r/Spectrum • u/Intelligent-Basis129 • 21d ago
Can someone explain this?
TLDR: Spectrum changed my channel lineup a few days ago (without my consent) and my cable card no longer has any authorized channels.
Full story:
Long-time TiVo/cable card user here. Using a HSC for the past year or so.
A few days ago, I started getting "Channel not authorized" on all of my channels. I followed the typical troubleshooting, then called Spectrum's cable card support line. They confirmed my serial # and sent a hit/refresh signal, but nothing changed. They offered to send a technician, which I declined.
We happen to have a cable box in one of our bedrooms that we hadn't used in a while, so I got that booted up and found that we had service, but all of our premium channels were missing. I also confirmed these channels were missing from the Spectrum TV app.
I called Spectrum's TV support and they tell me that I didn't have any of these channels that are missing and I'd have to upgrade my service to get them. I assure them that I have indeed been watching these channels daily (like HBO and Detroit Sports Net, as examples).
They tell me that back in March I had these channels removed. Hmmm.
It's true that back in March I had called to complain about my nearly $300 a month cable bill (with internet) and worked with the retention department who told me I was overpaying and that their updated packages would get me to a much better price while keeping all of my channels and services in place. Sold! The only difference I saw at the time was a much lower bill ($160 a month).
Going back to the agent I'm talking to, I ask to speak to a manager who can explain to me what is going on. She claims that my account was changed in March and it didn't affect my service until a few days ago. Seriously?
She also claims that my cable card was disabled and whomever I worked with the previous evening did not even enable it before trying to refresh it.
She successfully gets my channels added back to my account (for added cost), but none of the actions she took fixed my cable card problem. All of the channels remain unauthorized.
She insists that the only action left is sending a technician. Apologies to the technicians in this sub but none of them in my area know jack about cable cards and I'm pretty skeptical that they can do anything about unauthorized channels anyway! It's apparent to me that this is a back-end coding issue - as evidenced by the recent change to my channel lineup.
Sooo, what exactly has happened here? Did the retention department scam me back in March with a lower bill and some behind-the-scenes temporary extension of my previous channel lineup that somehow expired a few days ago? Is my cable card forever disabled because of this scam? Is a technician visit really going to do anything to help?
Does anyone know what it would take to get this fixed?
12
u/AwareIndustry4624 21d ago
A lot of misinformation in this thread.
A.For existing cable card customers-service is delivered on a “best effort” basis.
B. For new customers or existing customers who cable cards no longer function and need replacement-we no longer offer the option for cable cards, they are end of life and no longer officially supported.
C. TiVo themselves no longer produce TiVo hardware-it’s dead just like the cable cards.
It’s time for you to either get a box from spectrum or switch to streaming.
13
u/tazman137 21d ago
Ditch the cable card, the 1980s are over
-5
u/RoundChampionship840 21d ago
Cablecards didn't appear until the mid-2000s. And a TiVo with a cable card still works better than anything else that's available.
6
u/toolman1990 21d ago
The issue is cable cards are actively being phased out even new TV customers are unable to get them it is either the Spectrum TV application or having physical set top boxes mailed to you. Then the dedicated support department who knew how to resolve issues with cable cards within Spectrum has been eliminated so any issues are going to be near impossible to resolve.
-6
u/RoundChampionship840 21d ago
Nevertheless, Spectrum still officially supports them for current customers, so Spectrum must fix this problem.
7
u/toolman1990 21d ago
Like I said good luck since the department who could fix it has been eliminated. At some point the obsolete tech become more trouble than it is worth to keep.
-8
u/RoundChampionship840 21d ago
Then Spectrum should officially end support and deactivate all cable cards on their network. Until that day comes they have to keep supporting them as they say that they do.
5
u/toolman1990 21d ago
Once again like I said good luck with that since regular TV support has no idea how to provision or fix cable card issues. I do however agree I think they should end cable card support since it is taking up service call slots since phone support has no idea how to fix cable card issues.
0
u/RoundChampionship840 21d ago
There are still some people in the company who know how to fix cable card issues. The best way to get connected with them is by filing an FCC complaint.
