Spectrum TV
reviews and complaints

I was sold a tv package that works on xbox one, samsung smart tv, and apple tv; all of which i own, and has cloud dvr. Great, i do not need cable boxes for either tv! Unfortunately the cloud dvr seems to only work with the AppleTv, and definitely not with xbox1. So now i have one less tv i can use for things i dvr. oK, but then the app”s video is glitchy, skipping regularly watching football making me miss entire plays or important scenes/dialogue in tv programs. Everytime i do watch dvr programs or sports the rewind and fast forward functions do not work 90% of the time. One week i could fast forward, the next week it just brings up the channel guide. When fast forward did “work”, 90% of the time it would skip back to a random point in the program and start fast forwarding from there, meaning i need to ff through an hour of what i already watched. Now that ff doesnt work at all, and no rewind ever, ill be watching s dvr program and the app suddenly starts the program over from the start for no reason or skips forward to the live brosdcast point of the program on tv so im now just missed an entire part of it. So i cant rewind or fast forward, can only start the program over and rewatch everything ive alteady seen. And not to mention the app only gives stereo sound and makes my quality home theater system a waste. The app will not give Dolby Digital, just archaic stereo. Now my xbox1 will upscale to Dolby Digital but guess ehat, cloud dvr doesnt work with xbox1 and the video is even more glitchy than on my AppleTV. Every other streaming app, Ir youtube tv, Hulu, Netflix, HBO, Disney+, etc, etc give Dolby Digital and fast forward and rewind functions snd stream flawlessly. Yet the most expensive service of them all, Spectrum app can do none of it and even glitches when i just let it play. Worst app ever! RepeSt, it is total garbage even though im using the Ultra Internet service. All the other before mentioned apps worked better with a slower internet speed. ZGarbage, Shame on you Spectrum!

UPDATE as of 8/26, 7:50 am CDT:
STILL CANNOT RECORD ANYTHING. Despite Spectrum stating it “fixed” the myriad DVR problems and that the update works on my iPhone, I still cannot record anything AT ALL. Instead, I receive an error message stating: DVR INFO UNAVAILABLE ON THIS DEVICE. PLEASE RECIEW AND MANAGE YOUR RECORDINGS FROM YOUR SOECTRUM RECEIVER. REFERENCE CODE IRDV-1000.

The only reason to use this crappy app is to have the ability set up a recording AWAY FROM HOME in case I forgot to do so before I left home. I would never waste time and precious battery power on my iPhone to watch a program on such a tiny screen while I’m doing something else.

Please get back to me how to get this function to work, as it doesn’t. After all - I’m paying an exorbitant amount of cash to Spectrum for total functionality across all devices, and it’s clear to me this app is totally useless on my iPhone.

So far, all I’ve received is silence from Spectrum’s obviously poorly-trained app developers. This app is useless without the record function. Key word: FUNCTION. This app does NOT function.

UPDATE: After reading Spectrum’s response to several other irate customers over the lost ability to remotely schedule recording a show (Spectrum states they added back that ability), I updated the app. I am still unable to locate that record button anywhere on the app, if it truly was added back. There is so much useless garbage on this app it is dizzying. WHERE AND WHAT, EXACTLY, IS THE “ASSET DETAIL” PAGE? So - not possible to remotely record. And that is the only function I used on the app, rendering the app totally useless to me. I’ll wait a couple weeks for Spectrum to respond. If no response, I’ll delete the app. Why keep it on my devices if it’s useless to me, and all they want is to track me for their own benefit?

What happened? The app no longer allows me to tap on a program to record remotely. Instead it displays garbage and “more ways to watch” - yeah, except LATER if you’re not home when the program airs. What the hell is wrong with you idiots?

My family have the Spectrum TV app on all of our apple mobile devices and we absolutely love it! We also love the fore thought that Spectrum dev team put into thinking outside of your home network. If you download the My Spectrum app NOT the Spectrum TV app but the app that connects to your Spectrum.net account your My Services account, it will offer additional TV Network apps that you can download and watch your favorite live streaming TV shows, Movies, and On Demand Movies. The reason for this is so that you won’t miss out on your favorite Shows because when you leave your home and your Spectrum Internet network, you won’t be able to watch all of the TV Networks on the Spectrum TV app. This is because the TV Networks want control of where you can watch them. So if you download the TV Networks apps that are offered to you in the My Spectrum app before you leave home, and you sign in to each one of them individually choosing Spectrum TV as your TV Provider. While you are at home on your Spectrum Internet home network it will automatically log you into the app and recognize you as a Spectrum TV subscriber, and you are good to go.

However, if you did not download the My Spectrum app while at home on your Spectrum Internet home network, don’t panic you can still download the My Spectrum app, or just login to Spectrum.net. (“I really recommend downloading the My Spectrum app as it gives you access to your Spectrum.net My Services account at your fingertips”) After you have downloaded the additional TV Networks suggested apps, you will need to sign into the apps individually. Choose sign in with my TV Provider then choose Spectrum TV as your Provider. You will have to enter your Spectrum.net username and password and then you will be able to enjoy your favorite TV Networks, Movies and Tv shows. Note in some cases some of the TV Networks will have you create an additional login account I don’t know why this is unless it is just so they can have the ability to send you email offers.

I hope this really helps you and that you enjoy the Spectrum TV app as much as I do!

The app works fairly well on streaming devices but does seem to have to refresh itself a lot (and when it does you don’t pick up where you left off so if it stops to refresh for 30 seconds all of the sudden you are 30 seconds further along in whatever you were watching. Besides this - these are my issues with this app/spectrum TV as a whole:

1. You can’t just simply hit a channel number and move to that channel as all humans have been able to do with most any tv since TVs were invented. This seems like very basic functionality and it makes no sense why they would not allow this?

2. You can not jump to channels in the channel menu so if you are on channel 1000 and you want to check to see what’s on channel 2 - you have to open the guide and scroll forever until you get there. Doesn’t sound like a a big deal but it is super annoying and again, super basic.

3. The DVR situation is a bit of a [censored] Show. When I had DirectTV, we had wireless DVR that you could watch from anywhere. Spectrum does have cloud DVR, but you can’t watch it from a set top box. So, if you have a mixture of streaming devices and set top boxes on your account, you have to use two different DVRs as they do not talk to one another (which means you also get to pay more each month if you want to watch recorded shows from both places). You will also have to set up each DVR independently of one another. So if you stream in the living room and not in the bedroom and your not sure where you want to watch the next episode of Shark Tank you better set it up in both places.

4. Regardless of what customer service tells you the app does not work with all streaming devices. For example, I have the Amazon FireTv stick. You can’t use the spectrum app on it even though the person who sold me the service said otherwise.

These seem like obvious things but I guess not? It’s very odd. I did talk to spectrum about all of these issues and was told nothing could be done. Nothing? How app making an app that works with the entire system? And if not, train your customer service reps so they are aware of all these issues. Just my 2 cents.

Dec 2016 update - app is getting better slowly but needed filters are still missing such as a selection for action movies only in the "on demand" section.

I don't understand why there are multiple duplicate channels that are HD. Unless they are artificially inflating the number of channels I don't know why.

June update - this last update shows someone is trying but product mgt still doesn't understand the needs of their paying clients. My recommendation is to go back to the basics in how people want to search for shows. First, get rid of all the extraneous irrelevant stuff such as channels not in the persons subscription. If the app is smart enough to disallow watching a channel not in plan, it should be smart enough to let the user filter out the junk. How about a filter to show only action shows, movies, etc. All of my comments below are still not addressed.

