chrism3's profile

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53 Messages

Saturday, August 25th, 2018 7:00 PM

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XG1v4 requires reboot everyday...

After a recent move, we upgraded from our old X1 box to the new 4K "XG1v4-A" box to work with our Samsung 4K UHD television.

 

We immediately realized that our box was requiring a reboot every day. So, we've been unplugging the box and plugging it back in. I've contact Xfinity about this issue several times. No one over the phone has been able to help.

 

Xfinity tech support simply had me swap out my box for a new one (which they have to send via FedEx -- requiring me to drop off the old box to the Xfinity store).  This is the third box and I still have the same issue. 

 

So, Xfinity sent out a tech yesterday. We were also having some internet connectivity problems (intermittent loss of internet on all of our devices). He discovered that the splice was installed by the Xfinity installation guy incorrectly (or so he said). 

 

However, the tech was puzzled. He said that everything should be working. He then attempted to say that our "problem" was our television.

 

I explained that we have swapped to another TV that worked perfectly fine (trading my sister-in-law's for a few days). Our television worked perfectly fine at her house with Xfinity and her TV worked fine at our house using the same box and same HDMI cable.

 

I explained to the tech that this didn't happen with the old X1 box. It doesn't happen with anything else connected to the TV (e.g., Xbox One, Blu-ray, etc.). I've even swapped HDMI cords, switched HDMI inputs, etc. Each and every time, the problem is only with the new XG1v4 box. 

 

The tech then said that he thinks that the cable issue that he "fixed" might solve the issue. He left roughly 25 minutes after arriving and said that he would have someone follow-up with me in a couple of days.

 

Today, I turned everything on again....and have the same problem. 

 

My TV is a Samsung 4K UHD television.

My power save mode is OFF.

My HDMI cable is 2.0 compatible (and I've tried FIVE of them -- all with the same issue).

My TV's firmware is up-to-date.

 

Apparently, this is a known issue. There are quite a few threads on the Xfinity forums with many posters addressing this issue. For instance:

 

https://forums.xfinity.com/t5/TV-Archive/XG1v4-requires-reboot/td-p/3025141

 

Doe anyone have a resolution? 

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Accepted Solution

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53 Messages

4 years ago

UPDATE: 

 

I am the original poster.

 

My box has NOT required a single reboot since the problem was resolved in October. All that I know is that there was a regional outage one day. The next day, the cable turned on with the remote. It has turned on ever since. 

 

For over a year, none of the "solutions" mentioned here or elsewhere worked (e.g., ecosaver mode, new HDMI cables, new equipment, etc.). All that I knew was that, after more than a year of multiple attempts to resolve the issue, I still had to unplug and replug my box everyday. However, suddenly, my X1 box just suddenly worked one morning in October. It has worked ever since. 

 

It has been two months now. I have not had to reset my box even once. It is strange because I had grown so accustomed to the process (i.e., unplugging it and plugging it back in every day just so that it would work). I suspect that -- behind the scenes -- some software engineer at Comcast figured out the problem about the compatibility between the XG1v4 box with my Samsung 4K TV. It took more than a year, but something was finally done. 

 

To be completely frank: If the issue wasn't resolved, I was going to walk away from Comcast after well over a decade as a customer. It just wasn't worth it to pay so much money for cable service that I had to go through an ordeal every...single...day. 

 

I am still a bit frustrated that someone marked a solution to this even before there was an actual solution. That was not me. I don't know who did this. 

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

The TV is HDCP 2.2 compliant (if that is what you mean). I've used a Monster cable that is specifically for 4K as well as the cables that came with the 4K boxes that were sent directly from Xfinity. I went to the Xfinity store and they provided me with yet another new cable that they said should work (but it didn't). 

 

I woke up this morning being forced to unplug and replug the box...again.

 

I'm largely frustrated that Xfinity knew what my problem was but sent a tech who didn't seem to care enough to say that it was anything other than my television. He kept wanting me to prove that my TV was 4K -- despite the "UHD" posted on the stand as well as behind the television.

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53 Messages

6 years ago

Yes, the tech visited. I even demonstrated the problem (turning on the TV with no picture). He didn't seem to even care about trying to find the cause. He tried to insinuate that the problem was broken HDMI connections on my TV.

