Mysterious problem with x1 box and remote

I have a tech coming on Monday and I’m going to ask him about it. I’m 77 years old and I’m fairly OK with electronics, but I don’t want to mess with that. But it’s on my list for the tech so thank you

OK.  I'm 73 and it's just one setting to change on the X1 box.  Takes a few seconds, altho it's not in an obvious place (Power Preferences).  I had the same issue a year or two ago caused when switching receiver inputs and HDMI-CEC was the culprit.  Others in the thread about this issue back then had the same problem as you and turning off CEC fixed them up, too. 

I doubt the tech will know about this.  You can show him these posts. 

Xfinity did work in our area a couple of days ago and we have had similar issues ever since.  We are having to continuously reprogram our remote, reboot the modem etc.  When it does work, the onscreen menus freeze or lag behind.  I am suspecting either the box or modem are going bad.  We are frustrated as hxxx and plan to take all items to the Xfinity store tomorrow.

That's frustrating, but seems like a different issue from the one described by the OP here.

I appreciate the suggestion - but BIslander said that the problem occurred when switching receiver inputs.  I do NOT switch receiver inputs.  I watch all of my streaming services right through the X1 box. So I don't know how this fix would help.  And I am hesitant to turn something off that might be needed. If it helped people who do NOT switch inputs - I would be more likely to try it. I did find it in Power Preferences but would prefer to let a professional technician handle it. I connect my x1 box to my receiver and then out from the receiver to the TV so I don't want to turn something off that might make things worse.  If I can get a better explanation of what the HDMI-CEC is/does that would be helpful

And I have tried every troubleshooting step multiple times - through text chat with the digital care team and through telephone conversations with the "Advanced" technical support team.  I believe some part of the connecton system is not connected or is corrupted - whether it be it my apartment, outside my apartment or in Xfintity equipment that is in the area.  I do know that I will not give up until the problem is resolved.  

@truthseeker719

Thank you for clarifying and all the troubleshooting steps you have done,

 I recommend letting the tech come out again because a lot of times it can take a few times to narrow down where the problem is coming from.

Being that you got a new box and new remote everything should work as it's supposed to so having that tech come back out will notify the tech that they were just out there and they will take the next steps to find and resolve the issue

What I'd like to do is follow back up with you after Monday to see how everything went and make sure we got the issue fixed

Thank you. Just FYI - I did not get an email saying there was a comment.

I came back here because I just researched HDMI-CEC and it appears that it allows me to use my remote to control my LG TV and my Sony receiver.  So it does not seem like disabling it would be helpful - but might prevent me from controlling those devices.  As I said, despite being a senior and not a technician - since the box WILL work if I unplug it and plug it back in.  And since the box WILL usually work if I turn it on and wait 5-10 minutes - it would seem that there is a connection problem somewhere in the system that is delaying and/or preventing the remote/box communication.  Hopefully, the technician will be able to figure it out.  As I said, I will not give up until this is resolved. Thank you.  Feel free to follow up with me - I am open to any help I can get.  

@truthseeker719

I'm confident that our trained technicians will be able to resolve the issue as they will see that they were just out there so there will be some more digging to do with checking with the connections inside and out

I have a reminder to reach back out to you on this platform please enjoy your weekend

Thank you so much - I appreciate your concern

Just FYI - I am a woman not a man.  Given that everything works perfectly after 5-10 minutes or if I unplug and restart the box - I do not think that the HDMI-CEC is the problem.  However - I will definitely tell the tech about it.  I'm sorry that you are frustrated at my responses to your suggestion - just write it off as a nervous old lady - which I am.  I am also determined to get this resolved and if it turns out to be your solution - I will definitely come back and express my gratitude.  Thank you

No problem.  Good luck. 

Just wanted to let you know - I did a little more research on the HDMI-CEC and between that and your posts - I decided to be brave and turn it off yesterday.  And I am writing to thank you because you were right.  That WAS the problem.  Everything is now working perfectly (knock wood).  At first the voice remote worked but did not show the word "Listening" so I unpaired it and then re-paired it to the TV and receiver and "Listening" came back too.  So, again, thank you for helping a nervous old lady.  I'm not going to cancel the tech until tomorrow morning just to make sure everyting is still okay - but I am 99.99% sure that your fix solved the problem. I said I would come back and thank you and I am a woman of my word.  I think I would have ended up with multiple tech visits and no one would have figured it out. So, once again, I greatly appreciate your help.

Glad to hear!   Your symptoms aligned perfectly to what I and others have reported and turning off HDMI-CEC proved to be the fix.  

We discussed this with Xfinity support 12-18 months ago and suggested they add the HDMI-CEC setting to their troubleshooting database.  But, it looks like that hasn't happened.

Hope it remains the fix for you.   I think it will.  And congrats on stepping out of your comfort zone to try changing that setting 

Thanks again - I hope if I ever have problems again - you are the one to answer me- clearly you know more than the techs in person or on chat. And even I know more than the stupid Xfinity Assistant.

I kept the tech appointment just to see if they could figure out why the Listening text was gone. I figured that it was just an aberration and the visit would last five minutes and I would just have to live with it.

Now, my Internet has failed twice and then come back on. The tech changed every connection  he could change inside and outside and then escalated it to maintenance at Xfinity since it was still showing signal failure. 

I wrote a lengthy email to Xfinity ECare. They have helped me in the past. Hopefully they will get this situation resolved as quickly as possible. My Internet is working at the moment, although though only about 60% of its speed. And my satellite box – which the tech assured me could not possibly come back online until this was fixed magically came back online.

I’m never having a tech come again unless my entire system explodes. Thanks for checking in.