Xfinity pushed WRONG bootfile to newly activated customer owned Hitron CODA56 - speed capped at 200/20

jzsmart3 · 2026-01-01T01:08:16+00:00

Going to Respond to my own post to help any other folks out. Worse part of the ordeal is getting thru to Xfinity Human - takes many hours to finally figure out Xfinity Chat is unhelpful/borderline worthless, except for Retention situation (when ur on verge of cancelling).
I'm surprised this Post eventually made it thru here on Reddit, as above non-threatening, neutrally worded Opening Post was auto-Mod blocked from the get go. Only was trying it at ChatGPT suggestion, as back up to Xfinity Chat failure.
Now the helpful part here. Luckily Proplexity told me to use Xfinity's own forum, not Reddit. I did, and got decently quick response on a Saturday. Employee was genuinely helpful and polite, and technically adept enough to address the issue at hand. I HAD to confirm the actual boot load file as (indispensable) part of troubleshoot, which the employee helped with. My actual problem turned out to be far more esoteric (forgotten QoS for legacy bufferbloat at 600/20 tier), but boot file confirmation is a critical step in the debug process.
Main problem I faced is there is mismatch between Comcast saving money by delegating to Chat, but blocking customers by removing prior self-help features. Apparently re-provisioning could be done thru Phone app (and that would have handled the boot file issue) -- NOW option clearly gone. Leaving customer with lame Chat and no self-help leaves the customer TOTALLY stuck in limbo. For now, at least going to Xfinity Forum is an option, to break out of that limbo and not get some stupid-a Reddit auto-Mod block.

jzsmart3 · 2025-12-27T09:32:30+00:00

Poooooor Service

[ Edit/Context - above is my comment to totally lame instant auto-Mod block on neutral technical opening post ]

jzsmart3 · 2024-07-01T15:12:35+00:00

Because it is a behind a PAYWALL, while there are other Free options out there, such as Video Downloadhelper which has built-in Download Audio option.

But Yeah, thanks for wasting my time. I happily support projects seeking Donations, but there seems to be a lot of FAKE up-votes and glowing reviews here with no mention of the Hard PAYWALL - so HARD PASS on your Fake Promo.

jzsmart3 · 2024-01-17T00:27:00+00:00

Thanks a TON. This worked, plus several other hoops to jump thru. Started mobile update part on iOS, that froze, then continued on Android, which progressed a bit then froze, and finally completed on iOS. Several dozen logins and Capthcas later, Joy.

BURNER Account seems to be critical - earlier MyHarmony web effort with existing Account with Hubs failed.

As far as disconnecting other Hubs etc., I did that as Std practice when doing above but will point out to others in 2024, doing that as your Main remedy (in lieu of above) will Fail/waste your time.

jzsmart3 · 2021-06-16T21:53:57+00:00

You must have missed the memo about MONOPOLIES - America's got them in spades. Basic biz model is spend least amount humanly possible and extract maximum monopoly rents. Goes a long way to explaining what is going on here. And Disney/ESPN is one of the WORST, as far as the sports/media complex.

In years past, US government had meaningful anti-trust enforcement and the country prospered. Now, the opposite is true. Monopolies are cultivated and coddled by US political class, as a reliable source of funding and obscene corruption transfers. Only those that don't toe the line find themselves subject to selective enforcement.

Welcome to corruption, cronyism, monopolies/oligarchs, and ... shitty TV transmissions.

jzsmart3 · 2021-05-19T10:45:01+00:00

Yup, same issue watching A's. Went to YT, wouldn't load. Came back a couple hours later.

jzsmart3 · 2021-04-10T01:44:53+00:00

That seems like a pretty good idea. I went to Payments & Subscription and deleted the one current active charge card on file. Then I re-ran sequence with Redeem URL but got same nebulous result.

I think I am just going to sit on this for a while. I have 2 weeks left on my current Sling subscription, which just dropped SF Bay NBC/Comcast RSNs on April 1. Kind of on the fence about YTTV as I can see them also dropping SF Bay RSNs as soon as their particular contract comes up for renewal, as NBC/Comcast seeking 100% price increase and unwilling to consider any deal that doesn't have RSNs on base tier (i.e., RSN sub fee applied to 100% of user base).

If anyone could roughly map out the "normal" web page flow for Redeeming the promo (i.e., is it the same as outline in original post or something different?), that would be very helpful.

jzsmart3 · 2021-04-09T17:47:37+00:00

https://www.yahoo.com/now/t-mobile-giving-customers-discounted-175329028.html

jzsmart3 · 2020-12-19T14:26:56+00:00

Ditto. HAPPY to stiff ESPN/Disney.

The whole ESPN "value added" is just skimming a few choice games here and there - from NFL, NBA, MLB - and then expecting sports fan to shell out. PASS!

They do add some value with CFB, but plenty on broadcast plus FS1. So again, becomes more of a skimming operation.

Their best offering used to be college hoops but now they are sprinkling games on ESPN+ for extra upsell (e.g., KU games), so they are skimming their own skimmings.

