Error 101 "something went wrong"

[NewUser]

A few nights ago, watching any channel would result in a blue screen coming up saying that "Oops something went wrong", with an Error 101.

After rebooting things a few times, and trying both WiFi and Ethernet, the issue was still not resolved. I called the number on the screen, and the tech I reached had me reboot things again. She hinted she was doing something at her end, but was quite vague. After the third sequence of rebooting the modem, and the PVR, it started working. She couldn't give me a good explanation just "maybe there was an update or a power outage recently". (We also had a 7 second delay on the phone line, which she acknowledged was her end, and made communication very difficult).

I don't know if there's been a software update on the PVR, but there certainly has not been a power outage. My Internet is 1Gb/s, and it runs very well, testing at a consistent 936Mb/s down, and about 700Mb/s up, on a wired connection. I should also note that watching Fibe on my other devices, including Fire TV on the same TV works just fine. It's just the PVR.

The tech didn't really understand what it meant to be hard-wired with Ethernet. She had me try with WiFi also (same issue). She had to put me on hold to ask someone about how to deal with me being hard-wired, so I'm not confident she fully understood, and maybe didn't actually do anything at her end.

The real issue now is that it wasn't a one-time issue. It just it did it again today. Any channel would work for about 5 seconds before the blue screen would come up. Rebooting the PVR did not solve it. Although the Internet was running just fine, (as was Fibe on my other devices), I rebooted the modem, then the PVR again. It's working again now - it's been 15 minutes without failing, but I'm not sure for how long it will last before it happens again.

Again, my Internet connectivity is rock solid and fast. Fibe works well on apps, and on Fire TV. It's just when using the PVR. 

Is anyone else experiencing this issue? Was there a recent update that may be buggy?

[BellNick]

Hi there @NIX_K6A 
Thank you for the information. Yes, if you are able to unplug your printers (if it doesn't cause you any inconvenience) to see if the issue persists. We've had other users test this previously and it was the printer causing interference.

[NIX_K6A]

Sadly, the very next day after powering off my two printers (they are not in standby, but fully off), I actually ended up with three different problems:

First, I got Error 6011 (Voice Server Error) on the Home Hub and had to reboot that to get the error and the red "/!\" to go away. Later this morning, I again received the Error 101 code (with the printers still off). And now after rebooting all the devices again, the simple receiver is reporting "Network connection error" and will not reconnect. I know my WiFi signal is working because I have a Roku stick plugged into the same TV where the receiver is, and that is still connecting to other streaming services like YouTube.

So I will run the Virtual Repair Tool tonight after work (Cannot reboot now or I lose my VPN connection to my office), and see if it can find anything. Then will have to call the Bell Support line, hoping that it won't be hours like the last time. 

[BellNick]

Hi there @NIX_K6A 
We wanted to check in to see if you're still experiencing issues? There was a wide outage that you may have been impacted by, which is most likely why you were experiencing issues with your connection.

[NIX_K6A]

Unfortunately yes. TV service went off with error 101 code yesterday evening just as the NHL playoff game was starting. Could not get it working again for over an hour. Finally gave up and went to bed as I did not want to stay up struggling with it and getting more frustrated.

As I work throughout the day from home, I cannot use the Virtual Repair Tool during most weekdays.  I will be running it this weekend to test further. If I continue to have problems, I'll call the Bell Support desk Monday, as I happen to be off work that day. Not the way I had planned to spend my day off, but unless I can get this working again, there's no point in keeping the TV service.

Question: Is there any more modern unit than the HomeHub 3000? I am convinced that this is an issue with either the HH or the PVR unit that is somehow losing its signals or services, because the Bell phone and internet service continue to work perfectly during the TV outages. The HH3000 controls whether the PVR and receiver will "link up" to my account (since it says to reboot the HH and try to link during the 5 min window). And the PVR and simple receiver are in some sort of master/slave setup since I can ask the simple receiver to Record something on the PVR. So I am guessing that one of them has an issue. It does not seem to be a load issue based on other users hooked up in my area, since Error 101 will manifest itself during non-peak hours as well as evening peak hours.

[BellNick]

Hi @NIX_K6A 
We'd like to take a look and review your account and have sent you a private message.
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[Stephenfw]

Hello…I had this issue sometime ago. You’d need to pull up on your router all connected items. Find your TV box on the list and delete it. Reboot both the router and your tv box and that should do it. Seems that the router assigns has a static IP address and whenever there’s a blip the tv box cannot reconnect because an address was previously assigned. I am by no means a teckie but the folks at Bell don’t seem to understand this process

[Stephenfw]

You have many questions which I am unable to answer at this moment as I am travelling. Will respond when I’m back at home

[NIX_K6A]

Finally some good news on the Error 101 code I was experiencing. After trying various routines to try and get the error code to go away, it was eventually determined from talking to a moderator here and the support desk at 866-310-BELL, that my Home Hub 3000 may be at fault. Bell offered to replace the modem with a newer model (GigaHub).

