I bought the 4th generation Tablo for $99.Tried 3 different Smart TVs: fire tv, Google TV, and Roku. Disconnects randomly, I have to reset or scan every day at least twice. No matter where I put the antenna channels picked up scattered. I finally found a spot that gets the most and honesty for the channels I get could have gotten something from Walmart cheaper better reliable for ALL my tv’s.I followed ALL trouble shooting instructions and I spend more time trying to get the Tablo to work than watching anything!!!
I could I would send back and get FULL refund!
Besides RF signal…(Have you tired scanning with the Tablo internal Amp on or off?) if your streaming devices (streaming box and tablo) are wirelessly connected… you will want to confirm it has good signal strength.
You can download inSSIDer on your laptop to check. If you have an Android Phone, you can download WiFi analyzer and check. Anything below -73 is the start of low signal.
Is your Tablo and streaming boxes fully updated?
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scanned with the internal amp on/off ?
I have set up the table wireless and with the ethernet same results with both.
download inSSIDer /WiFi analyzer? Something else to pay for
Tablo is fully updated
Sorry you’re running into these problems.
We’d recommend reaching out to our support team: https://tablotv.com/support/#contact . They’d love to help.
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The antenna is the most important part of the entire setup.
If you can say yes to the following, you’ll have a good experience…
- Antenna is in a good location to receive broadcast signals.
- Antenna is a good one.
- Antenna cable connects directly to the Tablo, and not split (like to go to TVs, too).
- Antenna is not amplified.
Like real estate, the top 3 most imporant antenna things are: location, location, location.
The best antenna inside the house is never going to outperform the same antenna on the roof.
Good antennas are frequently dismissed as being too expensive.
However, a $20 antenna that claims to receive broadcast signals from 75 miles away is not actually gonna make you happy.
Every antenna cable split lowers the broadcast signal strength, and quality.
Some can get away with splitting their antenna cable several times, and still get great signal strength, and quality.
I’d love to be one of those people, but live in a rural area where the closest broadcast tower is 9 miles away, and furthest is over 75 miles away.
Amplifying an antenna signal does increase signal strength.
However, it’s similar to increasing the volume of a over the air radio station.
If the signal quality is poor to begin with, increasing the volume just magnifies that poor quality.
You many need amplification, and if it works for you, great, but avoid it, unless you absolutely need it.
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I’m equally dissatisfied but for a different reason. I purchase a 4th Gen Tablo on the belief that Apple TV would “soon be added”. Not a single word on that front. I know about the beta testing, but I think it’s getting to be the time for a full release of a compatible app. I have several Apple TVs around the house and not about the switch from them.
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This update has been available for months. I saw this update on my Amazon Fire TV. I do like this design better. Tablo has finally caught up to the other apps. I do feel that Tablo has been big disappointment in general, a waste of money. I always have to update channels; no matter where I place the antenna, I get poor reception on 2nd TV that the antenna is not on, and the TV I is on will also cut off from time to time and then not record my shows. I rely on HULU to catch up. The cheap antenna I got at Walmart is more reliable.
I totally get your frustration. But, it takes time and patience to get things dialed in.
Have you visited https://www.rabbitears.info/ to asses the quality of your signal at your location and making sure you have your antenna in the right location and/or if you need a better antenna to improve your signal quality?
Key things I discovered on this journey:
- Does your antenna get a good signal. The mud flap works, but there is better. You can’t point a mud flap easily and distance/interference can be a problem.
- Wired Network. WiFi will work, but wired is better. Also, pay attention to the age of your network gear (how old is your router?). For example, I thought I was getting 1GB FROM ZIPLY and across my network, but a rogue cat5 cable limited me to 100mb up/down. Test, verify, test.
- Streaming platform - I see a lot of people here having issues with the TV apps. I started with Firecube 2nd Gen (good, but had issues), Firestick 4k (wireless, issues, but works in the garage), Roku Ultra (Just purchased, love it and I plan to upgrade all my Fire TV apps within the next year).
- Stay current - In a nutshell, imagine the testing matrix Tablo has to do on the multitude of smart TVs, streaming devices, network config/devices, and antenna’s. Understand the older your streaming platform/network/etc., the more likely you will have issues, due to age and performance.