You didn’t open it for a year? What do you expect?
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I love the precise nature of the problem:
The exact product is well described so I know which model is causing an issue.
The date of purchase is Amazon a while back and opened at some Christmas past.
Maybe it worked? Then didn’t.
We’re left to assume that you purchased this 13+ months ago. If it was well over a year ago that the product was purchased, that’s a year of wear and tear on a device where anything could have happened. Dog chewing on it, plug bumped, plug overtightened, original placement or movement since, dropped after purchase…
I think we all understand your frustration at a product not lasting as long as you’d like. Tablo’s not a perfect company (as seen by many recent threads), but to give any kind of guarantee beyond one year would be more than I could expect out of anything. Even if they credited your use to December 25th of 2022, it’s still over a year of use.
I’m sorry that your whatever model Tablo isn’t working. I hope that you were able to get good use out of it while it did. It sounds like it’s an older product, and maybe there’s some way to fix that coax on it. If it can’t be returned or exchanged, it wouldn’t hurt to try.
Maybe ask someone who’s been using Tablos for 8 or 9 years if they have advice on what to do… you might get better results than how you handled it in this post.
Maybe I wasn’t very clear on this. My wife and I are in our late 70’s. A friend told us about Tablo. I asked him to order it for us as a Christmas present to each other as we do not have an Amazon account. He ordered it in late November, 2022. When it arrived in early December, I realized that we needed a hard drive also although that was not clear immediately. After everything was received it was put together in late December, 2022 after Christmas. It worked OK but some stations picsulated in and out. This December, 2023, when I went to move the TV to put up the Christmas tree, I noticed that the coaxial cable was loose and could not be tightened. This, in my opinion, would have been within the 1 year warranty period.
Thank you for replying with a little more information.
It’s very easy to miss some of vital information needed to make a product work and how to use it. It’s unfortunate that you didn’t have everything you needed to set it up right away. (I research the crap out of everything and still find something I missed no matter what I buy!)
Not knowing your Tablo model, I have no idea if this is a common problem. Only once in my life have I ever seen a female coax plug go out, and that’s when it completely fell off the television!
If you can find it, please share your Tablo model number and hopefully someone can help you better. While you try to find this information, out of curiosity, what makes you say that it’s the Tablo’s coax versus the cable?
Again, it’s very unfortunate that your Tablo gave out right at the one year date. I can only imagine how frustrating this is for you. I wish you had found this community forum sooner so they could have helped with any of your other Tablo-related issues.
Do you have the model number? The Tablo I’m using is one of their latest models. I don’t know what any of the Tablo devices looked like prior to November, 2023 but have used a competitors product for several years. This does look like a pretty lively group here so I’'m sure one of the many users could help determining if it is repairable. (I keep thinking it is just a loose nut for the coax connector but I don’t know.) I live 30 miles west of Chicago so I don’t know how likely the Illinois Attorney General will be to assist. (Anyone who lives in Illinois will get the joke.)
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" I noticed that the coaxial cable was loose and could not be tightened. This, in my opinion, would have been within the 1 year warranty period."
Even if it was, Tablo doesn’t know that.
Everyone could call them and say “I know it’s 3 years old, but this happened after the first 6 months”.
The way I understand his dilemma, the coax stopped working just recently, but Tablo needs to go by purchase date.
I think it’s a little confusing because two christmases are involved. The christmas they got it (just over a year ago), then the second christmas where it wasn’t working (just 2 weeks ago). It could have been broken the entire time (which would explain the poor reception quality), but only noticed while setting up for his holidays.
We don’t know when it was broken, but the timing is extremely frustrating. Could Tablo have decided that 13 months was close enough? Sure. However, only the person with the purchase receipt could really push this issue. A month is a lot of time to have passed between purchase and registration.
To clear a few more things up, @DZiemann , what date did you notice it was loose, and what date did you contact Tablo support with your issue? The longer you waited could also have played a factor in their decision whether or not to extend your warranty. Also, has your friend been in contact with Tablo regarding this matter, since he’s the one that “bought it”?
