So I’ve spent more time that I’d like to admit setting up my TiVo. I’ll try to outline why I am so angry, while not using the f-bomb, but it will be difficult. Everything started when I upgraded my Freevo software. The entire fucking (whoops) thing broke. I was pissed, but not nearly as angry as Lauren was (death threats abound if we couldn’t record GH or American Idol). So we finally said fuck (whoops) it and bought a TiVo with a wireless USB 802.11b adapter.
The first thing I learn is that, despite it saying it is broadband enabled, you can’t *initially* set the TiVo up through anything but a phone line. After the initial setup it upgrades the firmware and you can then reset and use broadband if needed. OK, no problem, I’ll plug it into my Vonage line and we’ll be all set. But, oooohhhh no, fucking (whoops, again) Vonage doesn’t support modem traffic. I later find out that the real problem was two fold:
- It just happens that the router I have (a Cisco ATA86 I think) doesn’t support modem traffic at all.
- Vonage supports modems that negotiate at slower speeds, but that would mean an external serial (fucking (whoops) serial!).
Alrighty then, I’ll pack this whole fucking (whoops, last time, I promise) mess up and take it over to my brother’s dorm room and install from there. I get there and all is going well. We go out for some lunch and come back to a freshly installed TiVo. Great, I think, I will now take it home and plug in the WiFi and we be off running! Wrong. Evidently, the firmware doesn’t upgrade during the initial setup process, instead waiting for the 2AM cron to run. I, of course, figure this out after I’ve left.
So this morning I finally get the firmware upgraded and reset with a working WiFi connection at a friend’s house. I’m extremely fucking (ok, I lied, fuck it) happy to report that everything is now working at home and the TiVo is quickly being filled with programming schedules, Season Passes, etc. I’ll give it a proper review after my blood pressure has returned to normal.
I’d be guessing that you got a series 2, right? So I can’t say for sure, but on my series one, I can force a call and if there’s an update it will download it there and then.
Entertaining read, by the way, had me laughing aloud in my cube.
Ha! You’re not the only one who went through a hellish installation period, Joe. I’ll tell you what my friend told me, when I was bitching about the box: it’s worth the effort.
Sounds like you already got it all sorted though. I never bothered to go with the wireless connection; the hastily-laid extension cable from my phone jack splitter to my TiVo, which I pud down the day after Christmas, remains.