12-25-2015 update

All of my original suggestions have not been addressed, this latest update has fixed many of the scrolling issues. It's still a basic app, but it works much better as a remote. I have noticed a defect... If you have stations with multiple channels and in the guide section, if you remove one of the duplicate stations, it will remove all channels. For example, TCM is on 47 and 631. If you remove 47, it also removed 631.

As an app, it's better but still has a long way to go. Sure wish they would have a consumer panel that would help them in understanding how their customers would use the app.

Original review

Missing many needed features
1. Scrolling, have to wait while it loads as you scroll searching for a show.
2. No selection criteria for browsing... Such as action, drama, etc.
3. Does not know your subscription ... Available channels
4. Cannot download content for traveling
5. Favorites - only one selection, cannot create multiple lists
6. Favorite setups, cannot identify subscription channels
7. Favorites setup - need to be able to sort by station, same stations have multiple channels... HD, non HD, east vs. West, etc.

I have xfinity as well and these items are available on their mobile app. You are at least 10 years behind the curve.

This company is unfit for market.
They ask for free consultation assistance just to get the slobs to fix obvious ridiculous rampant unacceptable ERRORS in this gone to ---- app , then require sign-in to do so! And their site was/is down no less!

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Next response to inept pathetic Spectrum:

We're not asking for assistance, but gave you plenty. This is pointing out some of your pervasive shoddy flaws and errors that your developer never should have let by (and again were not a problem in earlier versions!) DUH!
How much are you going to pay for all the consultation and yet further assistance you're now requesting?
FIRE your highly INCOMPETENT DEVELOPER!
FIRE your lazy SLOB execs in charge!
FIX YOUR rampantly defective slop finally!
- Clearly you incompetent slobs don't even bother testing your unfit for market products or check up on after you negligently put them out.

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Response to Spectrum response of this review:

- There are no common questions with answers to your latest sloppy ERRORS which we did notify you of via your feedback free of consultation fees, and yet that company is so incompetent it put out an update last week completely ignoring the obvious!
- READ exactly the below again. Such sloppy in error inconsistencies are unacceptable not to mention all the other defects and malfunction.

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Ver. 8.2 with its terrible resume play defect in On Demand was at least robust and reliable for Live TV. Then they FORCE an update to 8.5 which screwed up all that worked fine before and exhibited the company's rampant utter sloppy incompetence, such as its new inclusion of local channels in the on the go channel lineup (without subscriber wifi) but stupidly in ERROR half the networks are blacked out and half aren't despite all requiring subscriber wifi or location data. And why is NBC the only network not listed by its local affiliate?! CONSISTENCY MATTERS SLOBS! They were notified of this over and over and yet they just put out an update 8.52 and didn't even bother to fix their obvious on display to all sloppy inept oversights!
Don't bother wasting your time with their app feedback. The idiots don't pay attention!

Are you kidding? It doesnt work and TWC doesnt know how to fix it. It's a bit fishy to see positive reviews before the launch was minutes old. I am a long time Time Warner Cable customer and pay over $150 per month for their top services. I have their top modem with a top of the line WiFi router. I have a regular ID and PW I use on their MyServices web site. The sent me an email invite to try the app out. The launch was in National newspapers and on TV spots touting how cool it works for it's customers. With all that you think it would certainly was completely tested on a large scale and works! When you open the app you get a cool splash screen with the TWC logo - then it all goes bad...a long dark screen followed by one of two messages from TWC - one says you must be a customer and use their equipment at home (duh?), the other just says sorry try back later. What should a good customer do? Well, call TWCable TV Support (see above) of course! When I did, their tech reps barley knew the app was launched (email, newspaper, and TV no less) and had no documention on how to help and had never even seen it. So of course, they passed me onto THE NEXT LEVEL of support. A nice person slowly had me do everything short of build a new moon rocket - and at the end was only guessing. He stated I had everything correct and it should work! So, they gave me a "ticket number" and said dont call us, and we wont call you...you will "just know" if we get it fixed! Talk about taking a nuetural situation and making it negative. So being a good sport and all, I called them back again the next day (even though they said not to") to check on my "ticket". Sadly, the tech support person would not pass my call on and would only say keep trying - as they had no fix and no ETA for one. I guess the inbound calls are starting to frustrate them too! Really disappointing...this was pitched so perfect with the massive launch and I thought it would be cool to watch my shows while the family tied up the TV watching the Disney Channel...my advise to TWCable is not to put so much behind something without testing it on a large scale...unless they are OK with damaging customer relations and a great opportunity.

I have been utilizing spectrum TV and Internet for 16 years. In that time, the amount which I pay each month has doubled and in the last 5 to 7 years I have seen an increase of close to 30% in the rates which I must pay in order to maintain my cable service at its present level. My cable service does not include any I repeat any of the premium monthly pay channels which one has access to and I am told that in another year my cables Price will go up another 10%. I feel as though spectrum wants to attract customers but doesn’t care about the ones that they have. Although I like the service I feel somewhat put upon because I believe that they should spend more time effort and resources to keep the customers they have since most of the nation is already making use of one type or another digital service. I would not recommend spectrum to anyone because I believe they are ripping people off because of the prices which they charge for things which are already in place this would include the cable itself, as well as the employees they have.
On another front, although spectrum gives a great deal of lipservice to accessibility, the fact of the matter is that the public service channels are less than accessible to people with vision problems since the information scrolling across the screen is not accessible to those who must use speech output in order to access the information you add this to the fact that the cable guide which is provided to you on their website is not accessible for people who are blind because the items are displayed in a color grid this means that individuals who cannot see are unable to determine what channels they have.
Being disabled myself, I offered my assistance to spectrum when they were forced to explore the possibility of making their channel information accessible to those of us who are blind. Although they do this, it is the very least that they can do. I do not use this accessibility feature because often times the information is spoken in such a loud voice that it overshadows the information being spread presented on the TV. This renders the accessibility function untenable for those of us who are blind. Just my opinion Fred Olver St. Louis Missouri former teacher and Author of the book dealing with vision loss

Horrible app, a disaster of a sign up process. I gave up. The "I am not a robot" process is asinine. It showed 9 pictures and asked me to tap anyone that had a car, then it showed 9 pictures that had replaced the 4 car pictures with new non car pictures and wanted me to tap the new pictures. I really didn't pay attention to what position they were so I failed. Next it showed 9 pictures and asked me to tap all the vehicles in the 9 pictures. I almost selected 2 but then I saw a teeny tiny pickup up in one so I tapped three. WRONG again. Must be the little pick up didn't count. So next I was asked to tap any of the 9 pictures that showed a street sign. Now there was a picture of two street signs (signs with street names on them) sitting on top of a stop sign. So now I'm thinking are they trying to fool me again? Is a stop sign technically a "street sign?" I decided to ignore the street sign. Guess what- WRONG again! Now I suspect I'm being plunked. Next set of 9 pictures shows a snow boarder mostly obscured by flying snow. In one picture is the front of the snowboard, in one picture is the snowboarder's head and the rest is a tree and snow. The question is "select all pictures labeled: snowboard". Now, there is nothing that is labeled in the picture. Also the front of the board is visible in only one picture although it's obvious that the next two pictures to the right show snow being thrown up by the board. As the "label" expressly said board I selected the one picture with a board in it; WRONG AGAIN! Next set of 9 pictures showed street signs in 3 of them, although none of them showed any street names. Aha! With my new understanding of what constitutes street signs I selected the 3 and GLORY BE! I had proved my worthiness to be a part of the legions of Spectrum TV App Users. Now one last step to nirvana, a text confirmation to my phone, which they correctly display the last 4 digits. I tap the confirm button... and nothing. This process epitomizes Spectrum. We've been stuck with them for years with no other viable choices. Huge bill every month and yet they mail me several times a week with rates that are close to half the rate I have to pay for new customers. How about a break for years of religiously paying our outrageous bill for years and years. Cable companies are the worst group of service providers next to airlines. Don't waste your time on this app

This is an update to my original post.

