[MrMark]

Just set up my 2nd Tivo on my wireless network, both units can see the network and each other, but when I try to view from one unit to the other I get the "0xfff" error.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks

 

[quarque]

Possibly interference from nearby wireless network or 2.4GHz phones etc. Try changing the wireless channel number on all units. Try relocating the wireless adapters. What is your signal level when you go sot Settings - > Phone & Network screen? Below 40% is usually not good.

 

[jshorr]

I have a friend who is getting the same message in a slightly different scenario. Anyone have an idea as to what this error message indicates? My friend's mutli-room viewing worked fine when everything was wired, but then he switched to an ethernet bridge and an access point seperating two wired segments in his house. Now both Tivo's get valid IP's on the same segment, both can connect to the internet for service updates, etc. He also still sees the Tivo's in eachother's viewing list. However when he selects the other tivo for a multi room transfer he gets the error 0xfff. It's weird to me because you'd think if the topolgy was off the machines wouldn't be able to get IP's and download service updates, etc. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[RoyK]

Same thing happened to me yesterday afternoon. I have 3 Toshiba SD-H400 boxes all of which have been transferring to each other with no problem for months. Now all of a sudden they give an 0xffff error when I try to transfer or get a "Now Playing" list from another machine..

My network is WIRED. All units connect to Tivo with no problem so the network is ok. All are on fixed IP.

BTW I do pay for monthly service, All three show account in good standing and all have transfer enabled.

I called Tech Support (amazingly I got a live agent in just a minute or two) who tried her best but was stumped. Her only suggestion after talking to a supervisor was to change the names of all the boxes in Managing My Account at the TiVo web site as well as disable then enable transfer (saving between each action). Then wait 24 hours, do a power on reset to all of the boxes, connect to tivo central then do another power on reset......


I've done the first part now waiting for the 24 hours to tick off......
Roy

 

[BigCat007]

Same problems... With all the problems that are going on, I would imaging that that Tivo is working on it. I wish somebody from Tivo would post here if they know there is a problem. There are a lot of other people here that are having other problems, including myself. It seems like these have started happening in recent weeks. (and now another one..)

Hopefully we will be able to transfer shows soon....

 

[jshorr]

Just as a side question, I don't have the mutli-room viewing myself....does your internet connection have to be currently active for the multi-room viewing to work? Like does it go and check the internet each time you try to do a multi-room to verify that the tivo's are on the same accont, etc. Or does it just check when it normally calls into the tivo service to check for internet programming and whatnot.

 

[jshorr]

Same thing happened to me yesterday afternoon. I have 3 Toshiba SD-H400 boxes all of which have been transferring to each other with no problem for months. Now all of a sudden they give an 0xffff error when I try to transfer or get a "Now Playing" list from another machine..

My network is WIRED. All units connect to Tivo with no problem so the network is ok. All are on fixed IP.

BTW I do pay for monthly service, All three show account in good standing and all have transfer enabled.

I called Tech Support (amazingly I got a live agent in just a minute or two) who tried her best but was stumped. Her only suggestion after talking to a supervisor was to change the names of all the boxes in Managing My Account at the TiVo web site as well as disable then enable transfer (saving between each action). Then wait 24 hours, do a power on reset to all of the boxes, connect to tivo central then do another power on reset......

I've done the first part now waiting for the 24 hours to tick off......
Roy

Roy,

Just wondering, did you make ANY changes to your network at all right before this staretd happening. New adapter, new swtich, anything? Or did it just happen out of nowhere. If it's out of nowhere it points to something being wrong on TiVo's end, if that's possible.

 

[RoyK]

Roy,

Just wondering, did you make ANY changes to your network at all right before this staretd happening. New adapter, new swtich, anything? Or did it just happen out of nowhere. If it's out of nowhere it points to something being wrong on TiVo's end, if that's possible.

No changes whatever. Yesterday at 6pm it was working. At 8:30 it wasn't. There are NO other network problems whatever. (PCs work fine. Internet OK etc)

Roy

 

[RoyK]

Just as a side question, I don't have the mutli-room viewing myself....does your internet connection have to be currently active for the multi-room viewing to work? Like does it go and check the internet each time you try to do a multi-room to verify that the tivo's are on the same accont, etc. Or does it just check when it normally calls into the tivo service to check for internet programming and whatnot.

