EE TV Box Pro – IPC6023 Error Despite Full Troubleshooting

[Thessalus]

Hi all,

I’m getting the IPC6023 error on my EE TV Box Pro, which I understand is related to multicast streaming.

Here’s what I’ve tried so far:

• Restarted the EE TV Box Pro, EE Hub, and any related devices
• Checked that all equipment is either EE or BT supplied — no third-party routers or mesh systems
• Used a direct wired Ethernet connection between the TV Box and EE Hub
• Performed full factory resets on both the hub and the box
• Verified all software and apps are fully updated
• Reduced network load to rule out congestion
• Checked FTTP mode on the hub is correctly configured

Despite all this, I’m still getting the IPC6023 error. I haven’t contacted EE customer support yet, as it’s currently outside of hours, but I’m beginning to suspect this may be an issue with multicast delivery on EE’s side.

anyone else got any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help or insights.

[MrMasher]

And the 30 minute switch off hasn’t helped me. One of my other issues was that I can’t sign into my Hub manager advanced settings. It just hangs when I enter the password. I’ve tried wireless and wired connections. I think my hub (installed new 23 days ago) may be faulty. 

[DarrenDev]

Unfortunately "TV Box is broken" is a last resort, but it never solves anything. I've never known a single case where the TV Box was proven to be at fault.

You've mentioned "air cast" - is this a product you're using? Or are you referring to Airplay? Depending on the exact product being used, it can consume a lot of bandwidth on the network - EE TV (excluding Apple TV) requires a fixed bandwidth per channel, and if there's not enough, the video will just stop. The way to fix this is ensure there's enough bandwidth for everything you're trying to do, which means making sure the signal is strong enough.  If you're using Wifi extenders then the signal between extender and main hub also needs to be strong.

Your hub hanging suggests that it's running out of memory.  This could be related to the "air cast" issue too, if the traffic being sent is doing something that is maxing out the device.

The 4 minute 20 issue is caused by a device not sending a "keep alive" signal to keep the TV channel (multicast session) active.  This is also the amount of time it takes for the line to clear down any unused channels, so this is the maximum time you'd need to keep equipment turned off for the line to reset.  This isn't related to your issue though.

Have you tried turning off the speakers that you're casting to, and then rebooting the hub? Ideally use a process of elimination, turning off (or disconnecting) each device to find out which one is killing everything.

[MrMasher]

Yeah, I meant AirPlay. 
I have tried every combination of switch offs, resets, etc. 

If the tv box is on (internet mode) and I use airplay to send music to my Apple mini hubs (speakers) the tv pic goes black. Change channels and it’s the same. I stop airplaying and the tv pic returns after a few seconds. 

I don’t know if the advanced settings sign in hanging is a separate issue? Tried mobile, iPad and laptop as well as direct Ethernet. Still can’t get into it. 

[DarrenDev]

I can see you have a wifi extender, but also that your TV Box reports that it's connected via Ethernet.

Is it connected directly to the Smart Hub 7?  Or to the extender?

I'd like to eliminate the extender from the equation completely - would it be possible to switch it off temporarily and reproduce your issue?

[Thessalus]

Hey 👋 

I had similar issues,  ill throw my hat in the ring, if it might help. 

I dont think your TV box is at fault.
The fact it happens when casting audio suggests a multicast and or bandwidth handling issue in the Hub, like DarrenDev suggests. 

EE TV uses multicast for live channels, and AirPlay casting also uses multicast traffic. When both run together, the hub can run out of memory, which causes the TV stream to drop.

The most reliable fixes I’ve seen, so far...

Wiring the TV box by Ethernet (but I think you have probably tried this)

My own personal fix was simpily adding a small decent gigabit switch with proper IGMP handling between the hub and devices,  as also suggested by Ghosking and worked for them. 

Also separating Wi-Fi bands so casting devices stay on 5 GHz might help. 

I found it tricky to get to bottom of but mine was completely resolved by adding a better switch, which took the multicast load off the hub.

So it might be worth trying something like...

Netgear GS105 or GS108TP-Link TL-SG105 or SG108(v4) if your willing to splash out there not to bad on price. 

would at least provide a possible solution. And probs improve network a little 😉

[MrMasher]

The tv box is directly connected via Ethernet.

I have switched off the extender and tried again. The tv box is directly cabled via Ethernet to the hub. I use my Airplay speakers and exactly 4m 37 s into the track the tv stops displaying. I had bbc1 on, I could flick to bbc 2 and itv and they are fine. Back to bbc1 and still black pic. 

Now it weirdly works. So I’ll continue for another 4+mins and see if it cuts off again. 

4 1/2 mins in and it’s gone again. I get a frozen pic, can switch to bbc2, itv1, ch4 and they’re fine. Back to bbc1 and now it works.

I have a managed switch arriving today, not sure if it will make a difference or not. 

[DarrenDev]

@Thessalus airplay only uses multicast for device discovery (mDNS).  The actual stream is unicast.

@MrMasher  With the TV Box being connected to the hub directly via ethernet, wifi saturation shouldn't be affecting it at all. A switch would only help if the speakers and iphone were both connected to it, so it'd need to be a wireless access point too - not a great solution.

I've asked one of the guys from the Smart Hub team if he has any ideas. I'll post back when I know more.

One question: can you access the hub advanced settings immediately after a reboot (before attempting to watch TV or use Airplay)?

[MrMasher]

No access at all to advanced settings. Even if I hook up a laptop with Ethernet after reboot. 

[DarrenDev]

We've been unable to reproduce the issue, however your inability to open the advanced settings appears to be an indication of something wrong with it.

Can I ask you to please factory reset the hub, and then attempt to access the advanced settings again.  If you're still unable to access it then we'll need to swap it - it's possible that whatever is causing that to fail on the hub is also causing this unexplained behaviour.

[MrMasher]

The hub has had a factory reset already, it was done remotely when I first had this issue. But I didn’t try to access the advanced options then. I’ll do it tomorrow. 

I’ve noticed that when the tv channel freezes, if I stop airplay to my speakers then the tv recovers, but only if I change channel and back again. However, my 2 airplay speakers lose their network and become unresponsive.