Internet Down / Passthrough mode

Feature Requests
1

We recently had an internet outage state-wide in Michigan with WOW cable (the strangest thing about the outage is Netflix - who already signed the “Fast Lane” agreement prior to the recent FCC ruling - was available on all devices even through the outage.).

When I confirmed with WOW it was a true outage, I decided to watch some local TV on my Tablo. To my surprise, I was not able to. Is this because the unit was unable to connect to the guide service?

Is there a way to still allow the viewing of local TV from the Tablo unit even if the guide service is down?

If not, we need the Tablo unit to recognize when the guide is not available, but still allow the streaming of local channels and recorded content (which also was unavailable during this time?).

2 Likes
2

I too have wondered about this. Tablo is unusable when the internet is down, or a Tablo server is down, or there is a DNS problem, etc.? Wait a minute, this is a device on my local lan with a hd directly connected to the device; I should be able to play recorded content.

I guess you could play the content via Plex, but not sure if that would work either if the internet was down.

@TabloTV - any chance of future updates making Tablo more usable when the Internet is not available?

3

What were you using for playback? A Fire TV?

The Tablo channel via the Roku works when the internet is down.

5

So you’ve had the same experience?

6

Roku and PC. I’d click on the ‘Live TV’ button and it would just present me with the menu by which I had just clicked ‘Live TV’. Same with recorded shows.

7

Roku should work fine without internet. The iPad app will as well. The web apps connect to the internet briefly, so they won’t work.

Allowing the Tablo to work on all apps without internet is a popular requested feature, and the Tablo folks are at least looking into it.

8

I can confirm that the Tablo iPad app doesn’t work if the internet is down.

I had a 3 day internet outage a few weeks ago and I was not able to acces the Tablo DVR at all.

The iPad app is probably accessing the internet to find the Tablo internal IP address.

9

I have used the iPad app without internet. The iPhone app is a ‘Web app’ and it requires a live internet connection.

10

I’ve had my cable modem completely unplugged and out of the picture and tablo worked for me via roku. Though…roku was already connected when I took the modem out. Maybe a preexisting connection allowed it to continue?

11

On Roku it depends on how the provider coded the channel. For local content it can easily be coded so that the roku does not need to be connected, but I have seen channels code it so that even local streaming required an internet connection.

12

The current Preview channel from Tablo does not require the connection, but the older version does. So it depends on which version too :stuck_out_tongue:

13

@Jestep, neither Roku version requires a working internet connection. I can disconnect the internet from my router and use the Tablo with both versions.

14

With the really old one??? I find that hard to believe as they only made it that way a couple versions back

15

It’s always worked without it.

16

hmmm, not for me, but good to know

17

What does it do when you don’t have internet?

18

Nada

19

But I don’t use that version and haven’t for a while

20

I just did it successfully on both Roku apps (though it screwed up my internet for the past 10 minutes). There is no reason why it wasn’t working for you.

21

interesting