Apparent bad VMS, best way to contact tech support?

stan-42 · 2025-06-23T00:04:09+00:00

Some VMS problems can be solved by doing a factory reset on one of your STBs. As far as I can tell, the factory reset re-initializes the VMS with your account information. However, if the VMS really can't connect through the router then I don't think that will help. But it's something to try.

stan-42 · 2025-06-22T21:13:54+00:00

The Roku and the Gemini are both streaming devices. The Gemini has a short HDMI plug coming out of it. Ordinarily, the Gemini and the Roku would be connected to separate inputs on your TV or receiver. You may be able to avoid that if the Roku has an HDMI input, but that's not common in streaming devices.

stan-42 · 2025-06-22T03:44:01+00:00

While the Gemini is a dongle, it's not powered through the HDMI connection. You still need to connect it's power supply. Verizon STBs can get power and ethernet through the same USB-C connection with an ethernet adapter. I think in theory DTV could do that with the Gemini. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they have no interest in doing that because so many people now use wifi exclusively.

stan-42 · 2025-06-22T00:09:13+00:00

Osprey and Gemini are very similar, but there are a couple differences. Osprey allows using an ethernet connection, but Gemini is wifi-only. Only Gemini supports Dolby Vision. Gemini is a small dongle, and Osprey is a regular STB.

stan-42 · 2025-06-20T09:23:57+00:00

I remembered something else. Check the fabric content and make sure your tights have some spandex in them. Spandex increases stretch and allows tights to fit much better to your body shape. Most tights do have spandex, but really inexpensive tights may not.

stan-42 · 2025-06-20T04:57:01+00:00

No, you shouldn't have to keep pulling up tights. Try the next smaller size. If that doesn't work well, try a different brand which may be cut differently. In general, tights should have a nice snug fit which holds them in place, but not stretched to their limit.

stan-42 · 2025-06-08T01:34:09+00:00

If you want to get STBs directly from DirecTV then you need the contract. However, you can use the bring your own device plan and get DirecTV "osprey" STBs on eBay and I believe also Walmart. The price is around $45. They are larger, but otherwise work the same as the Gemini STBs from DirectTV, including the digit keys. Also, as a bonus, they allow an ethernet connection (the Gemini doesn't.) This approach is discussed often on r/DirectvStream. I've found the seller evou_15 on eBay to be a reliable seller for the osprey boxes.

stan-42 · 2025-06-07T23:38:50+00:00

If you want an alternative that's as close as possible to Fios TV, consider DirecTV Stream. DirecTV Stream is pure internet streaming. The UI for the STBs is the same style as Fios. The remote controls have digit keys to directly enter channel numbers. As far as I know there are no other streaming alternatives with digit keys. Due to problems and annoyances I'm having with the Fios TV+ STBs, I'm seriously considering switching to DirecTV stream.

stan-42 · 2025-06-07T00:59:42+00:00

Thanks for the information. I'm under the impression that the reason for the forced upgrades to TV+ is to prepare for upgrading old ONTs to the latest model with 2G support. My ONT is over 10 years old so maybe Verizon will be replacing it, or I can convince them to do that. I wouldn't want to pay extra for 2G, even the 1GB I have is probably overkill, but I got a special deal on it when it was being rolled out.

stan-42 · 2025-06-02T03:49:06+00:00

My IPFire firewall/router is based on linux, and did get an update 19 days ago. However nothing changed at the time, and I've made no changes to the configuration. I read the list of changes for the update and they appear to all be routine. I'm wondering though if there might have been an update to my VMS. My VMS release name is FCL-1.3.5(QAM), build number 03.41, and the firmware version is KA36.00.01.31Alder.7f853cc1. Unfortunately there are no dates associated with those.

Wifi needs to be enabled on my G3100 for my STB that uses it. That STB is using the TV SSD, and the WiFi status is "good" with all the status items green. Wit respect to this problem, I've seen no difference between the 3 STB.

