NTL - Refreshing the signal?

[dilli-theclaw]

My box (Pace) keeps coming up with a black screen... but when you try and change channel the bar still works along the bottom. The only way I can get my channels back is to reboot the box - well pull the power cord out for a min or so anyway.

So I call ntl this morning and they tell me that they've refreshed my signal - and it should be ok shortly (10 mins) they said.

What I'd like to know is exactly what IS this refresh thing? More importantly how often does it sort the problem out?

I've had engineers out to the box before - they put an attenuator in and told me to stop pressing the red button.

[Neil]

That old chestnut!!

Haven't you just gone back to ntl?

The "refresh" thing is pretty much a non starter from what I've heard-the only thing is does actually achieve is that it get's people off the phones quickly.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by Neil

That old chestnut!!

Haven't you just gone back to ntl?

The "refresh" thing is pretty much a non starter from what I've heard-the only thing is does actually achieve is that it get's people off the phones quickly.

I have ntl internet which is working fine this time round - phone which is okish.... but the digi box has been getting right on my nuts.... I've got sky downstairs and have the basic ntl one up in the computer room wired into my fileserver pc.

If it's not sorted in about an hour i'll be calling them back, I was just wondering what they actually did when they told me this

[Neil]

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

I was just wondering what they actually did when they told me this

Got you off the phone.

Originally Posted by Neil

Got you off the phone.

Well maybe ...

This is taken from some information I was passed some months ago when I asked the same question;

A re-hit/refresh just updates the channel authorisations.

The whole concept of the refresh though goes back to the early analogue days where the STB's were a little more flaky and it did in many cases cure picture issues. Unfortunately that bit of csr folk-law has become enshrined as gospel and despite attempts to re-educate csrs is now seen as a cure all.

I think it is pretty much always the first thing they try - just go back to them and say it didn't work and you can then progress to the real fault finding.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by Paul M

Well maybe ...

This is taken from some information I was passed some months ago when I asked the same question;
I think it is pretty much always the first thing they try - just go back to them and say it didn't work and you can then progress to the real fault finding.

Thanks for that

I shall be phoning them just as soon as it does it again. Trouble is of course it's intermittent rather than constant....

My card looks pretty brown and heat damaged too - but I read on here that's pretty normal so I don't suppose it's that, I just took it out (burned my finger on it) and cleaned it just in case.

[Stuart]

Keep on at 'em until they actually send an engineer out to look at it.. Maybe he'll give you a new box.

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

the digi box has been getting right on my nuts....

Dont sit so close to the tv then

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Dont sit so close to the tv then

It's like my own personal heater for the computer room (The box I mean )

p.s. I've had people when I've been on the phone to ntl tell me that I'm not supposed to have my box wired into a pc and this is the cause of some of my problems.

i had a problem a while back where i kept losing channels 90 - 95 and they insisted on re hitting the box to resolve it. I let them do this twice and it didnt resolve it in the long term.

All i did was ask them to send an engineer as i didnt think they were providing and acceptable service and re hitting the box had already failed twice. The eng came, removed the attenuators and said that it might be ok. He said if it fails once more then tell CS to get an engineer to swap the box out. I must admit it was hard to convince CS to book a stb swap as the eng hadnt made a record of the fact that he had told me this. However they did book it saying that i would be charged if the eng didnt do anything. Anyhow the eng came and swapped the box without even questioning why he was doing it and the problem was solved.

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by gary_580

i had a problem a while back where i kept losing channels 90 - 95 and they insisted on re hitting the box to resolve it. I let them do this twice and it didnt resolve it in the long term.

All i did was ask them to send an engineer as i didnt think they were providing and acceptable service and re hitting the box had already failed twice. The eng came, removed the attenuators and said that it might be ok. He said if it fails once more then tell CS to get an engineer to swap the box out. I must admit it was hard to convince CS to book a stb swap as the eng hadnt made a record of the fact that he had told me this. However they did book it saying that i would be charged if the eng didnt do anything. Anyhow the eng came and swapped the box without even questioning why he was doing it and the problem was solved.

This is why I worry about calling them out - If the engineer comes out and the box doesn't play up while he's here I don't want to be charged for it.

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

p.s. I've had people when I've been on the phone to ntl tell me that I'm not supposed to have my box wired into a pc and this is the cause of some of my problems.

of course the STB knows what its plugged into
__________________

Originally Posted by dilligaf1701

This is why I worry about calling them out - If the engineer comes out and the box doesn't play up while he's here I don't want to be charged for it.

Video it, that what i did juast in case. Everytime the eng came he rebooted the box and said "Thats solved it", so i showed him the video as evidence. All i did was put it on record and then flick through the channels to show which ones were black

[dilli-theclaw]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Video it, that what i did juast in case. Everytime the eng came he rebooted the box and said "Thats solved it", so i showed him the video as evidence. All i did was put it on record and then flick through the channels to show which ones were black

Now that's a good idea - I'll do that.

[Stu038]

As the channels are "missing" cust services doctrine assumes a corrupted channel table, quickly fixed as Paul suggests by the refresh which should be the first action here. The problem is sometimes getting past that stage on any subsequent calls. If the refresh hasn't worked in your case then phone faults up and tell them. I can't see you being charged for a service visit just because the fault isn't occurring while the techs there.

<Not intended as dig at any individual, just my cynical view on life> Unfortunately some folks exaggerate things in the belief that it will help their case. The billing thing isn't there to penalise customers with genuine problems but to filter out those who might be tempted to exaggerate a little more than is the norm or those haven't got a problem at all but just fancy a new STB.

Perhaps its not the best way of doing things but the alternative of trusting the service techs to suss out those individuals is open to even more problems such as intimidation of the techs or even the techs charging customers out of badness cos they only got plain digestive biccies with their brew when they wanted chocolate ones.

[d0pey]

Originally Posted by Neil

Got you off the phone.

Have you not already said that once? How bout some technical information behind it?