Pik TV - blank screen, won't launch

[cousinjunior]

I have my router turn off overnight everyday for several reasons, and I know other people who do the exact same:

- control/limit access to wireless by my kids late at night... at some point, you just have to cut them off

- save energy (reduce phantom loads)

- security peace of mind: with the unit (and my wireless) completely off, I don't have to care at all about anyone hacking in (even though I use security)

- reduce heat and thus wear & tear on the router

- I get a fresh re-boot of the router every morning (the often-touted fix for many connectivity problems)

turning the router off/on is no different than experiencing a power outage, and I would think that Pik TV should be able to pick up again and function after a power outage??? (I know some people who live in areas where they can get several outages per year easily)

also, I have tried testing by restarting my router on purpose (when my Pik TV was actually working), and, it started up fine after that

Q: is there a way that I can configure my settings on the Telus box to reduce any possible problems with IP assignment? (I saw something in the menu about DHCP, etc.)

PS: today was the first time that the system displayed any error about internet connection... before this, I had multiple black screen failure with no such warnings

thanks

[cousinjunior]

RE: "This means devices may be assigned different IP addresses each time the router restarts...."

Q: does this also apply to hardwired ethernet connection to the Telus box, or only if using wireless?

[cousinjunior]

I am able to lock in an IP address in my router for any given device (MAC address)... I can do this by logging into the admin settings for my router

so, I can set a fixed IP address that will be used every time for my Telus box -- even if my router powers on/off overnight every day

Q: what do I need to do in my Telus box settings to make sure this works?

Q: which IP address do I use? (to enter in my router)

note: I can see in my Telus box under Settings > Network > IP Settings where I can choose between "DHCP" or "Static", but sure how to proceed there, or if this has anything to to with it

anyone?... thank you!

[NFtoBC]

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@cousinjunior wrote:

note: I can see in my Telus box under Settings > Network > IP Settings where I can choose between "DHCP" or "Static", but sure how to proceed there, or if this has anything to to with it

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The usual process would be to set a static IP address in your router outside the DHCP range which you want to assign to a device, and then mirror that IP address in the device.  In some instances, it is as simple as setting the static IP address, again outside the DHCP range, on the device, and the router respects that assignment.

[cousinjunior]

thanks NFtoBC!

can you provide some more specifics please?

especially what I do at the Telus box settings

[cousinjunior]

OK, I have set up fixed IP address for my Telusbox, and will see if this fixes my problems... will report back in a day or so

thanks!

[cousinjunior]

UPDATE:

I managed to set my router and Telus Pik box to use a fixed IP address

(I did this so that the Telus box would not get a new IP address assigned by the router after every overnight stop/restart)

unfortunately, the problem is still here and I still get a black/blank screen (with tiny white rectangle in upper left corner) at startup

any more suggestions anyone? thanks

[cousinjunior]

still having the same ongoing issue (every day), and still hoping for a fix by Telus, or further things I can try...

at startup, I get a blank/black screen with small white rectangle in upper-left corner, see PHOTOS below

the only fix is to:

- hit "home" button twice in rapid succession

- will see a list of apps... navigate to the Pik TV app

- scroll down and hit the "X"

- the Pik TV app will then restart, will bring up the rotating dots "Loading" screen

- then Pik TV will work normally for that viewing session

- the problem will come back the next time I want to having a viewing session

here's what I see when I start up and want to watch Pik live TV:

[cousinjunior]

Q: can anyone at Telus acknowledge the existence of this bug, and give an estimate of when it will be fixed?

I have tried 2 different Telus boxes, and BOTH exhibited the exact same behavior, so surely other users must be seeing this

both boxes were carefully set up, fully updated, the Pik TV app updated, hardwired into a stable internet connection, etc., etc. but the problem is there -- every single day

thank you!

[Qix]

I've been having this problem for ages, FYI, that little green icon is an error message from the android system. You can sort of see it when you do the double tap on the home button an look at the apps to be closed, depends on the background of the last channel that was on. 

I'm pretty sure this started to occur a couple of updates ago. I've also been through two boxes and so many factory resets that I can't even count.  I'm so used to dealing with this it's become normal, turn on tv, double click home button to clear apps, launch Pik TV, wait for that to load because for some reason it is incredibly slow to boot up, change the channel if I can because sometimes the whole menu system locks up and if that happens I do restart or unplug it and restart. Like I said, I'm just used to working around it.

[Qix]

Also wanted to mention that my modem mysteriously reset itself back to factory, not sure if or how that's related, just kinda odd.

[cousinjunior]

Qix: thanks for chiming in on this!

you clearly have the EXACT SAME problem as I do, so it's nice to hear there are others out there (and most likely many others...)

my fix is the same as yours: EVERY TIME having to go through all the extra steps, rebooting the app, and waiting -- just to get Pik TV to start up as it should

my wife and kids still don't want to use it, because they say it's too complicated to have to go through all the extra "workaround" steps, and say to me "why don't they just fix it"

so, they're still using our over-the-air-antenna, and I have to be there when they want to watch Pik TV... that's a shame, because once the system is working, I actually quite like it considering the reasonable monthly cost

would really love to get a fix for this bug please... keeping my fingers crossed!

[cousinjunior]

I'm still here, patiently waiting and hoping for a fix for this...........

very tedious having to go through the extra steps every day to clear the Android error and get Pik TV to restart & load

[KalMo]

Over the past many days, I have been trying to find a solution to the same black screen appears when I bootup, I rarely get to see the home screen, out of 1 of 10 times the device boots otherwise it keeps sitting there drop dead.  

Pik Tv doesn't seem to be a stable product. Let me know how you can help me with this.. 

 

[NFtoBC]

How long have you had the device? It has a 30 day return policy, to my recollection, and a 1 year warranty. 

Mine works without difficulty, though I did have to get a replacement at one time.

[cousinjunior]

personally, I doubt it's the box because I have had 2 brand new boxes now, and both did the exact same thing

the odds are tiny that both somehow have/had the same hardware problem, so I'll bet it's an app issue

the fix, to get past the black screen (with Android error) at bootup, is described above

and yes, approximately 1 in 25 times for me, it actually boots up without the error

[cousinjunior]

possibly fixed ???

for the past 2 weeks (approximately from Dec 26th on), this problem seems to have suddenly resolved itself

it does not appear that the Pik TV app has been updated recently

I did nothing at all to my Pik settings

HOWEVER, I plugged in a small DAC into the Pik TV box so I could output 2-channel stereo sound to my stereo system

this DAC unit was plugged in/out several times, and I do not normally leave it plugged in

the DAC was plugged into the optical sound jack (TOSLINK) of the PikTV box, and also, its power supply cable was plugged into the USB port of the Pik TV box

is it possible that plugging this device into the Pik TV box somehow fixed the issue?

[WestCoasterBC]

Just a coincidence as the actual problem is a software issue with the apk.

[cousinjunior]

yeah, I figured it was just a coincidence, however I'm pretty thrilled that it's finally working correctly -- at least for now!

RE: "as the actual problem with a software issue with the apk...."

can you please clarify... what is "the apk"?

thanks

[WestCoasterBC]

When you see apps just lingo APK (Android package) is just the file format for the android OS.