TV woes

[Migalot]

Finally got a message back from my ISP:

"Customers that are still experiencing issues with there Sky Go app or similar services. Please do the following go to http://whatismyip.com (To obtain your IPV4 Address) Then take that to enter into http://iplocation.net (LOOK AT COUNTRY LOCATION), Both of which will show your location according to Geo location details. This will state "LONDON".

You need to go on all your devices to clear the Cache of each individual device, As this would still be holding the old geo location information. 90 Percent of all databases used by streaming services should have been updated as of the 20/11/2023.
Please refer to the manufacturer how to clear the cache of your device as we can not provide that information for every device."

Later on today, I'll clear the DNS cache from my PC. Not sure if the old BT box or Samsung TV retain a DNS cache or not. Since it's all on a ethernet, then maybe it can all be cleared from my PC...or maybe not.

Will be a lot of fiddling around I expect.  

[Jimbob]

Prob a 'reset network' button, Ive seen that on my TV.

[TheBoy]

Not sure if the old BT box or Samsung TV retain a DNS cache or not. Since it's all on a ethernet, then maybe it can all be cleared from my PC...or maybe not.

So are you using BT, or this other tinpot ISP (which sounds more like a pisspot VPN provider than an ISP, and I think I know who it is ).  If you are using BT, then stick with the BT Hub, and FFS stop using VPNs!

The BT hub does some, but minimal caching. Restarting hub clears the cache, though it will soon clear itself.  Worth checking if you are using the BT DNS servers, or if you have put something else in - beware that large ISPs can (and often have to by law) hijack the DNS anyway, so it probably won't be going to where you expect anyway.

The device (TV in this case) will have a DNS cache onboard as well.  Clearing them can be a pain, because most are running some form of Linux.  Probably turning it off at the wall is a 95% way of clearing it.

But it's all 'dangle berries' anyway, because streaming services use local content providers, and these all have a short TTL on the DNS, so realistically should not be in any cache.  If it is DNS related, it's most likely to be due to VPNs being used through the router.

In short, stop using internet to internet VPNs.  There isn't a good reason to do so, unless you are freetarding iPlayer, and we know that ain't worth the effort.

[Migalot]

Not sure if the old BT box or Samsung TV retain a DNS cache or not. Since it's all on a ethernet, then maybe it can all be cleared from my PC...or maybe not.

So are you using BT, or this other tinpot ISP (which sounds more like a pisspot VPN provider than an ISP, and I think I know who it is ). 

No, not with BT anymore. The area was selected by the local authority to get FTTP through Open Infra.

Seemed like a good idea at the time...  

[TheBoy]

Ah, right, so a couple of things....


...the BT Hub needs to be removed if its still plugged in.  You should be using your new ISP's router.  If both routers are plugged in, you might be getting DHCP from wrong device.

Your new ISP is probably using CGNAT (convention is your router's WAN IP is 100.x.x.x, but not all do).  This *shouldn't* cause any issues with streaming services, but make sure IPV6 is disabled on the NowTV device (TV) if you can, as the double NAT can bugger up 6to4 tunnels.

[Migalot]

Ah, right, so a couple of things....


...the BT Hub needs to be removed if its still plugged in.  You should be using your new ISP's router.  If both routers are plugged in, you might be getting DHCP from wrong device.

Your new ISP is probably using CGNAT (convention is your router's WAN IP is 100.x.x.x, but not all do).  This *shouldn't* cause any issues with streaming services, but make sure IPV6 is disabled on the NowTV device (TV) if you can, as the double NAT can bugger up 6to4 tunnels.

Have a new router (Icotera) that Open Infra provided.

Anyway, turned off the router for 30 minutes as instructed (same with the new black Nokia box that came with it), flushed the DNS, tried NOW and all is working fine! 

Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions!

Case closed.