I don't believe the internet connection is required for multi-room viewing to work.

I'm pretty sure the status stuff is downloaded to the box during the normal daily connects to TiVo and not checked each time a transfer is initiated.

Roy

 

[toots]

Just another me-too.

Wired network, three tivii, one broken machine, tried lots of stuff (disabling/re-enabling). Everything was working fine until it wasn't working fine anymore, and prior to the breakage, I hadn't changed anything.

It gives me some comfort that other people are seeing this problem, since that pretty well guarantees that someone at TiVo is going to be looking at it sooner or later.

 

[hmstroman]

Just another 'me too'. Went through 3 hours with tech supp. got essentially the same advice others have posted. And like everyone else, it didn't work and after (not quite) 24 hours, one of my Tivos is still clueless about its name, and still giving 0xffff.

Yesterday, they isisted almost beligerently that if this did not fix it, the problem was not theirs, but my wireless router (no network changes of any kind for months). Wonder how they'll explain it away since others are having the isuue with WIRED connections?

....waiting and hoping......

 

[Lyme Greene]

I'm having the same problem. Come home last night, one tivo wouldn't transfer shows. Couldn't check the other one because the wife was sleeping. Got a message that couldn't find the tivo or the program or something like that. Figured I'd look at it today. Unplugged both and restarted. Still no luck. Now I'm getting the 0xffff message. I'm on a wireless network. Tivos can connect for service updates. Router recognizes them. I did notice that Tivo Desktop no longer recognizes them as their names, it instead is using the service number.

I've just notice that my Tivo names under system information says to go to Tivo.com and name your Tivo. However, before I saw this, I changed the name of my Tivos already to what Tivo Desktop was calling them, DVR-XXXX. So I'm not sure if this is a result of me changing the name to DVR-XXXX or if it existed before hand. Could someone who is having the same problem check their Tivo name under System information. Thanks

Also my Account Management still had the Tivos listed as Living Room and Bedroom even though Tivo Desktop was listing them as DVR-XXXX

 

[Andrewp75]

Having exactly the same problem. Tivo is no admitting that it is their software. They better hope that this is not everyone! What is going on here??? BTW, if it can connect to Tivo and send shows to desktop, it is not your router...

A

 

[jshorr]

Having exactly the same problem. Tivo is no admitting that it is their software. They better hope that this is not everyone! What is going on here??? BTW, if it can connect to Tivo and send shows to desktop, it is not your router...

A

What could it really be though....an update to the backend for the multi room viewing? Something that got updated and screwed up during a call home?

 

[toots]

It just bugs me that no one who's called their support line and reported back here has had them give them anything useful.

It's like we, the customers, are responsible for debugging this problem.

 

[bricketh]

Here's my post from last night on several other forums (including the official Tivo help board):

Ok, this may take a bit to understand, but I will do my best to explain...

I have been having issues tonight with connecting from one Tivo to the other via my home network. I have had this exact configuration for over 2 months now without an issue, until suddenly tonight I have had problems.

Part A) My overall problem is that, with all three Tivo DVRs connected through my Linksys Router (BEFSR41) and Linksys 5-port Switch (EZXS55W) to communicate with each other, and get to the Internet via my Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem. They each have wired Linksys USB Ethernet Adapters (USB100M 10/100Mbps USB Network Adapter), and are pulling IP addresses via DHCP from my router without an issue. I can connect to the Tivo service from each device, and they can see each other by name (except for one issue, which I will get into later in Part B) in the Now Playing List from each respective Tivo, they just cannot browse each other. All three are set up to allow transfers through Tivo Online, and each are running the latest version of the Tivo software (7.1b-01-2-240). I can ping each of them from my PC (also hardwired on my network) with a persistent ping for several minutes, and get 100% success in my responses, and with a quick turn-around (average of 1 ms for 180+ packets). I can also successfully transfer shows from each Tivo to my PC via the Tivo Desktop software (version 2.0) without an issue, and I can browse the contents of the Tivo with the same software and see up-to-the-minute changes, such as new recordings, from the Tivo Desktop software on my PC. I have restarted each Tivo, and I even completely rebooted one of them (removed power cord and network adapter for 15 seconds, and reconnected it) at the request of the Tivo tech, and I still had no luck getting it to work. Again, they still have the other Tivo devices show up in Now Playing, and they still obtain an IP, but suddenly they cannot browse the other Tivo devices at all. I receive an error when attempting to browse the other Tivo DVRs from any one of the three:

The [DVRNAME] DVR could not be reached due to an unexpected problem.