 

I explained that everything else (e.g., Xbox One, Roku, Blu-ray player, etc.) works in each of the HDMI connections on that Samsung 4K UHD TV.

I explained that another Samsung 4K TV had the SAME ISSUE here but that my TV worked flawlessly at someone else's house (albeit with Direct TV).

I explained that I've tried multiple HDMI cables and none of them work.

 

This issue seems to be widespread because there are plenty of articles on Xfinity's forums about this same issue. Yet, there hasn't been any sort of solution.

Gold Problem Solver

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5.9K Messages

6 years ago

As already stated; you should be using 4K HDMI cables that are 2.2 compliant. Not all 4K HDMI are created equal. Your first post stated your's are only 2.0 compliant.

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

Are you saying that the cables sent by Xfinity with the 4K XG1v4 box and Monster cables that are marked specifically for "4K ready" arent' 2.2 compliant? My TV is certainly 2.2 compliant. 

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

UPDATE:

 

There is still no resolution despite the following attempts:

 

1.) I bought yet another set of HDMI cables (per these recommendations) that are specifically marketed as "HDMI 2.0" and "2.2 compliant" and meant for 4K televisions. The issue persists. 

 

2.) I tried changing my box's settings down to 1080p and 1080i. Neither solution worked. 

 

So, I continue having to reboot my XG1v4 Xfinity 4K box every single day. Oddly enough, the phone techs haven't suggested replacing my box with an older box (which obviously worked without issue before).

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

We traded televisions with my sister-in-law recently just to check. They have an old Xfinity X1 set top box w/DVR and it worked perfectly with no issues. 

 

I guess that I will simply have to go and swap out boxes...again. I had hoped that Xfinity would have figured this out. 

 

On a strangely related note: Since moving to our new home, we have been getting extraordinarily fast internet speeds. We have the 400 Mbps tier. However, we have been easily hitting over 1 Gbps (and sometimes faster). I've used several tests to confirm it. Once, I even hit 3.5 Gbps (which I didn't think was possible) as measured by fast.com. 

 

That wouldn't be a contributing factor or symptom, would it? 

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

Yes, I have the XB6. I live in the Silicon Valley (Palo Alto). 

 

The cable coming into the house is connected to a splitter. From there, one cable goes to the XB6 gateway. The other cable goes directly to my XG1v4 set-top box. 

 

We were having issues with the internet too. Our Wifi was intermittent and my desktop (which is directly plugged into the XB6) would periodically show no internet. After the tech installed the splitter, we've had a few issues. However, Comcast attributed these issues to local outages. 

 

Interestingly, I didn't have to unplug the XG1v4 yesterday. However, some of the X1 apps (e.g., Netflix app, etc.) didn't work at all until I rebooted the XG1v4.

New Poster

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1 Message

6 years ago

Do not have a resolution, just the same problem

Tried anything I can think off, including getting a new XG1v4.  First XG1v$ box a few months ago. Changed back to older X1 due to the reboot issue. Old X1 worked great (until a power surge killed it). Just last week I got another XG1v4. Every morning I have to do a reboot. Disabled power save feature. Set the box to 1080 rather than 2160.

I can see on my Emotiva AV receiver that the box puts out a 1080/60 signal (black screen) with no sound (0 bits).  Every cable, every piece of electronic, are to the latest 4k HDCP2.2 standards.

 

I guess I have to swap it out for the older box again...

 

This must be an issue Comcast is aware off. However, nothing is communicated to the techies nor users...

 

Frustrating!

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

Yeah. This is exceptionally frustrating. I am frustrated that a tech support worker was sent to simply tell me that he has no idea why it doesn't work. He wanted to leave ten minutes after arriving until I explained the issues with intermittent internet too.

 

A few minutes later, he replaced the splitter (with the older one that splits into three) and told me that they would call back to check on whether my TV and internet was still having problems. He then left. No one ever called back. 

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

Does anyone have a recommendation on how to deal with Xfinity to try and resolve this?

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

"I have two 4k DVR's and neither of them need a reboot EVERY day. All X1 devices reboot overnight. You may want to call 800-Comcast and select TV. ask the agent to run the internal troubleshooting guide (einstein) and let it test your line."

