Lost recordings after update

[JeffB18]

Every time I get a message to say there is a software update ready I have 5 choices - the recommended option or  factory reset whilst saving or deleting recordings.  I choose the recommended option thinking that would be safe after previously losing all my recordings. However, every time I perform an update using this recommended option all my recordings are lost. I can’t use the tv without carrying out the updates so can anyone tell me how I can do this without losing all my previous recordings?  

[Midnight_Voice]

@AJHunt1 @JeffB18 @DarrenDev @Schockwave 

A YouView box that boots up and offers you the 5 options, as listed, roughly, by @JeffB18 above, knows it is in trouble, but it doesn’t know how much trouble.

As it reboots after the selection of an option, it can determine that the option chosen isn’t going to get it out of trouble, and so it chooses a more drastic option, up to and including a full Factory Reset, which makes it like a brand new box delivered today with the latest software on it.

Except if the box has an ongoing hardware problem that even reformatting the disc won’t cure, in which case it will repeat the cycle the next time you turn it on, and the next, and so on.

The small comfort you have when you watch your box wipe itself is that you haven’t done anything wrong, and there is nothing else you could have done, and your recordings (and quite possibly the box) were doomed at switch on.

The fundamental problem is that YouView never offered a way to back up your disc, and nor even, for hardware problems, to put that disc into another YouView box and carry on.

As a result, your recordings are always sitting under a virtual Sword of Damocles, with no guarantee of their longevity 🗡️

Obviously, a box coming out of standby is under less electrical stress than one booted from cold, but failures happen to both. Though I do think the switchers-off are overly represented among the failures, and their recordings pay dearly for that saving of 90 pence a year 😢

[AJHunt1]

90p a year? Wow. My smart meter must be lying.

I have had the box a far few years. But the thing I am irate about as it doesn't give you a warning that all recordings will be lost by doing the recommended option. It's like your windows laptop going into Bios mode and saying press 1 for reboot and then wiping your harddrive clean!

I was just trying to save a bit of money. My WiFi connects to my security system. My EE box is only on for an hour or so a day. If it's lucky! Switching it on and off should not be an issue. Do you leave your computer on all day at home or TV on standby? All that says on in my house is WiFi, cat drinking fountain, security and one Google device. Obviously I am in the wrong to save my 90p a year.

[Midnight_Voice]

@AJHunt1 

Read my posting above again - I don’t think you quite understood it.

If what you ask for isn’t going to fix the box, what do you think it should do? Come back and tell you that?

At which point your choices are leave it like that, not working, or choose a more drastic option, a cycle you might have to try a couple of times.

But which, at present, the box does for you automatically.

And if your recordings are no longer accessible, it tries at least to get the box back working for you; but it isn’t going to wipe the box willy-nilly, unless it finds it has no other choice.

[DarrenDev]

Personally, yes - I do leave my TV and laptop on standby @AJHunt1 - but it's your choice to turn it on and off if you want to.  It was just a suggestion that power save mode is very good when configured optimally, rather than needing to power off.  It also allows the box to run self-maintenance and updates whenever needed, and the TV Box can also used to monitor the stability of your broadband allowing us to auto-recognise issues and repair them sometimes without you even knowing.  It's unlikely to have been the cause of your issue though, so apologies for causing confusion.

Moving on to the actual issue you had - I've checked, and the maintenance mode never defaults to a destructive option.  The default/recommended option is "Software Reset" which wouldn't delete anything from the disk.  The fact that your box booted into the maintenance menu itself suggests that it had already recognise a hardware failure so none of the menu options would have fixed that without also losing recordings.  Given that you've had that box for over 9 years, this sounds quite feasible.  It also means it's likely to happen again.

It looks to me like you updated your contract earlier this year - you should have been offered a replacement TV Box at the time, but I cannot see any evidence that you were sent one.  Did you reject the offer?  Let me know if you'd like one sent.