Er wrote:Twc Cisco DVR has been failing. TWC always just says replace. Problem. If you have to replace frequently and long ago that was never the case (in the past lasted years), what is the point of DVR service? You pay so that you can record, save and watch later. If TWC has no method of back up, and you replace you lose the opportunity to view what was recorded. Thus, the question remains what are you paying for? The service is lost!
Long ago the equipment seemed to last. Now the constant recycling of refurbished equipment produces only short term service at best! This is hardly worth the price being charged. It is also frustrating and a constant waste of time.
Perhap FIOS is the answer.
No one at twc seems to offer genuine solutions.
Hi ER,
The Cisco is one of the newer boxes. The SA boxes that are still being refurbished are the ones that are about 15 years old and should be purged from all cable vendors because of their age. Having said that, I did have a Cisco box that would unexpectedly reboot and get stuck in reboots that had to be replaced. With an Arris box.
However, we need some questions answered because your issue may be related to a bad signal, drop-line or wiring, that another box swap WILL NOT SOLVE. Please answer the following as best you can:
1.) You said the DVR is "failing." What symptoms do you see? Generally if the box is making loud clicking or knocking sounds, that is the indication of the hard drive going bad and the box would have to be swapped out for another unit.
2.) If however, you have loss of picture, sound, break up of picture, pixilation, Video on Demand not working, these are most often NOT box related issues but signal or drop line issues. If this applies to you, you should contact TWC for a signal and drop line check. Bad signal levels almost NEVER have anything to do with the cable box.
3.) Assuming that you have an HDTV and box, how old is your HDMI cable? If you are having issues, and have had your signals and drop-line checked in the last year, you should go out and purchase a NEW HDMI cable. (The good ones will run $20+, don't get a cheap second-hand HDMI cable.)
4.) If you have other cable services such as Internet and Digital Phone, how are they working? If those are also problematic, you definitely have a signal or line related issue and not a box issue.
5.) If you have cable Internet please try this- Avoid resetting your box, modem, or router for at least six hours and post your signal levels in a post reply to this thread. User, Ms. Raye, is our signal evaluator specialist, and she will be able to look and see if there are issues like ingress on the frequencies or other issues that may be obvious. If she finds something, print that out and schedule a service call to show the tech your signal levels. Even if she doesn't find something, I would recommend a service call specifically for a signal and drop-line test.
Let us know the answers to the following questions. After you answer them, you can also bypass calling customer service and refer TWC support to this thread by linking to them, and to it in a private message. In the Private Message, include your answers to the above questions, along with your name, phone number, and account# to
Regards,
Satch