Series 1 Can't Make Phone Connection

[ithnkitsme]

I saw an earlier post with similar issue, but no fix that worked. The gentleman followed all the recommended steps, as I have, but to no avail. I have a Series 1 with Optimum Triple Play. All of a sudden (actually Aug 1st, while I was away, so I didn't change anything...) the system made it's last successful call. The message is Phone in use, but it's not. I connected the phone line directly to a corded phone and got dial tone. I changed the settings for dial tone detection and for Phone Avail detection. I also unplugged both the power and phone line for 15 secs as recommended. Nothing... I love my Tivo. Can someone suggest anything else? I have a cable box connected but nothing else.

[gastrof]

Do you know for a certainty the modem is still working?

If it isn't, you can buy an external modem from weaknees.com and just plug it into the back of the TiVo.

http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-modem-fix.php

The thing will immediately start working. For TiVos that've had their internal modem go belly-up, the things are lifesavers.

[ithnkitsme]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not sure that the Tivo modem is still working. How can I tell?

[unclemoosh]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm not sure that the Tivo modem is still working. How can I tell?

You can listen in on another phone to see if you can hear it go off hook and dial.

[MojoRilla]

Or, for the same price as the external modem, get a Turbonet adapter, and use your broadband connection instead of your phone line.

http://www.9thtee.com/turbonet.htm

[JacksTiVo]

I had a similar problem in that the S1 modem was always off-hook. That is it could not disconnect. Try the following to see if it is the modem is not properly hanging up.

Disconnect the telephone line from the S1.
Go to the connections screen and force a connection.
Wait until the screen indicates it is dialing and plug in the phone line to the S1.
Check if it successfully connects. If yes, then your modem may not be disconnecting properly.

I rejuvenated my S1 with a Turbonet card a while back and recently gave it to my daughter to use. It will be 7 years old in Nov.

[ithnkitsme]

Ok, so here is what happened. I listened to the phone line while Tivo was dialing, and it was, but it still wouldn't connect. I dialed the number Tivo was dialing and it turned out to be no longer in service! I went to try to pick a new number, but instead of showing me a list of numbers like it used to, it wanted to dial out to get them, and we already know that wasn't going to happen. So next I tried just going back through the entire setup process. When Tivo tried dialing, I listened again and someone picked up!! I shouted through the modem squeal and asked if I dialed a 655 number, which was my local dial-in. She said it was an 877 number. Poor girl. She got a lot of calls from my Tivo in one day that I'm sure she wasn't thrilled about.

Now I was completely stuck in setup mode and couldn't get out. I called Tivo support. Apparently the initial call now uses local dial-in numbers and not toll free like it used to. The tech tried a workaround that you all should make note of - it didn't work when I tried it initially on the phone with her (more in a minute), so she referred me to Sony, who said "Unplug the set for one minute. Plug it back in. If you are still stuck, send the set in for service". :down:

Ok, so I called Tivo back and asked for my local dial-in numbers and here is the workaround. In the initial Tivo setup, in the telephone prefix option, where you might normally enter a 9 or something similar, enter a valid local dial-in number. It will dial that first and then of course follow it with the incorrect number that's pre-programmed in there, but it dials it fast enough so as not to interupt the handshake. IT WORKED!!! I have my Tivo back, thanks to Tivo support and a little ingenuity. :D

Tivo support does actually listen to your problem and use brain function to figure out your problem. They were wonderful.

Sony support follows a script, which most of us know never works.

Thanks to all of you who offered assistance.

[ithnkitsme]

You can listen in on another phone to see if you can hear it go off hook and dial.
Thanks for the suggestion. I had tried it once before you mentioned it, but apparently I didn't listen long enough. Anyway, with your help, I was able to resolve this and am very grateful. I have a really old set and lifetime service, so I appreciate getting it back!!!