Maybe try redoing Guided Setup.

Also, you might just power cycle both the TiVo and the cable box.

Before I replaced the hard drive in my Series 2 I was having the same problem with a Motorola box from Comcast. I just ended up going with IR instead of the serial connection. When I had serial set up, if the Tivo was changing channels on it's own ( either for a scheduled recording or for a suggestion) it would tune to the channel, but then there would be an additional signal that would be read as channel up or channel down. Very odd.

Channel Changing Issues - What is the solution?

My Series 2 TIVO suddenly started experiencing the same channel changing problems the others described. One moment it was working fine, and then suddenly it's been unable to correctly change channels when recording programs. It was no gradual change either; it just suddenly started having problems.

I have a Motorola box, connected via serial port to TIVO for the channel changing. (I have tried IR in the past, but have had VERY poor success with channel changing using this method - especially for the 3-digit channels - so I don't consider this a viable option that would "improve" or "fix" the problem.) What I am noticing is that if the cable box needs to change from a higher number to a lower number, TIVO first changes the channel to the correct number, then almost immediately goes down 1 more number. Vice versa for the other direction - the channel ends up changing to a number that is 1 higher. However, if the cable box is already positioned at the correct channel (and I have used the cable box remote to do this, so TIVO does not know that the channel has been changed), TIVO leaves it there and records the correct channel. I can understand this last bit if TIVO had just been recording on that same channel, but not when I've used the cable box remote (unknown to TIVO) to change it. Seems like TIVO would still try to change the channel (I dunno... maybe it does, but the cable box knows it's already where it's supposed to be and ignores the signal to change channels???)

Occasionally, TIVO will record the correct channel, but it's really hit or miss. For example, out of a block of 6 programs on 6 different channels, sometimes (actually, most of the time) I might get only 1 channel changed correctly, and "garbage" (wrong channels) for the other 5. But other times, I might get 4 or 5 channels changing correctly. And it doesn't seem to matter whether the channels are single digit, double digit, or triple digit. (I know with IR I really had trouble with the triple digit channels). But more often than not, I am noticing that the channel changes are usually NOT working correctly for most, if not all, of my programs. Getting 4 or 5 out of 6 correct temporarily lulls me into thinking it's "working" better, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to last for long.

I have tried the following "fixes", but with little or no success:

The only discernable improvement with any of these "fixes" is that usually the channel changing was not quite as severe... for a short time (i.e., less than 1 day), that is - then it went back to having problems with nearly every channel change.

I am assuming that the problem lies with the TIVO because when I use the cable box remote (had to dig that one up, since I normally only use the TIVO remote) to directly change channels, there is no problem whatsoever. But when I use the TIVO remote - which means the signal is first going through TIVO - the channels do not change correctly; they go 1 more up or down. This goes for entering the channel number in via the numeric keys or using the up/down channel buttons.

Is this problem then a symptom of other problems with my TIVO? Or should I try totally replacing the physical serial port cable? Could the serial port on the cable box (or TIVO) suddenly "go bad"? Or do I switch to IR channel changing... (but only if there's a way to make the IR option work better)? As it is now, my TIVO is virtually worthless for making recordings (which is what I rely the most on it to do, as I rarely watch live TV). Any help or ideas (beyond getting a new TIVO - which I can't afford right now) would most be appreciated.

It's not commonly the TiVo. I'd suggest a new serial cable and a new cable box from your cable company. Worst case, use an IR blaster instead.

See:

http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-cables.php

Channel Changing stopped with Series2 Comcast Motorola DTA

About a 18 months ago when Comcast changed over to Digital, I had to hook up a Motorola DTA to each of my Series2 TiVos via a IR DTA cable that ran from the IR-in Port of the Motorola DTA to IR port of the TiVo. This has worked fine for the last year and a half. However, this week, one of my TiVo got stuck on one channel. The TiVo showed it was changing channels, but it would always show the same station. I tried usine the DTA and cable from my other TiVo(which was working fine), but still would not work. I then changed simply unplugged the IR Cable, and am able to change the channel using my DTA remote.
I think the IR port on my TiVo is bad. Especially since I used two different DTA and cables on it which worked on my other TiVo. Does this make sense?
Is there a way to replace the IR port on my TiVo. I have another(third) TiVo which I use for parts. It looks likethe IR port is soldered to motherboard. Can I switch out the mother board? I have lifetime service on my two working TiVos and just month to month on the "parts" Tivo. Is the serial number for the TiVo encoded on a chip on the motherboard?
Thank You

Comcast change

Our Comcast area recently changed to digital...what a mess. We have two Series 2, DT's that I have now hooked up to cable boxes, with I guess they are called IR blasters... Got all my channels okay, but changing channels is a pain. You click a channel up, it goes to your original channel, the Comcast banner appears at the bottome of the screen, and then seconds later it finally goes to the right channel. It is a pain if you are surfing channels to see what you want to watch. I read about a serial cable that is used instead of the blaster...is this correct, or did I misunderstand. If so, do they really work and where do you find one. I looked on the weakknees site and unless I misunderstand the description, could not find anything Thanks

Only some cable boxes can use a serial cable. You can contact your cable company and see if they have any that have a low-speed data port or a serial control input in the back. We have serial cables here:

http://www.weaknees.com/tivo-cables.php

If you can't get a cable box with serial control, then IR is the only option.

