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. 

[AGW-1980]

I wrote a week ago saying I had a FIOS One box that was still running APR 7.5. At 1am on 1/12, my box rebooted itself, and I checked the System Information —the box is now updated to APR 7.8. FYI, I’m in northern Virginia. 

[bristollucy]

Has it helped? Does the update have color? What changes did you notice? 

[Southern2356]

7.8 did not do much of anything.  My box is still tremendously slow, no color, and pretty much still unacceptable.  If you are hoping this is the fix, keep hoping.

[2poodles1]

Agree. The only difference I noticed is that PIP is now on the right side of my screen. And I had to hard reboot.  No improvement that I’ve noticed.  No colors.  Logos are too small.  System is impossibly slow.  

What’s not to like?

[TallGuyVA]

"Logos are too small."

Logos?  What logos?   I'm still seeing "TV" for everything.   I'm in Northern Va and the boxes are running 7.8.

Alas, we keep waiting.

[clem21]

---

@TallGuyVA wrote:

"Logos are too small."

Logos?  What logos?   I'm still seeing "TV" for everything.   I'm in Northern Va and the boxes are running 7.8.

Alas, we keep waiting.

---

Try powercycling the boxes and see if the logos appear.

[TallGuyVA]

TallGuyVA wrote:

"Logos are too small."

Logos?  What logos?   I'm still seeing "TV" for everything.   I'm in Northern Va and the boxes are running 7.8.

Alas, we keep waiting.

Try powercycling the boxes and see if the logos appear.

I've done that more times than I can count -- including just now.  Still no change on the logos.   Or on the slow response time.

We looked into upgrading to FIOS One since the rep said that swapping out for the newer ("upgraded") F1 boxes is free.   Well the box swap may be "free", but it would also include (er,... require) a plan upgrade to keep the same channel line up.  That's about $75/month more.  no thank you!.

[clem21]

---

@TallGuyVA wrote:

TallGuyVA wrote:

"Logos are too small."

Logos?  What logos?   I'm still seeing "TV" for everything.   I'm in Northern Va and the boxes are running 7.8.

Alas, we keep waiting.

Try powercycling the boxes and see if the logos appear.

I've done that more times than I can count -- including just now.  Still no change on the logos.   Or on the slow response time.

We looked into upgrading to FIOS One since the rep said that swapping out for the newer ("upgraded") F1 boxes is free.   Well the box swap may be "free", but it would also include (er,... require) a plan upgrade to keep the same channel line up.  That's about $75/month more.  no thank you!.

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I assume you have the 1100 boxes? Like to know to tell tech your issue.

[TallGuyVA]

I assume you have the 1100 boxes? Like to know to tell tech your issue.

Yes they are.

[AGW-1980]

For the other person in Northern Virginia with APR 7.8, are you on a FIOS One box or another model? I'm in northern Virginia, running APR 7.8 on an Arris box model VMS4100 and I see the logos in the Channel Guide, and I don't have the delay issues.

[AGW-1980]

Sorry - I responded before reading the later posts. Sounds like you have a different box than the Arris VMS 4100 that I have.

[Newguideconcern]

I got the 7.8 update last week, but I had to go to system information to find out! I can’t see any improvements! And still no guide colors!

[DDOhj4039hd]

Remove this from the SOLVED classification. It is NOT SOLVED.

This isn't how community boards work.

It has been 4 months. What is the status of getting chapter functionality back and cleaning up the clutter of this guide thing you pushed out?

[1970sTech]

Back in Sept there was a new DVR software update pushed out to every STB. This release has had several hundred posts about how horrible it is. I won’t go into all the ways it is that I agree with them but to ask one thing:

How do you go almost 6 months without rolling out an update?

You need to fix how slow this system has become. It is so unusable that I don’t think I would ever have said this but you have basically convinced me to look at “cutting the cord” or simply using you as an internet feed. 

Given how long you have gone without doing anything other then making a few display tweaks it shows you don’t really care or understand how poor this product has become leading me to believe you don’t really care about this business or its customers. 

Have some dignity and fix this mess.

[dukesmom1]

I must agree with you. I've had verizon cable for years. It is so much better than "the other one." But you're right. Even the tech I spoke to recently had a bit of an attitude. They were never like that. Is it because so many people have Hulu and Roku? Are they pushing us out of cable? I wish they would fix the utterly useless guide they've sicced on us. It's just terrible.

[Trlcker981]

The DVR search feature doesn't even work anymore!  When you find the title it just takes you to On Demand instead of showing upcoming showtimes!!! 

[jhickey007]

I just logged in and was amazed to see the "PROBLEM SOLVED" CHECK BOX AT THE TOP OF THIS TOPIC. It is not. My guide is just as slow and messed up as it was after the update. 4 seconds to go into pause. all the same page up/down problems. DVR, well I'm too **bleep** of to get into it again.