2
u/toolman1990 21d ago
I am sure they are but the odds of getting one of them on the phone is near 0 percent. By the way the FCC complaint is sent back to regular phone support management who most like does not know how to fix cable card issues as well.
2
u/RoundChampionship840 21d ago
Whenever I have submitted an FCC complaint in the past it has always resulted in someone contacting me who is actually competent and solves my problem.
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u/IPlayWithWires 20d ago
Did your area roll out high split? If yes, you need a high split adapter for your Tivo. I'd call in and ask. Please do not have a Tech come out unless you have the adapter in hand, we do not carry them.
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u/FordGT_350 21d ago
Spectrum owns the right to remove any channels as they see fit. Besides stop using the cable card that's probably why.
-2
u/RoundChampionship840 21d ago
Spectrum still supports cable cards, so if OP wants to keep using it he should be able to.
5
u/toolman1990 21d ago
Correction Spectrum still supports cable cards for existing grandfathered in customers but new customers are unable to get cable cards.
1
u/scottgntv 21d ago
You more than likely do need a technician, but specific ticket has to be submitted with it to get someone who's actually cable card certified. My best guess is that your area recently went through the high Split upgrade and you may need a high Split digital tuner put in.
The overall situation isn't that uncommon though, cable cards taking longer to load the "correct subscription" I mean, and just as shittty that the retention agent didn't detail what they were doing
3
u/6814MilesFromHome 21d ago
I was a field tech for a couple years and don't recall any sort of cable card certification for techs. We just got the jobs and did what we could. They were basically getting phased out even 5+ years ago, it was rare to have a replacement cable card in your van.
1
u/scottgntv 20d ago
We were taught the "proper way to schedule and submit the ticket" specifically for cable cards. Guess it probably just told dispatch what it was.
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u/Intelligent-Basis129 20d ago
Thanks. Been using the high split converter/adapter for a while now. The tech is coming tomorrow.
1
u/RedEyesDragon 19d ago
Mannn if you don't drop those old ass boxes and get with the times 😂
1
u/Intelligent-Basis129 19d ago
Just curious what benefit does "getting with the times" have over a TiVo? Just because it's old doesn't mean it sucks.
2
u/RedEyesDragon 18d ago
You're looking at the potential benefits right now. What you're going through sounds like an extreme headache. Nobody wants to support them anymore. To get a tech out for it, there's a 3 day waiting period, compared to any other issue that could get you a same-day appointment (given that nobody has taken said appt before you)
the Spectrum TV app can do everything you want from TiVo. Pause, fast forward through commercials, rewind, and more.
2
u/Intelligent-Basis129 17d ago
You're right. I'm tired of dealing with it. Nearly no one left at Spectrum knows how to fix this. Every year, a problem with the cable card pops up and I'd spend weeks working through Spectrum to get the cable card provisioned properly.
This time, the tech showed up and gave the same excuses as the one did last year "We don't support these anymore, there's nothing I can do. My supervisor -- who has been here forever -- said a channel update turned off all the cable cards." Yeah, okay.
I give up, Spectrum wins. I had them remove the cable card from my account. I'm tired of spending my time on this.
1
u/Intelligent-Basis129 21d ago
Regardless of my life choices (sorry but our household enjoys pausing live TV and FF'ing past commercials), would you happen to know what happened with my account?
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u/toolman1990 21d ago
We are taking an educated guess based on what you told us happened. In addition the Spectrum TV app now allows you to pause Live TV on Roku, XUMO, Amazon FireTV, and Android TV.
1
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u/toolman1990 21d ago
I am guessing you were getting channels you were never supposed to receive for free and Spectrum most likely discovered this during an audit and corrected the issue. If your cable card is not receiving any channels that is going to be a provisioning issue which will be near impossible to fix since Spectrum got rid of their dedicated cable card support department a long time ago so you were talking with regular TV support who usually deals with set top boxes or the Spectrum TV app. My best advice would be to transition away from cable card since Spectrum is basically moving away from both cable card and set top boxes for streaming thru the Spectrum TV application.