What is the Point of the EE TV app??

[JayQ1]

When signing up with BT for a further 2 years of TV, to be supplied by EE, I was pleased to learn that that I would be able to watch and record TV programmes by accessing my TV box from my android phone or tablet.

I downloaded the app from Google Playstore   noting that the above information was confirmed in the “About this App” section of the download site.

I logged in to the app only to come up against “Error GJ910 – We can’t find an active TV subscription on this Account”. I was given the option of logging in with either my BT or EE account. No matter which I used the error message continued to appear.

Following two 30 minute conversations with EE Customer Services I am still no further forward.  As a result of the first conversation I was issued with a new EE TV set top box to replace my BT box.  This is now installed and working well, but the problem with the app persists.

During the second conversation the customer assistant changed my EE user id.  This made no difference. Following further conversation she told me that because I purchase EE TV from BT I am not an EE customer (although I have an EE TV box and can access the EE TV app on my television). As I understand it the point of the app is so that I can watch live television and recordings stored in my TV box on my phone or my tablet.

At present I can do neither, so what is the point of the app? There is certainly no point in using on my television screen which is connected to the set top box.

It is clear that others in this community have experienced similar frustration. If any one is able to help me I would be most grateful.  Many thanks  John

[DarrenDev]

@Paulpedwar if you can see the bill in My BT then you must have Account Manager rights to it.  This allows you to view/manage the billing, but doesn't entitle you to the subscriptions on it - only the Account Holder has those rights, and as I said, that BT ID is in the name of the account owner.  Simply use that other email address and it'll start working for you.

Alternatively, you can visit My BT on the web site, edit your profile, and claim Account Holder rights - this will then take them away from the other account.

[Sedation]

Hi Darren, not true. The BT app worked perfectly.  I have tried recording several episodes on stern channels through the app, if you can actually scroll down without the permanent flickering, the app says it's recording but it never does. If the app were a horse it would be shot - not fit for purpose!

Regards, 

Paul M.

[Sedation]

Should say different channels, typo.

[DarrenDev]

You're replying to a message from last year @Sedation and I can't tell specifically which point you were referring to.

If you're scheduling recordings from the EE TV app and they're not appearing on your TV Box then the pairing is likely broken - e.g. if you've factory reset your TV Box, it needs to be paired again.  It can take a few minutes for the EE TV app and the TV Box to synchronise, as they do it online via the cloud, rather than talking directly to each other.

[Sedation]

Hi Darren, it says it was paired. It wouldn't record through the app unless it was.  The app says it  is recording but the box begs to differ, it's the latest EE one.  But then like I said you'll have to get pass all the terminal flickering first, despite broadband speeds of 250 mb/s. I hadn't used it in a while, and then as I tried to just check the schedule without success,  remembered why I hadn't. Do you think it's better to just uninstall it and wait until you release an app that actually works? On the Google play store it has 2.5 stars. There's probably a reason for that.

Kind Regards, 

Paul. 

[DarrenDev]

Unfortunately the app has no way of knowing that the TV box was factory reset - it's still paired to the cloud, but the cloud is no longer paired to a TV Box.  If you've factory reset the TV Box, then it needs to be paired again - even though it says it's paired.

I can only guess the "terminal flickering" you refer to is something that a few users reported earlier in the year, with the TV Guide getting stuck bouncing up and down rapidly.  We never managed to reproduce it, but also haven't heard any reports of it for a few months.  Are you still seeing it?

Most poor ratings on the Play Store are because they expected the app to do more than it can.  We can't show Freeview channels and we can't play recordings - they're legal limitations that we cannot get around. We are working to make the app more useful though, with many new features planned over the coming months.

[Sedation]

Hi Darren, I've never done a factory reset, and when I tried to record using this app (I migrated from BT to EE)  it said I needed to pair the app, which I duly did.  The app confirmed that it was, paired. The app will say it is recording when in actuality it isn't.  I'm happy to uninstall/reinstall, pair it again (even though it says it is already paired) if you think it will actually help?

[DarrenDev]

Yes, I would definitely suggest you try pairing again - things have become a lot more reliable in the past few months.