I urge who ever reads these at verizon to provide an update to the update removing the latency of the remote buttons in the guide and in DVR. Get rid of all the channel thumbnails. Pleeeeeze!

[BRG99]

With all due respect to those who posted after me, I am sure that there are people at Verizon who care.  Unfortunately, it has been approximately 5 MONTHS since the most recent updates began, along with their accompanying problems.  This forum conversation  began in September, 2020, and it is now 117 pages in length.  Sadly, I cannot recall any recent replies from Verizon, except “Problem Solved, ” which is untrue.

One of the posters has indicated that the development team is working on another update to fix the problems.  This same poster also states that the same development team is restricted by federal compliance issues.  Would this be the same federal government that no longer cares about the people?  Good luck with that!

If the poster has inside information, please feel free to share with rest of us.  Are other DVR providers having the same federal issues?  Why does Verizon not respond to the pleas of their customers in these postings?  Why did tech support disconnect my chat with them when I asked about the 7.8 DVR update problems?  That kind of disrespect is “customer disservice.”

Please raise your hand if you believe, that after these 5 months, you still believe that a fix is coming soon (you will also make the “tooth fairy very happy!)

[clem21]

---

@BRG99 wrote:

With all due respect to those who posted after me, I am sure that there are people at Verizon who care.  Unfortunately, it has been approximately 5 MONTHS since the most recent updates began, along with their accompanying problems.  This forum conversation  began in September, 2020, and it is now 117 pages in length.  Sadly, I cannot recall any recent replies from Verizon, except “Problem Solved, ” which is untrue.

One of the posters has indicated that the development team is working on another update to fix the problems.  This same poster also states that the same development team is restricted by federal compliance issues.  Would this be the same federal government that no longer cares about the people?  Good luck with that!

If the poster has inside information, please feel free to share with rest of us.  Are other DVR providers having the same federal issues?  Why does Verizon not respond to the pleas of their customers in these postings?  Why did tech support disconnect my chat with them when I asked about the 7.8 DVR update problems?  That kind of disrespect is “customer disservice.”

Please raise your hand if you believe, that after these 5 months, you still believe that a fix is coming soon (you will also make the “tooth fairy very happy!)

---

Any "inside" information is not able to be shared, I can only say that the situation is still under development. The SOLVED post was one of the only ways to get attention for people to see the latest sharable news on the issue, not as a final solution. I can tell you first hand AT&T also does not use color coding schemes, and is even worse than Verizon's guide. Very little info is provided on their guide and you can just about forget any customer service. I have a mini box from them that looses its connection EVERY night at 2AM, nothing can be done to stop it. So I believe state of the art right now in cable TV is sorely lacking. Personally i believe the core issue here with Verizon's guide is the addition of fancy new graphics which overload the older boxes with data. The Fios one boxes have more RAM and faster processors that can handle the graphics better. The catch 22 here is if Verizon didn't try updating the guide to more graphics, people would complain that the guide was outdated and looked like something from the 70's. So here you are with a not so great situation that will take a while to fix because as we all know, nobody makes perfect software! For another view on the issue check this thread:

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r32945885-APR-7-8-STB-Software-Update-12-9-20

[jhickey007]

clem53 said "Personally i believe the core issue here with Verizon's guide is the addition of fancy new graphics which overload the older boxes with data. The Fios one boxes have more RAM and faster processors that can handle the graphics better. The catch 22 here is if Verizon didn't try updating the guide to more graphics, people would complain that the guide was outdated and looked like something from the 70's."

I agree the graphics are overloading the STB and of course the new Fios One works better. It is forced obsolescence that will make the customer pay more for the new box. That's not cricket.

Be nice if, while in development, they checked backward compatibility! I have 3 STB's. I didn't have an issue with the "old" guide and my remote worked in real time!

Taking it back to the 70's makes me think of Pong. but I think that was a nice exaggeration 🤣. Look if Verizon wants to swap out my STB's at no cost, great!

But I don't see that happening. Couldn't they have just made some settings to reduce

memory usage for those of us yearning for the "old" guide's speed?

Maybe it's the way I watch TV. I bounce between 2 programs, pausing them at the break, going to "LAST", unpausing then jumping forward 1 min at a press and jump back 10sec at a time to watch that program just after the break. Rinse and repeat. I hate breaks. Anything delaying my channel change to avoid Medicare spots by Tom Selleck, as the new guide does, is not good. And I'm 66!

[bristollucy]

This person did not complain about the "old" Guide. In fact, this person was perfectly happy with it. It performed exactly as it should with just enough information and little interference on the screen. Will I upgrade to the newer box? No don't think so unless it is free and doesn't increase my monthly bill. Actually, since my box doesn't function as well as the newer box, maybe it should cost less? I won't go back to Comcast because sharing my service with the rest of my hub wasn't very satisfactory. But, I may resort to cutting cable and just using Fire Stick for Netflix & Prime.