Even after going through the agony of getting it to actually work before. Now it doesn't.

1. I had to quit and retry signing in repeatedly before it finally recognized my name and password. I didn't retype it, just quit and restarted the App 6 times.

2. Once finally "authenticated" and signed in, NONE of the channels were available.

3. I quit and restarted the App again, to get now stuck in "settings". The App will not respond to my pressing any other icon, to navigate back to the TV listing.

4. Alerts keep popping up reporting it cannot recognize my cable box now, although my regular TV is connected and works fine.

This is a completely broken, dysfunctional worthless App. Worked for awhile once. Now it doesn't.

They apparently updated it into oblivion, not working at all anymore.

TWC are a gang of liars and thieves.

My previous post:
This App is very difficult to get to work at all. The process of signing in with a user name and password may or may not work... it takes a lot of effort. Fact is, I got the first version of this App to briefly work on my iPad2, but it was very slow, so I downloaded the recent update which broke it completely. I deleted it and did a fresh download and install. But now it will not allow me to login. Will not accept my user name and/or password. There's no online help. After a half hour trying to get TWC phone help, I was trapped in voice-prompt dead-end, I called back a few more times until I finally got one support person who said they could help, and then I was suddenly disconnected in mid-sentence. This the TWC monopoly nightmare. Very expensive lousy service.

Subsequent News after UPDATE:
To "log in" you need to first go online and create a "My Services" account with TWCable online. BUT... pay attention, you CANNOT use the same user name or password of your regular Time Warner Cable Online account as your "My Services" account. After weeks of getting the runaround, I finally reached a knowledgeable IT guy on the phone, which finally allowed me to log on with my iPad App.

Why TWC doesn't post this critical info is astounding. Because like many TWC customers I was using the same Password with both TWC accounts. DO NOT DO THAT or you will not be able to log in with this APP. So change your password to something else in your "My Services " account. Only then will the iPad App allow you to sign in.

I somewhat agree with someone else’s previous review about the Spectrum app being quite buggy on AppleTV, where they had no issues with the Spectrum app on their iPhone, I’ve got several issues on mine.

As far as the Spectrum app for TVOS, I have the same complaints as that person does. Freezing video, a Spectrum app which won’t even initiate, when Amazon Prime and Peacock both work perfectly fine at the very same time. That tells me it’s the Spectrum app that’s acting buggy and not my AppleTV. Since I just downloaded and installed TVOS 14.0.2, I know my AppleTV is up to date with its software.

With regard to the Spectrum app for iOS, at the
present time, I cannot view TV show descriptions as I keep getting the following error which appears in a pop up window.

“UNABLE TO COMPLETE REQUEST”
“We’re sorry, something didn’t work quite right.
Please try again later. Reference code: IGE-9000”

It makes no difference which network channel lineup I’m wanting to view, I consistently get that error the moment I tap on the individual show description. If that isn’t frustrating enough, I also receive a similar error each time I try scheduling a DVR recording no matter what the show is. When the DVR function on my iPhone was working, it wouldn’t allow me to delete previously recorded shows from my DVR library. I had to do it using my cable box instead. That’s still an issue, so along with not being able to schedule a DVR recording from my iPhone, the DVR function is totally useless right now.

I’d also like to raise an issue concerning the “My Spectrum” too. The other night I was watching TV using the Spectrum streaming app when the video suddenly froze and the audio went silent. I checked the network settings on my AppleTV app and while it showed my network information, it appeared to be more grayed out than usual. I tried using my iPhone to view Spectrum TV and it wasn’t working either. I checked the lights on both my Spectrum modem and router, and everything looked the way it should. I even checked my Spectrum land line and I heard a dial tone. When I went to the My Spectrum app too see what information it would give me, it didn’t. All I got was a never ending spinning pinwheel.
So the question of the century here is...the My Soectrum app has an equipment diagnostic feature, but what good is the My Spectrum app when the My Spectrum app is totally nonfunctional whenever your home WiFi network is down?

UPDATE: 3/12
This app is still a piece of crap. They still have not fixed AirPlay. Or they don’t tell you which channels you can use airplay with. I get the sense that maybe they are intentionally blocking you from casting certain stations even if you can get watch a show or channel on the app.

Channels that do not cast seem random.

Hey, PRI*KS, I pay to watch when I’m not at home. You promote this. If you won’t allow casting, STATE THIS UPFRONT! STOP TRYING TO PULL A FASTONE.

And the fact that I have yet to receive a developers response to any of these reviews tells me everything I need to know about this company.

===============

I have no idea why my reviews keep disappearing. Maybe I’m not allowed to be critical of Spectrum and maybe Apple is in cahoots.

This app is a complete piece of crap. They should call it a crAPP.

first of all, most of the time it’s audio only. There are major issues with video. The developers are aware of this and they blame it on iOS 14. I am the other hand I’m not using iOS 14 so shame on you liars.

THIS APP ONLY PARTIALLY SUPPORTS AIRPLAY.

Most of the channels you cannot airplay. Some channels like NFL network, Spectrum Sportsnet, and many others will never stream. Others do. Home network or away it does not Matter.

Now Spectrum support wants to blame the consumer whenever there is a problem. If there is an outage in an entire area, they will tell you “it’s not reported,” so they need to go through all this troubleshooting with you. Even though YOU can see on Twitter that there are thousands of people complaining about this as an outage.

So for the Airplay issue, They tell me I must be doing something different when I’m trying to cast Lifetime versus when I’m trying to cast MTV. Or that my bitrate isnt good when I’m pulling 240 Mbps.

I’m convinced this entire company is put on this earth to rip you off and waste your time.

Did you know if you change your plan in the middle of your billing cycle, they will not prorate you. Now if you upgrade your plan you will be responsible for the upgrade charges immediately. If you downgrade your plan they don’t give you any money back.Also they are one of the few services that you don’t have access to your entire channel lineup when you aren’t at home.

This is doubly a ripoff if you are paying for their streaming only service. Why are you if you were paying for a streaming service don’t you get all of your channels no matter where you are?

The only thing that makes this company competitive, the Internet speed for the price. That is the one thing that cannot be beat. Just be prepared to complain every day about something.

Bottom line. Spectrum can B—w me.

This is my experience the whole hour I tried this garbage.

Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...finally got it to work for 5 minutes... crashed... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable... Channel unavailable...1 hour later, called to cancel service.

Man I hope the developers excuse is that the they were rushed to develop this app. If this is what they think is an app ready for the general public, I’d be embarrassed, don’t put this on your resume. I am so livid using this app. Don’t waste your time and money. Stick with other services, pay that extra 5 or 10 dollars, it’s worth it. This whole combo is not ready yet. Seems like a beta version but we’re paying for it.