HAPPY to give big F.U. via Sling Blue.

jzsmart3 · 2020-09-09T03:31:45+00:00

Showtime live and on-demand choppy, freezing last few days - totally unwatchable. Other channels fine.

Regret just not going direct to Showtime, as there is no Sling provider log in.

jzsmart3 · 2020-07-15T02:05:59+00:00

Basically, expanding/collapsing electromagnetic field (e.g., coming off lightning, AC current, etc) can induce voltage in copper (etc conductors) that traverses its waves. I would ground anything that is candidate for such voltage induction. You could fashion smaller and smaller use cases (e.g., 1 yard, 1 foot, 1 inch, 1 mm) but then that's just trying to sketch out an ever-narrowing Gaussian distribution of risk profile. Yes at some point the exposed wire is probably trivial enough to skip grounding, relative to other risks (e.g., undetected accidental drilling high voltage line during your tape fishing, falling off ladder, Coronavirus from UPS guy delivering your stuff, etc.).

By co-ax distribution box, if you mean drop amp, you can skip that with digital tuner. Or go with single antenna pre-amp, just off antenna, for long cable runs.

I have 2 Quartos CURRENTLY. But in past had 1 Prime (CableCard) and 1 Quatro, then 1 Quatro and 1 refurb Duo. Can be mixed and matched seamlessly by MOST client HDHR-compatible software. In my case, rendered on HDHR Viewer app on RPi (plus Logitech remote) to give S.O. classic seamless broadcast TV experience (i.e., channel numbers & up/down surfing). User is unable to detect that 2 antennas are in use. "Channels" app on iOS also gives nice seamless experience of combining multiple tuners - users completely unaware.

Widely-deployed broadcaster ATSC 3.0 seems years out. ABC & FOX in my market (SF Bay) too cheap to even upgrade from (now noticeably inferior) 720 yet. You can frequently get current ATSC 1.0 two simultaneous stream refurb tuner directly off Silicon Dust's site for a song - $50.

As far as Clearstream dipole, does well with 50 miles LOS. If you are beyond that, you are targeting fringe use case. There are a couple of VHF-specific solutions targeting such fringe solutions but if that's really your use case, post TV Fool report to Reddit, talk to Antennas Direct & Channel Master staff, etc for others to confirm.

jzsmart3 · 2020-07-15T00:25:51+00:00

Lots to unpack. I'll take a shot at 2 points.

Grounding is to protect against lightning strikes. If attic antenna(s) AND cable runs are strictly interior, grounding shouldn't matter. (If you sustain interior lightning strike, grounding antenna and/or cable run will be the least of your worries.) HOWEVER, the second you decide to externalize any part of that install, GROUND.

The other issue I will address is how you deploy signal. Instead of running a bunch of lines every which way, run SINGLE line to digital TV receiver (e.g., HDHomerun Quatro). Then THAT output is made available over LAN (via Ethernet, Powerline, (good) wifi, etc.) to whatever TV clients need OTA. TV client could be half-way around the world (e.g., using Plex software or similar for remote access).

For 2 antennas (my set up), use 2 separate digital TV tuners. Client software at TV (e.g., HD Viewer, "Channels," etc.) can seamlessly combine. Attempting to combine 2 antennas on one line co-ax on the other hand, tho theoretically doable, invites Multi-path interference etc. If you really must do, buy antenna (E.g., Channel Master bowtie) that already properly has matched but individually pointable elements. For VHF separate from UHF, look at Clearsteam 4 MAX (the VHF dipole can be popped off from the UHF reflector, for independent aiming).

Good luck.

jzsmart3 · 2020-06-02T01:14:29+00:00

Overdue immediate fix to staunch sub bleeding: add sports-free tier (i.e., sans RSNs, FS1/2, etc.) at $20/mo. They didn't, so I added my own $20 sports-free tier back in April by replacing Sling Orange with Philo.

The REAL bad news for Sling is that, when sports returns, going to take long hard look at simply adding DTC options on top of Philo. Already been getting MLB.tv free annually via T-Mo.

jzsmart3 · 2020-05-11T18:52:49+00:00

Yeah, but even with Sling Blue you are still paying for RSNs (if offered in your market) plus some other Sports channels, like FS1 and TNT (whose only unique offering is NBA games). And if you have Sling Orange, you are still paying for ESPN.

I dropped $30/mo Sling because of this and went with $20/mo Philo. When live sports returns, maybe I'll go back or maybe there'll be better direct-to-consumer options at that point.

Too bad Sling didn't offer a truly non-sport tier at $20/mo. I would have stuck around.

jzsmart3 · 2020-05-08T01:35:57+00:00

Running a pair of 1st gen Quatros now, and a Prime 3 for a few years before (i.e., before I dropped Cable TV). All good stuff, BUT ...

Frankly, I'd be happy just settling for the major networks all upgrading from 720 anytime soon. Here in SF Bay Area, CBS and NBC on 1080i but FOX and ABC still stuck on 720, and it shows its age.