@269587, I misread, you are correct, loose connection noticed 12/23.
If it was me, I’d take it apart and tighten it back up.
Most likely a nut loose or something simple…
Not sure how it got loose just sitting for a year though.
I keep thinking both of those same things (take apart / loose nut).
But if it was tightened too much, any slight movement in the cable, antenna, or Tablo could cause something to snap. Not to mention how heat and cold affects metal. Anything is possible, I guess. If someone else set it up, they might have noticed something wrong, think they broke it and were scared to say something.
But at this point, it sounds like they won’t cover it and for all it matters, anything he does to adjust or repair it on his own could be a worth it. First though, figuring out exactly what’s loose can let him decide his next steps. Sometimes we forget how quickly (and inexpensively) a little solder can bring old products back to life. Hell, even a very strong glue might be all he needs!
Unless you are very tech savvy, I doubt that you will be able to fix this bad connector. This is a problem several other users have come across through the years as you can see from the thread below.
Good luck, but I think your best bet would be to purchase a new unit.
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Thank you for finding a relevant post. Despite it being a very old post, it could be very similar to the issue he’s having with his possibly newer – and unnamed – model of Tablo.
Until it is fixed, DON"T turn it. You can twist the wires off inside.
Thanks everyone for your informative and helpful responses. Yes, I wish I had found this forum sooner. The Tablo model number is TDNS2B-02-CN. The serial number is GI-C02163114. The Tablo was registered on December 6, 2022 the day I received the hard drive and registered it also. I noticed the lose connection on December 18th, 2023 and reported it immediately. I call the antenna connection a coaxial because that what the tech guy called it. The person who bought it for us paid for it with a debit card and not a credit card so there was no extended warranty on the purchase. I am willing to take it apart to see if can be tightened but I do not see any screws or other way to get in. Maybe someone could advise.
Also, when I contacted the Illinois Attorney General’s office to file a complaint on Tablo’s warranty procedures, I was told to contact Tablo again to see if they would make an accommodation before I filed the forms. After being on hold for over 40 minutes, the person who answered the phone said they do not have a customer service department and he could help me. After explaining the problem he reiterated the warranty policy. I explained that I didn’t think the policy was fair since going back to the date of the order was several weeks prior to us even receiving the Tablo. I asked if Tablo could make an accommodation for me and was told “Tablo doesn’t make accommodations” Hence, terrible company and terrible product.
Looking at the images I don’t believe it will be a loose nut. At first glance I was not able to find a ‘teardown’ image of the product. I’m thinking most likely that it is soldered to the board and the solder was insufficient and loosened the connector. A new dab application of solder may be all that is needed. All just a guess.
Edit: I didi find a teardown on a product and it is soldered on to the board. A nut would have been helpful to keep things secure. These devices are made in China so that may have been why Tablo couldn’t do a repair if there are no repair facilities in the U.S. Not sure what a new one would go for or if it is even manufactured anymore.
Your situation is much clearer now but “Terrible product” is an overreaction. Tablo’s warranty is pretty standard. If the reception was unexpectedly bad you should have sorted that out back then. There are plenty of things you can try to improve your picture quality now however. I wouldn’t assume immediately the loose connector is the issue.
I just looked at the teardown video. If the connector is the issues it’s a pretty easy fix if you can find anyone with even the most basic soldering knowledge.
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Which model of Tablo? I don’t think 4th gen 4 tuner because it is exclusive to Best Buy. Best Buy gave us t9 January 13 because of the holidays.
Why is the coax lose? Put it on tight and the channels will come in. The connections are all close together. Try removing coax, power, and Ethernet. Then connect coax first, then Ethernet, and finally power.
Which app are you using? That model needs the Legacy Tablo app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nuvyyo.TabloCordova for Android. If you installed the other Tablo app it is for the 4th gen white round Tablo.
This user has a legacy hardware problem (Loose antenna connector on a unit bought in 2022) which is not related to the app.
4th gen has been on Amazon since August 21, 2023 so I strongly suspect it’s the old hardware that he has.