Review UPDATE: following my initial review, we (the customer, or END USER) to clarify for the “gentleman” who seems to believe “WE” (the disgruntled app user) are “tech [censored]s” incapable of running simple troubleshooting and that we need to “get over ourselves”. Clearly, you’ve enjoyed your recent use of the Spectrum App...and thats great! Im curious though< How long have you been using the app? Are you a New Spectrum customer,too? I am not. I have been a Time Warner, Brighthouse, Charter, Spectrum customer for well over twenty years and have been using this App since 2013. Long enough to have a VERY clear idea of the Pros and Cons. And following these recent UPDATES? WOW! Ive NEVER experienced performance and stability issues this poor EVER! and just to verify it was nothing to do with my device, i deleted and reinstalled App on ALL my available devices tonight...HP Pavillon Entertainment dvi 7 running Windows 10, iPad Mini Retina 64 running iOS 11.02, iPad Pro (newest edition) iOS 11.02, and my MacBook Pro running Sierra...absolutely solid devices all. Not so of App. Same issues occurring across the board. And as i have BOTH windows and Apple machines to compare, That’s not the issue either..its the APP. Tonight while attempting to watch Pillars of the Earth, pixelating, freezing, crashing (x3)! AND just to add insult to an already frustrating evening? In App Feedback? I typed ten words! 10! It locked, and became non responsive, sending message without my complete comment! Again, I find it unacceptable to continue to be charged for faulty, unstable software, or equipment. Yes, Mr. Gentleman, im aware the App is “FREE”. However, as it IS an EMPHASIZED & ADVERTISED component of my Spectrum package, i expect it to work. I certainly wouldn’t DREAM of installing their Firewall/Security Suite!

This app used to be fairly stable. Only Occasional crashes, weird errors etc. but easily fixed with routine troubleshooting. Granted the limited viewing if not on home WiFi home, limited episodes available even when on home WiFi, basically lots of restrictions/rules for what I could and couldn’t view was (and continues to be) annoying.

However! With brand new iPad Pro and ios11 plus the apps newest updates? This App is a total DISASTER! I’ve had to run the routine troubleshooting “fixes” umpteen times in the last few days alone! Weird errors “try again later” sign on to home WiFi” incorrect sign in, etc. ALL OF WHICH IS INACCURATE! And YES charter! I HAVE deleted App started fresh! Still unusable! AND to add insult to injury? On-Demand on my cable box TV set up is not working either!
And you wonder why customers HATE paying for cable? UGH! It’s not cable per se...it’s anything I have to pay for that then doesn’t work, is non returnable, and offers no credit/rebate for non functioning or usable time!

I know that every mother goes through incredible pain through the effort of birthing life. Afterwards, there is rejoicing in this bundle of new life taking its first breath and initiating joy to all those who hear of this new addition.
I would like to give a similar analogy to the "Spectrum" birthing of its newest franchise, once having been Brighthouse. Spectrum has parented other franchises before. As the last born in my family, I share a certain experiences with other last born kids of being "taken for granted," as my preceding siblings had received the necessary attention.
Spectrum is guilty of a similar negligence in investing so much of its resources, plying their efforts for new clientele. Those of us that have supported this repeatedly acquired Central Florida cable system, have been likewise, taken for granted.
Being disabled, time is spent in bed, to ill to read, but enjoying the mobile "BHTV" app on my iPad. Now that Spectrum has decided to "upgrade" that portion of past services that did work, for those that are full of flaws, I have been unable to view what I always had.
I bring this up as just one of the many negative efforts afforded to those of us who have been the financial supporters of this cable system that they chose to take over. I am writing this because, for about a week now, I can no longer view the former "BHTV" remote service that they have improved upon. I've changed that app for the spectrum app. Now that old saying that "if its not broke, why fix it" comes to mind. Although their intention to improve our experience must be their goal, the lack of their funding of the information of what is occurring to their established base is almost non-existent. This rudeness may sway many of us to cut the cable and start to "dish" in our future viewings.
I just wanted to share this. Most of the customer service people, with one exception, are caught in this lack of info cauldron. They are not to blame. It actually falls upon the upper management to recognize the need for adequate information, updates on what is occurring in this transition of the cable system and to take the initiative to learn what true and honest parenting will render to them. If they had treated us with the favor that should be expected and shown to their new family, they would of avoided the discontent I hear from so many.
If I have offended anyone with my viewpoints, that is not my intention. In fact, I
probably would not have even taken the time afforded me to write this, if I had only been able to be watching Spectrum remotely.
I may only hope that some one in the higher tiers of management take this review seriously as a reflection of this growing negative stigma associated with the name "Spectrum" by other clients as well.
Thank you for letting me voice my frustrations with your lack of communication to your base subscribers.
Robert...Shalom

I have seen a lot of reviews about this app that have been very negative. I used to feel the same way, until I final got some answers.

#1. You can now use the App even if you do not have timewarner cable Internet service (as long as you meet the other requirements)

#2. I was always getting the error message "not connected to your home network"
-Here is how you fix this:
Call Time Warner Cable. Once you get a rep. on the line, tell them that you do not have time warner cable internet service(but you do have time warner cable tv service (the specs do specify that), and that you are trying to use their great Ipad App, but you keep getting the "not connecting to your home network" error. They may say you need to have time Warner Cable Internet Service. This is NOT correct (as the App description doesn't mention that anymore (When I called them a few weeks ago their own database hadn't been updated yet.) I ended up doing a text chat with a rep, gave them all the info and the link from the itunes app store that shows the specs.
it turns out that if you do not have time warner cable internet, then Time Warner has to come out to your home (I know it's a little frustrating) and install a FREE router. Make sure they know that they are only installing a router and not TWC Internet Service (unless you want it, that is) The service house call is free as well. make sure they are going to send an in-home tech and not a contractor.
They will attach this router to the back of your cable box (more then likely)...since it's digital cable, you will not loose signal strength.
Once that is set up, they will create a TWC WiFi signal that comes out of the router they just installed. VERY IMPORTANT: This will not give you access to the internet, it just allows the ipad to pick up the signal coming from the cable box.

#3. Now that you have your router set up, go to your Ipad and find the wifi network that says "TWCXXXX(the X's are usually the last 4 digits of your home phone number). Once you have clicked on it and the Ipad recognizes the signal, go back to the TWC App on your Ipad, launch it, log in and you should be good to go. My cable box is a little older so all I can do is stream live TV, but that is totally fine with me.

#4. Make sure to test the App while the Technician is still in your home (in case there are any issues that they could help with)

#5. Once you are done using this app, REMEMBER to go back to your Wifi networks and jump back to your usual WiFi Signal. If you don't you will not be able to lauch any of your other apps, because you don't have a real internet connection.

#6. I know it stinks to have to go between 2 WiFi networks, but it really only takes like 2 seconds. Maybe, one day they will fix this and router will no longer be needed. Until then if you do not have TWC Internet but have TWC TV and waht to use this app, this is what you have to do.

I would give this App 5 stars if the following happen : A. A Router is no longer needed (if you don't have TWC Internet service). B. You could use this App outside of your home.
Until this happens, It will remain a 4 star app

April, 16, 2023 — ten days since my previous note. If anything, the App is even worse now, than before. Perhaps, Spectrum should pay for fewer television advertisements bragging about its high quality service and spend some of it on improving this App.
Recent reviews indicate that my problems with this App are far from being unusual. Instead they are frequent.

