box constantly rebooting

[Anonymous User]

Good evening,

I bought two now tv boxes a couple of months ago. I set the first box up and all was working great, until yesterday when I rebooted my router (for an independent reason). When I switched on the now tv box the next time it failed to recognise the ethernet cable, continually showing error 012. I moved the box closer to our router and connected via wifi without a problem, but for the tv i was using it had to be hard wired as the wifi didn't reach that far.

I then set up the second box to try again but exactly the same thing happened. I looked online and on these forums and tried all the various suggested solutions to solve the problem - including rebooting the box, rebooting the router (in various orders), updated the software, doing soft and hard resets of the box, restoring to factory settings, accessing the secret menus and disabling pings etc. Nothing worked, and then finally the thing gave up altogether - now it just comes up with the purple now tv screen when it switches on, and then between 10 and 30 seconds of turning on it automatically resets itself generally before I can even access any of the menus - it just does this constantly so I can't watch anything.

Both boxes are now doing the same, although one is totally reset to factory settings so has none of my login details or internet connection (it starts off with "Lets get started"), and the other is logged on to my account and connected via wifi to my internet - but neither will stay normal long enough to be of any use.

Can someone from NOW TV please help here. I have read many accounts of the same thing happening and from what I can see the only option now is to replace the box - but more importantly why is this happening anyway? I have to say I was dead chuffed with my little box when it was working, and ready to buy more to put tvs in the bedrooms- but I"m so disappointed how fragile and unreliable they appear to be, and how it can just stop working like that for no apparent reason.

Please get in touch. I have no digital or satellite receiver at my house and NOW tv provided the perfect solution for the odd occasion we wanted to watch something - like the euros. I also have four months sky movies vouchers which we haven't even activated yet. Now we're back to watching updates on bbc sport online instead with two useless bits of plastic cluttering up the place.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

Catherine

[SeeMoreDigital]

Hi @Anonymous User,

Personally speaking, if after performing any reasonable checks, my electrical product was faulty, I would return it to my original place of purchase and ask for a replacement!

There's not much point wasting your time fiddling about too much with these things...

Cheers

[Anonymous User]

hi thanks for your reply. I understand where you're coming from but I'm not too keen on getting a replacement given that I have two performing in an identically erratic manner. Plus the fact that I purchased online (from a legit supplier) so it's not as simple as just popping back to the shop - post office run, packing costs etc.

If I didn't like the concept of the product (or had an alternative) I'd probably just give up refund or otherwise - but the point is I really want to get the thing working, and am not too keen for a replacement if the same thing can so easily happen again.

Anyway as an update since the intial post I have since found on a ROKU forum someone else who had the same problem and when they switched it back on 24 hours later it was all fine again - so I tried doing the same, and the rebooting issue has stopped 🙂 Still can't connect via ethernet on either box though, even though I could (on the first box at least) before the initial problem started.

So if anyone has any secret ideas about error 012 - connecting via wireless but not via ethernet - please shout!

Thanks for your help,

Catherine

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

For two NowTV boxes to be faulty sounds a little strange to me, but don't get me wrong they could be both faulty.

This is what i would do if i was in your situation, i would try to eliminate or prove that the NowTV boxes are firstly at fault.

This suggestion below might not be practically possible for you or you don't want to go through the trouble because it's to much hassle.

I would take both boxes to a member of my Family or a Friends House who has a suitable internet connection and try the NowTV boxes on their TV set, you could try either box over WiFI (enter the new location WiFI password on the boxes or run an Ethernet cable if their Router & TV is close enough).

If either NowTV box works on the new House network, this would point that your problems lies elsewhere (possible your network / Router which would need further investigation) and this test would suggest that the NowTV boxes are fine.

If you get no success with the NowTV boxes trying the above test, then i would then look at replacing the boxes from the Retailer.

Only a suggestion.

Edit - You beat on your last post and i missed it.

With the Ethernet cable with the powe off to your Router and NowTV box, have you tried to disconnect & reconnected the cable at both ends, have you tried a replacement Ethernet cable just in case the cable has become faulty ?

When you go into the NowTV box settings menu make sure Ethernet option is selected (i think it does it automatically but double check just in case).

Also try swapping the two NowTV boxes over.

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

Just for clarification my above post was generally in response towards your first post on this thread when neither box was working right.

Tried to edit my post, but my tablet crashed and i didn't have sufficient time to update my post fully inline with your reply (second post). 

Sorry about that.

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

Another thing you can check on your NowTV box, is if you go into the box menu settings, select network, then select wired (ethernet) then press the update connection button, where hopefully you should see the status information including IP address etc.

If this information is shown on your box it would suggest to me that the Ethernet cable is fine and your box can see your router on the network.

Does your boxes see this information when connected via Ethernet, swap both boxes over to the location in the house where you said you can use the Ethernet option on your box ?

[Anonymous User]

Hi Schnapps,

Thanks for your help. Yes I have tried replacing the ethernet cable, unplugging replugging etc. It is definitely not a cable issue or port issue as these work fine with other devices.

I can't test the boxes on another internet connection as I don't know anyone else where we live - however, as you suggest with both of them I don't think it is a faulty box per se, more something to do with the settings on my network - which is why I'd really like to solve the issue rather than just replace the boxes or buy a new one.

I now have both boxes working normally on a wireless connection at my house - it is just the wired connection that is a problem, which is strange given that it did work over ethernet (on exactly the same ISP, router etc) when I first set it up. It only stopped when the router was rebooted (with no changes made to the router settings), so maybe it is something to do with IP or DNS, I'm not sure? Sadly our house has terrible wifi coverage so I really need a hardwired connection for the tvs to work where they are placed.

Any other ideas gratefully received,

Thanks, Cath

[Anonymous User]

@schnapps

just to clarify on the wired part - when I go to network setttings and attempt to connect to wired network, it just comes up with three red crosses, so it just isn't recognising the ethernet cable at all

[schnapps]

@Anonymous User

It does seem that you have a weird problem with the Router over Ethernet, especially if both boxes are now working fine on WiFi (in my experience Ethernet is normally a plug and go method).

Like you said, if you have changed the Ethernet cables tried different Ethernet ports on the back of your Router, done a Router reboot and under the NowTV box information menu it's still not recognising the allocated router ip address, then something is not quite right. 

Hopefully it's a simple thing that both of us have over looked or didn't think of.

Maybe if you can tell us your ISP provider together with the model of your Router back here, then a forum member who is familiar with your particular brand of Router can make some suggestions (maybe it's a setting in the Router which needs changing).