I'm really struggling getting my MX-850 working properly with my Xfinity Cable box. I have an older Xfinity XR2 remote which controls my cable box flawlessly via IR. I am trying to teach my MX-850 remote the codes via the learning functionality in MX-Editor.

I'd say about 60% of the codes are working fine but some of the buttons don't seem to control the box. When I do the learning in MX-editor it looks fine and says the code is learned. Afterwards though the RF/Wifi symbol either stays dark or very faintly stutters on some of the codes. For the ones where the buttons work the symbol lights up brightly.

For example, the number 1 works fine, however 2 and 5 doesn't work. 3 wasn't working but after my 4th attempt it is now working. Channel down works fine however channel up stays dim (rf light). I've tried learning that code at least 10 times. I have confirmed that the buttons on the MX-850 aren't the issue as they work fine controlling other devices.

Anybody know why certain buttons aren't getting learned correctly? When should that wifi button light up on the remote itself? Is it when the code is sent to out to the mrf-260 or after it gets a signal back? I'm trying to determine if the issue is with the box receiving the code or if it is during the initial learning process. Thanks for the help.

What other components are you controlling with the MX-850? Is their operation flawless?

Are you being a real hardass about the learning conditions?
New batteries in the remote. Both remotes.
No fluorescents on in the room. No dimmers on in the room. No sunshine in the room.
Note the distance from remote to remote that has given you successful learns, and duplicate that.
Deliberate button pushes of about one second... or whatever time length has been successful. Don't push and release quickly and don't hold the button down forever.
Anything that might be emitting IR gets turned off. This is all TVs.
Keep the remotes away from even your computer screen. I mean, what the heck.

See if that improves things any.

Use codeset 195 for IR and 202 for RF. Forget learning unless you want to make a career out of it.

Agree with Tom just upgraded a client to X1 with MX850 remotes. The codes are in the library and all work well

Ktrdsl23,
Don't say wifi. It is not wifi it is RF (418MHz or 433MHz for the i series). I'm surprised Ernie didn't get confused and go off on a 9 paragraph post about wifi, URC, and wave propagation.

Like others have said the codes you need are in the database. You need to click on the live update button to get the latest library. Then search thru and test several codesets. The ones Tom mentioned would be my first pick as well.
It is a known issue for many years now, that some of these newer cable box remotes will not learn correctly into the software for some reason. That is why URC created codesets to work with them.

Brad,
I actually skipped over "wifi" and addressed the subject. Will wonders never cease?

Ktrdsl23, Brad makes a good point. wifi is a particular use of particular RF modulation scheme and frequencies and it's NOT what the remotes use. I'll abridge my 7 page response to say that it is equally correct to call that button on the remote the RF button; or the AM button; or the FM button... as all of those are equally NOT the particular use of RF that the remotes do. But yes, they all use RF.

Thanks for the posts. I said "wifi" simply b/c the three lines are pretty much now accepted as the wifi indicator however I agree that it may add confusion.

For some reason, Live Update isn't working. It says Fail to Save Patch File. Then the first progress bar is full but the second one isn't.

I tried downloading the pace-cable-x1 codes from the files on this site for the MX-700 and the codes don't work for my device. I think that is codeset 195 because the device says Pace [195].

One other strange thing I've noticed is my IR blaster doesn't work well with this box. I can point the standard (non-RF) remote control at the box from across the room and the device will change (and light up the IR green button) however if the blaster isn't in the exact spot it won't control the box on the codes that do work. Is that normal?

Thanks again for all of the help.

I ran into a problem with URC software for which they had no answer: it took forever for a file to save so I could download. Finally someone at URC said the solution was to Run as Administrator. Perhaps that's behind Live Update not working for you.

Thanks. Running as Administrator fixed the Live Update not working. I'm still having very poor luck though controlling the box. I think the issue is the IR blaster communicating with the box. There is a green light that lights up when the box receives the command and it often doesn't work. For some reason the remote control from 15 feet away will change the box and make the light work however the IR blaster needs to be in an exact spot and only works occasionally. I tried another blaster from a different device and it is the same sporadic success. These blasters work fine on other devices. It seems like this box may be very finicky with the IR blaster. I'm wondering if I have a defective box. Have other people had issues with the IR blasters working to control these boxes? Thanks!

I just reread parts of this and, sorry, Brad, other things popped out at me.

First, you made things more difficult to comprehend as a system by not listing the brands and models of the IR system. I say brands, plural, because you've hinted that the LEDs aren't all from URC. This should not matter and it never does when things are working. But things aren't working so it's time to be ridiculously picky about what you use.

Second, I noticed you use an MRF-260, which is known to have RF problems, problems where there's too much signal. Could some of your codes be seen by the Sfinity piece as too bright? Distorted, even? Maybe.

Third, you say blasters. Typically blasters are LEDs not intended to be stuck onto individual components, but placed where they wet down all the components with a nice spray of IR. And, as such, it's damn bright. Do you just mean IR emitters?

The "another blaster from a different device"... realize that IT MATTERS what brand and model these things are, and when you just say "different" you make it impossible for someone to say "oh, yeah, I used one of those once and it was devilishly difficult to work with."

Could you rewrite that with the brands and models? Who knows? You might see a problem once you express things distinctly like that.

For Pete's sake Ernie, it doesn't matter. Like him giving you the 'exact' model number of the cable box is going to click a light bulb in your head and tell him he needs an 480Ω resister in-line on that IR emitter for it to be more stable.
We know it is an Xfinity box, there are over 1/2 dozen versions of that box out there, and they are all finicky as hell. The difference between them is the size, the type of outputs available on the back, the placement of the IR receiver, and the firmware that lets you do some streaming functions.