It is now, April 2023. During the year since the note below was written, the App’s performance has varied, sometimes it has worked well, other times, poorly. As of today, April 6th, its peformance is terrible. It works for a few minutes, sometimes a little longer, but then freezes. I have twice deleted the App and reinstalled it, but this doesn’t help. My wi-fi is strong. I am able to watch programs from other sources with not trouble, but for the past few days, the Spectrum App has been especially bad on my iPad. The iPad’s operating system is up to date Either Spectrum’s “experts,” lack the competence to solve this App’s problems or the company isn’t willing to spend whatever money is necessary to provide a quality product. After writing the above comments I checked recent reviews. The vast majority are complaints about the poor functioning of this App in recent weeks. Once again, an App that was working fairly well has been screwed up by incompetent “experts.” Nearly every negative review is followed by the words, “I’m sorry” or something similar as a response to the comment along with advice to contact Spectrum. My experience doing this in the past tells me that is useless, a complete waste of time. For several months the App worked fairly well, but recently, April 2022, it has deteriorated. Now, on all devices, it often stops working within minutes, sometimes only seconds after the show appears. Within five or ten minutes it starts and stops. There is no reason why customers should pay for this service. The developers apologize constantly but appear incapable of fixing the multiple problems that many viewers report. I have serious doubts about whether the relatively few good ratings are legitimate. I have deleted previous comments, mostly negative because this site’s space limits kept me from commenting about the current situation. As of today, May 24, 2022, various stations, often many of the ones that are in the series below 200 cannot be accessed. This is especially true for CNN and MSNBC. As of when I’m writing this note, even Spectrum’s own channel, number ONE cannot be accessed the code ILP 9000 comes up. I have followed the instructions about what to when that code shows, but the problem remains. My wi-fi is working properly. I recently spent approximately an hour having a “chat” with Spectrum specialists. They were unable to help and even the supervisor seemed to know nothing about the TV App. Because I only watch these stations on my iPad and iPhone, at this time, I am paying a substantial fee and receiving nothing I actually wish to view in return. I should add that occasionally, the app works on two iPads and then for no apparent reason will work on one, but not on the other. Overall, the App, after a period when it worked fairly well, has now deteriorated badly, and is worse than ever before in my experience. Judging by many recent comments, I am not unique. I find it difficult to believe the authenticity of the ones that claim it is working well.

I think everyone has covered all the issues here & there are numerous ones with this app & spectrum in general. I just did an update and still can’t watch several channels because “they’re not available right now” I haven't been able to get on demand on this app for almost 2 weeks now, I get error code IOD-9000 so since I’m just down to “trying” to watch live TV & I stress “trying” because the new thing all this week has been it will just quit working right in the middle of whatever I’m trying to watch. I don’t get “buffering” quite as much because it just stops working instead.

Since the last review this app hasn’t got any better, it’s gotten worse! I can’t get any live channels on iPad in addition to on demand. It’s about all I have left since my home service is messed up too. I will tell you though, it was the last couple of updates that seem to be the problem because I didn’t update my cell phone & can get live and on demand. Zero has been done to improve the huge problems of this app for weeks. I have hated spectrum for a while & now hate them with a passion! I am not on a contract now & will be cancelling tomorrow. I would suggest anyone even considering signing up for their horribly overpriced NON SERVICE to pass & just keep looking or don’t have TV service at all because if you get spectrum, there’s a good chance you won’t anyway. Just save yourself the headache.
They are thieves & tomorrow is the last day they see any more of my hard earned money because I’ve had issues with home service for months, they don’t value existing customers or fix any issues. I’m currently watching tv on an iPhone 7 tonight, pretty pathetic since I’m paying for home, dvr service & the updated app doesn’t work on my iPad. These cable companies need a wake up call so Mr CEO can’t go out bragging about how much money they make. They need to be humbled down to providing a quality product at a reasonable price.
The one thing they are good at though is advertising & trying to rope in new suckers with their endless misleading commercials which all of us idiot customers have been funding but will be minus 1 idiot after tomorrow!

So 3rd update since the original one on 3/24. Spectrum is on it’s last days with me, said good riddance but I still have to suffer through them until I get the new cable/internet & things are still getting worse, no where near better. I can’t even get on demand on iPhone most of time now & more channels are “not available right now” including the one I watch the most ... ID Discovery... at least though they have a pretty good app...ID go which I have had for several months and use for their on demand shows but FYI, if you hit “live” at the top, you can watch it, so screw you spectrum...I still can watch my favorite channel after I found a way around your incompetence! I will be so glad to get rid of them and all these conglomerate cable/internet mega corporate thieves. Another big one I was checking in to has hidden deceptive fees, basically bait & switch so I’m going back to a small local cable/internet company & doing the half way cord cut with a streaming service...it’s the lesser of the 3 evil choices I have. I doubt spectrum will compensate nearly enough for the approximately last 7 months of horrific service I’ve had with them since I first switched 5 years ago when it was Charter. The last 3 weeks have been the worst & if they compensate any of us at all, it will be next to nothing.

This app used to be a little wonky, but basically did what it needed to do. In the past year or so, they updated it and rolled out a new app icon. Since then it hasn’t been able to do one basic task: open the app to a predefined channel and play the live tv content. The app offers a setting for selecting a Startup Channel, but it no longer works so easily. The new version began displaying a semi-transparent modal window with a button marked “Exit to live”. This modal state dims my view and partially obstructs my tv content. Clicking this useless button dismisses the modal state and plays live tv as expected. But why is this button there in the first place? I already set my startup channel to play live tv content. Why do I now have to say “yes I really want to watch the channel I said I want to watch” by clicking another button? Further complicating the issue is that this modal state stays in place until the button is clicked. It doesn’t go away after a few seconds like the controller buttons when pausing a movie. It just states like that, necessitating someone pick up the remote and click. But sometimes in this state, it thinks no one is watching and allows my Apple TV to start the screensaver and go to sleep. So you have to wait for the nonsense button and click it. So much for setting a startup channel. What’s worse is that now (in the past couple weeks) Spectrum has started to insert ads into this modal window, further obscuring my view. Because why not force PAYING CUSTOMERS to see more ads? Why not run advertisements for content I already pay for?! This is infuriating. And they set the button focus to the ads, not the Exit to Live button. So I can’t even just click anymore, because it takes me to the linked ad content. Instead I have to wait for the content to load, navigate to a button in the middle that the app finds difficult to select, and then click. All I’m trying to do is watch the news! I want to open an app and have the news on in the background. Why make it more complicated than that? Why does everything have to be an interactive exercise? Get rid of all this nonsense and just play the content I specify by the Startup Channel setting.

3/3/23 Edit:
In my previous review, I highlighted intentional changes Spectrum has made to the Apple TV version of this app to increase ad visibility at the cost of user experience. Well, now they’ve rolled these petty changes out to the mobile app as well. This app has a singular purpose: watching TV. That’s why it’s named Spectrum TV. No one opens this app without intending to watch TV. The only options available in the preferences are to set a Startup Channel. In other words, when app starts up, play this channel. Makes perfect sense. Now however, when the app launches, it takes you to a bogus, useless “Home” tab. What can you do here on Home page? Absolutely nothing. Its only purpose is to display more stupid ads, because Spectrum thinks that its already-paying customer base should be subjected to even more ads. Never mind that we are already paying exorbitantly for their services, they still choose to run greedy, petty ads at every opportunity, despite the fact that doing so subverts this app’s sole purpose. What is it about cable/Internet service providers that makes them develop adversarial customer relationships?

Response to developers’ reply: You encouraged me to put more effort into reaching out to you on your website to ask more questions. I have no outstanding questions. I understand clearly that Spectrum is a greedy, mean, petty corporation that throws its customers under any bus if there’s a nickel in it for them.

