FAQ

Why can I not control my set-top box? Accessory is loaded and added to Home, but control is not possible

If the accessory can be added to the Home app, but you note that control of the set-top box is not possible, then check your Homebridge logs. If no line is found showing [EOSSTB] mqttClient: Connected: true then the mqtt session has not connected. Investigations have shown that this is related to Node v18.x and the mqtt client not working together properly. This only affects some, but not all, operating systems. It has been observed to date on a Mac Mini, and on a Raspberry Pi running Linux Bullseye, both running Node v18.x. A downgrade of Node to v16.x solves the issue. The author has raised an issue #1551 on the MQTT.js client library. Until the mqtt issue is fixed, please use Node v16.x on your device that runs Homebridge.

Why does the Home app show "Unable to Add Accessory"?

If trying to add a visible set-top box fails during the Connecting to Set-Top Box step with the error Unable to Add Accessory - Accessory is not reachable then this normally indicates issues with your Homebridge installation. Make sure your Homebridge Settings: > Network > Network Interfaces are set correctly for the network interface in use by the device running Homebridge. For best stability and reliability, Homebridge should run on a device connected to your LAN via an ethernet port with a physical ethernet cable.

What countries and TV providers does this plugin support?

The eosstb plugin supports the following countries:

• BE Belgium: Telenet. The Belgium’s call the DCX960 a Telenet TV-Box. Telenet has also released a HUMAX 2008C-STB-TN in March 2022.
• CH Switzerland: Sunrise Switzerland. The DCX960 is called the Sunrise TV Box. Also known as the EOSSTB.
• GB Great Britain: Virgin Media. The DCX960 is called the Virgin TV 360 box, introduced in August 2020. (this plugin is not for the older Virgin Media TiVo boxes)
• IE Ireland: Virgin Media. The DCX960 is called the Virgin TV 360 box,
• NL Netherlands: Ziggo. Here the DCX960 is called the Mediabox Next.

Testers Wanted:

• AT Austria: Magenta. The DCX960 is called the Entertain Box 4K.

What set-top boxes does this plugin support?

The ARRIS DCX960 and the HUMAX 2008C-STB-TN (released March 2022). The DCX960 has been seen in two variants: a slim variant, without an internal hard drive, and a "fat" or taller variant, which contains a 1TB hard drive. Both work. You can view the internals of a DCX960 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6isteKO4zxI&t=586s . The HUMAX 2008C-STB-TN was first seen in Telenet Belgium in March 2022.

Why can I not use this plugin on the Virgin TV V6 box? It is also a DCX960.

The TiVo software on the Virgin TV V6 box (which is also a DCX960) uses a completely different network control mechanism, which is not compatible with this plugin. If you have a DCX960 running TiVo software, you can update it to the TV 360 software by contacting Virgin Media, see their TV 360 upgrade page

Why can I not enter short or long channel names?

The Horizon TV platform requires that a set-top box name be between 3 and 14 characters long. The eosstb plugin will expand the name if shorter than 3 characters, and truncate the name if longer than 14 characters.

How many favorite channels can I display on my iOS device?

Between 3 and 95. The Horizon TV platform requires that you have a minimum of 3 channels in a favorite channel list. Apple HomeKit limits the maximum amount of services per accessory to 100, of which only 95 can be made available as channels in the eosstb plugin (as the other services are used for control of the accessory).

How can I rename channels?

The Apple Home app supports renaming of channels, however the set-top box does not provide any capability to rename TV channels. Any renaming done in the Home app is thus applicable only for in HomeKit, for all Apple devices in your home. Note that the channel list is reloaded on every restart of Homebridge, and thus any renamed channels in the Home app are reverted to their standard names after a Homebridge restart.

How can I hide and unhide channels in HomeKit?

The Apple Home app supports hiding of channels. Open the accessory settings in the Home app, and remove the check mark on the desired channel to hide the channel. Any hiding of channels in the Home app is applicable only for HomeKit, the channel is not removed from the set-top boxes channel list. If you wish to remove a channel from the set-top boxes channel list, use a profile and edit the profile on the TV directly, or in your TV provider's web app. Note that the channel list is reloaded on every restart of Homebridge, and thus any hidden channels in the Home app are reverted back to being visible after a Homebridge restart.

Why do I get the error "Failed to create session - try again later: 500 Internal Server Error"?

The eosstb plugin uses the same connection as the web app. This error can appear if the mqtt sessions are rejected by the back end system, which might be because other sessions are in use. The plugin will try and reconnect if this error appears, and often reconnections are successful. You can also close any web apps to reduce the number of mqtt sessions in use.

Why can I not log on to Telenet? I get an error "location url empty!" in the Homebridge logs

In September 2022, Telenet changed their logon methods. Older logons using usernames like “a00####” no longer work. You must use an email for your Telenet account username. Please use the Telenet TV app to update your username to an email address.

Why is the v1 version of this plugin not working after 13 October 2022?

On 13 October 2022, the backend systems changed. The plugin had to be rewritten, and the new v2.0 version was released on 14 November 2022. Please use v2.0 or later.