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TIVO FAULTS - SOME FAQ AND ANSWERS

 

** This is NOT an exhaustive list, but it does cover the more common questions I get asked regularly.  If yours is not listed here please contact me and I will do my best to work out with you what the issue could be.

SBS and ABC channel audio and/or video issues:  This is a known problem and is related to how these channels are broadcasting their signal.  There is now a tested and working solution. For more information on that please visit THIS PAGE on the OzTiVo forums. 
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ARE YOU STILL MODDING OR REPAIRING TIVO's?
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This is, by far, my  number one non and/or faulty TiVo question.  And the answer is YES! No matter how long I have updated this website or how long after the 2017 announcement OzTiVo has a solution for your TiVo the answer is always YES!  The community has a commitment to keep TiVo's running and I have plenty of stock of parts to mod or repair yours for as long as people want TiVo's to survive.  So please contact me in confidence that I can help if you are reading this :)
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MY TIVO IS STUCK ON THE "WELCOME - POWERING UP" SCREEN AND GOES NO FURTHER
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This is the number one complaint and is almost always hard disk failure.  Not surprising as the hard disk is working all the time and is a mechanical device so they do wear out eventually.  Good news is that with some Windows based software the TiVo operating system can be loaded to another hard disk - and YES up to 2TB despite what you may have read elsewhere! If you would like the instructions for this, or want my help to do all the work for you then please contact me for further information.
 
IF YOU HAVE AN EXPANDER HARD DISK WITH A FLASHING YELLOW LIGHT:  The number one cause of external hard disk failure is after a power outage at your home, and when the TiVo is turned on again it is stuck on the "Welcome Powering Up" screen and the expander has a flashing/blinking/pulsating yellow light on it.  This means the power supply transformer (the thing that plugs into your power point) has failed and a new one will almost always fix the problem with no loss of recordings.  These are fairly common and most external hard disk units use the same type of 12 Volt unit. Try another one (borrow one if you can) and see if that helps. If you are stuck for ideas on where to get one then this model works perfectly: http://www.jaycar.com.au/Power-Products-Electrical/Plugpacks/DC-Output/SWITCHMODE-MAINS-ADAPTOR-12VDC-2-5A/p/MP3490
 
IF YOU HAVE AN EXPANDER HARD DISK WITH A STEADY YELLOW LIGHT: If your TiVo is stuck on the "Welcome Powering Up" screen and the expander is not flashing as mentioned above, disconnect it from the TiVo and try again.  If the TiVo then progresses further to a blue warning screen saying that it cannot detect external storage attached then your expander unit is the cause of your problem and in this case it means the actual hard disk is faulty.  Not uncommon and in all honesty they were pretty unreliable.  As TiVo expander units are no longer available and a non-TiVo type will not function on a TiVo your option from here if you want larger recording space is to fit a large hard disk inside the TiVo, as mentioned above.  Unfortunately however as the TiVo cannot reliably detatch an expander hard disk from your main TiVo unit apart from settings all of your recordings will be destroyed.  Sorry... But expanders are a pain and more trouble than they were worth.
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MY TIVO RANDOMLY REBOOTS or FREEZES or HAS GARBLED PICTURE or LOST ONE/BOTH TUNERS
 
If you have tried a different antenna cable from your wall socket to the TiVo (don't be fooled there are a lot of cheap ones that do fail over time) and the issue(s) are not resolved by this then these are ALL signs of operating system software corruption or failing hard disk.  First thing would be to do a "Clear And Delete Everything" (eg a factory reset) from the settings menu and start from scratch to see if it is simply a minor bug.  If this does not fix it then the software is most likely corrupted due to a failing hard disk that may need replacing (see above). Tuners losing signal is usually software related too.  Rarely it is something with the tuner electonics itself. There are in fact two identical tuners in a TiVo that (apart from the rear panel socket) are separate so apart from a couple of rare circumstances it is not the electronics if both tuners have the same fault develop at the same time.
MY TIVO HAS NO POWER - NO LIGHTS, NO FAN, NOTHING
 
This is usually power supply related and as replacements are not common in Australia it will require repairs, either by removal of the power supply and sending for repairs or the whole Tivo if you cannot do that.  If you want my help with repairs then please contact me for further information.  I also offer exchange units but I need your old one to refurbish for the next person.
MY TIVO HAS A LOUD WHIRRING OR GRINDING SOUND COMING FROM IT
 
This is becoming common.  Unlike what most people think it is NOT hard disk, because if it was then the TiVo would have operational issues as described above.  The sound is actually the rear cooling fan.  To confirm a quick test is to briefly insert a drinking straw into the rear fan grille to stall the fan. If the noise stops when this is tried it is definitely the fan (remember to remove the straw after the test!). Replacement fans are not common in Australia but the existing fan can be easily cleaned and serviced by yourself with some handy tips I offer.  If you would like the instructions for this, or want my help to do all the work for you then please contact me for further information.
MY TIVO HAS A FLASHING GREEN LIGHT BUT NO PICTURE
 
This is a rather generic "catch all" shutdown mode of the TiVo detecting a motherboard failure and the CPU is detecting a fault. Most of the time it is something to do with RAM failure and in all but the rarest of occasions is repairable. If you want my help with repairs then please contact me for further information.
MY TIVO HAS NO HDMI OUTPUT BUT OTHER VIDEO SOCKETS WORK FINE
 
This failure is common, and is related to the HDMI support components and requires them to be replaced.  I can do this repair and when I do I also upgrade with more robust components at the same time to avoid further issues.  If you do not wish repairs of the HDMI output then all other video output methods can still be used without any problems. If you want my help with repairs then please contact me for further information.
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MY TIVO REMOTE IS NOT WORKING
 
Batteries?  Seriously it does happen!  If however you are pressing the buttons and the red light at the top of the remote flashes then this does not mean your TiVo remote is actually sending commands to the TiVo. Grab your digital camera or your phone and point the front of remote at it, press a button and look through the camera viewfinder.  You should magically see two flashing purple coloured dots that you normally cannot see with your eyes alone! (see picture below) This is because your camera is sensitive to IR light and your eyes are not.  It also confirms whether or not the remote is actually sending commands.  If you see no flashing dots in your camera viewfinder then your remote is faulty - usually because it has been dropped a few times which causes failure of the IR sender parts.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If you DO see the signals being sent but *NO* commands are recognised by the TiVo then the problem is in the TiVo itself and involves the remote receiver part inside the front panel which has failed.  If you feel the fault is internal to the TiVo then please contact me for further information and repairs.
 
HOWEVER if you DO see the signals being sent and the TiVo is only responding to SOME of the commands then the remote is faulty.  In recent times I have come across several remotes behaving this way and in testing I believe that it is due to a faulty batch of chips (integrated circuits) inside the remote that are failing in a certain way that corrupts some of the commands.  The best course of action in this scenario is to buy a new remote as it is the best cost effective method, although I can repair if you REALLY want me to.
 
 
 
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