Absolute Garbage. You can’t stream from or even watch from your phone (iOS) when off Wi-Fi so if the power or wifi goes out, it’s absolutely useless. I was streaming court tv for instance on my tv from this app but had to leave to pickup my kids so I turned the phone app on so I could keep up with the show via listening and sure as can be, the second Wi-Fi jumped off to LTE “sorry you cant use this channel” cool. Then within a few days it was nearly impossible to cast from the app to my tv and even screen share blocked me from watching CHANNELS WE PAY FOR, it’s been over a month with spotty if functional at all. First cable tv is NOT a priority or a must in life… secondly internet and streaming is less cumbersome and truly the only thing we even use.. it’s pretty bad when a huge CABLE company can’t even get a decent product to market and make it like you have no clue how tv and smart features operate. This is not the 90’s and we aren’t acting like cable tv is actually in demand.. perhaps focus on making products people want to pay for that we actually need or enjoy. I can’t even watch my local news in the morning unless it’s on this crap app on a 4 in phone screen cast to tv? GOD NO THIS APP CAN NOT PROVIDE THAT FUNCTION.

It was down the other day, so I just gave up trying. Just tried it once more, not sure if it’s down again or still. On my iPad, after twirling for a bit eventually it comes up saying there’s no internet, but there is. On my Roku it says it needs me to sign in, which means it’s not going to connect. I’ve been trying to use this for years because I already pay enough, I’m not paying for another receiver that I’ll barely use in the bedroom, but it’s never worked well. Every time I have to wonder if it’ll work, I swear it’s broken more than working. And you’d think they’d either fix it or release new features. Instead they remove them. Doesn’t save your settings, I have to change it to only show favorites every time, removed the ability to record to your DVR later, wouldn’t even let me rename a device. Disappointing doesn’t begin to describe this. Stop responding and telling us you appreciate the feedback, take some of that ever increasing prices your monopoly charges, and fix this already.

Edit: see, canned response still. I’m not having issues, it was down. Again. No troubleshooting will fix that. When I tried later, it was missing features. Again. Telling me to do all the things I always do when it’s clearly on your end is just wasting my time.

EDIT: It’s July , and this app is somehow worse than it was when I originally wrote this review. Not only The video lags so badly, it maybe, and I mean maybe, works 10-20% of the time. It also freezes even worse when an update is needed and each time, I hope the issues have been resolved. Joke’s on me, because I don’t know what’s being updated constantly, but it’s not to make this app watchable. On demand is a joke. I wouldn’t recommend this app to my worst enemy.

———————

This issue has been going on for weeks. With every new “update,” which I’m forced to do otherwise I can’t use the app—the freezing and blurry video is never addressed.

The freezing picture is so bad, I can leave the app on a channel for 10+ minutes, and the audio continues to play, while the image, pixelated and distorted, never changes.

Never mind closed captioning. That’s a pipe dream that hasn’t worked in close to a month. The on demand never focuses, either, so you’re watching a movie, show, etc, in a quality that probably equals silent era Hollywood...with content made in the last ten years.

It’s too bad, because when the app worked, the key word being WHEN, I was enjoying getting the full use out of my Spectrum subscription. Now, it’s a sad shell of its former self.

I like the convenience of watching TV on my portable devices. Generally it’s OK. I rated it 2 stars for two reasons - one technical and the other cost. Cost wise, it’s disappointing that, while I pay for Spectrum cable at home, because I don’t have wi-fi services through Spectrum, I can’t get all the channels on the app! Unless there is a technical reason for this, I find it to be a backwards regressive way to force me to pay Spectrum more money for what I have already paid for. The others are technical - it’s a glitchy app. The quality of streaming has improved, so there is less pixilating and picture distortion than there used to be. But recently, after watching for awhile, the app suddenly goes black, stops working, and a message box pops up claiming that I’ve “exceeded the maximum number of video streams” and to stop watching on some other mysterious nonexistent other device. This is pretty annoying - tantamount to my car just stalling out and stranding me in the middle of nowhere, with no explanation. With my car I can generally call a mechanic; spectrum app not so much. Maybe it’s just a function/limitation of the technology, and big picture, it’s an irritation, but if you are looking for feedback to improve your product so more people will use Spectrum and this app, that’s my feedback.

When designing an application to handle video streaming over a network, I would expect the app to gracefully handle connection outages. If the video feed for a channel becomes unavailable (and it does often for Spectrum, even at home over a strong WiFi connection), I would expect a well designed app to wait for the feed to become available again, then begin playing the feed once it becomes available again *without user interaction*. A poor design idea would be to display an error code (which is meaningless to the end user) in a pop up dialog as soon as any hiccup occurs, and force the user to continuously retry connecting to the channel manually if they want to watch the video feed.

Unfortunately, this app implements the poor design idea for video streaming over a network.

In addition, Spectrum should really consider allowing more than a small number of random TV channels to be streamed outside of one’s own home network, as a means of showing appreciation for the high price Spectrum charges their customers for service. I would really like to be able to watch Dodgers games outside of my own home when I’m on the road, but Spectrum currently and unreasonably makes that impossible.

I cannot recommend this app until these considerations are implemented. If a great app is a significant factor for your decision of cable company to hire, look elsewhere.

Wrote the review below about a month ago. (See below). Thought with the latest update you had corrected the “resume” problem. Silly me. Watched 45 minutes of a show this afternoon, and then had to stop watching. Came back to my show later in the evening to resume and pushed the “resume” button. And guess what, the show started all over again and would not allow me to move it forward. This is ridicules! And you wonder why people are leaving cable at such a rapid rate; well this is just one example. Long time customer, but am definitely considering switching myself. PLEASE fix this problem.

Previous review: What a joke Charter, and you wonder why people want to change tv providers. Are you seriously going to tell me this this is the best designed app Charter can come up with, with all your money. Or maybe I should have said with all the money WE pay you?
Tried watching the end of a show I missed. Got to the place I wanted to watch and was interrupted and had to walk away for a few minutes. Hit pause and expected to come back and resume where I left off. Silly me, app would only let me start all over again. So I let the show play again for 45 minutes and the same thing happened. Was interrupted, put on pause and when I tried to resume, the app had taken the show all the way back to the beginning yet again! What the f...
No excuse. Terrible job Charter.

I’ve been experiencing issues with Spectrum App via AppleTV
4K for months now. I’ve gone back and forth with Spectrum regarding the issue to which they state it is not a Spectrum issue, but rather an Apple issue and/or Apple device. That is not the case! My issues are: When watching live TV only, as on demand networks works fine, every 5-10 minutes the channel will freeze, but the audio will continue running. When the channel refreshes, the audio is not synced to live real time viewing - there is a major lag. I have to constantly change the channel back and forth so I can continue watching live TV, which is frustrating. None of these issues occur while using other apps on AppleTV i.e. Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, etc. A Spectrum technician who visited my resident confirmed that the problem is not with my internet connection, speed, or my wireless network. They even replaced my modem and router. They did advise me that customers have been experiencing the same problem and it has everything to do with the Spectrum App. I've deleted and reinstalled the app on AppleTV several times with no luck. My AppleTV is fully up to date with the latest software. I also spoke to an Apple Care Technician who also stated it is not the Apple device, but the Spectrum App. The app is totally dysfunctional on AppleTV. Spectrum developers/engineers need to look into this issue and resolve it. As a paying customer, put your customers first and make the necessary changes. You are aware of the issue. Please don’t ignore it!

