still happening

1) While watching a recorded show, the down arrow, no longer brings up the guide to allow you to scroll through the channels. 

2) While watching LIVE TV and scrolling through the guide, if you enter a channel #, it use to take you to that channel in the guide which was very helpful, now when you enter a channel, it changes the station to that channel.

3) We don't need a LARGE picture that takes up half the screen and while viewing other shows on the same channel, the current channels info remains, not useful. 

4) I hardly ever use/used the full guide, as there was no need, the previous version did everything it needed to. 

I LOVED the previous version, it was efficient and effective. Now it's just a clunky mess. The new version could not have been tested or even reviewed from a user perspective as there's too much out of order and is not at all user friendly. No tester in their right mind would have signed off on the results. Remember Verizon, without Customers, you do not exist. 

[Bluespeyer]

I live in eastern PA and got the 7.5 update late last night. I hope it's just a temporary patch, because it looks only marginally better now. The decrease to fewer channels on the guide menu is a start in the right direction. However the annoying latency issue remains. It still takes several exasperating seconds for an input to be executed.

Most importantly, why was the color coding for movies and sports not returned?? How hard could it be to do? I can't imagine it's a prohibitive cost for verizon. Of the countless specific complaints detailed on here by customers, the removal of the colors ranks number one. And clearly they were proved in the past to be extremely helpful, otherwise the old guide wouldn't have used them for years and years in the first place!!

If you too want the color coding returned, please write a post saying so. It appears verizon is listening and willing to make continued changes to this fiasco of an update. Maybe another 50 or so pages of our discontent will spur them to act quickly on it.

[Tyreeeejde]

The guide is only now about halfway to acceptable. Verizon: Add color coding and speed up processing times; only then

will it be acceptable.

[furry]

It's good to see some of the issues resolved finally.  Frankly, I was never even aware of the "color coding" concerns that many subscribers complained about.  Didn't even know about that feature for all the years of using FiOS.

My biggest complaint is still the incredibly slow response to button inputs (latency).  That needs to be fixed immediately.

[LWL2]

These are the same problems I've been experiencing.  It's not a learning curve for me--been using is for three weeks.  

The chapter function for recorded programs on the dvr is essential.

Pressing guide twice would bring up a vertically listed guide.  This is important because it shows the whole evening at a glance and it gives options to users who have preference.  The new guide is hard to read and I don't need to see a huge picture of the TV show, just the name and channel number and logo.

The next function is sort of useless because so much of it is cut-off due to space limitations that you have to press INFO to actually read it anyway.

Channel "neighborhoods" are useful, but do not encompass all channels in that category nor are they correct.  And why should I have to go to another screen, when the color categories were there at a glance.

Also, there is a lag when I dial in a channel number, sometimes counting it twice, sometimes not at all--channel 225 is sometimes 25, 2225 for example.  When changing with the Channel +- button, there is also a lag.  There is also a lag when scrolling across the channel guide with the arrow buttons.

I know new things take getting used to, but this is a step back, when features are removed for no apparent reason.

-thanks