 

I've had THREE of these 4k DVR's sent to me by Comcast. Both require a reboot every day. I suspect that they probably reboot overnight (but I haven't been up to actually witness this).

 

I've called Comcast/Xfinity on numerous occasions. When it isn't working and they test the line, they can't detect a signal with the box. When it is working (after I reboot it) and they test the line, the signal seems perfectly fine.

 

Phone tech support ultimately want to send out a tech. In fact, they did send out a tech who wanted to leave within 15 minutes. He admitted that he had no idea what the problem is. He thought that it was a "malfunctioning TV." However, I pointed out that there is no signal if the box is not rebooted. He tests the incoming line (and it's fine).

 

Thus, I can only conclude that the issue is with the box (and probably a software/firmware issue at that).

 

I've noticed on Xfinity forums (and elsewhere) that many people have similar problems. It seems like the issue is most often with Sony and Samsung 4k televisions. They describe the exact problem.

 

If the problem was really an HDMI cable from the box to my 4k television, then why is it that Comcast cannot detect the box (before it is rebooted)? Besides, my 4k Blu-ray player (as well as my 4k Xbox streaming) works perfectly with the same cables and in the same HDMI ports.

 

This is an issue with the box. I just don't think that Comcast even cares to look more intently into this.

 

Years ago, I had a high end Toshiba television that didn't work with HDMI. It worked perfectly fine with HD component cables. We tried the HDMI cables periodically until a Comcast in-home tech admitted that they had no idea why it didn't work.

 

So, we relied upon the component cables until we bought a new TV (because Comcast phone techs convinced us that our TV or its HDMI connections were defective) -- despite there being quite a few people on the Comcast forums with that same problem.

 

We kept the old Toshiba TV for a while and used it as a spare in the bedroom.  I plugged it in a couple of years later and PRESTO the HDMI cords worked perfectly. Apparently, a software/firmware update for the X1 box made it compatible with that Toshiba TV.

 

My issue here is that the box clearly doesn't work to the point that a signal cannot get through once per day -- and the remote line test fails. That seems to indicate something wrong with the box.

Contributor

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53 Messages

6 years ago

I guess that "remote line test" might not be the best way to describe it. 

 

By "remote line test," I refer to the signal test by the Comcast tech support phone representative who tests the signal to the box. Before I reboot the box (even with the light on), they cannot detect that the box is even plugged in. When I unplug it and plug it back in, they can suddenly detect it.  

 

Example: 

 

  1. I use the Xfinity remote to turn on my Samsung 4k UHD TV. There is no signal from the box; so, the screen is black. I can still use the remote to control volume or switch to different HDMI inputs (e.g., Xbox One, 4k Blu-ray, etc.). I can still use the apps on the TV.
  2. I call Comcast/Xfinity Tech Support. They run a test to my device. They cannot detect that it is on. They cannot even reboot it remotely.
  3. I manually reboot the box (by unplugging the device, wait for a minute and plug it back in).
  4. The Comcast/Xfinity Tech Support rep runs the test again. They now see the box. They can reboot it themselves.
  5. The box will now work for about a day.

 

NEXT DAY: Repeat.

New Poster

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2 Messages

6 years ago

 

I have the same issue and have been trying to debug it.

It's not the cables, TV or AVR, it's the set-top box.

 

I can get sound from my AVR at times no picture on the tv and then try to change the channel to her if the sound changes, but the box is frozen. Login into my Xfinity account and do a reset and everything works within 10 minutes. 

Contributor

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29 Messages

6 years ago

I signed up for cable back in March of this year and got the same 4k box discussed here. My box would freeze almost daily at various times during the day. Usually no more than once a day. Last week I finally got Comcast to send me a new box with cables and so far......no freezing. Not sure if it's due to the box or better cables. These cables are easier to snug up for a tight connection. BTW when I called Comcast to activate the box I asked this person if he had heard of much freezing and he said not much at all. He said in his experience it was usually due to a signal being dropped somewhere in the house(line problem). Who knows......

 

Hopefully my situation has been corrected but might be early to say for sure. 

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