CableCard Registration - why is it so hard?

[bob_p]

I posted an e-mail about this to a Comcast support address I found online - and yesterday received a call from their corporate support group - and was told they would NOT be shipping my CableCard after all - and we were back to scheduling a service truck to drop off a card - and trying to get that done in the next day or two.

While on the call, the support person looked up in their database and my local store was supposed to have 8 CableCards in stock. I immediately drove over there (4th time in 4 days) - and asked them to swap cards. Their first response was that they didn't have any cards - and that they get cards only when they are shipped from the warehouse. I told them that their system was showing 8 cards in stock - and if they really didn't have any cards at the store - then they needed to get their inventory database updated - so that the warehouse would know they were out of stock. After a few minutes - one of the local techs came back and found several cards in the back - and after talking with 15 Comcast staff, 6 store visits, over 10 hours on the phone and driving - finally had a usable card - and had it working within a few minutes with the tuner.

My experience has highlighted the major flaws Comcast has in their support strategy:

1. The local stores are still pretty clueless on CableCards (the instructions they gave for pairing were wrong), and don't seem to care when they run out of stock
2. The local stores have no way to order cablecards from their warehouses
3. When they are out of stock, there is no way to find out when they get cards back in stock, without going to the store
4. You can't call the stores on the phone - all calls go through the toll free number - and the stores don't have a phone (the corporate group couldn't call them either!)
5. Does not appear Comcast can mail you a card - your only options are to get one at a store or set up a 2 hour service call window - crazy for a self-service, small, card

And all of this was because Comcast had a database error that invalidated my first card - there wasn't anything wrong with the card I had - only that Comcast's system no longer recognized it.

P.S. - though to be fair... At least you can get Comcast staff on the phone, see them at a store or have them come to your house - that's more support than we've ever had from Microsoft on WMC...

[scyto]

What's so sad is I have done around ~100+ cable card activations with Comcast over the last 7 years (I used to be a MCE self hoster with access to weekly builds). They have been nothing but extremely competent and helpful - same goes for my local Comcast service center. The only explanation I have is that different regions are actually manned and staffed by different call centers. I confirmed that once by asking the cable card activation person and she indicated she only did certain areas.

so I guess my only tip is that if you hate Comcast in your area, move to seattle

[Crash2009]

I was having some CableCARD problems when I first got set up. I thought I read somewhere, (maybe in the Comcast Forums), that this type of dbase problem had to be repaired on a per user basis. What I seem to remember of that post, is, once a cableCARD is paired to an account, it can't be removed until everything else is removed first. In other words, you cant just slip in in underneath a bunch of other devices. I would think it should be as simple as editing the device ID#'s, but apparently not all the time. Maybe not all of their techs are able to perform this function, and the easiest path (for them) is just to tell the customer to go find a new card, and call me back when you get it.

Another thought is you know how we all complain about PlayReady and DRM, can you imagine what restraints Comcast is wearing. With all that $$$ going back and forth from Comcast to Hollywood, I'm sure there's a lot of DRM on their side too.

[Crash2009]

I finally got a real answer for you as to why is it so hard to register a cableCARD. The first possibility is communication, you, they, or both of you might not be speaking in your native tongue. Yeah you're both talking English but it doesn't sound the same. Mistakes will happen. Next, even if you both speak perfect English, they might type the number's incorrectly (typo). The 3rd possibility is one that I had heard about before, but couldn't remember the order. On their end, there is an order they must follow for a STB. If they use that same order for a CableCARD tuner there is a possibility its not going to work, even if the numbers get typed in correctly.

Recently, someone has discovered what they consider to be the magic correct order. The following is copied from the link below.

Verify Comcast had the correct serial, cablecard ID, Host ID, and Data values. It seemed that Comcast had incorrect Data value initially. So, that was supposedly fixed but I still had the CCV issue. To get past that issue, you need a very specific sequence followed by comcast. The sequence below fixed my issue and is a sequence that is different than the normal sequence for STBs:

1-Initialize (I think this was the more unique step that doesn't normally get done)
2- wait 1 minute
3-Validate
4- wait 1 minute
5-Warm Install
6- wait 1 minute
7-Hit/Refresh

See ‎04-09-2014 03:43 PM http://forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV- ... 860#M99519

[barnabas1969]

Another problem that occurs frequently is when they don't correctly un-provision a card when someone returns it. I learned this from the user BHNtechXpert on the dslreports/broadbandreports website. He's a good guy to work with if you have BHN.

That's usually the problem when you get a "bad card". The card isn't usually bad... it just hasn't been properly removed from someone else's account. When you return it and get another one... they usually just put it back on the pile and hand it out to the next unlucky customer.

[Crash2009]

That makes sense too. How can you install the card on the new guy, if the numbers are all ready registered to a different account. Maybe that's where the "I'm afraid I am going to break it comes in" If they force it, they might end up with 2 or more broken accounts.

[barnabas1969]

BHNtechXpert said that they are supposed to send the "bad cards" back to a special department at BHN so they can be properly un-provisioned. Unfortunately, they don't do that very often.

[Crash2009]

Just had a little experience with a new CableCARD myself. Thought I would pick their brains a little. When I called the Comcast cableCARD dept # 1-877-405-2298, as it turns out, I was talking to a call center in Southeast Asia. The first girl didn't speak very good English and her phone wasn't working very good. It was difficult to understand what she was saying. She was unable to get my original card working. I suggested she could try my spare. She was unable to get the spare working either. I just said thanks and bye. The second time I called, the new girl spoke much better English and her phone was working well. She was unable to get it working either. The girl in the 3rd call spoke perfect English, seemed to know what I was talking about when I read her the error from the Ceton Diag and succeeded in getting it to work.

Seems like it's a 3 call process every time. I believe call one punches in the numbers. Call two confirms the numbers and sends a refresh. Call three confirms the numbers again, hits refresh and deals with the errors. However it works, I think the process could be improved. One of the three gave me the "I don't want to break it" routine. When I insisted on an explanation, she gave me the impression, that a cableCARD has some kind of counter in it. Like baseball.....3 strikes and your out. I suppose that is believable, but looking at the card from the outside the card doesn't look all that smart.

Anyway, I'm up and running again, and installing a new cableCARD wasn't all that tough. I think it gets easier the more times you do it.

[TeddyR]

When I insisted on an explanation, she gave me the impression, that a cableCARD has some kind of counter in it. Like baseball.....3 strikes and your out. I suppose that is believable, but looking at the card from the outside the card doesn't look all that smart."

Interesting.... I have also been told very similar item from a Charter rep but on a Cisco system. There is are security measures in place that the card cannot be hit more than a certain number of times per hour without successful pairing otherwise the card will "deactivate and will require it to be returned to the office to reset it"