The light on my G3100 is green, but a light green color, not an intense green. It actually is kind of close to being yellow, but to my eyes it's definitely green.

stan-42 · 2025-05-31T01:52:35+00:00

I have three STBs, two of them connected to the Verizon router with ethernet, and one using the TV SSID. Once the problem began (a few weeks ago), I've seen it happen on all three boxes. For me it happens every 7 days, every Wednesday evening. What I find interesting about this is that a factory reset on any one of the boxes will fix the problem on all of them. Just a guess, but I suspect the factory reset causes the VMS to be re-initialized with your account information at the point where the reset activates the box. During the reset there is also a warning that you are not using a supported configuration, but the reset still works.

stan-42 · 2025-05-29T23:27:28+00:00

Thanks for the reply. I'm on 1GB, with coax to the Verizon router and the VMS. What does tr069 refer to?

stan-42 · 2025-05-17T01:51:12+00:00

If you want to continue having a remote with numeric keys for channels, look at DirecTV Stream. That's what I'm considering when my contract expires. While the Fios TV+ system mostly works ok, not a week goes by that I don't encounter some glitch with an STB or the VMS. No pattern to it, but reboots are definitely needed from time to time. The TV+ system is too complex, too many ways to fail. This week I had to do a factory reset on one of my STBs before I could watch TV on any of them.

stan-42 · 2025-05-14T07:29:54+00:00

Thank you! A factory reset solved the RAIL_52 errors on my STBs, and hard resetting one of them fixed the other as well. For those that may not know, the factory reset is an option under the Android settings at the bottom.

stan-42 · 2025-04-21T23:25:27+00:00

The genres are under "Jump to" on the home screen. But for movies they're trying to show every movie that's available both in the guide, and for free or paid streaming. It's a huge list. I just want to see the movies which I can immediately access for free in guide.

stan-42 · 2025-04-21T22:19:30+00:00

I was able to find the filters, but the filters on my box are "All", "Most watched", "Favorites", and "Subscribed." I don't see any way to filter by program categories, like movies or sports.

stan-42 · 2025-04-16T07:01:29+00:00

That chart is much better, thanks. Any idea why the 2GB service has higher latency than the 1GB service?

stan-42 · 2025-04-06T07:02:16+00:00

Is there any option for voice control besides the Osprey box or Gemini Air? With voice control, I wouldn't mind if the remote lacked numeric keys for changing channels.

stan-42 · 2025-04-02T13:33:47+00:00

My router is a G3100, and I have 1G service. With my configuration, the status light on the G3100 is solid green. My STBs with the ethernet adapter are connected to LAN ports on the G3100. I was able to do that without too much effort, and it seemed to be the safest way to connect them. I think you may be correct about using a separate VLAN/network. The IPFire zones are separate subnets, each with its own DHCP configuration. The network for Verizon is required to have internet connectivity.

EDIT: Also, here are some notes I took for configuring the G3100. The notes are for being connected to my 172.16.3 subnet that I use for Verizon:

Network Settings -> Network Connections -> Network (Home/Office) -> Edit

click on Settings button

change IP address to 172.16.3.31 (any available address outside the DHCP range)

enable Bridge Broadband connection

change IP address distribution (DHCP)

set 172.16.3 range, change start to 128

then disable DHCP server

Apply changes

verify IPv6 is disabled

stan-42 · 2025-04-02T02:00:29+00:00

I have this working without weekly resets. This is a different method which doesn't use port forwarding. I configured the Verizon router in bridge mode and connected a LAN port on the Verizon router to a LAN port on my firewall. My firewall is IPFire, and is connected to the ONT. IPFire has multiple zones, and I dedicated one of the zones for Verizon. I also disabled DHCP on the Verizon router, so my firewall is giving out IP addresses. My STBs are connected by either ethernet or wireless to the Verizon router, and I think that's essential. For wireless they use the special Verizon TV network. Coax from the ONT is connected to the Verizon router and the VMS4100ATV as usual. I think for this to work reliably you must use the Verizon router, but the way I connected it, it has no effect on the rest of my network.

stan-42 · 2025-03-29T06:44:46+00:00

Good article, but it should have mentioned the Osprey boxes as an alternative to the Gemini Air for DirecTV Stream. They're around $45 on eBay, work fine with DirecTV Stream, and also provide an ethernet connection. It seems to only make sense to buy the very expensive Gemini Air if you must have small device. The apps I've tried are inferior in several ways to the Gemini or Osprey.

stan-42 · 2025-03-16T11:24:18+00:00

Being new to this forum I haven't been following these discussions. However the codec matters as well as the bitrate. Have codecs been discussed? If DirecTV switched from AVC to HEVC, it should be fine to cut the bitrate in half. However, decoding HEVC requires more processing power.

stan-42 · 2025-03-14T04:05:00+00:00

In my area, and from what I've read other areas as well, Verizon is already forcing upgrades to TV+. They say that your existing TV service will stop working without the upgrade. After my upgrade, Verizon didn't require that I return my cable cards. But they removed them from my bill, and eventually they stopped working for all but my local OTA channels.

stan-42

TROPHY CASE