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Emergency Alert System
I searched for help on this and found an old thread from last year that I couldn't reply to, but my cable box locks up whenever I get an Emergency Alert System message. Used to be I just changed the change and back again. All the replies in that previous thread said it had something to do with older boxes but the box I've got is 6 or 7 years old and it does it. Of course this same box routinely freezes and I have to turn it off and back on again to get it to come back on. Had a tech come look at it several months ago for a completely different issue but I have no once been offered a new box despite all the issues I have with this current box. You figure that a box as old as the one I've got I would eventually be offered a new box. But that's not the case, I've got the exact same equipment I was given when I got Spectrum 6 or 7 years ago.
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Hello and welcome to the Spectrum community,
I apologize for the issues you are having with the box. Depending on the issues you have had when the technician was there they may not have suggested a new box.
You can take the box to a local office and swap it out for a new one to see if that helps with the issues you are having. If that does not help definitely let us know.
-Tyleen
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Was finally able to get in touch with Ask_Spectrum on Twitter and according to whoever I talked to the box locking up when receiving an Emergency Alert System message is FEMA issue that Spectrum has no control over and I've just got to live with it. Just another reason I asbolutely hate dealing with Spectrum customer service. That doesn't exactly make me jump for joy.
I'll see about taking it to my local office, but I'd have to find out if they're open or not. Last time I attempted to visit them in person the store was closed for remodeling.
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Unfortunately some of the older boxes have issues like that and that is why I had suggested swapping out the box for a new one as the newer boxes are not showing this to be an issue.
Click the following link for store locations and hours. The site shows the most updated locations and hours.
-Tyleen
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I had Spectrum service installed exactly two years ago. Both of my boxes completely freeze anytime the "Spectrum Emergency Alert System details channel" message displays. It's hard to believe "old equipment" is to blame here. If there was an actual emergency, it would be extremely helpful to tell us the nature of the emergency, to provide actual details of the alert, and not just display this message with an otherwise blank screen and no means to change to a different channel to find out what the emergency is. Do better, Spectrum.
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@Satch I only get the EAS messages when there's bad weather and given that I live in Alabama and we get a lot of bad weather throughout the year I receive quite a few messages.
I have a non DVR box that says Spectrum 110 on it. I don't watch my cable box a whole lot except for the local news and sporting events but when I attempt to after a few days of not watching it, it usually has a blank screen or a pink screen. I have to unplug it and plug it back in and let it reboot before I'm able to watch it. It is an extremely slow boot process too. Also, sometimes I cannot view the guide cause it causes my screen to go blank and I have to unplug the box and reboot.
I just now turned it on just to see what it would do and I have the message "Channel Unavailable." It's always something with it. I'm just beyond frustrated to routinely have issues with it. I talk to the Ask_Spectrum handle on Twitter all the time and that just aggravates me more cause nothing they do ever helps me.
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@Satch I wish it was that simple for me but I live in government housing and they refuse to let the techs go into the attic to fix any issues with the lines. Its just something I have to deal with until I can move and get my own place. Thanks for responding!
I guess we can mark this question as answered and closed since the original problem isn't in Spectrum's control.
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@Satch I only know what one of the tech's told me one time when I offered to let him go into the attic to check out the lines. He said they weren't allowed to go into the attic or drill new holes for lines. They had to use whatever existing cable lines were in place.
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I Googled like you said to and pulled up this https://www.spectrum.net/support/tv/which-guide-do-i-have
My guide doesn't look like any of these listed. The closest option is the first one but there's some slight differences and I have a black control like is shown.
According to my online account I have a Humax Spectrum 100 box.
My zip code is 35055. My local TV market is the Birmingham, AL market.
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@Satch That's not the case here. It used to be the case before Spectrum took over from the previous cable provider. But I have to pay out of pocket for my Spectrum service and it's in my name just like if I lived anywhere.
I think the tech that told me he couldn't go into the attic was just being lazy that day and didn't want to do it. A couple days ago I moved my box away from the internet router and it seems to be operating better now. I just wonder if maybe there was some type of interference happening with them being right next to each other. We'll find out next time there's bad weather if it freezes up again.
Here is how my guide looks. You see it looks most like the first one in the picture. But there are some little differences.
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I wouldn't even begin to know who to contact to attempt to fix such an issue.
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An issue at the headend would likely impact many others in the area and would probably already be known. Given the other issues you are having (black screens, slow loading, guide problems, channel unavailable errors, and the fact that we have not been allowed to work on your wires previously) tells me it is far more likely to be a problem with the receiver or the signal.
While the owner of a property has the ultimate say in what work we can do to a building, and sometimes permission is required before drilling holes, it is extremely unusual for our technician to not even be allowed to access, test and repair the coaxial wiring which would not normally require any building modification. Wiring will degrade over time and needs to be repaired or replaced occasionally, if we are not permitted to do this we cannot guarantee the service will work correctly.
I highly recommend replacing the cable receiver at a Spectrum store and/or talking to your landlord or whoever would be responsible for providing permission for our technicians to access your attic and test your lines.
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@William_M I haven't had any issues with my box the last couple of days since I moved it away from the router. We'll see what happens with the next severe weather event.
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Like another poster above, I also live in Alabama where we get many severe weather warnings. We can be in the middle of a tornado warning in our area, watching the weatherman closely on television, when the emergency alert warning comes on, usurping the weather broadcast, and the alert stays on and on and on, repeating continuously in English and Spanish.
How can this be FEMA related? When we had DirecTV our viewing was never interrupted in this way. It’s dangerous. I can understand it coming on for a few seconds but it shouldn’t stay on. I’ve tried contacting Spectrum and sent emails to FEMA (no response).
We’ve hooked an antenna up to our television so we can switch to antenna mode in order to keep watching weather coverage during the height of storms, but the reception in our area is not always good. It’s worrisome that our screen goes gray just when we’re trying to see where a tornado is heading.
There has to be a better way to alert people.
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Thank you, Satch!
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We are having the same issues as BernaE and the same concerns. When we need the local weather coverage the most (especially during April in central Alabama) EAS freezes the screen after the message plays and the only solution is to unplug and reboot the box. If I use the spectrum app on the smart tv, this doesn’t happen, so it’s definitely the box. I filed a complaint with the FCC and zero response. This is putting lives at risk and is unacceptable. We do not use the spectrum app since the channel line up is different than with the box, but no choice during severe weather events.
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