Cannot access On Demad or use Catch Up. YVM104 error!

Neil2

Hi

I cannot access either the on demand players (using the blue Y button) or scrolling backwards through the guide.

Using the blue Y button and going to the On Demand section, I receive a YVM104 error. Looking this up on your support web page and on this forum, I have followed all the advice (checking that I have accepted the legal terms, checking the connection to the router, checking the Internet connection, restarting each and all devices etc etc etc). However I still cannot access the on demand players.

I received my YouView box as part of a trial last summer and have not had any problems with it all - it's a Humax model. My ISP is not BT or TalkTalk and therefore I do not receive YouView as a subscription.

I have tried setting the IP address manually (through the YouView setting menu) or letting the YouView box receive an IP address from my router using the DCHP service on it. My box is connected directly to my router via ethernet cable and i have tried several different cables with it. I have turned both my YouView box and my router off and back on again with no success.

I have the latest software on it (jan update) and I consider myself to be knowledgable and highly confident in terms of technology and networking, as my job is working with, setting up, repairing and fixing computers.

This problem started on mon 4th Feb (completely randomly) and I have tried everything that has come to my mind, except resetting the YouView box. I have not done this as both my wife and I have recordings on this box that we want to watch.

Can anyone suggest anything that can be done to solve this problem?

(Please do not suggest that I look at the web page www.youview.com/support/kb/resolution... as I have been there and 'have got the t-shirt'!)

Thanks

Neil2

I should also add that in my house there are several devices able to access the Internet (smartphones, tablets, a laptop and a desktop) using both wired and wireless means no problem. I therefore deduce (as Sherlock may have said) that my Internet and router are not the problem.

Also my Internet is a 35mbps FTTC connection, therefore speed is not a problem.

Tanja

Hi Neil, as you have tried many troubleshooting steps and it didn't resolve the issue I would suggest to call one of our agents for further help. You can find their contact details here http://www.youview.com/support/kb/use...

PPP QQQ

There really ought to be a T-shirt. I favour

"Boot Fail, Invalid Signature"

:-)

Cicero

When my triallist box did this and I had tried all the steps you mentioned I contacted Humax and they replaced the box. They might ask you to perform a reset to prove it doesn't work and of course you'll lose your recordings. But if you want a new box you'll lose them anyway. Like you I didn't have any problems with my original box for months, and my replacement (beginning of year) has behaved fine.

Neil2

I've contacted YouView by phone as requested and they asked me to go through most of the stuff that I had already tried! Mostly a waste of time -and I had to pay for the phone call -0845 numbers are not included on my mobile or landline!

Anyways they have sent me a survey-approx 30 questions ! Another waste of time. Here's some examples of the questions:
please describe the current behaviour of the box?
Can you playback On Demand content (either through the Backwards EPG, On Demand Browse area or within the Players)?
Can you launch the Players?
Can you access the Players page or the On Demand browse area?

And it goes on and on and ... *starts to fall asleep

The person I was speaking to was unable to tell me if or when someone would contact me once the survey is returned.

I'll keep you informed of any progress. I'm off to fill in the answers. I am tempted to be sarcastic but that won't help anybody

PPP QQQ

Neil - maybe you should ring Humax?

Cicero

I agree with aisha, you should contact Humax (if necessary ask a YouView rep to put you through, I waited on the Humax line for an hour before I did this). If you get the right Humax person they'll go through the checks on the phone and agree then and there to email you and arrange an immediate exchange.

Neil2

Thanks for the advice aisha and Cicero

Unfortunately I've looked at the telephone number opening hours and I work full time in an office during those times (away from home). I'll give it a go and see what they can do.

Technogran

I used to get the YVM104 error. I found that changing the Ethernet cable from my router to the unit solved it. Looks like the YouView unit is very picky about which cables you plug into it, and that goes for HDMI AND also cable from your aerial feed as well.

All mine are fully shielded cables (cost a bit more I know) and I don't get any of the problems that many have suffered on here such as missing channels etc.

Anyway, worth a try.

Cicero

Technogram, it's true that anything is worth a try, but for Neil and me this problem arose after several months of perfect service and he states he has tried changing his ethernet cable. My box had been happily working on homeplugs and when it "broke" I tried an ethernet cable instead, to no avail.

Neil2

Hi Technogran. You make a good point and it is worth a try. It might even work for other people. However, I am also aware that some electronic devices, especially the YouView box are picky about cables.