Series 2 with Comcast Motorola - channel changing

I have the same issues... Perhaps I can provide a little more for the experts to chew on.

Everything @Gladgal states, I have to echo.

I have two of these Tivo Series II units, each is connected to a Motorola Digital (non-HD) Comcast Cable boxes.
Both have been in service for years, may 8 to 10-years.
One unit is in my office, the other is in my Man Cave.
About a year ago the Hard drive for the Tivo in my office failed and I installed a Weaknees Hard Drive upgrade Kit which worked beautifully. (thank you.)

My office unit (which I use almost every day) was the first one I noticed having trouble. The one in the Man Cave is only used on Friday nights - so, I didn't think anything of the issues I was having in the office... until I noticed that specific programs weren't being recorded - example: Lingerie Football League (MTV2 - channel 135) the first few games of the season recorded on then starting 9/16/11 it's been miss more than hit.

I hadn't noticed before, but was able to confirm by looking at the recordings that if the cable box was originally on a higher number say music on 916 the box changes channels down, to say 135; the blue bar at the bottom does switch to 135 for a second or two, and then goes to the next lower channel which is 131 in my case - and records 131, rather than 135.

In my office, I generally go from channel 6 (CBS) to something like channel 204 (DIY) and again it shows 204 on the blue bar for a second or two, and then goes to the next channel up, 215 (NICK).. I hadn't noticed the correlation between changing channels up makes it miss up a channel and changing channels down makes it miss down a channel. Weird!

OK, so what have I done to try and fix it.
1. Complete power down. No joy.
2. Complete power down, unplug A/C outlet. No joy.
3. Complete power down, unplug A/C outlet, unplug Cable, unplug USB Wireless, unplug Serial Cable. No joy.
4. Called TiVo support. Ran through a series of seemingly useless tests.
5. Questioned if new code was recently released. They said they didn't know of any.
6. Called Comcast support - they reset the cable box (remote.) No joy.
7. Returned one of the cable boxes to Comcast, for an Exchange. Plugged it in, and had it activated. No joy.
8. Went through resetting the Channel Changing setup, which runs a little test at the end - and concludes that I can use the TiVo remote control to change channels on the cable box. (Yes I can, but I can't use it to land on the right channel

Here is more information. Lets say I'm on channel 916, and I type in 135, TiVo will change the channel to 135 (blue bar pops up, seconds later it lands on 131, and picture and sound resume.) At this point I Press the channel up button, it goes to 136, and sound and picture follow within seconds. Press the channel Down button, and it goes to 135. I did it all again, down button channel 131 comes up, press the up button again, and it went to 513, and then 514, and then 515, before landing on 516. Skipping a slug of channels... There is no rhyme or reason for this... Yet, at this point if I press the Info button, Tivo gives me the info for channel 135 (where I should be) and when I press the Guide button, TiVo shows 135 as the top channel on the chart.

I have to wonder if there was a software upgrade on either device that has caused this - nobody wants to admit there was, but as there were no changes by me, there has to be something internal that changed.

Ok, well as my unit is about 10-years old... I don't have the IR Blaster cables, so I "Borrowed" an IR cable from an X10 device I have. I plugged it in, configured TiVo to use IR rather than Serial, and it seems to be working.

So, what's changed? Again it begs the question who (Comcast or TiVo) switched updated their software?

Update!

So not working 100% of the time.
From channel 204, I pressed channel 65 - it showed 65 at the top in black that it was going to change channel, then it showed 65 on the blue bar at the bottom, then 64 on the blue bar, then 6 on the blue bar and the picture and sound came on for CBS 6.

So frustrating. Would love to upgrade box, but I'm too cheap to toss out the lifetime service on the Series 2.

Have you tried redoing Guided Setup?

I am having the same problem as "gladgal" with a Motorola(Comcast)/Tivo setup. Did you find a solution?

The solution for these problems is typically to repeat Guided Setup and to go through slowly and methodically--not proceeding through setup unless/until you have found a code set that works with your cable box.

Changing Channels Issue


Thanks for the quick response. I have redone the Guided Setup twice. It did not solve the problem. Also, it never displayed the screen shown on TIVO's website that allows you to enter the Advanced Setup to try different IR codes. The only option it gave me was to select a cable box. Any other suggestions would be appreciated or any guidelines as to how to access the Advanced Setup IR feature.

I suspect that in one of the software updates that feature was removed, since only older posts reference that capability.

Thanks