New EETV account - constant drop outs

[RichN3000-17]

Hi all - new EETV customer here, signed up last weekend - having always had Sky TV - EETV Pro box turned up Tuesday and set up via ethernet as no aerial connection on the property.

We're getting regular disconnections with the IPC6023 error code. Can watch for an hour sometimes with no issues, then a disconnection, or constant disconnections where TV is unwatchable. Happens when we're out and have tried recording, for only 15 mins of an hour long programme recording.

Out EE hub is in a different room, and I use a mix of TP Link Deco XE75 and X55 mesh units for WiFi connection across the house.

I've tried the EE box connected to a TP Link router via WiFi and ethernet, set up a separate guest account just for the box, but neither resolves the issue. It's only watching via the guide that causes the issue - catch up, netflix, etc all work seamlessly.

My fear is that it's mandatory that the Pro box must be wired to the hub, but that's not feasible in our setup.

Has anyone got any suggestions I can try or similar experience? Would I be able to watch live TV more successfully with an Apple box (knowing I'd be giving up the recording feature?)

Thanks in advance!

[XRaySpeX]

What do the EE TV error codes mean? 

[RichN3000-17]

Yeah, I've seen that - thank you.

It looks to me like the Pro box has to be connected directly to the EE hub - be it through ethernet or WiFi - and it's the mesh that's causing the issue.

Bit frustrating that it works with every other device is the house, just not this 🤦

Does anyone else have their TV box connected via a mesh system?

[DarrenDev]

The multicast packets aren't being delivered to the TV box anymore, causing the TV signal to drop and IPC6023 to be shown.  It's almost certainly an issue with the network connection, which makes it harder to diagnose with your TP Link devices (BT / EE hubs and wifi extenders are all tested and confirmed to support EE TV, and have built-in diagnostics to help us identify issues).

IGMP snooping is enabled by default on your TP Link devices, but it's worth checking to make sure it hasn't been turned off - a multicast storm could be causing your routers to give up.  Also, could there be anything/anyone else on your network at the times it fails - someone in another room using internet? It could be that the backhaul is being pushed to its limits - even just for a few seconds each time - causing enough packet loss for the TV Box to give up.

All the other apps work fine as they use ABR - they'll just adjust the quality if the connection can't keep up.  Multicast can't do this - it's a fixed bandwidth (differs per channel), and will just drop the signal if it can't keep up.

If you choose to switch to Apple TV, this uses ABR and so wouldn't be affected - it'll just drop the quality as needed.

[RichN3000-17]

Thank you for the info, appreciate you taking the time to reply.

We have an array of devices that will be utilising bandwidth, so that will explain it the dropouts.

I've checked the web GUI for the TP Link mesh and there are no options to enable or disable IGMP snooping - I've ordered a network switch that suggests it will support with that. Will try and, if it doesn't work, I'll speak to someone about swapping to the Apple TV box.

I did ask to swap yesterday in store, but was told the issue was because I didn't have an aerial plugged in.

Thanks again for your help.