Just in case, I had already swapped the Ethernet cable and in fact, tonight, I tried with a different router - though my wife was not too pleased as the spare router is not wireless, so her browsing using a well known fruity tablet was interrupted. (Sorry!)

I contacted Humax today and they suggest that my only course of action is to reset the box. I'll try that on Sunday, as I want to watch as many of my recordings before doing that.

Though I must say Humax had much better service support. They told me that quite a few people had reported this problem and are aware of this. The person also stated that they are working with YouView to resolve this issue.

Once I tried the reset and if it did not work, I could call back on Mon and they would arrange a courier to pick up the faulty box and drop off a replacement. YouView would be best to take note of this, instead of sending me a survey and say that they don't know when, or even if, someone would get back to me.

Andrew Marlow

After a long time of seeing YVM104 and hearing from YV that no-one else was I am now amused at the high number of cases where this happens. YV still seem to be taking no notice (have you tried turning your router on-and-off etc, ha-ha) but I bet the general public will. Everyone who complains get directed to http://www.youview.com/support/kb/res... where it suggests that it is temporary problem and that by standing on your left leg with your right finger in your left ear on a Tuesday then then problem might go away. And for some people it does. Well, it is an intermittent problem after all. But although you cannot predict *exactly* when it will happen it does happen an annoying large number of times. Almost everytime I finish watching a NOW-TV film it finishes with that error. Thank goodness it has not interrupted a film with that error yet but I think it's only a matter of time.

roger1

I am experiencing similar problems to those expressed by Neil and Cicero.

I cannot access the On Demand section and get an YVM104 Error. I get similar problems with the search function.

I have tried the items outlined by Neil - attempting to reconnect manually, changing cables and following the You view list. All to no avail.

The box has the latest software and has worked fine since I received it as part of the trial.

One extra I tried was a reload under maintenance mode (saving my recordings).
The box found the internet and downloaded a new version of software. As part of the installation sequence, the tv channels were reloaded. The sequence stopped when it tried to find the internet. The screen said it could detect the router but not the internet. I continued the sequence at this point and the system started as normal (with no Ethernet connection).

My Ethernet connection is wired and I think quite standard.

Any suggestions, other than follow Neil and contact You View support and Humax?

Neil2

@roger i would suggest contacting Humax. IMHO I don't think YouView knows what to do and will only suggest the same old stuff and then say "fill in the survey". At least Humax will do something.

Right, after watching the recordings I need to watch and sacrificing the rest of them, I've tried the reset option, twice.

Both times, it has not solved my problem. In my case, the reset option does not re-setup the box. It remembers my settings and my custom list of channels. The setting menu remembers my postcode and other settings. It does, however, delete my recordings and my scheduled recordings.

After both resets, the box did not present the setup process - you know the one where it asks for the postcode, tunes the channels, asks you to accept the terms etc etc.

After the second reset, I turn the box off, give it enough time to power down the hard drive and disconnect from the network (i waited until the network light turned off) then turned it off at the wall.

I waited for about 2 minutes, then restarted the box. Unfortunately I was not presented with the setup menu.

Me thinks that the software is screwed (official technical term!).

I'll call Humax tomorrow morning and take them up on their offer of a replacement.

Neil2

Update: I've tried roger's extra step - using maintenance mode.

I selected the option "Internet / USB recovery, delete recordings" as I have already lost the recordings from my previous failed reset.

The box downloaded the firmware - I know as I watched the Ethernet lights on my router and the activity light was flashing away, as well as the Internet activity light on the WAN port (I made sure the other devices on my home network were not being used, therefore this activity is solely the YouView box)

The box then installed the firmware and restarted. It then actually presented the setup process. It tuned the channels successfully then started to test for the Internet.

Just as roger above, my YouView box also found the router but not the Internet. I'm confused how it could not find the Internet as it downloaded the firmware.

I suggest that the hardware (electronics, Ethernet socket, cables etc) are working fine but the problem lies within the YouView firmware itself.

Although YouView does not want to know about it, Humax does. Therefore I will contact Humax tomorrow and arrange with them for a replacement. At least Humax knows that it is their reputation at stake. After all, customers want to know that if a product fails, that a company will stand by it. Humax does and YouView does not. I've checked my email, I've not received a response from the survey that I sent YouView on Thursday night. Not even an acknowledgement that it's been received!