I have the Spectrum TV app installed on my Apple TV 4K devices. The Apple TV device supports DolbyVision, as well as my 2021 model TV’s (LG, Sony, Samsung). However, the Spectrum TV app doesn’t support DolbyVision. The TV will automatically change the picture to a downgraded HDR quality when I switch to the Spectrum TV app. Consequently, the picture quality is not as good. My other apps work fine on Apple TV and display in DolbyVision (HBOmax, Netflix, Prime Video, etc). I also own Roku players and have one on each of the same TV’s. The Spectrum TV app on the Roku devices supports DolbyVision and thus, the picture quality is amazingly superior to that on the Apple TV. I’m 100% sure the problem is with the Spectrum TV app design for Apple TV. It needs to be fixed!

Another problem with the Spectrum TV app on Apple TV devices: - on Cloud DVR playback, video freezes for a second while audio continues. It’s intermittent and can happen as often as every minute. Very annoying. When the exact same recording is played via the Spectrum TV app on Roku, the video does not freeze, but sometimes there will be a small band of pixelation across the screen. It’s not as annoying as the picture freeze on the Apple TV devices.

My recommendation is to use latest models of Roku devices instead of Apple TV devices. The picture quality is superior DolbyVision for you Spectrum TV viewing and the Roku devices are cheaper than Apple TV devices. You can even download the Apple TV app onto the Roku, and just about every other app as well.

Downloaded the app and all I get is a message saying “we’re sorry, something didn’t work quite right. Please try again later. ICU-9000.

I have deleted the app and then reinstall do it about six or seven times. Same results.

I have an iPhone. My wife downloaded the app and got exactly the same thing. She also has an iPhone. We had a spectrum repairman out today and I showed him the problem I was having with my app. He couldn’t figure it out but he did show me that it did work on his iPhone. He suggested leaving a review and asking for assistance. I am doing that!

Update: 3.17.18
A few days after leaving this review I was able to access the app. It was nothing that was done on my part. It just started working properly. I have noticed that it still is a little quirky. Sometimes when you try to open it you get the message about trying it again - something went wrong. So far, if I try again it does perform properly.

Like other reviews that I have read, I am not happy with the way that the app functions regarding what channels you can access. I feel if you are paying for this cable service you should be able to get all of the channels that you are paying for whether you are at home or away from your Wi-Fi. Prior to having Spectrum service I had DirecTV. Their app worked the way that I think most people would be happy with. Maybe in the future Spectrum will redesign this and then I will be happy with the app.

I do want to thank the developers for leaving a response to my review/complaint. Not every app responds quickly to negative news. So I appreciate that.

I hate to say it, but this app is SO awful, unfortunately. Picture constantly freezes while audio continues, whether it’s in full screen OR PiP. The remedy is to either wait it out for 1 to 4 minutes, go back 30-60 seconds, or go forward 30 seconds, and those only work a percentage of the time. Quite often, while toggling through apps on my Apple device while show is paused on PiP, app will close randomly and I will have to start all over… and I mean ALL over, because my show will not have saved my place, I will have to find where I left off and fast forward to my spot. EXCEPT so often, on shows where I was able to fast forward only 20 min prior, I am now unable to do so. So let’s say I have 15min left of a show that allowed fast forwarding and the app randomly closes, and doesn’t save my place in the show, so I reopen the app…. I then have to start that episode completely from the beginning, because I can suddenly no longer fast forward for some odd reason. I can’t handle the freezing anymore, it’s driving me to drink, I swear. It’s frustrating because this is my go-to, this is where the majority of my shows and movies are… but it’s getting really bad. Yes, I’m up to date. I shouldn’t have to mess with an app 8 or so times per 1hr episode to get through the freezing, no one should be dealing with this much frustrating. Netflix, Hulu, HBO, SHO, Disney+, AppleTV, Discovery+, Prime Video, literally no issues with any others. Why so many with this one? Feeling pretty let down. Boo. Some of these even happen on our household tvs. Can we get it together? Franks frans.

Several months ago, the DVR manager tab got a makeover that made managing DVR recordings infinitely more difficult.

Since the DVR manager update in this app, you can’t see the date of recordings older than your most recent one. Instead of a straightforward DVR list like you see on your TV, the app shows you these obnoxiously large and space-wasting tiles representing each series you have recorded. The “delete recording” option sometimes appears as a button, sometimes it’s buried in a separate menu, and sometimes it doesn’t appear for some recordings at all. And when you actually can choose it, it is very unclear which recording you’re actually deleting. Often, yet unaired and on-demand episodes of shows will be mixed in with your recordings, and it’s difficult to determine which listings are of shows using space on your DVR and which ones are “ghost entries” representing episodes that aren’t even on your DVR — despite being shown among the series on the DVR tab of the app.

The old DVR recordings list was simple and far easier to use. It clearly showed you the exact same thing you saw on your TV’s DVR list, made it clear which recordings were made on which dates, and it made it easy to delete any or all of them, including bulk deletion of multiple shows. This version of the DVR manager in the app has been a mess since it was re-done, and in most cases it is so dysfunctional and difficult to understand what’s going on that you might as well ignore it, or be falsely led to believe you recorded something that isn’t there or risk deleting the wrong shows off of your DVR.

Update 3/9/23

The Spectrum app continues to be terrible. In a new and infuriating problem video in the ap keeps jumping in time. I’ll hear something said, then it jumps back in time a few seconds only to repeat those few seconds rendering video unwatchable. Spectrum continues to make a horrible app that simply doesn’t work at times and does not remotely keep up with the competition. The problems are endless and varied. The developers should be embarrassed at how badly the ap works. It’s always been bad but they actually manage to make it worse. The worst part is Spectrum doesn’t care as they made clear when I spoke to them. Terrible app, deserves zero stars.

———
Original Post
The Spectrum app has consistently been awful. Bugs pop up and they replace it with worse bugs in the next version. The most annoying current problem is video sync. Is it too much to ask that audio and video be synced? Spectrum can’t pull it off. The problem is replicated on my iPads, iPhone and Apple TV and has been consistent for weeks now. Being on my home Wi-Fi or out in the world makes no difference. No amount of reinstalling (like Spectrum suggests) fixes it either. Restarting the app solves the problem for a minute but it quickly drifts out of sync again. Never had this problem with any other service. Calls to Spectrum make it clear they don’t care. In the end that’s the real problem with Spectrum overall, they simply don’t care about anything except collecting obscene amounts of money for services that don’t even work properly. Really thinking of canceling Spectrum as this silliness has gone on for years.

10/5 — Spectrum, why doesn’t my Spectrum TV App on my iPhone allow me to access my DVR and set up recordings? There is no excuse for this not to be possible.

————————

Still cannot access my DVR from the phone app. I did uninstall this app and reload it on 9/16. At that time, the DVR option appeared as an icon and I could set the DVR to record something. The next time I went to use the app, the DVR icon was gone and nothing I’ve tried, including reloading the app has brought that option back. When I go into settings, and select devices, I shows I am connected to my DVR. Come on Spectrum. This option should always be there and working. —— See below … written more than a year ago. While the app does now open to the correct time of day, Spectrum/Charter still has done nothing that will permit me (or anyone would guess) set recordings on their DVR. When one is traveling and you remember about a show you want watch, the Spectrum TV app on a device should permit this to be done. Shame on Spectrum for being behind the times. My old ATT Uverse could do that from its phone app. ————- This app never open to the correct time range and always goes to chn 47. More importantly, I need an app that will work with the DVR Spectrum gave me. How ridiculous that the app doesn’t work or recognize all the DVR devices used by Spectrum. I travel and it would be very helpful to be able to decide to record a show while away from home. Switched from ATT Uverse (not available where I moved). Was always able to communicate with that DVR via the app on my phone whether I was at home or not. This app needs to be improved.