Reason: 0xffff

If you continue to see this message, visit [LINK REMOVED] or go to TiVo Central and select "Messages & Setup" > "Troubleshooting" > "Transfer Troubleshooting" for further assistance.

Press LEFT to return to the Now Playing List.

I went through everything here, as well as two different techs (who were discussing this with their Tier II support techs, as well), and I did everything they asked, and more... They said it was an issue with Linksys Routers dropping packets, and suggested I replace the router with another brand, or contact Linksys about the problem. I kindly explained that I was not dropping packets at all, as I can ping each, and that eliminates that, but they insisted that I at least try to replace the router, as they believe it to be dropped packets... I told them that I had no issues transferring shows to my PC, though, so that, coupled with the fact that I had no dropped packets with my ping tests, should narrow it down to the Tivo DVRs themselves... I also explained to them that I had this exact same setup (from routers/switches/internet, to network adapters, to wiring, etc) for over 2 months, and this same router connected to a couple of Tivo DVRs for much longer, and have NEVER had a problem with any of them communicating in any way, until tonight... He said try a new router, and then if that didn't work, take it back, and call them again....

Part B) This is another thing that happened tonight... When I first noticed this issue with the Living Room DVR (didn't know it was all three at the time), I started to troubleshoot by checking my settings, my connections, and even restarting the DVR--troubleshooting that any tech would do... I then called Support, and while I was talking to the guy, I noticed that my DVR had lost it's name (it was called Living Room DVR, and showed that way in my System Information under DVR Name for the last few months since I set this all up at my new house... I suddenly noticed that the name was now showing as <Name this DVR on tivo_com>. I went to Tivo_com, and checked, and everything was set up correctly there, showing all the names as they should be, and have been.... The tech asked me to do several troubleshooting steps, in order, including renaming the DVR, turning off "Allow Transfers", and saving the config, then re-enabling the transfers and saving again. He then had me unplug my DVR (as stated earlier), and reconnect it after 15 seconds. He said force the connection to the Tivo service, and wait two hours, and my problem would be fixed (this was the first time I called, and before I knew about all the issues I was having with every DVR). I did that, but called back after about an hour and a half, as I noticed the issues described in Part A with all the DVRs. As I type this, it has been well-over two hours, and nothing has changed on the Living Room DVR (now called "none" in the Now Playing List of the other DVRs in my house). I also noticed that my Bedroom DVR is now showing the same thing (<Name this DVR on tivo_com> rather than the name Bedroom DVR, as it used to up until about an hour or so ago)... Still, all devices are showing correctly in my Manage my Tivo account on Tivo_com, and all three are showing up whether by correct name or not) in my Tivo Desktop software... This doesn't seem to be a packet issue, and nothing has changed on my side (not firewall, not software, not hardware, not firmware on my router, not settings on my router, Tivo, network devices) at all....

Any ideas?

EDIT:
Last note... I have rebooted every device I have, from Tivo DVRs to my cable modem, to my router and switch (more than once, I might add), and still nothing...

EDIT:
Ok...another note... I contacted Linksys, and the tech said they were not aware of any issues with their devices and Tivo DVRs, and she had me to a total and complete reset of the router (which I did) which was beyond simply rebooting it... This set the router back to factory default settings, and that still made no difference... The DVRs are losing their names, and seem to be unassociated from what the Tivo site has them listed as, so I believe that is the issue, not internal network problems... I just can't seem to get the Tivo techs to see this....

