error code 103

[Lindzi]

Nowtv black box is giving me this error - V.3.6.69 error code 103

Buffering every couple of minutes and now it's kicked me off.

Starting to fall out of love with NowTv....nothing works as it should. Is it so hard to give us a working/stable service?

[Anonymous User]

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@Anonymous User wrote:

Trying to watch series 5 episode 2 of scandal tonight and keeps on buffering, then goes to error 103 or 105 getting rather annoyed with this.   

Paying for a service that doesn't work! 

I have had now tv for over 2 years on the same connection, it's only been the last few months that it has got this bad, almost like the servers cannot cope with demand at peak times.

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Hi Colin

Have you tried any steps to resolve this such as checking the software is up to date?

Thanks

Aaron

[Anonymous User]

Hi Aaron,

This happens across all 4 of the black boxes that I own, all have the latest software update on them. There is a mixture of wired and wifi network access, the wifi boxes are within 15feet of the router a netgear access point that only has the now tv boxes connected to it. I have tried resetting the boxes, unplugging them and plugging them back in after a length of time powered off. Changing them onto my home wifi network so they are not on the Access Point. 

This is has only started to happen in the last few months for months and months before this there hasn't been an issue and the same network infrastructure has been used e.g. There have been no changes at my end. 

My my feeling is that this is either a bandwidth problem at peak access time or a firmware update that is buggy in the black box version of your now tv device. 

Would you please be able to have someone technical review this please as it sounds like I am not the only one having this issue. 

If if you want you can have the black box I am using to test the issue or I can take a video of an episode as I watch it as it pretty much happens every episode now. 

It crashes, gives error code 100, 103 or 105.

box locks up you need to go back to the home screen and then wait a couple of minutes, the remote flashes the white led on the front to indicate that an or signal is being received and the audio plays however the menu selection on screen does not happen.

I have also noticed that when you go back into the now tv app, it says that the titles are currently u available.

regards

Colin

[Anonymous User]

I'm still getting this on both my black boxes too, just as described above. Think this has been around 3 months now. I cancelled my subscription becuase of this as im fed up of it. I tried to watch two films tonight (since i still have a few days left) one on sky one, one on comedy central and i was interupted with this in both of them twice. Also watching Gold and that dropped out twice within an hour. Now watching Fox last couple hours, and it's done it twice again. Initially i thought it might be time of day and service was busy but doesnt seem to matter on the time of day at all. Still no problems with anything else, just content within the NowTV app, both live and ondemand.

One box is connected via ethernet the other wifi, makes no differance. As i reported before, box's light blinks a couple of times when this error happens as if there is no connection, but there is, or as if it powered down and restarted, but it hasnt. Light doesnt flash until a few seconds after the error pops up. Even if the connection had dropped for a few seconds (which it hadnt) it wouldnt cause it as content buffers ahead ( i know this as i can restart the router which takes a good 2 mins of downtime and not interupt streaming). Also i can be streaming on both boxes at the same time and they do not both error at the same time, if it was connection loss they should.

From what i could tell, it appeared to be caused by the length of streaming. It never seemed to happen in under 20 minutes but always before 60 minutes (usually just before). I did some testing by streaming both boxes (same channel on both boxes). First one errored at 26 mins, second at 59 mins, but not both at same time. I've done this several times now on different channels, starting both at same time, with both on wifi, both on ethernet, one on wifi and one on ethernet and its always same result. One box errors around the 20-30 min mark and second around the 55-70 min mark. Essentially one box fails twice in the hour, while the other fails once. Same result if only one box is connected.

Took one box to a friends house (the one that fails around 20-30 min) to test and same result, it produced an error just as it does at my home so that pretty much eliminates a router, network or ISP issue. (that and the fact im not the only one to report this issue and all seem to have different ISP and setup).

To me it seems like a bug of some sort, you can pretty much set your clock and know when it will crash. Im sure it was introduced around november-ish. I do remember the boxes updating and i never had this issue before then.

The weird bit is that "sometimes", though not often, one of the boxes will behave for a few hours and have no problem. (think this was what missled me into thinking it was time of day issue initially).

Another very weird encounter i had the other day was that i was watching Gold (Only Fools). I had started watching the programme on time as it started. At about 10 mins before it had finished (being an hour episode) the box did it's error thing. Luckily it was during the advert break. Dealt with the error and went back to the channel and it was still adverts, pressed back button to go look at something else for a quick second then went back to the gold channel to find only fools was back on.. but it was the bit i had watched before the error.. confused i pressed back and then ok to go back into the channel, i was back at the advert break.. Something seriuosly screwed up with the box.

[ukbobboy]

@Anonymous User

Hi Raev

Just a couple of things, I can confirm that the last black box update was on 19th November, and that was rushed in order to fix a disastrous untested release that bricked most black (and white) boxes throughout the UK. 

So, after reading your thorough post, I am inclined to agree with your assessment that the 103 error is caused by a bug but I still feel that "time of day" or "peak times" has something to so with triggering that bug.  You see, although I am only using one black box, the error only occurs when I am watching a film or programme episode during peak times.  And whenever I watch something during non-peak times, i.e. between 1.00am and 7.00am, the 103 error does not occur.

I also believe that there is nothing more that black box owners can do to fix this problem themselves and, following your testing, only NowTV and their tech boys can fix this with their next scheduled O/S update and possibly also updating their servers.

UK Bob

[Anonymous User]

@ukbobboyYep i agree with you on that and i do believe peak times are worse than non-peak times too, so maybe it does still have something to do with time of day/service demand. However, being a programmer i am often up during the early hours and i still have the problem. Last night was a good example, watching Fox while working i was still having to attend to this error several times even during 1-4 am.

From the other threads on this i dont think we will be seing a fix anytime soon, which is why i cancelled my subs for now (pointless subscribing if i cant watch things). Plenty of acknowledgement from staff since end of October that they are aware and looking into it this problem but only result is that "They can not reproduce it in their tests". From experiance i know its likely to be months before this is fixed.. if ever. (Theres still bugs now that i reported over a year ago).

[Anonymous User]

This error message has beun appearing regularly over the past week.  Today, I am unable to watch an episode of Deadwood without this error appearing every 10 minutes.  I do not get the same issue with Netflix, so it is not an problem with my Network provider.  I am seriously considering cancelling my subscription of circa £16 a month as NOW TV is almost unusable at the moment.

[Anonymous User]

Hi @Anonymous User

Can you make sure you have no changed your DNS settings so to appear as if your in another country also have you checked your IP address to make sur eits registered to the UK. If it not this may be why it will not work.

Thanks

Eddie

[Anonymous User]

Yep just started getting the dreaded error code 103 as well, done the usual, reset box, taken cables out put them back in again, reset router etc, box is in bedroom and not watching til 10/10.30pm really annoying as not been able to watch a film.  Only have the Movie pass and box is approximately a year old.  Are NowTV actually going to do anything about it?

I thought it might be my service provider (Sky) but it looks like its not them as looking at other threads its people with other providers too.

[ukbobboy]

@Anonymous User

Dear Mrs Frenzy

I, too, used to get that dreaded 103 error but ever since that last black box update, i.e. OS ver 7.0 build 9620 on 28th February, I have not had any further errors.

Therefore, can you check to see if your black box has the same, or later, update?

UK Bob

[Anonymous User]

Hi

One of the things I also checked was if it needed updating said that it was
all up to date...

Talking to nowtv at the moment see what they have to say

Thank you for contacting me