This review is pertaining to the Apple TV version.

I was excited to ditch stand alone cable or satellite boxes. I’ve had SpectrumTV through the app for about 8 months. I’ve been enjoying it with a couple of features lacking.

1.) No ability to pause live TV. There is a work around of recording the program you are watching to your cloud DVR.
2.) if you record a program that you are actively watching, you have to make sure to catch up before the end of the show in real time. If you don’t, the recording gets corrupted and ends at the point you were on the recording when the end time of the live showing ends. So if you are only 20 minutes into an hour program when the program ends, your recording will only play for 20 minutes.
3.) Cloud DVR is inconsistent on scheduled recordings. It will show on the guide that the event is recording. But then it doesn’t show up in your library. Glad I have Verizon Wireless with free Hulu to catch the shows the DVR drops.
4.) The voice navigation they instruct you to use like Siri tune to , doesn’t always work. She sometimes tries to send you to the app for that channel.

Now why I am giving it 1 star. These limitations coupled with the following lack of support. All of the sudden about a month ago, the video on many channels randomly and frequently stops for a second or two. The audio is just fine. This is extremely annoying for sporting events. I’ve reported to spectrum support and they will give you any excuse to say it’s not the app or their technology for compression or distribution. I have 4 AppleTVs, 1 hardwired to the router connected to the modem. 2 connected to Orbi satellites and 1 connected via 5GHz to a Orbi satellite. All TVs have the most recent TVOS and version of the Spectrum App.

I cannot stress this enough! If you are considering the DVR feature, reconsider it. I’ve been using it for several months now and here are just some of the issues I have found: 1. Does not record programs when scheduled. 2. If it does, very often it selectively chooses the times it wants to start or finish the recording. 3. When I play a recording, it skips all over the place. For example, it may play for 10 minutes, then it’ll skip back to minute 7:30 or forward to minute 15:44. 4. A recoding wouldn’t play at all. 5. Sometimes it stops at a certain point of the recording and kicks me out of the recording. When are go back, it starts at a different time earlier, then does the same thing at the time point it kicked me out previously. 6. It cannot pause even if you are recording a program. 7. Sometimes you can watch a program while it’s being recorded, other times you cannot (no consistency). 8. Sometimes the recording doesn’t appear for a few minutes after the recording is finished. 9. Some recordings won’t even play, just an error message. 10. Fast forward and rewind take forever. Very buggy, frustrating, infuriating at times. Don’t spend your money on this! Go with another DVR option.
Update 5-18-22: The developer contacted me with a generic message to go to their troubleshooting page. Well, it turns out a lot of other people are experiencing all or some of the issues I listed previously. I wish I had known those shortcomings BEFORE signing up for the AppleTV! If I could give it no stars I would.
Update 9-5-22: You still cannot time-DVR live sporting events. Even when you are watching the event and try to record, the message says it does, but the recording is nowhere to be found. So frustrating! Don’t waste your time with this app’s DVR feature! You are better off with YouTube TV.

Glitches, errors, and unexplained sudden deletions in the series manager abound in this app. Trying to keep it updated to record my shows each week has been a chore and a half! It double records even though the series manager section clearly only shows one series, it suddenly deletes a series I've been watching forever and I end up missing shows, it will occasionally just decide it wants to skip a show or two in the middle of a season, and the search guide is useless half the time as even typing in EXACT wording for a show title sometimes still doesn't bring back any showings even though there clearly are several coming up when you MANUALLY SCROLL THROUGH DAYS WORTH OF THE GUIDE LOOKING FOR THEM! I am exhausted from having to babysit my TV shows! Even when I try to use the series manager on my DVR it STILL won't friggin delete this Criminal Minds series! And these shows record all the time now. I'm constantly having to check my daily lineup and deleting shows every single flipping day. This is the absolute worst problem I've ever had with cable TV and I'm soooo over it. For all the money I pay for cable TV this should not be a problem! My son is a software programmer at RIT and he could probably do a better job at creating an app that actually works. Get your crap together please!

UPDATE: deleted app and re-installed it. Nope. Still the absolute WORST app I've ever used. Every night this week I have tried to use it to see what I have being recorded and it has come up and said it was unavailable. When it finally came up for a few minutes tonight, I was able to check to see that it is recording a new show I was interested in, but when I check the show through the guide it says I'm not recording it so now I'm completely confused. Bad. Bad. Bad. There is no way to troubleshoot this kind of crap. It simply doesn't work properly. Period.

I only have Spectrum for watching NFL. I am yet to watch a game where the app hasn't crashed and forced me to restart the app multiple times. I can't even watch an hour long program without restarting.

*Updatestill don't like this app. Close captioning is in the center of the TV with no option to move it. I can't even fathom how dumb the person who designed this is. It also only works some of the time. Like shows but not the commercials, why?

There's also no option to remove the "are you still there?" Question that pops up after a set time. I'm streaming via Xbox and when this pops up, sometimes in the middle of a sporting event, I have to scramble to find the remote, power on the remote and then cancel the screen. And if I don't, it shuts down the app altogether so I have to reopen and go back to my Channel which is time consuming and unbelievably annoying when watching sports, which are ALL several hours long. Why is this even needed? You don't trust that I can turn off my own TV when I'm done with it? If this can't be removed altogether then please make it optional ASAP.

HORRIBLE LAG. I am constantly on the phone with people during sports events and whether they're on wired Spectrum, Comcast, other streaming platforms etc, I'm always at least 30-45 seconds behind. Being slower than Satellite television is a joke, what are you doing?!?

Also, this is a streaming service but doesn't work on a fire stick. I'm not buying expensive hardware for all the rooms in my house. We got rid of DVRs and swapped to the streaming service to SAVE MONEY.

Lastly, and probably the worst feature, I can only use this service while on my own home wifi. I can't take it with me when I leave my house. With so many other streaming options available now: fubo, YouTube, Hulu, DirecTV etc, I most likely won't put up with this much longer. This is garbage compared to their competition.

Updated 7/28*

Several tv channel listings are missing from the guide and appears blank. This has never happened before after an app update.

Also...PLEASE FIX DVR MANAGER

Why keep trying to fix what ain't broken?!? Was forced (again) to update the app in order to continue using. And I knew if history repeats itself, something about the app won't work properly following the update. Well...it's happening again - The "DVR Manager" now has a mind of its own and not recording from the app...and then it is...and then it isn't. Recordings aren't being listed on the tv & the app, they're not recording, then they appear as recording then disappear again. Recordings appear on one of my tv's but not the other. It won't let me cancel and then rerecord. I've reset my DVR boxes (twice) and restarted the app too but all the problems listed above still occur. Please fix the issue because the "DVR Manager" feature of the app not only is one of the best & must useful features about the app, it's been consistently trouble-free for a while - until now.

*Previous Review from last year*

Why do you corp 500 companies feel the need to constantly update your apps?!? In the beginning this app had some issues, but finally about 4 months ago, the issues were resolved and it's been running perfectly. Today, I went to use the app, but was "FORCED" to update it, even though I did not want to. I hate when that happens -- especially when I know the new version will be worse. The older app version worked much better and was much easier to navigate the TV guide & channel lineup. Also, the new version is navigating slower and it also keeps crashing & telling me to call customer care. I wish all these tech app developers would just chill out for a while and stop playing god in their attempt to improve what does not need improving, when ultimately they're making things worse! Remember this Time Warner: sometimes LESS is MORE period