Tablo LED Blinking and Unresponsive

I see that there are many threads about this… I just ran into it myself. I was connected to the Tablo at the time, browsing the guide, when the unit suddenly disconnected from my tablet and the blue LED started flashing in groups of 3 or 4 then a pause then rinse and repeat. I was recording a show at the time, so I was unsure what to do. But after a few minutes, I reset the unit and it is back online.

Overheating? The unit was warm-ish… but not what I consider hot. Nothing is around it, it sits in a well ventilated area on a flat wooden surface. I guess airflow could be improved by putting bigger feet on it.

My shows that were recording, ended up being split in 2 by the disruption, no big deal. I am use to that with the other dvrs I have used.

just an idea, if your devices uses attached USB storage, make sure it’s plugged in all the way. I’ve had some USB cables that didn’t like to stay put before.

does this help any:

Before you buy into the mythical issue

It’s often a result of aledge “weak” signal or claims of drive failure from the tablo. Either of these cause a reboot.

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I had read that before… my pattern of flashes does not seem to match any of those given.

My wife had some appliance feet, saved from a prior need, I added them to the bottom of the Tablo. If nothing else, they were free, and do improve the airflow. Not a big deal. Also, my Tablo is on the 5ghz band, and this morning when this happened, it was having some issues, going between 1 to 4 bars on my tablet (which was sharing the band with no dropouts). So I don’t know what to think. My hard drive seems to be operating smoothly…

The only thing that stands out in my mind is that I was in the middle of making A LOT of changes to my recording schedule… I mean a lot!! So maybe I overdid it and the software crashed?! I don’t know. My unit is pretty new, so I have not settled down my recording schedule yet… just getting things into the shape I want. I hope in a few days I will get over the need to fine tune it.

Was this the signal of your tablet?

It may be. Some users get an error regarding our drives… although testing shows nothing wrong. Just as “weak signal” with no way to verify how weak/strong it is and/or how to tweak it.

It kind of sounds like you’re thinking Windows here - which it is not, or wild speculation with out bases. But it’s your trouble shooting process.

Only (best) way to find error message is to have tablo support check your logs - you’re not allowed to see them yourself. Submit a Request


The recording episode data has some references, but it’s not straightforward to dig it out.

Not real sure I know… it was the signal strength meter on the status line in the upper right-hand corner of my Android tablet. I assume that is the received signal from the router, but I am no expert.

Concerning the logs… as I mentioned somewhere else in this forum, I am a DIY’er… not a big caller to customer service (I worked customer service for 10 years… been there, had enough). If I can’t do it myself… or thru this forum, don’t count on me doing it.

I have the same problem with other software too… if they hide the logs, then they don’t exist as far as I am concerned. Just me.

I completely agree with you regarding system logs!!!

As far as episode recordings, I’ve seen - hard drive failure in it’s data. As have others, yet drive test error free. Allow tablo to reformat (pretend it’s a new drive) and never have a problem again.

Funny thing about the recordings… during this “crash”" period, the recordings (2 tuners were both recording a show), did not stop. After reset the recordings were split, but very little was missing. It appeared that only the part of the shows during the reboot process were lost. Maybe 2 minutes worth. But the “crash” period was about 10-20 minutes, as I waited for the system, thinking it might clear by itself… reboot/reset was my last resort. When it rebooted, the blue LED had a funny blink pattern… not the normal one. I don’t recall the exact way to describe it, but it was not what I am used to seeing. Anyhow, no repeat yet of the issue, and I am more cautious with my schedule editing.

And yes, I am a Windows user… but I actually have a fair amount of time with Ubuntu and Android – thru my homebrew efforts with TV boxes and game consoles. Tablo is my 3rd or 4th DVR though and I have never tinkered with one of them very much :innocent::innocent:.