UPC HD box shuts down when switched on

who_me

A new problem started happening on Thurs/Fri last week. I turn on the box, wait 40+ secs, it's on for maybe 10 seconds and then it turns itself off. Tried switching it on again twice and the same procedure repeated. Eventually I turned the box off via the switch at the back, and the next time it worked fine.

Since then, it always shuts down at least once when I turn it on. Anyone else seen this? Probably related to the On Demand rollout.

Mellio

Unfortunately the hard drives in these things are brutal, I have had to change mine 3 times in over a couple of years.

You will need to ring them to get an engineer to have a look and more
than likely replace it.

Alternatives:

1) Unplug and plug back in after a minute or so.

2) Go to settings if you can and do a factory reset, then see what happens.

The only issue is you will lose all of your recordings but you will anyway
if they have to repalce the box.

RangeR

You are only renting the box from UPC. Ring them and request a new box. It's not your problem.

who_me

Cheers! I'll check it this evening to make sure it isn't a temporary issue while On Demand is being set up; if the issue persists I'll give them a scream.

who_me

Called UPC, and while they were quite friendly and willing to help, they suggested they'd "boost the signal" and that might fix it. But I'd have to wait until the following day for it to take effect.

I can't understand why a weak signal would cause the box to shut down, nor why a signal boost would take a day to reach me (unless she meant that she was entering in the system for my signal to be boosted, and it would take a day for someone to get around to doing it). Is this just some placebo they tell customers to keep them quiet?

The following day, no change. Turned box on, picture appeared after 35-40 seconds, 10 seconds later it started shutting down again, and maybe 20 seconds later I was able to try switching it on a second time.

They're sending someone out to look at my On Demand (error when trying to view anything) so I guess they'll take a look at this issue as well, plus the broadband speeds.

This is now the 4th callout. I appreciate them making the effort to fix things, but I feel like we're going around in circles. Having to be at home to give them access during the week is a bit of a pain..

RangeR

They tend to send out engineers at the drop of a hat. It's almost as if their commission depended on it. The amount of money they would save if they only resolved 15% of issues over the phone.

They used the old "Boosting Signal" on me many times too. Seems to be in the script.

Don't get me wrong. I do like their service. I'll always have question marks over their CS.

quazzy

This started happening to me too but I'm pretty sure it was related to a change that I made on the Power settings from the UPC menu.

I'll check the setting I changed and report back.

who_me

Cheers, thanks.

I don't think I changed any such setting recently. It started happened around the same time as the introduction of On Demand, which made me wonder if that's somehow related.

who_me

Recieved a txt last night confirming the service call today. Stayed home from work to provide access to the technician and..... nothing. No sign of him.

It's the 3rd time I've had to stay home to provide access, and now there'll have to be a 4th. Hmmm.

Switching to Netflix, and downgrading my broadband back to 30Mbps (since I'm only getting 20Mbps anyway) looks like a tasty option now. It would save me 90 euros a month!

Edit - to be fair, the technician did call just before 8pm to call around, but I was on my way to an evening class and couldn't hang around to give him access. He was scheduled to come between 1 and 6, so it still was a day off for nothing.

quazzy

Just as an FYI.

I checked my Power Management settings last night

There are 3 settings

Switch to Standby when inactive --- AT NIGHT
Inactivity period before auto standby (min.) --- 30
Power Consumption in Standby --- LOW

The one I changes was the last one (Power Consumption in Standby).

Before when I powered off the unit the Time would still be displayed on the box and it could start up a lot quicker.

Now with the change to LOW, the time is NOT displayed and the "boot up" time takes longer.

---

I'd have a quick look at the power settings and make a change to the LAST entry.

Good Luck

who_me

Thanks quazzy!

My power setting is actually already at Low, hence the 40 second time to turn on the HD box. I'll try setting it to High. Even if that doesn't get rid of the weird auto-shutdown, it'll make everything happen quicker. If the box boots up within 5 seconds, shuts down, and I start it up again within 5 seconds, that would still be quicker than 40 seconds!

who_me

Wow.. a UPC technician called to my apartment (without notice) this morning, but I missed him as I was just hauling myself out of bed for work. Called my mobile twice as well, and once more in the afternoon - unfortunately I was at work so wasn't there to provide access in the afternoon either.

Then I received another call from UPC (Dublin) offering an appointment tomorrow, and since taking time off work can be a little awkward I said I'd call back to arrange an appointment. 20 minutes later, another call from UPC (Dublin) offering an appointment tomorrow again.

I have to admire their enthusiasm! I'll have to do something soon, as the box now shuts off almost every time, On Demand still doesn't work, broadband is slow, and now a new sporadic problem: I have sound, and I can see the UPC info bar, but no picture. Usually have to power down the UPC box for a few seconds in order to get the picture back.

who_me

And another call yesterday:

UPC - 'We've had cancellations, so we can fit you in for a service appointment tomorrow."

Me - "Thanks but..Uhh, like I told the last 3 UPC callers, I can't be home constantly to give you access. I stayed at home last week, and he didn't show up. As I said before, can I call you to make an appointment when I'm available?".

UPC - 'I don't know anything about him not showing up.. Will I cancel your Friday appointment so?'

Me - "I don't have a Friday appointment".

UPC - 'Uh... ok... so you don't want to move it to tomorrow.'

Me - "No, why don't I call you to make an appointment."

Weird.

who_me

quazzy wrote: »

Just as an FYI.

I checked my Power Management settings last night

There are 3 settings

Switch to Standby when inactive --- AT NIGHT
Inactivity period before auto standby (min.) --- 30
Power Consumption in Standby --- LOW

The one I changes was the last one (Power Consumption in Standby).

Before when I powered off the unit the Time would still be displayed on the box and it could start up a lot quicker.

Now with the change to LOW, the time is NOT displayed and the "boot up" time takes longer.

---

I'd have a quick look at the power settings and make a change to the LAST entry.

Good Luck

Forgot to try this until this week, and it works a treat (kind of..).

In my case, switching from Low power to High fixes the problem. So instead of about 70 seconds to turn on the TV (40 to turn on, 5 seconds of TV, 20 seconds auto-shutting down, 5 more seconds turning on again); now it's just 5 seconds. Happy days.