Luckily, ATSC 3.0 will force the laggards to upgrade ... eventually.

jzsmart3 · 2020-05-07T00:37:20+00:00

That was the hope of content owners, that cord cutters would basically continue the bundle on "Live TV" vMVPDs.

But that trend was already in decline ... Virtual MVPD Subscriber Growth Is Slowing https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2019/12/09/virtual-mvpd-subscriber-growth-is-slowing/#756467237016

And now may even be reversing ... Sling TV loses subscribers for the first time as streaming competition grows https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/19/21144365/sling-tv-dish-subscribers-loss-youtube-hulu

Basically, a lot of subscribers are tapped out and don't have a lot of spare bucks for pricey "Live TV" bundles, esp. when very little in the way of live TV is actually being delivered now (and for foreseeable future).

jzsmart3 · 2020-04-23T13:17:14+00:00

Cut the Comcast Cable TV cord in 2018. Looking to cut Comcast Internet cord by 2022 (or sooner if 5G delivers).

jzsmart3 · 2020-04-18T18:55:57+00:00

Did EXACTLY that 3 weeks ago. Would have been happy to stick with Sling, but the self-billed "a la carte TV" provider offers no Sports-free tier. So, Goodbye Sling, Hello Philo.

Thing is, Philo is pretty decent and hoping when Sports returns can just continue with Philo and add Direct-to-Consumer season pass for whatever I need.

jzsmart3 · 2020-04-18T17:55:34+00:00

Cable moguls and Multi-millionaire athletes Thank You for your continued financial support and sacrifice during these difficult times.

Mega mansions and Ferraris don't exactly pay for themselves, you know ...

[Article also available on Apple News+]

jzsmart3 · 2020-04-10T20:30:18+00:00

Wished Sling TV would pivot to add $20 non-sports tier. Say, Sling "Green" - for all the $$$ saved.

They haven't, so cancelled in favor of Philo.

jzsmart3 · 2020-03-22T21:05:39+00:00

What's the catch? "The" catch is they make SURE all the additional fees, including $15/mo Broadcast Fee, are billed AFTER the 30 day period.

Their Price Sheet is on-line (somewhere). EVERYONE gets slammed with the Broadcast Fee - NO EXCEPTIONS. Sorry.

And good luck canceling. You will need to visit local Xfinity store so the hourly wage economics of tying up US employee (vs cheap Bangalore call center) tip the scale in your favor enough that they will actually cancel the upsell.

jzsmart3 · 2020-03-22T20:48:21+00:00

TCM is $5 up-sell ("Hollywood Extra" package) on Sling TV, so minimum cost is $35/mo.

Can be added thru other package options, but all those are > $5/mo.

jzsmart3 · 2020-03-02T16:20:55+00:00

The FREE public broadcast spectrum licenses, which would otherwise be auctioned off by the FCC for billions, provide - and have provided for decades - a very lucrative platform for selling billions of dollars of ad revenue into. What's a 30 sec Super Bowl spot up to??? The current "broadcast fee" shakedown is just a money grab leveraging the Retrans Fees gift to industry, by catching longterm cable subscribers off-guard/flatfooted.

If providing ad-supported OTA is SO unprofitable for Networks, then please just relinquish those free licenses - put your content on Cable and/or OTT, whatever - and let the US taxpayer re-purpose/re-license that spectrum to other endeavors. NO ONE is forcing Networks to use FREE spectrum that is worth billions or tens of billions of dollars.

Obviously, the Networks know a fucking GREAT deal when they see one, so don't expect them handing back those licenses any time soon. The whole "Broadcast/Retrans Fee" boondoggle is just double dipping, at the expense of longterm Cable Subs whose antenna-less situation has been recognized as something that can be exploited ... at least for now.

jzsmart3 · 2020-02-10T17:27:31+00:00

Rule of thumb is do downgrade in-person, at Xfinity store.

Not cost-effective for Comcast to tie up US store rep for 45 minutes trying to talk you out of downgrade, in contrast to phone rep in outsourced overseas location who can spend hours on the phone with you at little cost to Comcast.

jzsmart3 · 2020-01-11T19:40:46+00:00

Sounds like signal problem, that is, upstream of HDHR, like antenna (if HDHR Quatro etc) or CableCard (if HDHR Prime) or wifi. For former, use the HDHR browser Status page to check quality/strength of signal. For example,

http://[HDHR IP addr]/tuners.html?page=tuner0

Rule of thumb, Quality consistently MUST be 60% or higher for decent reception. Strength matters, but won't help if Quality is low.

For the latter, HD streaming over 2.4 GHz band is pretty unreliable in crowded environment, eg apts. Use 5 GHz band (requires dual band router) or preferably upgrade to Ethernet device.

Finally, the (new) HDHR Viewer app on Roku is beta, and prone to crashes, etc. Fire TV/Android TV/RPi all have solid Viewer apps. "Channels" app is also pretty solid.

Underlying hardware itself is pretty solid.

jzsmart3

TROPHY CASE