I also experienced this problem yesterday, with different set-top boxes in my home. VERY strange, especially after months of trouble-free service. XB6 DOCSIS stats were clean; no errors. No MAC errors on my LAN ports. Rebooted the XB6, my router, switches and set-top boxes, and the problem persisted. My set-top boxes were all connected via wired Ethernet, so it couldn't be a Wi-Fi problem... or could it???
I had my Wi-Fi mesh shut down and I was experimenting with a Wi-Fi router, configured as an access point, to see if Band Steering would work after upgrading the device with the latest firmware. The router allowed both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi networks to be configured with the same SSID and WPA2 passphrase... so far, so good. Other than my mobile devices favouring the 2.4GHz band, it seemed to work okay. However, even though my Xi6 boxes were wired, I was suddenly getting momentary video freezes and audio dropouts. The wireless network experiment was the only change that I had made. The Xi6 does maintain a wireless connection, even when wired, so perhaps my experiment could be causing problems.
I checked the Xi6 network settings and it was DEFINITELY using the wired connection. (I had my Xi6 boxes connected wired so my little experiment would not affect Ignite TV.) I also checked the "WiFi Details" status page and the Xi6 was connected to my Wi-Fi network. I powered off the router/access point and the drop-outs stopped. I turned the router back on again and the Ignite TV video streaming issues returned. I changed the SSID on the 2.4GHz band to something else and the problems went away. So, even when wired, a less-than-stable Wi-Fi network apparently does cause problems with the Xi6's operation.
@-G- it looks like the upshot here is that in order to run the Xi6s via ethernet, you either have to enter fake SSIDs and passphrases into the Xi6, or set up a 2.4 and 5 Ghz wifi network that is solely for the purpose of setting up the Xi6s. After that setup is complete, wire the Xi6s, change the network SSIDs and passphrases in the modem or router to their real values and reboot the Xi6s. That should result in a situation where the Xi6s are looking for non-existent networks which should allow the wired ethernet path to fully support the boxes. From your observations, it looks like the primary communications path is wifi, despite the presence of a vastly superior ethernet path.
One question is whether or not entering fake SSIDs and passphrases into the Xi6s directly would actually work, or, do the boxes actually look for those networks and only accept the values if there is an existing network that it can validate, and as a result, accept those entered SSIDs and passphrases. Will the Xi6 run with the SSID and passphrase fields left empty?
Just to point out here, as I've done previously, the product manager for the Ignite TV system has never been seen in the forum. This is a question that can be easily cleared up thru a telephone conversation between the Rogers Product Manager and the appropriate Comcast programmer. How the Xi6 set top boxes determine which path to communicate with the modem or router, and under what circumstances, should be contained in the Software Requirements Specifications (SRS) or their equivalent, or, if that's written in sand, then refer directly to the operating code. Over the life of the product, that little gem of info, and how to work around it might save Rogers tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in tech visit costs that don't have to occur if everyone has an absolutely clear understanding of exactly how this box chooses its communication path, despite the best attempts of the users and tech to run that communication via the best path possible. We've already seen users give up on this product, primarily due to observations like yours, so, that's money moving over to a competitor that Rogers will never see. Wifi is a tough environment to work in, and with numerous other companies utilizing wifi products, that environment is only going to get worse for everyone. Maybe wifi isn't the best choice to run the Xi6. If that's the case, then Rogers needs a reliable plan B that can be easily implemented in a home environment. Something that isn't wifi based.
End rant .....
@Datalink I need to do some more research, experimentation and troubleshooting to fully understand this issue.
So far, I know that the Xi6 works great in a pure wireless environment with a stable Wi-Fi mesh. It also works great in a wired configuration when also connected to that stable Wi-Fi mesh. It also works great wired with a weak-but-stable Wi-Fi (or no Wi-Fi) connection.
And we now know that when connected wired, the Xi6 will have issues if it is also connected to a less-than-stable Wi-Fi network, even if Wi-Fi is not being used for streaming... and that the usual troubleshooting steps will not show any problems whatsoever. (In my case, it looked like a Wi-Fi glitch periodically interrupted the Xi6 from processing a segment which resulted in a short interval of the video stream dropping out.) When I have some time, I'll have to try running the Xi6 wireless-only with a slightly-unstable Wi-Fi network (and where every other aspect of the network path is known to be good) to see what the end-result is. I suspect that I will see the same problems.
I noticed something weird this morning: one Ignite Xi6 set-top box showed a weak WiFi signal, despite the fact that it should normally show an "excellent" connection to one node in my mesh network and a "good" connection to another. ... and yes, it was still connected to my WiFi network, not one of the hidden SSIDs on my XB6. Picture quality was still fine as well. (WiFi driver problem or hardware-related issue on the Xi6???) I restarted the Xi6 and the signal strength indicators went back to normal again.
Yeah, it appears that there is still some hidden SSID still broadcasting, even when in bridge mode.
Which is broadcasting, and the modem being right beside it, would cause interference.
Bar it being a back end issue (overwhelmed server side for that area?).
It seems like 9/10 issues like this on ignite, stem from either signal issues. Either bad to the modem (modem cutting out, poor speeds, etc) or the wifi in the house itself.
With both those fine (and assuming the back end being fine) they generally shouldnt happen.
IE: My signal and wifi is good, and dont experience any of these issues.
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