Yes ktrdsl23; many cable boxes, DirecTV receivers, and other devices can be very finicky with IR signals from 'IR emitters'. Exact placement is crucial on these and having IR signal level control (like what the MRF-350 gives you) is also very helpful. The MRF-260 only gives you 2 ports with IR level control - you need to be using one of those to hook to the cable box (so you can adjust the level down).
And do not use the IR blaster (that's the IR flood light built in). That causes more problems than it solves sometimes. In fact, make sure in your programming the blaster is turned off and you are only outputting signal on the port you have the IR emitter for the cable box. The IR receiver on the cable box, getting reflections of the same IR signal from multi sources, can screw with it. So also make sure the remote is not outputting IR when you have the RF base station set to do so. Again, this can and WILL screw with it, if the cable box can see both signals coming at it. In fact it is not a bad idea to use a piece of black electrical tape and cover over the IR emitter and sensor, when you have found a good position for the IR emitter on the box (or buy those stick on covers for the IR emitter but black electrical tape works just fine). That way you can also eliminate the possibility of IR interference to the box (i.e. fluorescent lights, sunlight, and other sources of IR you might not even be aware of).

The IR code set 195 & 202 are the most common for Xfinity, which URC has tweaked to work best with these boxes. In particular, the 202 code set is what you are suppose to use when controlling thru the RF base station. But I have personally found that to be in reverse sometimes on Comcast boxes. Test both sets.

Best practices reduce difficulties. Giving all the model numbers is a "best practice" approach to troubleshooting. If he had given all model numbers, then we would have had the IR part numbers and we would have been right here with your excellent and helpful answer... two days sooner. Yes, the cable box model number is a throwaway, but when you're stashing hundred dollar bills in your wallet, you don't toss out the ones. You include all the money. (And if you take the stance that the cable box number is never to be mentioned because it's unimportant, you'll go through a period of confusion when they change something about the cable box.)

I was telling him to give ALL model numbers so he'd tell us about the IR equipment, but you totally missed that I only wrote about the IR stuff. Oddly, you then DID share my focus and you wrote about the IR equipment, even putting 'IR emitters' in quotes as I had done:


Et cetera, et cetera, all very good advice to be followed to the letter.

One additional thing: when IR stuff works, it doesn't matter what brand it is. When, for whatever random reason, something* doesn't work, it's best to be sure all IR parts are the same brand. For this reason I stick with Xantech. It's never given me any problems.



*this 'something' is only meant to include IR equipment in this post.

Rather than try to explain it all here is a semi-short video that illustrates all the issues I'm having and why I'm so perplexed about this issue. That random emitter that you see is not the one controlling the box. I have one stuck to the correct location of the Pace box as you'll see later in the video. Thanks for the suggestions:

[Link: dropbox.com]

Just watched your video.
When the indicator at the top of the MX-850 does nothing when you press a button. That means either there is not a code on the button or a corrupt code (if learned).
Going back to the learning; codes vary in transmission length and sometimes learning a button the exact same way you have learned other buttons, will not work for that button. This is one of those tricks to learning IR codes - there are many tricks in practice.

Press once = were you just press the button 1 quick time to learn it.
Long press = were you press and hold the button for a full second while learning.
Press & hold = were you keep the button pressed thru the entire learn process.
Feathering = were you very quickly press the button as any times as you can during the learning process.
Vary the distance = When learning from 2" away doesn't give you a working code. Try 1" away. Then try 12" away. Try under a couch pillow where there is 0% chance of stray IR light hitting the sensors.
Blocking = were you start the learn process, cover the front of the remote, press the button, and then uncover the front of the remote to catch only the last 1/2 of the code.
Seems there are a few other ways too, I'm forgetting.

Another great way to catch codes is with a dedicated learner. I use an old Philips Pronto (TSU3500) which were awesome at catching codes properly. Then I would learn that into the URC (because sometimes URC sucks at learning codes).

On the code sets:
I just fired up the MX-850 editor. Codes 195 & 202 are Xfinity code sets not Pace code sets. If you look closely you will see there are 6 code sets for Pace, not of which are 195 or 202. But the remote you are using is an Xfinity remote, which means it should be using code set 195 or 202.
I would go thru and try all 6 of the Pace codes (043, 074, 110, 113, 204, and 206) and if none of those work, go back to the 195 & 202.

Questions:
What RF ID are you using on the MRF-260? You know NOT to use RF ID 0 correct?
In the programming, you have the Signal set to 'RF' and not 'IR & RF' correct?
In the software, look and see if there is a red dot on the channel up button for the test device. Click on it and look over on the 'Edit and Label Buttons' box and make sure the code set matches for the one chosen (learned commands override preset commands). Clear off learned commands if needed.

Port settings:
You never said which IR port you have the IR emitter plugged into. Like I mentioned, you should only be using port 1 or 2. So that you can adjust the output level of the IR emitter (this is VERY important on those boxes). Changing the output level can make a huge difference on how the box responds. And yes, even from pressing button 2, to pressing button 3.
The correct setting is from: having the output turned all the way down, to having it set at 1/3 turn. Usually somewhere in-between there.

Check list:
Make sure you have all the codes you want to test, mapped to the correct buttons in the software. Watch for learned codes interfering.
Make sure the setting for the device is correct = RF ID 'not' set to 0, matching code on MRF-260. RF set and not IR & RF for remote. Correct IR port selected for output (Having 'Flashers' set to 'All' will be fine for testing). Make sure 'IR Blaster' is turned off, next to your RF ID.
Start with testing with the IR level on the IR emitter set to the lowest. Then test in small turn increments.

Thanks a lot for that response Brad. I probably won't get a chance to go through all of that until later but I'll carefully go through your suggestions and post back how it goes.