The new modem arrived very quickly, and I had problems initially installing it, despite a very clear step-by-step guide on how to replace a Home Hub with a GigaHub. I planned to wait for after the weekend and try again. But on the Monday (May 26), the old Home Hub finally stopped working entirely. I went ahead and plugged in the new modem, and this time no errors. Only thing that was wrong was that it saw my high-speed internet (HSI) and my TV service, but no phone service. About an hour on the phone finally with Level-2 support and the phone service started working too.

This has been almost a full week now, and no new 101 errors. Working great so far. So I am back to being a happy customer from one that was almost ready to ditch the old modem in the river. I am pretty confident that the old Home Hub series modems have some sort of issue over time where it loses connection to the TV receivers, which explains why some posters here had reported the same problem after changing to a new Home Hub 3000. But if you can get Bell to exchange with a newer model (like the GigaHub), it will likely save you a lot of time, effort, and annoying outages.

Many thanks to @BellNick for his dedication to try and help on this, and to Yana at 310-BELL for getting the phone issue resolved afterwards. This is now RESOLVED for me as well.

[Mississausage]

For example – watching BNNBloomberg – haha, Bell's own channel! – fizzles out in a few seconds while watching the HD version. If/when I switch to the regular SD version all is fine. I pay for HD... I have FIBE with a HH2000 + PVR and all the devices are hardwired with Ethernet. So what gives on this and some other channels (Showcase, etc.0) ? – all HD which I am subscribed to.

Nothing has changed in my setup in months, if not years.

Tried rebooting everything – same error continues to recur on the same channels, it's not system-wide.

Calling tech support was no help. Anyone else getting this problem on just a few channels?
Is there a fix?

[BellPatricia]

Hey there @Mississausage Welcome to the Bell community 🙂
We want to help but we still need a few more details.
 

• Which TV receiver(s) do you have and does the error occur on multiple receivers at the same time? 
• What Internet package do you have? 
• Does the Ethernet cable run from your receivers directly to the modem or is there a splitter in between?

As you previously tried a full reboot the next step we recommend is to use our Virtual repair tool , when the issue occurs, so it can help detect and fix problems with your service.

Let us know the results!

@BellPatricia 

[Minskore]

I have bell fibe.  Every day, multiple times a day I get a blue screen and error code 101. I reboot and it’s fine again. But I’m fed up now. I’m paying hundreds of dollars a month for a service that should work continuously and without interruption. It’s frustrating to have to reboot multiple times a day and I’m not willing to do it anymore. I’m currently researching offers from other providers, and will likely move from Bell soon if this continues. And I’m also paying way too much. 300.00 a month for fibe tv and internet. It’s ridiculous. I know there are much better deals out there. But if I could get this working properly and at a fair price I’d stay with bell. But now with the tech issues I’m really motivated to move. Is there a permanent solution for this error and not just something that will work for a day. 

[BellPatricia]

Hey there @Minskore 

Welcome to the Bell community 🙂

Which TV receiver do you have and are you connected via Wi-Fi or Ethernet? To start, we recommend trying all of the troubleshooting tips posted in these helpful replies 

Keep us posted, we are here for you if you need any more help. 

@BellPatricia 

[Minskore]

Arris, vip5662w, this receiver is connected to the tv via hdmi cable.  I’ve tried all the recommended troubleshooting, it gets better for a while and then happens again. 

[WelshTerrier]

Good Day.

Which Bell modem do you have? Home Hub 2000, 3000, 4000, or Giga Hub?

How is your VIP5662W PVR connected to your modem? Wireless or wired with an ethernet cable? If your receiver is connected as a wireless connection, are you able to connect your receiver to the modem with a wired connection? i.e. Ethernet cable.

Have you tried to do any troubleshooting? Fibe TV: troubleshooting tools, virtual repair tool and support

Have you used the Bell Virtual repair tool? Go to Virtual repair

Have you previously contacted Bell Fibe TV Tech support & reported the issues that you are experiencing? Please call: 1 866 797-8686

Please advise. We are here to help you out.

Take care.

[Minskore]

modem is 3000. Receiver connects to the modem wirelessly. They cannot be connected via Ethernet because bell installed the modem in a different room than the tv receiver. 

I have gone through all the troubleshooting techniques in the link you e referenced above. And yes I’ve previously called bell regarding this. Everything works fine temporarily then it reverts back to the same problem happening again.  No sane person should keep paying for a service like this.