Roy

When the box gets this issue, it knows it can't operate over the Internet, but it doesn't have a fine-grained enough message for what's happening, so you get the generic "Can't Connect". Even though it manifestly is connected, but is waiting on the threshold of the Internet for an invitation to proceed that never comes, like the girl vampire in 'Let the Right One In'.

roger1

I have raised the problem with YouView support and they await a response from their technical group. This remains their position today.

I rang Humax today. Their response was this was a known problem in the YouView software and that YouView had informed them yesterday that this would be included in the March release of YouView software.

I have noticed that the "permanent YVM104" fault Neil and I have experienced appears to have been noted in other threads, so perhaps there is good news on the way for a few people.

Note this problem is different from item 14 in Keith's list as it is not cleared by a power cycle.

Lawrence Yates

My Youview box arrived this morning. I set it up but once started, I had this problem and had the YVM104 error message.

I disconnected and reconnected the ethernet cable and did a reset. Now everything seems to be working ok.

Cheers,

Loz Y

Roy

If a dose of Boot doesn't fix it, then you are flogging a dead horse.....

roger1

Just to provide an update.
There appeared to have been a miscommunication between YouView and Humax.
YouView initiated a box swap which was completed by Humax today.
The new box works as expected with the internet.
Problem solved.

Trust that Neil found a similar solution.
Roy's comments as usual were on the money.

lee5p33dy

I am very unimpressed by the youview support page for the YVM104 error. As noted in previous comments, the page seems to suggest that there is a mysterious temporary fault that can be cleared by checking your internet settings etc. A quick call to the youview helpline confirmed that the real problem is more serious. I was told that version 9.5.0 of the youview software has a "known fault" and in many cases will not allow connection to online services. I was also told that youview can't help and I need to speak to to Humax (who don't answer the phone at weekends).

Basically if you want the plain english version of what has happened it is this:

1 - Dodgy update released (9.5.0) which doesn't connect to internet properly.
2 - Resetting box doesn't help (lots of people now have Youview "paperweights").
3 - Youview and Humax pretend like nothing is wrong.
4 - Users given runaround checking cables and things, which is a waste of time.
5 - I stop recommending Youview to my friends and family.

redchiz

6 - If any of the above is correct, it should all be resolved by software update 10.4.0.

Roy

Redchiz

It isn't. My first box was fried with BFIS (the permanent version of YVM104) in the September update, long before 9.5.0. This issue has been around for yonks, and it's the action of doing the update, not the content of the update, that causes the majority of BFIS. Though it can still happen, seemingly at a lower probability, to anyone at any time.

It will be great if YV/Humax can release a fix in a future update, though it's a bit tendentious of Humax to say the issue is in the YouView software when, AFAIK, it does not affect Huawei boxes.

But in the above, 1 is wrong, 2 is correct, 3 is only half-right, 4 is right, sort of, as it's fair enough I think to check everything one last time before losing all your recordings, and 5 is a given, unless your F&F happen to be all masochists.

Given that, your fond hope for 6 is also wrong, alas; see recent postings from the latest crop of updaters with bricked boxes :-(

lee5p33dy

I accept what Roy has said, I thought it was just a dodgy version of the software, but if people are having problems with earlier versions then I accept that there seems to be an issue that can occur when updating (to any version) i.e there is a fault with the updating process itself. If this is the case then you can see why Humax can't simply fix the issue with a software update. Even if a new version of the software did fix the issue, how am I meant to update to the latest version when the box will not connect to the internet? I tried entering maintenance mode and I always get BFIS. I don't accept that point 3 (Youview and Humax pretend nothing is wrong) is only half-right. No where on there websites does it state that there is a known issue. All the advise they offer seems to treat the issue as a "one-off" issue the customer is having, for example it might be the router etc. They know there is a major issue, they just don't want the details all over the internet.

PPP QQQ

Also, the box is versatile. It can fail when not updating, just trying to come out of (High Eco) standby.

That's what happened with mine (since replaced)

Roy

lee5p33dy

Try searching Google for 'YouView bug list'. You will find BFIS in there, in this YouView forum, linked from the YV website.

Once you have BFIS, your individual box is indeed irrevocably bricked, but a future update could well include a patch to prevent it ever happening to as yet unbricked boxes. The sooner the better...

When I had BFIS, YouView took it very seriously, but thought it an isolated incident. But Humax knew it wasn't, and were very interested, noting my serial number so they could get the box on the bench when it came back to them, to see what the issue might be.

