Live TV will not work but apps work fine

[pc98765]

I have recently changed from BT TV to EE TV and set up a pro and mini box in two rooms to receive EE TV via wifi. Neither TV has an aerial connection nor an ethernet cable connection. During the set up process each box 'found' 133 channels.

I can view anything via my apps so obviously there are no problems with the broadband speed , wifi or cable connections etc. However live TV does not work at all. I can see the guide with loads of channels but when I try to play one I just get a black screen initially which changes after some time to just a very heavily pixellated version of the screen with either no sound or an occasional squeak. Interestingly the black screen on BBC shows the green button in the top right hand corner but nothing else until the pixellated mess shows. I therefore cannot record anything on the pro box because it says it cannot record anything playing in an app. It is exactly the same problem with both the TV box Pro and the TV box mini.

[Chris_B]

@pc98765  i’m just sort of going through this now as I’ve just got my pro box but my EE TV subscription should be activated tomorrow but I can sort of set things up with aerial mode. What I’ve read though is that the box has to be within 5m of the router in internet mode

You probably need to request THIS  to help get WiFi access further from the router. 

and might want to read THIS 

[pc98765]

Thanks Chris_B for taking an interest.

I don't think it is a wifi speed issue as I can watch programmes via my apps without any issues. I know from the instructions it says placing the box within 5m of the router and the router is indeed more than 5m as it is on the third floor of the house with one TV on the middle floor and the other on the ground floor. However the instructions also say but it can be within 5m from a smart wifi device. While I do not have BT's own smart wifi devices I already have netgear ones on the ground and middle floors and these are working well - the wifi signal strength next to both TV boxes is about -50dBm and the download speeds around 170 Mb/s. So I think there is some other problem.

[pc98765]

Can a member of the EE community team please respond to this as I do not yet have a solution

Thanks

[DarrenDev]

If the problem was with your activation date then it would show a subscription error. 

The fact that it's showing a pixelated picture means it's active, but your WiFi solution isn't fast enough to support the channels you're trying to watch. 

In the apps, if the speed isn't fast enough then the quality drops. With the channels, they only have a single quality level - if the speed isn't fast enough, then they'll just not play. 

Unfortunately we cannot support 3rd party routers. Could you please try moving your box near your router to confirm that it works correctly when in range. If it does, then I'm afraid you'll need to address your WiFi issue yourself (or take a subscription for EE Smart WiFi, which guarantees a strong enough signal throughout the home).

[pc98765]

Thanks Darren for this reply. As mentioned in my reply to Chris_B above I have tested the download speed at both boxes and it is around 170 Mb/sec which surely would be fast enough to stream a TV channel? I appreciate you do not support third party routers but the EE smart wifi solution would not give a faster download speed than this as this was the speed at the router itself at the same time as I did the download tests at the boxes (we have a fullfibre 150 subscription). We cannot move the box next to the router as the router is on the third floor of the house and the TVs on the middle and ground floors. Can there be another reason? I would not want to go down the route of setting up a smart wifi subscription to find that the wifi speed at the boxes is still 170 Mb/s and the problem is still there.

[DarrenDev]

You could try using the Netflix app on the box to get a better representation of real network speed, however that's only testing TCP speed. The channels are delivered over multicast, which is UDP. One possible cause is that your routers aren't properly configured for multicast, causing them to distribute traffic to all nodes - this would flood your network, causing a lot of wasted bandwidth as well as WiFi contention.

[pc98765]

If that is the issue would I be correct in thinking that ee smart wifi extenders would not have this problem?

I see ee smart wifi comes with a money back guarantee but does this just cover download speed? ie If they give adequate speed but don't solve my problem would that be covered by the guarantee?

[DarrenDev]

Correct - EE Smart WiFi is guaranteed to work with EE TV.

[Chris_B]

@pc98765   The guarantee is not download speed it’s Wi-Fi coverage.   

“Smart WiFi:
Smart WiFi devices pair with your Smart Hub to create a seamless connection that reaches every corner of your house. We will send you one Smart WiFi device to start with and if you still have WiFi blackspots you can order up to 2 more. If we still cannot solve any WiFi blackspots, then you can claim back a £100 on-off bill credit. See ee.co.uk/terms for full terms and conditions.

the problem could just be the configuration of the router as stated by @DarrenDev 

”One possible cause is that your routers aren't properly configured for multicast, causing them to distribute traffic to all nodes - this would flood your network, causing a lot of wasted bandwidth as well as WiFi contention.” 

You could always test this by moving a TV and Box to be near the router,  ie on the same floor in the same room. . If you then still have issues then that will need looking at but if it works as intended then you’ll probably need the smart WiFi to help with the problem as your home is having an impact on the connection.