And just as frustrating, my box is now saying WLAN not configured after trying for 30 minutes!

Right – I’ve disconnected the network cable and, as expected, I get messages about no network detected. It was already on BBC 1 so pressed Record. Recording stopped after 6 minutes. Pressed Record again and I got another 4 minutes before recording stopped. 3rd time recorded 7 minutes before stopping. 1st recording was from the start of the programme. Subsequent recordings only from the moment I pressed record.

So disconnecting network has no effect. For info, the software version is UKTFAE 1.03.53 dated 13 Jan 2021 and I suspect this update introduced the fault. Unfortunately I can’t see any mechanism for going back to an earlier version.

The box is only about 5 years old and, if that’s Humax’s attitude to supporting older hardware, they will never sell me another one – sorry, but they broke it with the January update so they ought to fix it. I’m convinced this is a software issue, not a hardware one – I’ve worked in IT for long enough to recognise the differences.

Cheers all – David

And just to prove that there is no rhyme nor reason to this, because the box was finally showing no connection, I set 4 simultaneous recordings from different mux and then put the box into standby before popping out. On my return, the box is still disconnected and all the recordings are perfect.

RichHumax – 3 hours ago  » 

It sounds as if I’m barking up the wrong tree. Do you know if any EPG type information at anytime is sourced by the machine from the internet or even if it’s capable of doing so perhaps elsewhere in the world?

Let me be clear, I have no inside information on how the FV-5000T software functions. I have some knowledge of how the HDR-FOX T2 software works because of the knowledge accumulated by the developers of the custom firmware. It just seems to me that a large enough percentage of the potential users would not be expected to connect their boxes to the Internet to mean that the developers wouldn’t be able to rely on Internet based functionality. I am fairly certain that some boxes that do not comply with the Freeview Plus standard do rely on Internet supplied epg data and possibly for other functions.

Is everything scraped from OTA transmissions other than Software Updates and IPTV?

I think so but who knows.

Thanks everyone for your input into my issue, I’ll stay tuned in case there’s a breakthrough or Humax relents. In the meantime I’ll decide whether I’m going to buy an Aura or not!

I have just had eye surgery but when my eye settles down I’ll try playing about with the network settings on my FVP-5000T and see if I can induce the problem. For what little its worth, I sat on the fence about the Aura for a long time but finally took the plunge a couple of months ago and I am pleased with it. The responsiveness is much better but there are a few irritating bugs that it would be nice to see fixed by Humax.

Another update.

I reset the box and skipped the network setup yesterday.

Instant recording still working however a test for Homes Under The Hammer earlier resulted in an anomaly, the episode recorded but reports as being 2hr18mins long. It only plays until the actual end of the prog and then stops. When I had similar “extra long” recordings before, they usually only had a few minutes of the episode, at least this glitch gives a usable programme.

One other thought, it might be worth capturing the network traffic using something like Wireshark from an FVP-5000T connected to the WAN and where instant recordings fail and comparing the network traffic with an FVP connected to the WAN where the instant recordings succeed.