As you can probably see, it's the same issue... I worked with Tivo techs (2) last night, and did everything they wanted, but the final answer was to replace my router, as Linksys routers have packet loss issues with Tivos.... That's not true, however, and now I feel better knowing many people are having this issue... My issues were noticed when I went to transfer a show last night at 9 PM or so, and couldn't. The Tivo techs told me to do the same thing as they told you, RoyK, except they said let it sit for 2 hours. I called back before the end of the 2 hours, as they were going to close 30 minutes before the 2 hours would have been up. It didn't fix the problem, but someone suggested that I try a different approach along those lines, which I will try tonight. Disable transfers, and then force a connection to Tivo. Then re-enable the transfers, and force another connection to Tivo. They had me disable and re-enable, but only force the transfer afterwards, not in the middle. It may not work, but it's worth a try. There is no need to wait 24 hours for Tivo to do anything, as it doesn't take more than 2 hours for any update to run fully, at least none that I've ever seen. As far as this goes, I have changed my Tivo names before, and it updated within about 10 minutes of my completing the forced Tivo connection, so 2 hours is even a bit excessive...

In any case, they don't know what the cause is, and they are simply treading water until they can fix it. I was pretty upset that they asked me to try a new router, even after I explained the situation to them that proved it wasn't the router, as if I had done so, I'd be out $50+ right now, and would STILL have an issue!

Anyway, I'll keep my eyes open for solutions, and please do the same. If I find out ANYTHING, I will pass it along here...!

 

[jshorr]

Bricketh,

That's for posting all of that, it's very helpful. It does seem like they must have had something go wrong with the backend of the tivo to go service. Sort of like if you cancelled service on one of your DVRs, eventually the others would call in and see the change and stop communicating with it. Except in this case everything should still be working as always. Hopefully this can be resolved soon by TiVo.

 

[RoyK]

Here's my post from last night on several other forums (including the official Tivo help board):

As you can probably see, it's the same issue... I worked with Tivo techs (2) last night, and did everything they wanted, but the final answer was to replace my router, as Linksys routers have packet loss issues with Tivos.... That's not true, however, and now I feel better knowing many people are having this issue... My issues were noticed when I went to transfer a show last night at 9 PM or so, and couldn't. The Tivo techs told me to do the same thing as they told you, RoyK, except they said let it sit for 2 hours. I called back before the end of the 2 hours, as they were going to close 30 minutes before the 2 hours would have been up. It didn't fix the problem, but someone suggested that I try a different approach along those lines, which I will try tonight. Disable transfers, and then force a connection to Tivo. Then re-enable the transfers, and force another connection to Tivo. They had me disable and re-enable, but only force the transfer afterwards, not in the middle. It may not work, but it's worth a try. There is no need to wait 24 hours for Tivo to do anything, as it doesn't take more than 2 hours for any update to run fully, at least none that I've ever seen. As far as this goes, I have changed my Tivo names before, and it updated within about 10 minutes of my completing the forced Tivo connection, so 2 hours is even a bit excessive...

In any case, they don't know what the cause is, and they are simply treading water until they can fix it. I was pretty upset that they asked me to try a new router, even after I explained the situation to them that proved it wasn't the router, as if I had done so, I'd be out $50+ right now, and would STILL have an issue!

Anyway, I'll keep my eyes open for solutions, and please do the same. If I find out ANYTHING, I will pass it along here...!

My experience almost exactly is the same as yours. ALL 3 of my boxes are exhibiting the problem now. TiVo 2 Go sees them fine although the names show as the last 4 characters of the service numbers. System information tells me to go to tivo.com to name the boxes. Tech support told me to do the same things (rename, disallow transfers then reallow) and wait 24 hours. I called back this afternoon after 16 hours. The response was to wait the full 24 hours.
Now 18 hours and still no joy......

I really dont believe they realize they have a problem yet.....

Roy

 

[bricketh]

Yeah, 24 hours is too long! I think they told me to wait two hours, because they knew they'd be closed by then, and I couldn't call back last night. Maybe they thought they'd put me off for the night, and then hoping they'd have if fixed before I could call again today (which hasn't happened yet, I don't think). Anyway, I've been a Tivo customer for many years now, and have spent a TON of money with them, and I am VERY unhappy with the responses I got last night. I just felt like I nullified everything they said was wrong, and they wouldn't listen. Anyway, I plan to call tonight and see what they have to say now, as I know many are having this issue...!

 

[toots]

For what it's worth:

This morning, on the afflicted box, I disabled transfers, and kept forcing connects until the tivo knew that transfers were disabled.

I then re-enabled transfers and kept forcing connects until the tivo knew that transfers were enabled.

None of this changed the condition one whit. At this point, doing so is just a time waster, as far as I'm concerned.