Though if they found out, they never said :-(

But YouView do now acknowledge the issue, and an update for it to vaccinate current boxes is planned.

lee5p33dy

Roy,

I am an old fashioned kind of guy. I like the Wickes advert, the one that says "it's got our name on it". That's the kind of attitude I like from a company, a bit of old fashioned pride in one's products. If I was in charge at Youview or Humax and I became aware of an issue that could render my products absolutely useless I would want to issue a public statement as an apology to my customers. I would want to make potential new customers aware that there was an issue. In short I wouldn't make my customers search google looking for answers and pretend that it was a problem with the customers internet connection.

Roy

Leespeedy

I can tell you aren't in business then :-)

There's no mileage for YouView or Humax in publicising these issues; it will kill everyone's investment stone dead faster than Gerald Ratner making an after-dinner speech.

If there was a fix, then maybe publicity for a product recall to apply the fix would be not too damaging as a PR move. But there is no fix, yet, so an announcement would be commercial suicide. And anyway, if there was a fix, it can be quietly rolled out in a remote update (ever wondered why YV won't list what an update contains?)

And nobody dies if a YV box fails, except maybe a husband who has promised his wife one too many times that this time, it really, really will record East Enders.

So the ads show Noddy gliding smoothly past the Houses of Parliament, and nobody talks about the reality of lost or short measure tunings, failed recordings and bricked boxes that is the lot of a small but significant minority of YV users.

But YV was always going to offer a hostage to fortune, by just licensing its software to box makers, and not taking responsibility for the boxes, or even QCing them, beyond initial samples.

And the same is true for the box makers; here's Humax, a very well respected maker of some of the top PVRs, and the YV branded box is functionally like a five or ten year throwback, and electrically as reliable as a 1970s Leyland car.

How did that happen?

Madcotto

Roy1 said:

Leespeedy

I can tell you aren't in business then :-)

There's no mileage for YouView or Humax in publicising these issues; it will kill everyone's investment stone dead faster than Gerald Ratner making an after-dinner speech.

If there was a fix, then maybe publicity for a product recall to apply the fix would be not too damaging as a PR move. But there is no fix, yet, so an announcement would be commercial suicide. And anyway, if there was a fix, it can be quietly rolled out in a remote update (ever wondered why YV won't list what an update contains?)

And nobody dies if a YV box fails, except maybe a husband who has promised his wife one too many times that this time, it really, really will record East Enders.

So the ads show Noddy gliding smoothly past the Houses of Parliament, and nobody talks about the reality of lost or short measure tunings, failed recordings and bricked boxes that is the lot of a small but significant minority of YV users.

But YV was always going to offer a hostage to fortune, by just licensing its software to box makers, and not taking responsibility for the boxes, or even QCing them, beyond initial samples.

And the same is true for the box makers; here's Humax, a very well respected maker of some of the top PVRs, and the YV branded box is functionally like a five or ten year throwback, and electrically as reliable as a 1970s Leyland car.

How did that happen?

i brought into youview on the back of Humax making the kit. was it a mistake idk is there work to be done most defo YES, and the passing of the buck ant helping any of us

Roy

Roy1 said:

Leespeedy

I can tell you aren't in business then :-)

There's no mileage for YouView or Humax in publicising these issues; it will kill everyone's investment stone dead faster than Gerald Ratner making an after-dinner speech.

If there was a fix, then maybe publicity for a product recall to apply the fix would be not too damaging as a PR move. But there is no fix, yet, so an announcement would be commercial suicide. And anyway, if there was a fix, it can be quietly rolled out in a remote update (ever wondered why YV won't list what an update contains?)

And nobody dies if a YV box fails, except maybe a husband who has promised his wife one too many times that this time, it really, really will record East Enders.

So the ads show Noddy gliding smoothly past the Houses of Parliament, and nobody talks about the reality of lost or short measure tunings, failed recordings and bricked boxes that is the lot of a small but significant minority of YV users.

But YV was always going to offer a hostage to fortune, by just licensing its software to box makers, and not taking responsibility for the boxes, or even QCing them, beyond initial samples.

And the same is true for the box makers; here's Humax, a very well respected maker of some of the top PVRs, and the YV branded box is functionally like a five or ten year throwback, and electrically as reliable as a 1970s Leyland car.

How did that happen?

OATK - that's my watchword